Herald of the Covenant

Special Edition

Winter 1974/75

The HERALD OF THE COVENANT is a publication of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith. Its title is derived from the unique and peerless Covenant bequeathed to the Bahá'í world by the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation–a Covenant designed to shield His Cause from man-made interpretations which in the history of all of the great religions of the past have been such a cause of schism and divisiveness.

The Editors of the HERALD OF THE COVENANT hope that this publication will bring to both the Bahá'í and non-Bahá'í reader a fuller comprehension and a deeper appreciation of the meaning, significance and implications of the mighty Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and the divinely conceived System for the regulation of men's affairs on this earth to which It gave birth.

This Issue Number 2 is a special edition devoted entirely to an article written by the third Guardian on the Violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh at the World Center of the Bahá'í Faith following the passing of the first Guardian.

HERALD OF THE COVENANT, Issue Number 2, published by the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith 1/75. Printed in the United States. All contents approved by the third Guardian.

"When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root."

"When the Mystic Dove will have winged its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise and sought its far-off goal, its hidden habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him ('Abdu'l-Bahá) Who hath branched from this mighty Stock."–Kitáb-i-Aqdas

"lt is incumbent upon the Aghsán (His sons), the Afnán (the Báb's kindred) and My kindred to turn, one and all, their faces toward the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: 'When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.' The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch ('Abdu'l-Bahá). Thus have We graciously revealed unto you our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful."–Kitáb-i-Ahd

"As to the most great characteristic of the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh– a specific teaching not given by any of the Prophets of the past–it is the ordination and appointment of the Center of the Covenant. By this appoint- ment and provision He has safeguarded and protected the religion of God against differences and schisms, making it impossible for anyone to create a new sect or faction of belief. To insure unity and agreement He has entered into a Covenant with all the peoples of the world including the Interpreter and Explainer of His teachings so that no one may interpret or explain the religion of God according to his own view or opinion and thus create a sect founded upon his individual understanding of the divine words. The Book of the Covenant or Testament of Bahá'u'lláh is the means of preventing such a possibility, for whosoever shall speak from the authority of himself alone shall be degraded. Be ye informed and cognizant of this."–Bahá'í World Faith Pg. 248

A brief history

of the violation

of the

Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh

at the World Center

of the Bahá'í Faith

following the passing

of the first Guardian

of the

Bahá'í Faith

by Joel Bray Marangella

This brief historical account is written in the hope that the inquiring student of the Bahá'í Faith may gain an insight into the true meaning of loyalty to the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh as he reviews those events which took place shortly preceding and immediately following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, and which so tragically led to the subversion of the sacred provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and a shameful betrayal of the acts and works of Shoghi Effendi by a majority of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh who, prior to the passing of Shoghi Effendi, had professed to be steadfast supporters of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and who had pledged their undying loyalty to the Guardian of the Faith, the Center of the Cause and the appointed minister of that Covenant.

As a desirable preliminary to a review of the aforementioned acts of Shoghi Effendi in subsequent pages, certain essential beliefs pertaining to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and divinely appointed institutions ordained in this unique Document will be summarized at the outset. This review will be followed by the enumeration and discussion of certain epoch making events centered on acts of unprecedented importance taken by Shoghi Effendi at the World Center of the Faith during the concluding years of his ministry, which Shoghi Effendi had hailed and extolled in superlative terms but whose import and significance had strangely been disregarded and lost sight of by the Bahá'í world even prior to the passing of Shoghi Effendi, and even more tragically and significantly were overlooked or purposely ignored by the Hands of the Cause following his passing. It will be shown that these Hands who had been so recently elevated to their high spiritual station by Shoghi Effendi were the first, with the single exception of one of them whose solitary voice raised in defense of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was ignored and stifled, to prove themselves unfaithful to the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and to repudiate essential provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a divinely conceived Document which Shoghi Effendi in his writings had acclaimed as the very "Child of the Covenant", the "Charter of the New World Order" and the "Divine Masterpiece which the Masterbuilder of the world has designed for the unification and triumph of the world-wide Faith of Bahá'u'lláh". Having betrayed their sacred trust and ingloriously renounced their faith in the sacred provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, these Hands, led by the widow of Shoghi Effendi, established an organization at the World Center of the faith (i.e. not founded upon the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá), shamefully usurped powers and prerogatives which the Will and Testament reposes solely in the Guardian of the Faith, prosecuted an insidious campaign to destroy the faith of their fellow-believers throughout the world in the inviolability and incorruptibility of the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá pertaining to the Guardianship, and ultimate]y led the great mass of these unsuspecting believers into a massive violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh in whose satanic grip the Bahá'í world for the most part still finds itself held fast to this day.

In a previous work this writer has stressed the divine origin of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by quoting Shoghi Effendi's words in which he described this Will "as the inevitable offspring resulting from that mystic intercourse between Him Who communicated the generating influence of His divine Purposes and the One Who was its vehicle and chosen recipient." As this Document confirms, supplements and correlates the provisions of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Bahá'u'lláh's most Holy Book) Shoghi Effendi pointed out that the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Aqdas should be considered as "inseparable parts of one complete unit" and as such the Will therefore is a part of the explicit Holy Text which is not subject to alteration or abrogation throughout the centuries of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, much less abrogation 36 years after 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Ascension (i.e. with the passing of Shoghi Effendi). So that the reader may fully understand the essentiality of the Guardianship to the Faith, certain points stressed by Shoghi Effendi in his writings are enumerated below. These emphasize the authority, role and functions vested in this institution under the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

(Underlinings have been added in quoted passages below for emphasis. )

• The distinguishing feature of the Bahá'í Revelation which differentiates It from the Revelations of the past Manifestations of God is to be found in the "administrative provisions of the Bahá’í Dispensation and in the matter of succession as embodied in the twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship."

• These twin institutions are the "twin pillars that support this mighty Administrative Structure" and "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 ensure the continuity of that divinely appointed 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."

• Each of these twin institutions, one representing the executive authority and the other the legislative authority in the Faith "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."

• "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."

• Without the institution of the Guardianship "the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered ."

• Without the institution of the Guardianship "the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn." (In this connection, it should be kept in mind that the Guardian of the Faith is the "sacred head and the distinguished member for life" of the Universal House of Justice and therefore not a figurehead of this body.)

• Without the living Guardian of the Faith, the interpretive authority originally invested in 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Center of the Covenant, by Bahá'u'lláh and passed on to the successive Guardians of the Faith through the instrumentality of His Will and Testament would cease to exist, thus exposing the Faith to dissension and disputes over matters of interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ which have so plagued the religions of the past and given rise to so much schism and bloodshed.

• Without the Guardianship the "Center of the Cause" (Refer to the last paragraph of the Will and Testament) appointed in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá would cease to exist. 'Abdu'l-Bahá states in His Will that "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....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."

