World Order of Baha'u'llah

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World Order of Baha'u'llah

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World Order of Baha'u'llah:
Six Talks on the Various Aspects of

by Ali Nakhjavani

chapter 6

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single page

Chapter 7 APPENDIX: QUOTATIONS IN THE SIX TALKS

Day One- The Lesser Peace and the Most Great Peace

BAHA'U'LLAH'S COMING

As illustrated by the parable of the Lord of the Vineyard: "A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the Lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the Lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others." (New Testament, Luke 20:9-16)

TWO PROCESSES OF INTEGRATION AND DISINTEGRATION

Shoghi Effendi says: "A two-fold process... can be distinguished, each tending, in its own way and with an accelerated momentum, to bring to a climax the forces that are transforming the face of our planet. The first is essentially an integrating process, while the second is fundamentally disruptive. The former, as it steadily evolves, unfolds a System which may well serve as a pattern for that world polity towards which a strangely-disordered world is continually advancing; while the latter, as its disintegrating influence deepens, tends to tear down, with increasing violence, the antiquated barriers that seek to block humanity's progress towards its destined goal. The constructive process stands associated with the nascent Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and is the harbinger of the New World Order that Faith must erelong establish. The destructive forces that characterize the other should be identified with a civilization that has refused to answer to the expectation of a new age, and is consequently falling into chaos and decline."- (WOB p.170)

And again: "The Champion builders of Bahá'u'lláh's rising World Order must scale nobler heights of heroism, as humanity plunges into greater depths of despair, degradation, dissension and distress. Let them forge ahead into the future serenely confident that the hour of their mightiest exertions and the supreme opportunity for their greatest exploits must coincide with the apocalyptic upheaval marking the lowest ebb in mankind's fast-declining fortunes"- (CF p.58.)

A THIRD INTEGRATION PROCESS

Shoghi Effendi wrote: "And yet while the shadows are continually deepening, might we not claim that gleams of hope, flashing intermittently on the international horizon, appear at times to relieve the darkness that encircles humanity? Would it be untrue to maintain that in a world of unsettled faith and disturbed thought, a world of steadily mounting armaments, of unquenchable hatreds and rivalries, the progress, however fitful, of the forces working in harmony with the spirit of the age can already be discerned? Though the great outcry raised by post-war nationalism is growing louder and more insistent every day, the League of Nations is as yet in its embryonic state, and the storm clouds that are gathering may for a time totally eclipse its powers and obliterate its machinery, yet the direction in which the institution itself is operating is most significant...A general pact on security has been the central purpose towards which these efforts have, ever since the League was born, tended to converge...For the first time in the history of humanity the system of collective security, foreshadowed by Bahá'u'lláh and explained by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, has been seriously envisaged, discussed and tested."- (WOB pp.191-2)

He further points out that by virtue of the "celestial potency which the Spirit of Bahá'u'lláh has breathed" into the world, "an increasing number of thoughtful men not only consider world peace as an approaching possibility, but as the necessary outcome of the forces now operating in the world"- (WOB p.47)

THE LESSER PEACE

Bahá'u'lláh addresses the Kings and rulers of the earth as follows: "Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependants... Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions... Be united, O concourse of the sovereigns of the world, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice" – (WOB p.162 and p.192). In another Tablet He writes: "The time must come...when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world's Great Peace among men...Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him."- (WOB p.162 and p.192)

THE GREATER PEACE

Mr Nakhjavani explained that Bahá'u'lláh uses three terms to refer to the levels of unification of the world. These are Sulh-i-Asghar, Sulh-i-Akbar, and Sulh-i-A'zam. Shoghi Effendi translates these into three separate terms according to context, as the Lesser Peace, the Greater Peace or the Great Peace, and finally the Most Great Peace. Whenever reference is made simply to reducing armaments, peace in the political sphere, etc, Shoghi Effendi translates this as Lesser Peace. Whenever the context is broader and includes the idea of mass conversion, Shoghi Effendi translates it as Most Great Peace. Whenever the context points to an intermediate stage between the two, Shoghi Effendi calls this the Greater Peace or the Great Peace.