(Underlinings have been added in quoted passages below for emphasis. )

Some seven years prior to his passing Shoghi Effendi issued the one and only Proclamation of his ministry (9 January 1951), a communication which opened with the phrase: "Proclaim to National Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making decision of formation of first International Bahá'í Council forerunner of supreme administrative institution..." He went on to explain in this communication the steps that had induced him to arrive at this "historic decision" which included:

• Establishment of the Jewish State as an independent nation in the Holy Land.

• "The swift unfoldment of the historic undertaking associated with the construction of the superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher on Mount Carmel."

• "The present adequate maturity of nine vigorously functioning national administrative institutions throughout the Bahá'í World." (This statement alone reflects the fact that Shoghi Effendi envisaged a relationship between the International Bahá'í Council [i.e. International Assembly] and the National Bahá'í Assemblies throughout the world.)

Other significant statements of Shoghi Effendi, stressing the supreme importance of the formation of the International Bahá'í Council, should be quoted only because there were believers in the years to come who would claim that this council was of no importance, or that it was only a temporary institution which should take second place to the institution of the Hands of the Cause. The falsity of such views is readily perceived in the light of the following statements of Shoghi Effendi:

• ". . . this historic decision marking most significant milestone in evolution of Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the course of the last thirty years." (i.e. since the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá)

• "To these will be added further functions in the course of the evolution of this first embryonic International Institution, marking its development into officially recognized Bahá'í Court, its transformation into duly elected body, its efflorescence into Universal House of Justice . . ."

• "Hail with thankful, joyous heart at long last the constitution of International Council which history will acclaim as the greatest event shedding lustre upon the second epoch of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation, potentially unsurpassed by any enterprise undertaken since the inception of the Administrative Order of the Faith on the morrow of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Ascension, ranking second only to glorious immortal events associated with the Ministries of the Three Central Figures of the Faith in the course of the First Age of the most glorious Dispensation of the five thousand century Bahá'í Cycle."

On the basis of the foregoing, any fair-minded observer would perceive that this "nascent institution", this "first embryonic International Institution" was not a temporary, provisional organization created by Shoghi Effendi outside the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, but was in reality the embryonic Universal House of Justice which He had ordained in His Will to be the supreme administrative body in the Bahá'í Administrative Order.

As President of this embryonic Institution, Shoghi Effendi appointed an American believer, Charles Mason Remey, whom he had called to serve him at the World Center some time earlier, a Bahá'í who had distinguished himself by his long and faithful services to the Faith since its earliest beginnings in Europe and the American continent; an architect of four Bahá'í Houses of Worship (chosen by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself to be the architect of the House of Worship to be constructed on Mount Carmel), and the International Archives building on Mount Carmel.

The initial functions assigned to the International Bahá'í Council were as follows:

• To assist Shoghi Effendi "to discharge responsibilities involved in erection of the mighty superstructure of the Báb's Holy Shrine" on Mount Carmel.

The president of the International Bahá'í Council, Charles Mason Remey, was never instructed by Shoghi Effendi during his ministry to convene the Council as a functioning and consultative body over which he as its appointed President would preside. Instead, Shoghi Effendi assigned specific tasks to individual members (there being nine members of this body) and in this manner preserved the Council in its originally conceived embryonic state. This precluded the President of this body who, in fact, was the embryonic head of the embryonic Universal House of Justice from exercising those responsibilities that would be automatically his upon his convocation of the Council. (It would be well to note here that the very fact that Shoghi Effendi maintained this body in an embryonic state during the remainder of his ministry later proved to be a stumbling block in the minds of the believers after his passing, as by that time other events had taken place which tended to obscure the tremendous significance he had attached to the formation of this "first embryonic International Institution" and led them to forget the superlatives with which he had hailed its formation some seven years earlier. )

Brief quotations from several other communications of Shoghi Effendi addressed to the Bahá'í World should suffice to put to rest any doubts that might still be entertained as to whether the International Bahá'í Council was, in fact, the embryonic Universal House of Justice and the Council was meant to be a permanent Institution of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, once formed under such historic and auspicious circumstances, never to be abolished but only transformed. It would evolve through successive stages until in the Golden Age of the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh it would be able to exercise all the powers and functions with which it has been invested by the Pen of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

• "Process of the unfoldment of the ever-advancing Administrative Order accelerated by the formation of the International Bahá’í Council designed to assist in the erection of the superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher cement ties uniting the budding World Administrative Center with the recently established state and pave the way for the formation of the Bahá'í Court essential prelude to the institution of the Universal House of Justice." (Cable 25 April 1951 )

• "Greatly welcome assistance of the newly-formed International Council particularly Its President Mason Remey and its Vice-President Amelia Collins, through contact with authorities designed to spread the fame consolidate the foundations and widen the scope of influence emanating from the twin spiritual administrative World Centers permanently fixed in the Holy Land constituting the midmost heart of the entire planet." (Cable 2 March 1951)

(Note: While in its embryonic and inactive state, the Council estab- lished by Shoghi Effendi consisted of both male and female members, but when this embryonic institution would, analogically speaking. emerge into full activity as the Universal House of Justice, it would be an organism in accordance with the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.)

• ". . . the rise and consolidation of the Administrative Center of the World Faith of Bahá'u'lláh of which the establishment of the International Bahá'í Council and the construction of the superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher constitute the initial major evidences . . ." (Cable 25 April 1951 )

• "Forthcoming celebrations must be signalized through inauguration of long anticipated intercontinental stage in administrative evolution of the Faith marking its gradual development through successive phases of local regional national and international Bahá'í activity. Initiation of this highly significant measure further cementing Bahá'í National Assemblies in five continents of the globe will be acclaimed by posterity as the counterpart to consolidation of the Faith at its World Center through the recent formation of International Bahá'í Council in the Holy Land." (Cable 30 November 1951 )

• "Recall feelings of profound thankfulness and joy at chain of recent historic events heralding long anticipated rise and establishment of the World Administrative Center of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in Holy Land . . ."

• "Opening years of the second epoch of the Formative Age now witnessing at long last commencement of third vast majestic fate-laden process . . ."

• "First inauguration of most holy worldwide enterprise unprecedented in the annals of the Faith construction in the heart of Mount Carmel of the superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher.