THE MOST GREAT PEACE

Shoghi Effendi has given us the following definition: "The Most Great Peace... as conceived by Bahá'u'lláh—a peace that must inevitably follow as the practical consequence of the spiritualization of the world and the fusion of all its races, creeds, classes and nations—can rest on no other basis, and can be preserved through no other agency, except the divinely appointed ordinances that are implicit in the World Order that stands associated with His Holy Name"- (WOB pp.162-163). Shoghi Effendi further considered the following words addressed to Queen Victoria by Bahá'u'lláh to refer to the Most Great Peace and not to the Lesser Peace: "That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal cause, one common faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error..."- (WOB pp.163).

Day Two- The Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice under the provisions of the Kitab-i-Aqdas and Abdul-Baha's Will and Testament.

IMPORTANCE OF WILL AND TESTAMENT

Shoghi Effendi has singled out Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb-i-Aqdas and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament as chief depositories "wherein are enshrined those priceless elements of that Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the primary mission of the Bahá'í Faith"- (WOB pp.3-4) and as the "the twin repositories of the constituent elements" of the "Sovereignty which the Bahá'í teachings foreshadow"-(WOB p.16). He furthermore describes the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as the "Charter of the future world civilization"- (GPB p.214). He calls the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by exactly the same title- (GPB p. 328).

Shoghi Effendi gradually educated the communities. Referring to the Will he wrote: "it needs at least a century of actual working before the treasures of wisdom hidden in it can be revealed" and, "We must trust to time, and the guidance of God's Universal House of Justice, to obtain a clearer and fuller understanding of its [The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá] provisions and implications"-(BA p.62).

PROVISION FOR THE GUARDIANSHIP

In the Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh writes that authority reverts after Himself to the Aghsans, His male descendants: "Endowments dedicated to charity revert to God... None hath the right to dispose of them without leave from Him Who is the Dawning-place of Revelation. After Him this authority shall pass to the Aghsáns and after them to the House of Justice-should it be established in the world by then...Otherwise the endowments shall revert to the people of Bahá who speak not except by His leave and judge not save in accordance with what God hath decreed in this Tablet"- (KA pp.34-35)

In explanation of the verse notes 66 and 67 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas read as follows: Note 66- "Aghsan" (plural of Ghusn) is the Arabic word for "Branches". This term is used by Bahá'u'lláh to designate His male descendants. It has particular implications not only for the disposition of endowments but also for the succession of authority following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Bahá'u'lláh, in the Book of His Covenant, appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His eldest son, as the Centre of His Covenant and the Head of the Faith. Abdu'l-Bahá, in His Will and Testament, appointed Shoghi Effendi, His eldest grandson, as the Guardian and Head of the Faith. This passage of the Aqdas, therefore, anticipates the succession of chosen Aghsan and thus the institution of the Guardianship and envisages the possibility of a break in their line. The passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957 precipitated the very situation provided for in this passage, in that the line of Aghsan ended before the Universal House of Justice had been established."

Note 67. Bahá'u'lláh provides for the possibility that the line of Aghsan would terminate prior to the establishment of the Universal House of Justice. He designated that in such a situation "endowments shall revert to the people of Bahá". The term "people of Bahá" is used with a number of different meanings in the Bahá'í Writings. In this instance, they are described as those "who speak not except by His leave and judge not save in accordance with what God hath decreed in this Tablet". Following the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the Hands of the Cause of God directed the affairs of the Cause until the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963."- (KA p.196)

CONDITIONS FOR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN

In His Will and Testament, Abdul-Baha writes: "It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint within his life time him that shall be his successor that differences shall not arise after his passing". It further stipulates: "The Hands of The Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God...These, whether unanimously or by a majority vote must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor" - (BA p.8 and p.10).

INDEPENDENT DIVINE GUIDANCE

Abdul-Baha writes in His Will and Testament: "[The] Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice, to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness the Exalted One... Whatsoever they decide is of God. Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, has not obeyed God..."

And again, He writes: " Unto the Most Holy Book every one must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice. That which this body, whether unanimously or by a majority doth carry, that is verily the truth and the purpose of God Himself. Whoso doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that love discord, hath shown forth malice, and turned away from the Lord of the Covenant. By this House is meant that Universal House of Justice which is to be elected from all countries, that is from those parts in the East and West where the loved ones are to be found... It is incumbent upon these members [of the Universal House of Justice] to gather in a certain place and deliberate upon all problems which have caused difference, questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book. Whatsoever they decide has the same effect as the Text itself."- (WTA p.19)

TWIN SUCCESSORS

Shoghi Effendi often refers to the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice as the "chosen successors" of Bahá'u'lláh and Abdul-Baha. He writes: "Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship, the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh would be mutilated" and again: "Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice, this same System would be paralyzed"- (WOB p.148)

Shoghi Effendi likens the two institutions to pillars, or buttresses in the structure of the Administrative Order. He also describes the Universal House of Justice as "the apex of the Bahá'í Administrative Order" and refers to it as the "crowning glory" of the administrative institutions of the Faith.

WHY THE GUARDIAN LEFT NO WILL

The House of Justice writes: "The fact that Shoghi Effendi did not leave a will cannot be adduced as evidence of his failure to obey Bahá'u'lláh— rather should we acknowledge that in his very silence there is a wisdom and a sign of his infallible guidance"- (UHJM1963-1986 p.84).

Day Four- The Bahá'í Administrative Order in contrast to other religious and secular systems.

THE UNIQUE COVENANT OF BAHA'U'LLAH

Bahá'u'lláh writes: "Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration... He hath lent a fresh impulse, and set a new direction to the birds of men's hearts... The whole earth is illuminated with the resplendent glory of God's Revelation... Behold how the generality of mankind hath been endued with the capacity to hearken unto God's most exalted Word—the Word upon which must depend the gathering together and spiritual resurrection of all men"- (GWB pp.92-7).

Bahá'u'lláh calls His Revelation the "Springtime which autumn will never overtake", the "Day which shall never be followed by night" and "the eye to past ages and centuries". He further proclaims "I testify before God, to the greatness, the inconceivable greatness of this Revelation. Again and again have We in most of Our Tablets borne witness to this truth, that mankind may be roused from its heedlessness"- (WOB p.103), and again, "The Hand of Omnipotence hath established His Revelation upon an unassailable, an enduring foundation. Storms of human strife are powerless to undermine its basis, nor will men's fanciful theories succeed in damaging its structure"- (WOB p.109)

Abdu'l-Bahá writes: "The effulgence of God's splendorous mercy hath enveloped the peoples and kindreds of the earth, and the whole world is bathed in its shining glory..."- (WOB p.110), "Centuries, nay ages, must pass away ere the Day-Star of Truth shineth again in its mid-summer splendour or appeareth once more in the radiance of its vernal glory... How thankful must we be for having been made in this day the recipients of so overwhelming a favour"- (WOB p.111), "Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle shall gradually appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its signs"- (WOB p.146).

Shoghi Effendi has identified the Covenant as the "excellent and priceless heritage" we have from Bahá'u'lláh. 'Abdu'l-Bahá tells us that it is "one of the distinctive features of this most mighty cycle", a Covenant, "the like of which the sacred Dispensations of the past have never witnessed"- (GPB p.239).

Bahá'u'lláh has written in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: "The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous system—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed"- (KA para181).

CONTRAST TO CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

The Guardian writes: "Where and how does this Order established by Bahá'u'lláh, which to outward seeming is but a replica of the institutions established in Christianity and Islam, differ from them? Are not the twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship, the institution of the Hands of the Cause of God, the institution of the national and local Assemblies, the institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, but different names for the institutions of the Papacy and the Caliphate, with all their attending ecclesiastical orders which the Christians and Moslems uphold and advocate? What can possibly be the agency that can safeguard these Bahá'í institutions, so strikingly resemblant, in some of their features, to those which have been reared by the Fathers of the Church and the Apostles of Muhammad, from witnessing the deterioration in character, the breach of unity, and the extinction of influence, which have befallen all organized religious hierarchies? Why should they not eventually suffer the self-same fate that has overtaken the institutions which the successors of Christ and Muhammad have reared?"- (WOB pp.18-19)