• "Second creation of International Bahá'í Council in precincts of Holy Shrine forerunner of International House of Justice supreme legislative organ of nascent divinely conceived world-encircling Bahá’í Administrative Order." (Cable 24 December 1951)

It was in such words as those quoted above that Shoghi Effendi extolled the creation of the International Bahá'í Council and clearly demonstrated that it was the supreme Bahá'í administrative body in the Bahá'í world although admittedly in its embryonic state.1 

It now remained for Shoghi Effendi to continue "the vast process" that had been set in motion at the World Center of which the formation of the Council was one of the initial evidences and follow-up the establishment of this "first embryonic International Institution" with the appointment of the first contingent of the Hands of the Cause which he announced in the same message of 24 December quoted above with the following words:

Two months later Shoghi Effendi announced the appointment of a second contingent of the Hands of the Cause (seven in number) each of whom assumed their duties in certain countries named of which they were already residents. In this communication Shoghi Effendi emphasized the role of the Hands in the following words:

Again Shoghi Effendi stressed the parallelism that existed in the development of the institution of the Hands of the Cause with the development of the International Bahá'í Council as both embryonic institutions developed simultaneously. For in this communication to the Bahá’í world, he stated that the Hands were "destined to assume individually in the course of time the direction of institutions paralleling those revolving around the Universal House of Justice." (Cable 29 February 1952)

There was scant pause as Shoghi Effendi continued the development of the international institutions of the Faith at the World Center, for it was only some nine days following his issuance of the above quoted communication that he announced the enlargement of the International Bahá'í Council to eight members, appointed additional officers and assigned their duties. Of particular significance, as one looks back in retrospect, was his appointment of a liaison between himself and the Council. This announcement read as follows:

A little more than a month later Shoghi Effendi again reminded the friends of the "vast process" that was going on in the Holy Land at the World Center of the Faith and cited evidences of the parallel development of the Hands of the Cause and the International Bahá'í Council. It was in the following words that he made this announcement:

Once again, only some two months later, Shoghi Effendi reemphasized the importance of the steps that he had taken in the past year and one half at the World Center in the erection in their embryonic form of the international institutions of the Faith with the following words:

Before proceeding with this historical summary, let us examine the preceding passages from Shoghi Effendi's cable again and pose a question of critical importance. For, in the astonishing and incredulous failure of the Hands of the Cause following the passing of Shoghi Effendi to perceive the answer to this question and realize its significance lay, in no small measure, the genesis of the great violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh that not only enveloped twenty-six of the twenty-seven Hands so soon after his passing but ultimately most of the Bahá'í world as well. That question is: Is there any doubt that the International Bahá'í Council was one of the "highest institutions" and "supreme organs" of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh which Shoghi Effendi stated, in the message quoted above, had been erected at the World Center of the Faith? In other words, the Universal House of Justice had been created in its embryonic form, and the President or head of this body had been appointed.

To summarize the parallel development of these institutions of the Faith at the World Center: Shoghi Effendi established the Council in his proclamatory message of 9 January 1951 and announced the appointment of the first contingent of the Hands of the Cause on 24 December 1951. The evolutionary development of these two embryonic institutions commenced almost immediately as Shoghi Effendi announced their enlargement in his messages of 29 February and 8 March 1952. Further enlargements were made and announced with the ninth member of the International Bahá'í Council being appointed on 4 May 1955 and the last contingent of the Hands of the Cause being appointed in October 1957, less than a month before Shoghi Effendi's passing.3 

In the preceding pages only the most significant excerpts incident to the subject at hand have been quoted from the veritable deluge of historic communications that flowed from Shoghi Effendi's pen in the final years of his ministry as he labored at an exhausting and feverish pace to implement the provisions of the three divine Charters that were the mandates for his work. Indeed, as we look back in retrospect at his tremendous accomplishments during this period, it is as though Shoghi Effendi sensed that but little time was left to him to carry out on this mortal plane the tasks which he felt that it was his mission to accomplish as Guardian of the Faith, so that Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Order might be established on a firm and unassailable foundation. Less than three years prior to his passing Shoghi Effendi voiced the following stirring entreaty in referring to these three divine Charters:

These labors of Shoghi Effendi in the evening of his life at the World Center of the Faith culminated, as already pointed out, in the erection of the machinery of the highest institutions of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh in their embryonic form. As Shoghi Effendi stated: "the process set in motion by Bahá'u'lláh's visit to Mount Carmel" some sixty years earlier attained its "consummation through the emergence of institutions of the Administrative Center of the Faith in the vicinity of its world Spiritual Center, signalizing the sailing of the Divine Ark on God's Mountain prophesied in the Tablet of Carmel." (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, pgs. 14-17)

In reviewing this stream of communications to the Bahá'í world that flowed from Shoghi Effendi's pen, one notes that he repeatedly endeavored to give the believers a vision of the future developments in store for the Faith at the World Center as well as throughout the world. If one were to search these communications as well as the other copious writing of Shoghi Effendi concerning the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, not a single word would be found alluding in the slightest to any possibility that the divine Charters referred to above would, in part, or in their entirety, become null and void. Quite to the contrary, all his acts and words were focused on their complete implementation and fulfilment. For example, only some three years prior to his passing he clearly wrote of the future edifices that would be raised on Mount Carmel to serve as the administrative seats for the highest institutions of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, edifices that included the seat of the Guardianship. Shoghi Effendi took the occasion of a message in which he described the acquisition of a piece of land on the slopes of Mount Carmel for the erection of "the structure of the International Bahá’í Archives designed by the Hand of the Cause Mason Remey President of the International Bahá’í Council" to speak of the future edifices that would be built "in the shape of a far-flung arc" surrounding the resting places of the members of the Holy Family of Bahá'u'lláh. Shoghi Effendi stated:

The last message of Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá’í World in which he appointed the final contingent of the Hands of the Cause proved, as it turned out, to be the supreme test, for in this message he referred to the 27 Hands now appointed as "the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth who have been invested by the unerring Pen of the Center of the Covenant with the dual function of guarding over the security and of insuring the propagation, of His Father's Faith." For the very reason that the Hands seized upon the title "Chief Stewards" following the passing of Shoghi Effendi and construed it to have endowed them with authority and prerogatives with which they are not vested by the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, this title should be given special consideration at this point. Of first consideration is the fact that this title was bestowed upon them while Shoghi Effendi was living and there was nothing either in the title itself or in this communication or other communications of Shoghi Effendi with the Bahá’í world to indicate that it was Shoghi Effendi's intention that the relationship between the Hands of the Cause and the Guardian of the Faith as prescribed by the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá should be changed in anyway (that is, as Hands they were subordinate to and under the direction of the Head of the Faith, who is also Head of the Universal House of Justice) or that Shoghi Effendi meant to imply that these relationships would change at some future date, and they would be invested with powers and prerogatives over and above those with which they had been invested by the unerring Pen of the Center of the Covenant ('Abdu'l-Bahá). The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, as previously explained in the foregoing pages, invests the Hands of the Cause with spiritual functions. Shoghi Effendi did assign the Hands the responsibility to assist (not direct) National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world in the prosecution of the World Spiritual Crusade (1953-1963) a Crusade designed to implement the Charter bequeathed to us by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, a function which was in addition to their "primary obligation to watch over and insure protection to the Bahá'í world community in close collaboration with these same National Assemblies." But this assignment in no way gave them authority over these National Assemblies as the Hands exercise no authority independent of the Guardian of the Faith. A careful review of Shoghi Effendi's writings will reveal the fact that he had on more than one occasion used the term steward or stewardship in referring to the services of Bahá'ís, and Bahá'í bodies and significantly enough had in one instance in his work titled "God Passes By" referred to 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the "steward of its glory" (i.e. the servant of its glory). Therefore the term steward as applied to the Hands can only be considered within the context of the functions with which they have been invested by the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. If one does this, it is clear that stewardship and servitude as applied to their functions are synonymous terms. ( Is not servitude the highest spiritual station to which the believer can aspire?) It is interesting and pertinent to note that in the last paragraph of the last message addressed to the Bahá'í world by Shoghi Effendi he should also have used the term stewardship in referring not only to " every Hand previously or now appointed " (this message having appointed the last contingent of the Hands) but to "the entire body of the believers" and "upon their elected representatives, the members of the various Regional and National Spiritual Assemblies in both the East and West." as he urged them to display "the qualities which must distinguish a worthy stewardship of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh."