His answer is: "None, I feel, will question the fact that the fundamental reason why the unity of the Church of Christ was irretrievably shattered, and its influence was in the course of time undermined, was that the Edifice which the Fathers of the Church reared after the passing of His First Apostle was an Edifice that rested in nowise upon the explicit directions of Christ Himself. The authority and features of their administration were wholly inferred, and indirectly derived, with more or less justification, from certain vague and fragmentary references which they found scattered amongst His utterances as recorded in the Gospel. Not one of the sacraments of the Church; not one of the rites and ceremonies which the Christian Fathers have elaborately devised and ostentatiously observed; not one of the elements of the severe discipline they rigorously imposed upon the primitive Christians; none of these reposed on the direct authority of Christ, or emanated from His specific utterances. Not one of these did Christ conceive, none did He specifically invest with sufficient authority to either interpret His Word, or to add to what He had not specifically enjoined" (WOB p.20).

And again, with reference to the Muhammad's Dispensation, "In the Muhammadan Revelation... although His Faith as compared with that of Christ was, so far as the administration of His Dispensation is concerned, more complete and more specific in its provisions, yet in the matter of succession, it gave no written, no binding and conclusive instructions to those whose mission was to propagate His Cause. For the text of the Qur'án, the ordinances of which regarding prayer, fasting, marriage, divorce, inheritance, pilgrimage, and the like, have after the revolution of thirteen hundred years remained intact and operative, gives no definite guidance regarding the Law of Succession, the source of all the dissensions, the controversies, and schisms which have dismembered and discredited Islam"- (WOB p.21).

He finishes by stating: "The Administrative Order... it should be noted, is, by virtue of its origin and character, unique in the annals of the world's religious systems. No Prophet before Bahá'u'lláh, it can be confidently asserted... has established, authoritatively and in writing, anything comparable to the Administrative Order which the authorized Interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings has instituted, an Order which, by virtue of the administrative principles which its Author has formulated, the institutions He has established, and the right of interpretation with which He has invested its Guardian, must and will, in a manner unparalleled in any previous religion, safeguard from schism the Faith from which it has sprung"- (GPB p.326).

SIMILARITIES AND DISSIMILARITIES WITH EXISTING FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

Shoghi Effendi writes: "This new-born Administrative Order incorporates within its structure certain elements which are to be found in each of the three recognized forms of secular government, without being in any sense a mere replica of any one of them, and without introducing within its machinery any of the objectionable features which they inherently possess. It blends and harmonizes, as no government fashioned by mortal hands has as yet accomplished, the salutary truths which each of these systems undoubtedly contains without vitiating the integrity of those God-given verities on which it is ultimately founded."- (WOB p.152)

The Guardian has given this further insight: "Neither in theory nor in practice can the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh be said to conform to any type of democratic government, to any system of autocracy,[or] to any purely aristocratic order... The hereditary authority which the Guardian of the Administrative Order is called upon to exercise, and the right of the interpretation of the Holy Writ solely conferred upon him; the powers and prerogatives of the Universal House of Justice, possessing the exclusive right to legislate on matters not explicitly revealed in the Most Holy Book; the ordinance exempting its members from any responsibility to those whom they represent, and from the obligation to conform to their views, convictions or sentiments; the specific provisions requiring the free and democratic election by the mass of the faithful of the Body that constitutes the sole legislative organ in the world-wide Bahá'í community -- these are among the features which combine to set apart the Order identified with the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh from any of the existing systems of human government"- (GPB p.326).

INHERANT EVILS EXCLUDED

Shoghi Effendi states: "The admitted evils inherent in each of these systems being rigidly and permanently excluded, this unique Order, however long it may endure and however extensive its ramifications, cannot ever degenerate into any form of despotism, of oligarchy, or of demagogy which must sooner or later corrupt the machinery of all man-made and essentially defective political institutions"- (WOB p.154).

Day Five- The role of the American Bahá'í community in the emergence of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.

THE ROLE OF AMERICA

The first reference in the Kitab-i-Aqdas is when Baha'ullah addresses the Rulers of America specifically: "Hearken ye, O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of Eternity: "There is none other God but Me, the Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful." Adorn ye the temple of dominion with the ornament of justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Thus counselleth you He Who is the Dayspring of Names, as bidden by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. The Promised One hath appeared in this glorified Station, whereat all beings, both seen and unseen, have rejoiced. Take ye advantage of the Day of God. Verily, to meet Him is better for you than all that whereon the sun shineth, could ye but know it. O concourse of rulers! Give ear unto that which hath been raised from the Dayspring of Grandeur: "Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Lord of Utterance, the All-Knowing." Bind ye the broken with the hands of justice, and crush the oppressor who flourisheth with the rod of the commandments of your Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise."(KA p.52)

In His Hidden Words, Bahá'u'lláh says: "O OPPRESSORS ON EARTH! Withdraw your hands from tyranny, for I have pledged Myself not to forgive any man's injustice. This is My covenant which I have irrevocably decreed in the preserved tablet and sealed with My seal"- (PHW p.64).

THE ROLE OF THE AMERICAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY

Another statement by Bahá'u'lláh envisages the sovereignty which His Revelation will achieve through those who will champion His Faith in the West: "In the East the light of His Revelation hath broken; in the West have appeared the signs of His dominion. Ponder this in your hearts, O people, and be not of those who have turned a deaf ear to the admonitions of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Praised"- (WOB p.78).

Abdul-Baha states on the same theme: "From the beginning of time until the present day... the light of Divine Revelation hath risen in the East and shed its radiance upon the West. The illumination thus shed hath, however, acquired in the West an extraordinary brilliancy. Consider the Faith proclaimed by Jesus. Though it first appeared in the East, yet not until its light had been shed upon the West did the full measure of its potentialities become manifest. The day is approaching, when ye shall witness how, through the splendour of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, the West will have replaced the East, radiating the light of Divine Guidance"- (WOB p.74).

The Tablets of the Divine Plan Abdul-Baha writes: "Behold the portals which Bahá'u'lláh hath opened before you! Consider how exalted and lofty is the station you are destined to attain; how unique the favours with which you have been endowed... The full measure of your success, is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended... The range of your future achievements... still remains undisclosed... The moment this Divine Message is carried forward by the American believers from the shores of America and is propagated through the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion. Then will all the peoples of the world witness that this community is spiritually illumined and divinely guided. Then will the whole earth resound with the praises of its majesty and greatness"-(WOB pp.77-8).

Shoghi Effendi showered the American friends with praise in innumerable messages, calling them:

"The envied custodians of a Divine Plan"- (CF p.120)

"The principal builders and defenders of a Mighty Order"- (CF p.120)

"The recognised champions of an unspeakably glorious and precious Faith"- (CF p.120)

"A community invested with a spiritual primacy"- (CF p.34)

"A richly endowed and spiritually blessed community"- (CF p.42)

"The executors of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Mandate"- (CF p.98)

"The great-minded, stout-hearted, high-spirited American Bahá'í community"- (CF p.66).

"The torchbearers of a World-Girdling Civilization"- (CF p.31)

"A dearly loved, richly endowed, unflinchingly resolute community"- (CF p.49)

"The privileged occupants and stout-hearted defenders of the foremost citadel of the Faith"- (CF p.83).

"The valorous American Bahá'í community"- (MBW1950-57, p.35).
"This repeatedly blessed... community"- (TDH p.95).

"The standard bearers of the all-conquering army of the Lord of Hosts"- (CF p.109)

THE ROLE OF THE AMERICAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY IN IRAN

Abdul-Baha makes the following statement: "Erelong will your brethren from Europe and America journey to Persia. There they will promote to an unprecedented degree the interests of art and industry. There they will rear the institutions of true civilization, promote the development of husbandry and trade, and assist in the spread of education.... Assuredly they will come; assuredly they will contribute in making of the land of Iran the envy and the admiration of the peoples and nations of the world"- (BA p.173).