This historical summary of significant acts taken by Shoghi Effendi at the World Center in the concluding years of his ministry represents by no means the full scope of his prodigious and unremitting labors in behalf of the Cause of God during his 36-years ministry. To take the space required for a proper enumeration of his services to the Faith would detract from the central purpose of this paper. However, it is germane to mention the tremendous debt that the English-speaking Bahá'ís throughout the world owed him, not only for his superlative translations into the English language of the major Works of Bahá'u'lláh, the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Nabil's Narrative–"The Dawnbreakers"–that glorious history of the earliest beginnings of our Faith, but for his matchless writings explaining and elucidating the distinguishing features of the Bahá'í Administrative Order and its institutions. There is no question that he translated for the benefit of the English-speaking world whatever they required of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh to be able to accept and grasp the full meaning of His Revelation and for His followers to be faithful to His Teachings, especially the American believers upon whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá had conferred spiritual primacy, whom he had addressed as "O ye apostles of Bahá'u'lláh" and whose land in which they dwell, He said, "is in the eyes of the one true God, the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be unveiled, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the free assemble." It was these believers, too, that Shoghi Effendi had extolled as the "Champion-builders of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh" and the"chosen trustees and principal executors of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan." Indeed, could these believers carry out their glorious mission without the benefit of a comprehensive knowledge of the essential Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá? Obviously Shoghi Effendi recognized this requirement and made ample provisions for it not only in his translations of the Holy Writings but, as heretofore mentioned, in his own extensive writings in the English language. (And yet there were Persian Hands of the Cause following the passing of Shoghi Effendi who used the specious argument that, as the American believers were not able to read all of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in their original text, they were not aware of certain Writings that supported their heretical arguments for abandonment of the Guardianship).

It was at this stage in the development and progress of the Faith that the sudden and completely unexpected passing of Shoghi Effendi (4 November 1957) struck as a thunderbolt in the Bahá'í world, shattering the hearts of the believers and throwing them into a state of bewilderment and confusion. Unprepared as they were for this seemingly mortal blow, deprived of visible leadership in the person of a Guardian of the Faith, and completely forgetful and unmindful of the significance of some of the historic acts taken by Shoghi Effendi which have been outlined in the foregoing pages, the believers in their consternation, grief and loss turned initially to the widow of Shoghi Effendi to fill the void. For in their eyes she had been closest to him from a physical standpoint during his life on this earthly plane, and the one who perhaps might be privy to his innermost thoughts and uniquely aware, of course, if indeed there had been a male offspring from her marriage with Shoghi Effendi, as had been rumored persistently over the years to be the case, and whose whereabouts allegedly had been kept a well-guarded secret. Thus, for what the believers anticipated would be but a temporary period of time until the rightful successor of Shoghi Effendi became known, the mantle of leadership fell by default upon the shoulders of this charming, dynamic and intelligent woman, however much she may not have sought this leadership initially. Although as time passed, some of the power that had become hers during this apparent interregnum in the guardianship was, to outward appearances at least, diffused amongst her fellow-Hands of the Cause, she retained the upper hand and never relinquished thereafter the leadership of the Faith that she had initially gained upon the passing of Shoghi Effendi. She completely overshadowed her fellow-Hands of the Cause and dominated their thoughts and actions. They invariably deferred to her, with a single notable exception, because of her past relationship to Shoghi Effendi. It was as though these Hands and the body of the believers as well felt that because of this past relationship some of the station of Guardianship had rubbed off on her. Had she remained faithful to the Covenant of Baha’u’llah, the love that the believers had held for the Guardian and now transferred to her would certainly have had no ill effects. But their very adoration of her was soon to become one of the causes, if not the primary one, of their downfall and their betrayal, ironically as it may seem, of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and all that Shoghi Effendi had labored to erect during his ministry. It was she, for example, who claimed that Shoghi Effendi had said to her that there was no one fit or qualified for him to appoint as his successor. Amazingly enough her fellow-Hands, with a single exception as already noted, did not challenge her on this statement that ran so contrary to everything that Shoghi Effendi had written and announced to the Bahá'í world up until his last days concerning the essentiality and continuity of the Guardianship. It was such a statement that lent support to the Persian Hands of the Cause, as we shall see in the events that will be reviewed in the following pages, in the pernicious and diabolical doctrine that they espoused to the effect that the Guardianship of the Faith was now "Bada".5 

It was evident, too, from public statements the Rúhíyyih Khánum made that she had, in her great and understandable love for Shoghi Effendi, so personalized the Guardianship in her own mind that she was completely unprepared and unwilling to see another person take his place.