DESTINY OF THE AMERICAS

Referring to the Western Hemisphere, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written: "The continent of America, is in the eyes of the one true God the land wherein the splendours of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the free assemble"- (WOB p.75). He also wrote: "The American continent gives signs and evidences of very great advancement. Its future is even more promising, for its influence and illumination are far-reaching. It will lead all nations spiritually"- (WOB p.76). Please note that the spiritual leadership refers not only to the United States, but to the people of the entire continent.

THE UNITED STATES AND PRINCIPLE OF FEDERALISM

Abdul-Baha states: "May this American democracy be the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be the first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to unfurl the standard of the Most Great Peace."

Abdul-Baha answered an official in the US government, who had asked Him how best he could serve his country, by saying: "You can best serve your country, if you strive, in your capacity as citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world."

Shoghi Effendi elaborates the principle of federalism in the following statement: "[The] followers of the Bahá'í Faith... viewing mankind as one entity, and profoundly attached to its vital interests, will not hesitate to subordinate every particular interest, be it personal, regional or national, to the over-riding interests of the generality of mankind, knowing full well that in a world of interdependent peoples and nations the advantage of the part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and that no lasting result can be achieved by any of the component parts if the general interests of the entity itself are neglected...."- (CN, xvii-xviii).

THE INCREASING ROLE OF AMERICA

Shoghi Effendi also says: "The world is moving on. Its events are unfolding ominously and with bewildering rapidity. The whirlwind of its passions is swift and alarmingly violent. The New World is being insensibly drawn into its vortex... The Great Republic of the West finds itself particularly and increasingly involved... The world is contracting into a neighbourhood. America, willingly or unwillingly, must face and grapple with this new situation. For purposes of national security, let alone any humanitarian motive, she must assume the obligations imposed by this newly created neighbourhood. Paradoxical as it may seem, her only hope of extricating herself from the perils gathering around her is to become entangled in that very web of international association which the Hand of an inscrutable Providence is weaving"- (ADJ p.73-4).

The Guardian gives us assurance that America will: "raise its voice in the councils of the nations, itself lay the cornerstone of a universal and enduring peace, proclaim the solidarity, the unity, and maturity of mankind, and assist in the establishment of the promised reign of righteousness on earth. Then, and only then, will the American nation, while the community of the American believers within its heart is consummating its divinely appointed mission, be able to fulfil the unspeakably glorious destiny ordained for it by the Almighty" – (ADJ pp.66-7)

THE ROLE OF THE BAHA'IS

Shoghi Effendi writes: "Who knows but that [the years ahead] may not be pregnant with events of unimaginable magnitude, with ordeals more severe than any that humanity has as yet experienced, with conflicts more devastating than any which have preceded them. Dangers, however sinister, must, at no time, dim the radiance of their new-born faith. Strife and confusion, however bewildering, must never befog their vision. Tribulations, however afflictive, must never shatter their resolve. Denunciations, however clamorous, must never sap their loyalty. Upheavals, however cataclysmic, must never deflect their course... Far from yielding in their resolve, far from growing oblivious of their task, they should, at no time, however much buffeted by circumstances, forget that the synchronization of such world-shaking crises with the progressive unfoldment and fruition of their divinely appointed task is itself the work of Providence, the design of an inscrutable Wisdom, and the purpose of an all-compelling Will, a Will that directs and controls, in its own mysterious way, both the fortunes of the Faith and the destinies of men. Such simultaneous processes of rise and of fall, of integration and of disintegration, of order and chaos, with their continuous and reciprocal reactions on each other, are but aspects of a greater Plan, one and indivisible, whose Source is God, whose author is Bahá'u'lláh, the theatre of whose operations is the entire planet, and whose ultimate objectives are the unity of the human race and the peace of all mankind"- (ADJ pp.60-1)

Day Six- The Evolution of the Bahá'í Administrative Order- its spirit and form (the Rulers and the Learned.)

THE NECESSITY FOR ADMINISTRATION.