It was in this state of affairs that the Hands of the Cause, laboring under the impression that the mantle of Guardianship would be transferred to the shoulders of Shoghi Effendi's successor in the same manner that the Guardianship had been conferred upon him, as the first Guardian of the Faith, that is, by Will and Testament, assumed the responsibility of convening a conclave at the Mansion of Bahji in The Holy Land adjacent to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh for the purpose of determining whom Shoghi Effendi had named as his successor. No one questioned this act on the part of the Hands of the Cause at the time for, as already explained, the Bahá'í world, in the vacuum of leadership that appeared to exist following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, had first turned to his widow and later to the entire body of the Hands of the Cause to fill this void. The Hands began almost immediately to walk down the path of self-delusion and self-aggrandizement, for they took this occasion to place an unwarranted interpretation upon and magnify out of proportion the appellation that Shoghi Effendi had conferred upon them in his last message to the Bahá'í world before his passing, in which he had referred to them as the "Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth". In fact, they were soon to construe this appellation to mean that collective leadership of the Faith had been conferred upon them as a body. They subsequently became so blinded by this appellation that they relegated to an inferior role and eventually shoved into near oblivion the embryonic institution created by Shoghi Effendi at the World Center even before their own–the International Bahá'í Council, an institution which, together with the institution of the Guardianship, constitute the "twin pillars" of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. In this very act of the presumption of leadership taken by the Hands of the Cause lay the seed of an unprecedented violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh that was soon destined to grow, flourish and completely envelop an unsuspecting Bahá'í world. Having initially acquiesced so readily to what appeared to be only a temporary assumption of collective leadership of the Faith by the Hands of the Cause, it was but another step for the Bahá'í world community to become so conditioned to this role on their part, and its sense of perception and perspective to be so dulled as to accept without question their perpetuation of this role on a permanent basis. This they were soon to do, and the Bahá'ís as a whole failed to perceive that such an assumption by the Hands of powers and prerogatives solely conferred upon the Guardian of the Faith was completely outside the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and that the substitution of their man-made organization in place of the divinely conceived Order of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, some 36 years after the Ascension of the Master-Architect of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, completely nullified and violated the immortal and sacred provisions of His divine Masterpiece. How was it possible, one might understandably ask, for the believers to have been so easily duped and led astray? ln fairness to them, one might offer as an excuse the fact that the Hands of the Cause had been constantly in the limelight and forefront of Bahá'í activities throughout the world since their appointment, especially in carrying out responsibilities that Shoghi Effendi had assigned them to assist and encourage the believers in carrying out the Ten Year Spiritual Crusade which had been inaugurated in 1953. They had played a particularly conspicuous role as the Guardian's appointed representatives at various international conferences. In contrast, the International Bahá'í Council had been primarily engaged up to the time of Shoghi Effendi's passing with matters involving the relationship of the Faith at the World Center to the governmental and court authorities of the State of Israel and with projects involving the development of the World Center of the Faith. Even though on two occasions the President of the International Bahá'í Council had written long letters outlining these activities for the information of the Bahá'í world and dispatched them to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States on 1 July 1952 and 2 May 1955 respectively (subsequently published in their Bahá'í News and given wide distribution throughout the world ), these infrequent reportings were very much over shadowed by the magnificent victories that were registered almost daily by the believers throughout the world in the pioneering and teaching fields. Much of the initial stimuli for these exploits had come to a large extent from the international conferences in which the Hands of the Cause, as already stated, had figured so prominently, which had been given wide publicity and which had served to enhance their image and their fame in the eyes of the believers. Indeed, theirs was a personal and direct contact with the believers while the International Bahá'í Council as a body had no direct contact with them at all. It was therefore perhaps not surprising that in the eyes of the believers the Hands of the Cause had increasingly assumed a preeminent role in Bahá'í activities next to the Guardian of the Faith; that in the publicity, enthusiasm and attention surrounding the teaching activities the believers all but forgot about the Council and the potentialities with which it was endowed. Apparently soon forgotten also were such statements as had been made by Charles Mason Remey in his letter of I July 1952 as President of the International Bahá'í Council, already referred to above, in which he stated: "On more than one occasion the Guardian has pointed out to the members of the Council that the Charter upon which the Spiritual and Administrative activities of the Faith in Israel rest is the Tablet of Carmel, revealed by Bahá'u'lláh on Mt. Carmel [Gleanings pp. 14-17] The 'City Of God' mentioned in this Tablet is the Shrine Of the Báb and the 'Ark' means the Laws Of God and refers to the Universal House Of Justice. the embryo of which is the present International Bahá'í Council. which through successive stages will develop into the Universal House of Justice to be established on this Holy Mountain." (Underlinings have been added.) No doubt the significance of the foregoing statement was forgotten too, for the reasons outlined above, as it had been written more than five years prior to the passing of Shoghi Effendi. The surge of important, widely publicized events and victories for the Faith that followed each other in quick succession during the concluding years of Shoghi Effendi's ministry had served to obscure and bury in the consciousness of the Bahá'ís their awareness of the potentialities with which the International Bahá'í Council was invested as the embryonic supreme legislative organ of the Bahá'í Administrative System (the Universal House of Justice whose appointed head is no one less than the Guardian of the Faith) and its rank in the Bahá'í Administrative hierarchy as one of the "twin pillars" that support the Administrative structure of the Faith (refer to page 147, Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh).

In view of the foregoing, an enquirer now reviewing the question objectively and removed from the highly emotional atmosphere that prevailed in the days following Shoghi Effendi's passing, might well ask where did the authority in the Faith really lie upon his death? Did it reside in the Hands of the Faith or in the International Bahá'í Council or in some other person? Who held foremost rank amongst the Bahá'ís now that Shoghi Effendi was dead? In what institution was he to be found? On what authority did the Hands of the Faith take it upon themselves to convene a conclave to determine Shoghi Effendi's successor? Is such authority conferred upon them by the Will and Testament? An examination of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá will reveal no such authority. This in itself should have alerted the Hands to the fact that they had started out on the wrong track in assuming such authority and convening such a conclave. If these Hands had but paused in their head-long rush to usurp this authority and given some time to reflection and reconsideration of the Will and Testament and the acts and writings of Shoghi Effendi, perhaps they would have discovered the second Guardian in their midst. But such was not to be.

Alas, no record exists of this first conclave of the Hands assembled at the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahji on November 18-19. (Mason Remy describes in his diary, titled "Daily Observations", that its deliberations were kept secret and unrecorded at the insistence of Rúhíyyih Khánum.)6 

The account of their activities and the result of their deliberations was published in the form of a Proclamation, dated 25 November 1957, and appeared in the United States Bahá'í News of January 1958 under the title of "Proclamation by the Hands of the Cause to the Bahá'ís of East and West". In this first public statement by the Hands of the Faith following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, one perceives the tragic and fatal error that was theirs in adhering to a preconceived and obviously false interpretation of the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Bahá concerning the manner in which the Guardian of the Faith must appoint his successor. As the appointment of a successor by Shoghi Effendi did not conform to this preconception, these Hands forthwith lost faith in the immortality and immutability of every clause of the divinely conceived Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá–the very Child of the Covenant–and declared the Guardianship ended. Having thus betrayed the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, they presumptuously usurped authority for the direction of the Faith for which no foundation whatsoever can be found in the Divine Masterpiece penned by the unerring Pen of the Center of the Covenant as His Charter for the New World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Let us examine some of the passages contained in this Proclamation as evidence of the foregoing.

Comment: It is clear from the above that the Hands anticipated that Shoghi Effendi would use a testamentary type document to name his successor, and that because a search of his papers had revealed no such document their stated conclusion was that Shoghi Effendi had left no heir to the Guardianship. As explained earlier in this paper, the use of a testamentary document by an incumbent Guardian to appoint his successor actually would run counter to the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which make it mandatory for him to appoint his successor in his lifetime. The wisdom of this provision can readily be perceived in the events that followed the passing of Shoghi Effendi, when the Bahá'ís labored under the misapprehension that there had been an interruption, however short-lived it might be, in the guidance and protection of the Guardianship vouchsafed us by the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá until the successor Guardian, should become known, and turned to an alternate source of guidance and direction for what they thought would be an interim period. A careful review of The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá will show that no such interregnum in the actual functioning of the Guardianship will ever exist, notwithstanding the fact that at a given time some or all of the Bahá'ís may refuse or fail to recognize his existence and authority. For the continuity of the Guardianship endures without any interruption throughout the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh (at least 1,000 years). Of course there was no Will left by Shoghi Effendi as he had already appointed his successor some seven years earlier "in his own lifetime" as prescribed under the terms of the Will and Testament of the Master. The statement made by the Hands that none of the Aghsán (the sons of Bahá'u'lláh as explained by Shoghi Effendi in "God Passes By" on page 239) were living or loyal to the Covenant implies that they were the only ones, other than a son of the Guardian, who would be eligible for appointment as Shoghi Effendi's successor. This, again, was a misinterpretation of the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and has been covered in an earlier work titled: "The Tree of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh". It is equally a misinterpretation if the implication is that only descendants of Bahá'u'lláh are eligible to inherit the Guardianship

Comment: Not only did the Hands in this statement show conclusively that they consider that the appellation "Chief Stewards" endowed them with authority and special prerogatives to decide how the Faith should be administered, but they had the audacity to constitute an organization of their own making with its seat at the World Center, an organization that was clearly outside the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. (Note: This body is not to be confused with the body of nine Hands who are elected from their own number and who serve under the Guardian. The Hands had not been instructed by Shoghi Effendi to conduct such an election for the creation of this body prior to his passing. He had, however, instructed five Hands to permanently reside in Haifa to assist him in his work at the World Center. This body of five appointed Hands could also be considered as embryonic to the body of the nine that would be elected sometime in the future.) The above statement by the Hands was also the first intimation that they planned to involve themselves in administrative matters which were clearly outside their domain as Hands of the Cause (an involvement which inevitably became more prevalent as National Assemblies looked to Haifa for guidance and instructions and to them rather than to the International Bahá'í Council–their counterpart at the International level).

Comment: This statement by the Hands made it clear that they considered their organization of nine Hands at the World Center as a nine headed substitute for the Guardianship with self-appointed authority to decide when and how the embryonic Universal House of Justice (i.e. the International Bahá'í Council) would evolve. What about the President of this Council appointed by Shoghi Effendi? By what authority did they, in effect, propose to divest him of his authority, an authority founded on the sacred provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá? The Hands certainly had been given no authority over the International Bahá'í Council by Shoghi Effendi, and as it shall be later shown it was in this very body that the key to the continuity of the Guardianship was to be found. The Hands also spoke of the eventual election of the Universal House of Justice. With the termination of the Guardianship, by what magic would this be possible? For the Universal House of Justice described in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá consists of an elected body and an appointed head, or President, who is none other than the Guardian of the Faith (obvious not a figure-head). Did the Hands propose to create a headless body, dignify it by the title of Universal House of Justice and pass it off as the divinely conceived Institution prescribed in the Will and Testament of the Master? How could such a patently counterfeit body pretend to be endowed with infallibility and be "free from all error" as promised in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá? Yet, this is exactly what the Hands planned to do (and actually did do in 1963, and incidentally by so doing completely by-passed the two additional intermediary stages through which Shoghi Effendi had stipulated the International Bahá'í Council would develop prior to becoming the Universal House of Justice, i.e. the "Bahá'í Court" and "elected body").

Comment: As discussed above, it is glaringly obvious that the headless body that the Hands proposed to create could not be construed by any stretch of the imagination to be the "divinely ordained body" established by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament which, as previously explained, must be comprised of two indispensable parts: the Guardian of the Faith as "its sacred head" and the elected members that constitute the remainder of its body. Not content with this attempted deception of the Bahá'ís and apparently unaware of their own self-deception, they stated that they proposed to consult with this so-called Universal House of Justice upon its establishment to determine the measures for its future operation. This statement clearly shows that they considered that they could act as a substitute collegiate head, as it were, of the Universal House of Justice, taking the place of the Guardian of the Faith who exercises this function according to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

From the foregoing one can perceive the tragic results, blunders and perversions that stemmed from a loss of faith in the immortality and immutability of the provisions of the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Bahá. Having lost this faith these Hands, as incomprehensible as it may seem, and not more than two weeks following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, set about to emasculate the divinely conceived Administrative Order of the Faith and substitute in its place a man-made organization with all of the defects and weaknesses that such a humanly devised organization would inherently possess. By their abandonment of the Guardianship, these Hands, however much they might try, could do naught else from then on but destroy the unique and peerless System designed by the Master-Architect of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh and forever deprive the Faith of the distinguishing feature of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. Could a tragedy of greater proportions than this for the Faith be imagined? The Hands would have their fellow-believers accept the fact that that divinely conceived Child–the Child of the Covenant–(The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá) the mystic off-spring of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, whose life span had been ordained by God to endure for at least a full thousand years had suddenly been cut short 36 years after its birth. Was not this loss of faith in the immortality of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá a loss of faith in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, Itself, of which it was the Child? And, therefore, did not the acts taken by the Hands of the Cause to establish a substitute organization of their own making constitute a flagrant violation of that mighty Covenant, whatever pretension to the contrary might be made? There can be no other answer but an affirmative one to this question. And how could it be that the great mass of the believers throughout the world should have followed these fallen Hands of the Faith so blindly and unthinkingly down the path of violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh in the face of all that Shoghi Effendi had done and written to implant within the minds of the Bahá'ís a profound understanding and supernal vision of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh? How could they accept the pernicious doctrine of "Bada" as applied to the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh? Had, indeed, God changed His mind and decided that this mighty Order should not be? Was not each soul in the Faith responsible for his own salvation? Was it any guarantee that because the Hands of the Cause had been so recently elevated to their high station by Shoghi Effendi that they would not be tested as any other believer and that their feet would not slip on the straight Path? Was it an acceptable excuse under these circumstances for any believer to proclaim that he had only followed the example of these Hands and taken their word that the Guardianship of the Faith was ended? Had we not learned from the history of our infant Faith how often in the past members of the Holy Family and believers who not only had been closest to Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi but had distinguished themselves by outstanding services to the Faith later treacherously betrayed them and caused them and the Faith injury?

Would these Hands of the Cause now have us believe that the mighty Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh had been brought to naught? Were they asking us to believe that the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "His greatest legacy to posterity" the "brightest emanation of His mind" and the "Charter of a future world Civilization" was not an immortal Document (destined to be that Charter for at least a full thousand years), but a mortal one which had now become a dead letter (some 36 years after the Ascension of its Author)? Could any thinking individual be deceived into believing that the mighty structure reared by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will could fulfill its glorious purpose and destiny minus its head (the Guardian), its future Hands (who are solely appointed by the Guardian) and its supreme legislative organ, the Universal House of Justice, which is only whole and able to function in its divinely ordained capacity when under the presidency of "its sacred head"–the Guardian of the Cause of God? The answers to all these questions are self-evident!