Shoghi Effendi wrote: "Who, I may ask, when viewing the international character of the Cause, its far-flung ramifications, the increasing complexity of its affairs, the diversity of its adherents, and the state of confusion that assails on every side the infant Faith of God, can for a moment question the necessity of some sort of administrative machinery that will insure, amid the storm and stress of a struggling civilization, the unity of the Faith, the preservation of its identity, and the protection of its interests?" "- (WOB pp.9-10).

THE IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE.

Shoghi Effendi writes: "To repudiate the validity of the assemblies of the elected ministers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh would be to reject those countless Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá wherein They have extolled the station of the "trustees of the Merciful," enumerated their privileges and duties, emphasized the glory of their mission, revealed the immensity of their task, and warned them of the attacks they must needs expect from the unwisdom of their friends as well as from the malice of their enemies"- (WOB pp.9-10).

THE SPIRIT OF THE INSTITUTIONS.

Shoghi Effendi wrote in 1923: "But let us be on our guard -- so the Master continually reminds us from His Station on high -- lest too much concern in that which is secondary in importance, and too long a preoccupation with the details of our affairs and activities, make us neglectful of the most essential, the most urgent of all our obligations, namely, to bury our cares and teach the Cause, delivering far and wide this Message of Salvation to a sorely-stricken world"- (BA p.42).

And again in 1929: "And now, it behoves us to reflect on the animating purpose and the primary functions of these divinely-established institutions, the sacred character and the universal efficacy of which can be demonstrated only by the spirit they diffuse and the work they actually achieve. I need not dwell upon what I have already reiterated and emphasized that the administration of the Cause is to be conceived as an instrument and not a substitute for the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, that it should be regarded as a channel through which His promised blessings may flow, that it should guard against such rigidity as would clog and fetter the liberating forces released by His Revelation... It is surely for those to whose hands so priceless a heritage has been committed to prayerfully watch lest the tool should supersede the Faith itself, lest undue concern for the minute details arising from the administration of the Cause obscure the vision of its promoters, lest partiality, ambition, and worldliness tend in the course of time to becloud the radiance, stain the purity, and impair the effectiveness of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh"- (WOB p.9)

Expanding on this theme in 1935, he wrote: "The Bahá'í Faith, like all other Divine religions, is thus fundamentally mystic in character. Its chief goal is the development of the individual and society, through the acquisition of spiritual virtues and powers. It is the soul of man that has first to be fed. And this spiritual nourishment prayer can best provide. Laws and institutions, as viewed by Bahá'u'lláh, can become really effective only when our inner spiritual life has been perfected and transformed. Otherwise religion will degenerate into a mere organization, and become a dead thing"- (CC vol. II, p.237).

Bahá'u'lláh writes in the Kitab-i-Aqdas that when the members of the Houses of Justice meet, they should "consider themselves as entering the Court of the presence of God, the Exalted, the Most High, and as beholding Him Who is the Unseen". He further calls on them to "regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth" and "to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. Thus hath the Lord your God commanded you. Beware lest ye put away that which is clearly revealed in His Tablet. Fear God, O ye that perceive"- (KA p.29).

Shoghi Effendi went on to explain: "Let us also bear in mind that the keynote of the Cause of God is not dictatorial authority but humble fellowship, not arbitrary power, but the spirit of frank and loving consultation" - (BA p.63).

SPIRITUAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE INSTITUTIONS

Shoghi Effendi sets the spiritual obligations of elected institutions out in the following words: "Their function is not to dictate, but to consult, and consult not only among themselves, but as much as possible with the friends whom they represent. They must regard themselves in no other light but that of chosen instruments for a more efficient and dignified presentation of the Cause of God. They should never be led to suppose that they are the central ornaments of the body of the Cause, intrinsically superior to others in capacity or merit, and sole promoters of its teachings and principles. They should approach their task with extreme humility, and endeavour, by their open-mindedness, their high sense of justice and duty, their candour, their modesty, their entire devotion to the welfare and interests of the friends, the Cause, and humanity, to win, not only the confidence and the genuine support and respect of those whom they serve, but also their esteem and real affection. They must, at all times, avoid the spirit of exclusiveness, the atmosphere of secrecy, free themselves from a domineering attitude, and banish all forms of prejudice and passion from their deliberations. They should, within the limits of wise discretion, take the friends into their confidence, acquaint them with their plans, share with them their problems and anxieties, and seek their advice and counsel. And, when they are called upon to arrive at a certain decision, they should, after dispassionate, anxious and cordial consultation, turn to God in prayer, and with earnestness and conviction and courage record their vote and abide by the voice of the majority..."- (BA p.63).

THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIVIDUAL INVOLVEMENT

When Shoghi Effendi was asked to give the qualifications of a true believer, one of the essential qualifications he stipulated was "close association with the spirit as well as the form of the present day Bahá'í Administration"- (BA p.90).

THE RULERS AND THE LEARNED.

Bahá'u'lláh, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, writes: "Blessed are the rulers and the learned among the people of Baha."

Shoghi Effendi explained: 'In this holy cycle the "learned" are, on the one hand, the Hands of the Cause of God, and, on the other, the teachers and diffusers of His teachings who do not rank as Hands, but who have attained an eminent position in the teaching work. As to the "rulers" they refer to the members of the Local, National and International Houses of Justice. The duties of each of these souls will be determined in the future."

SAFEGUARD AGAINST ABUSES OF CLERGY

In a letter written on his behalf in 1927, the Guardian pointed out how, in the past, it was certain individuals who "accounted themselves as superior in knowledge and elevated in position" who caused division, and that it was those "who pretended to be the most distinguished of all" who "always proved themselves to be the source of contention." "But praise be to God," he continued, "that the Pen of Glory has done away with the unyielding and dictatorial views of the learned and the wise, dismissed the assertions of individuals as an authoritative criterion, even though they were recognized as the most accomplished and learned among men and ordained that all matters be referred to authorized centres and specified Assemblies. Even so, no Assembly has been invested with the absolute authority to deal with such general matters as affect the interests of nations. Nay rather, He has brought all the assemblies together under the shadow of one House of Justice, one divinely appointed Centre, so that there would be only one Centre and all the rest integrated into a single body, revolving around one expressly designated Pivot, thus making them all proof against schism and division."

The House gives further elucidation on this theme: "It is clear from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, as well as from those of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the interpretations of the Guardian, that the proper functioning of human society requires the preservation of ranks and classes within its membership. The friends should recognize this without envy or jealousy, and those who occupy ranks should never exploit their position or regard themselves as being superior to others."

THE DIFFERNENCE BETWEEN BEING APPOINTED AND SEEKING DISTINCTION

Bahá'u'lláh writes: 'And amongst the realms of unity is the unity of rank and station. It redoundeth to the exaltation of the Cause, glorifying it among all peoples. Ever since the seeking of preference and distinction came into play, the world hath been laid waste. It hath become desolate. Those who have quaffed from the ocean of divine utterance and fixed their gaze upon the Realm of Glory should regard themselves as being on the same level as the others and in the same station. Were this matter to be definitely established and conclusively demonstrated through the power and might of God, the world would become as the Abha Paradise. Indeed, man is noble, inasmuch as each one is a repository of the sign of God. Nevertheless, to regard oneself as superior in knowledge, learning or virtue, or to exalt oneself or seek preference, is a grievous transgression. Great is the blessedness of those who are adorned with the ornament of this unity and have been graciously confirmed by God..."

The House of Justice further wrote on this subject: "Courtesy, reverence, dignity, respect for the rank and achievements of others are virtues which contribute to the harmony and well-being of every community, but pride and self-aggrandizement are among the most deadly of sins."

And again, "The House of Justice hopes that all the friends will remember that the ultimate aim in life of every soul should be to attain spiritual excellence -- to win the good pleasure of God. The true spiritual station of any soul is known only to God. It is quite a different thing from the ranks and stations that men and women occupy in the various sectors of society. Whoever has his eyes fixed on the goal of attaining the good pleasure of God will accept with joy and radiant acquiescence whatever work or station is assigned to him in the Cause of God, and will rejoice to serve Him under all conditions"- (UHJM1963-86, p.376).