During this interregnum (not to imply that the Faith did not have a Guardian but only that he had not been recognized) of some two-and-a-half years, the Hands of the Faith, and particularly the so-called Custodian Hands of the Faith at the World Center (which included the widow of Shoghi Effendi ), could not help but entrench themselves further in their new-found power and in the authority that they exercised over the believers throughout the World. The Bahá'í world looked to this center of authority in the Holy Land as a substitute for the Guardianship, and the Bahá'ís became gradually conditioned to this sad state of affairs. Only here and there would the voice of a courageous and steadfast soul, whose faith in the indestructibility of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh had remained undimmed be heard declaring his conviction that somehow the Guardianship of the Faith would be restored. The Hands of the Faith endeavored to still such voices by promulgating their own insidious and pernicious doctrine that Shoghi Effendi remained "The Guardian of the Faith" although in the other world and in some mystical way continued to guide our affairs from that world. This doctrine is still promulgated today. One has only to read, for example, Balyuzi's book on the life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the latest edition of which was published in 1973, to find numerous references to "The Guardian of the Faith" as though he was the only Guardian that the Faith was ever meant to have. What deception! (A discerning enquirer might well ask the proponents of such a doctrine why the guidance of Shoghi Effendi from the other world would be needed when both the "Lord of the Covenant" Bahá'u'lláh, and the "Center of the Covenant'' , 'Abdu'l-Bahá, are both in that world).

Was there no one to stand up against these pernicious doctrines and champion the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and defend the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in this period of spiritual darkness that now engulfed the Bahá'í world? Yes, unbeknownst to us at the time, God had raised up such a person at the World Center of the Faith itself, who would fearlessly, singly and alone stand against this mighty tide of violation that ominously threatened to sweep the entire Bahá'í world into its vortex and destroy the true Faith of God. This person was none other than the as yet unrecognized second Guardian of the Faith, the President of the International Bahá'í Council, Charles Mason Remey, and one of the nine who had been selected by his fellow-Hands (having been appointed a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi in the first contingent appointed in 1951) to serve as the so-called Custodian Hands at the World Center of the Faith in the Holy Land. lt was only some years later that those of us who were privileged and open-minded enough to read his published works, entitled "Daily Observations of the Bahá'í Faith made to the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land" (in four volumes), "The Question of the Guardianship of the Bahá’í Faith" and his "Appeals made to the Hands of the Faith", came to learn of the valiant spiritual battle that he had waged during this period with his fellow-Hands in Haifa and as well with the other Hands during their annual conclaves. His repeated appeals and efforts to convince them that their abandonment of the Guardianship of the Faith and the course of action upon which they had embarked was nothing less than a flagrant repudiation of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and therefore a violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh had, alas, proved of no avail, and his arguments had fallen upon deaf ears. So feeble, indeed, had their faith become in this Covenant and so profound the depths of their own self deception that they were unable to realize the degree or enormity of their violation of this Covenant or the perfidy of which they were guilty in their shameful perversion and betrayal of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Nor were they able to comprehend the danger to which they had exposed the continued life of the Faith through the deception they had practiced upon the believers in promulgating fallacious and heretical doctrines completely opposed to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and at such variance with all that the first Guardian of the Faith had written concerning the Covenant and the Guardianship ( notwithstanding their professed loyalty to him ). It was towards the close of this two and a half year period that Charles Mason Remey left Haifa, refusing any longer to be a party, as one of the "Custodian" Hands, to the heretical doctrines they were espousing which he considered nothing less than clear violation of the Covenant. He had been patiently forbearing with them up to this time, not exposing this violation in his contacts with the believers outside the Hands, in the hope that his efforts to restore the faith of these Hands in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá might prove fruitful, and that they would then be induced to seek out the living Guardian of the Faith before their faithlessness had become evident to the believers at large. He had already, sometime previously, declined to continue to sign communications issued by the custodian Hands to the Baha’i world under the closing phrase: "In the service of the beloved Guardian" for, as he had repeatedly endeavored to make them understand, the station of the Guardianship, according to the Will and Testament, is a station confined to this world and not a station that had been taken by Shoghi Effendi to the world beyond. For if we understand the Will and Testament aright, the mantle of Guardianship which the Guardian wears while he occupies this office in this world is one which he must inevitably relinquish and transfer to the shoulders of his successor. Two passages of the many passages that might be chosen from the "Daily Observations" of Charles Mason Remey are quoted below. These should suffice for one to gain appreciation and an insight into the flagrant violation of the Covenant that he perceived around him and so dominated the Hands of the Cause at the World Center of the Faith, and the lonely position he found himself in as the only one either there, or in the Bahá’í world at large, that was openly supporting the continuity of the Guardianship.

"This unspoken stand of the Hands that is now unspoken but that is evident in their attitude that there shall never be another Guardian is the source of our present dilemma for which there is no cure other than for this all to change for us Hands of the Faith to discover the Second Guardian of the Faith and by this means get the workings of the Cause back upon the right track of the Administration of the Faith when we will have a commander and a guide to lead us onto victory continuing the methods and the policies as laid down and demonstrated by our beloved now departed Guardian."

After his departure from Haifa, Mason Remey (as he preferred to be called) addressed three stirring appeals to the Hands of the Faith in his attempt to open their eyes to their violation of the Covenant and their repudiation of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. These appeals were addressed to them as the President of the International Bahá'í Council. His last appeal issued to them in April 1960 carried the following inscription on its cover page: "A Last Appeal to the Hands of the Faith exhorting them to abandon their program for 1963 and that they seek to find the second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith and that they uphold the Will and Testament of the Master 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Administration of the Faith as established by the beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi that at present is under a cloud of violation that threatens the fulfilment of its mission to mankind." The introductory statement to this appeal contained the following highly significant statement: "The assertions that I present in this last appeal to the Hands of the Bahá’í Faith are of the same general nature and character as those of the first appeal so this last appeal may be considered as a continuation of the first appeal added to which is emphasized the importance that the Hands of the Faith should give to preparing themselves to recognize and to accept the Second Guardian of the Faith when they realize that the beloved Guardian actually made this appointment himself some time before his death in escrow to take effect at his death. Thus the chair of Guardianship has never been vacant but only hidden from the world to be recognized by the believers as some may or will do now at almost any time; then he will be known to the Bahá'í world! He the successor of the beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi! He the Second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith!" (Underlining has been added.)

Space available in this paper does not permit a fuller representation of these writings. However, the sincere scholar of the Faith will be unsatisfied until he has read for himself the entire content of these Appeals of the Hands of the Cause as well as Mason Remey's "Daily Observations". Having done so, he cannot but fail to be filled with wonderment and admiration for his indomitable faith and sense the deep inner suffering which he had felt in the face of such a flagrant violation by those whose highest duty and obligation it was to protect and defend the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and its sacred "Child"–the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. What was there left for him to do now that the Hands of the Faith had turned a deaf ear to all of his exhortations and entreaties? Had he not been overly patient and for bearing long enough? The Faith could not be permitted to continue any longer under this cloud of violation and remain alive. The time for action to save the Faith was at hand!

The period of Ridván (Bahá'í Era 117), 21 April - 2 May 1960, dawned upon the Bahá'í world, when suddenly and unexpectedly it was flooded with the dazzling rays of the second Guardian's Proclamation addressed initially to the Bahá’ís assembled at their annual convention held at Wilmette, Illinois during the Ridván period. With what great joy this Proclamation was received by those believers who during these past uncertain years, since the passing of Shoghi Effendi, had never lost faith in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh or in the immortality and immutability of its sacred off-spring –the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

A few excerpts quoted in these pages of this momentous Proclamation should serve to demonstrate the weight and impact of its message to the believers:

"The beloved Guardian chose me to be the President of the Bahá'í International Council that is according to his explanation the President of the Embryonic Universal House of Justice. When this august body becomes the Universal House of Justice if such being during my lifetime I will then be the President of the First Universal House of Justice of the Bahá'í Dispensation. [Presidency of the Universal House of Justice and Guardianship are synonymous terms according to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, that is, the President of this body and the Guardian are one and the same person.]

To any unbiased and open-minded believer, the proof that Mason Remey had furnished in his Proclamation of his accession to the Guardianship upon the death of Shoghi Effendi was as clear as the sun in the sky. In fact, such a believer could not fail but be amazed that he had not perceived this fact for himself and realized the potentiality with which Mason Remey's Presidency of the Council had been invested. How quickly had the believers lost sight of the preeminent position of the International Bahá'í Council as the embryonic Universal House of Justice whose appointed embryonic head could be none other than the second Guardian of the Faith. Had the Hands of the Faith not been in such a head-long rush under the instigation of the Persian Hands and laboring under a misinterpretation of the Will and Testament to declare the Guardianship of the Faith forever ended; had they not been led astray and deluded by the completely false interpretation they had placed upon the appellation that Shoghi Effendi had bestowed upon them of "Chief Stewards" and construed this title to give them authority to usurp leadership of the Faith; had they taken the time to carefully review the acts and study the writings of Shoghi Effendi, and once again review the sacred provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá concerning the Guardianship; had they meditated and reflected upon all these; had their faith in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh remained unshakeable and unwavering, and had they with assured and yearning hearts searched for the second Guardian of the Faith, would they not have found him there in their midst all the time? What now would be the reaction of these Hands who had by this time become fully entrenched in their self-appointed authority and power?

In order to better understand the reaction of the Bahá'í world to this historic and momentous Proclamation, the enquirer unfamiliar with the Bahá'í Administrative system at the national and local levels should be apprised of the situation when this Proclamation was received by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, and also take cognizance of certain, critical limitations that the second Guardian labored under in endeavoring to inform the Bahá'í world of his Proclamation. As explained in his Proclamation, Mason Remey stood singly and alone, and in sending his Proclamation to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States he had depended on that body to disseminate it to the rest of the Bahá'í world. Mason Remey, himself, had no secretarial staff or the means to accomplish such a task himself. It, therefore, fell to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States to publish this document and distribute it to its sister National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world which would in turn, under normal circumstances, translate it into the respective languages of the countries over which they exercised jurisdiction and disseminate it to the local Spiritual Assemblies and believers in these countries. This never happened. The Chairman and Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States were both Hands of the Cause. Their minds were already made up. They and their fellow-members rejected Mason Remey's Proclamation out of hand. The remaining Hands in Haifa forthwith dispatched a highly derogatory and denunciatory message to the Bahá'ís throughout the world (who, with the exception of a handful, had not even seen or heard of the Proclamation, much less read it at the time their denunciatory cable was received) labelling Mason Remey an impostor. As the domination and control that these Hands had come to exercise over the Bahá'ís throughout the world was now complete, this act on the part of the Hands assured that the Proclamation would never be read, much less be considered, studied and meditated upon by the great mass of the believers so that they might determine for themselves the validity of Mason Remey's claim to the Guardianship. Therefore, as paradoxical as it may seem, Mason Remey found arrayed against him the concerted opposition, power and influence of the Hands of the Cause, and the National and Local Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í World with the single exception of the National Spiritual Assembly of France, which had received a copy of the Proclamation, accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian and then arose with alacrity to translate this Proclamation into French and disseminate it to the believers throughout France. A few copies of Mason Remey's Proclamation found their way into other hands, but the mass of believers throughout the world were never given an opportunity to read the Proclamation in their respective languages and judge for themselves the validity of the second Guardian's claims (nor, indeed, have they read it to this day).

Thus was this great violation foisted upon the world and the mass of believers turned away from the second Guardian by the machinations, denunciation and opposition of the Hands of the Faith. The three Encyclical letters issued to the Bahá'í World soon after his Proclamation by the second Guardian suffered a similar fate and were only read by a handful of those who had already embraced his Guardianship (a few others as time went on had this opportunity). Space available in this work will permit quotation of but the few excerpts below:

"Therefore, the fact that the Hands of the Faith now do question and condemn me for announcing my Guardianship to the Bahá'í world, this very action of theirs is in violation to that which The Beloved Guardian did and performed thus showing and clearly demonstrating to all the Bahá'í world their own violation as the Hands of the Faith when they condemn the action of the Beloved Guardian and seek to nullify that which he performed."

In the face of this solid front of opposition instigated by the Hands and blindly followed by the believers is there little wonder that most of the Bahá'ís not only failed to recognize the second Guardian but rejected him on the word of the Hands alone without so much as a hearing? Only a mere handful of intrepid, stalwart and independently-minded believers who had never forsaken their faith in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh were undeterred by the denunciation and the calumnies heaped upon Mason Remey, investigated dispassionately his claims, recognized the clear and irrefutable logic of his arguments and with grateful hearts warmly embraced his Guardianship. These believers rallied to his support and defense and immediately arose to combat the massive violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh whose ill-winds had so quickly enveloped the mass of their fellow-believers. How sad it was for them to find that the very concept of fealty to that Covenant had become so warped and perverted in the minds of these believers, strange as it may seem, that loyalty to the Hands had for them become synonymous with loyalty and faithfulness to the Covenant (whereas any student of the Faith knows that loyalty and faithfulness to the Covenant according to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá are attributes solely of those who remain loyal to the "Center of the Cause"–the living Guardian of the Faith). The spiritual battle to which these valiant warriors now dedicated their lives would indeed be a long and arduous one waged against seemingly insurmountable odds. But they hurled themselves unflinchingly and unwaveringly into the fray, meeting with initial successes only to be followed by reverses and setbacks as some weakened in their resolve, fell prey to various tests and slipped back into violation or, in some cases, even apostasized their Faith. But a faithful and heroic band fought on undaunted and undismayed, never losing their faith in the indestructibility of the Covenant and its invincibility over the overwhelming forces of opposition arrayed against it. As this account is being written we find this faithful band of champions still in the fray under the banner of the third Guardian of the Faith, waging their battle, with undiminished intensity and fortitude, assured and confident of the ultimate success of their efforts on this spiritual battlefield for the victory of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and its sacred, immortal and divinely conceived Child–the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

Thus ends this historical summary of the inception of the greatest violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh that the Faith has ever known. Future scholars and historians of the Faith and much abler pens than mine will assuredly disclose more fully and adequately than has been recorded in this work the lurid details of this sad chapter in the history of our Faith. They will also assuredly record that this massive violation of the Covenant never completely halted but only temporarily arrested the triumphant march of this infant Faith of God and World Order of Bahá'u'lláh onwards towards their glorious destiny and promise.