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| Joel J. Marangella... |
 Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:55 am |
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POSTED ON BEHALF OF THE GUARDIAN OF THE BAHA'I FAITH
SHOGHI EFFENDI INFORMS UNITED NATIONS OF HIS ROLE AS THE "APPOINTED HEAD" OF
FUTURE BAHÁ'Í "WORLD COUNCIL" PRIOR TO ITS FORMATION IN 1951
In July 1947, some three and one half years prior to his appointment of the
International Bahá'í Council on 9 January 1951, Shoghi Effendi prepared a
statement for submission to the United Nations Special Palestine Committee
that has been published in pamphlet form under the title of: "The Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh." with the subtitle, "A World Religion."
On page three of this document one may note the following significant
paragraph which incontestably proves, in Shoghi Effendi's own words, that
the one who presides as President of the International Bahá'í Council‹this
"World Council"‹can be none other than the Guardian of the Faith.
The pertinent paragraph appears under the heading of "ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER"
and reads as follows:
"The passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá marked the termination of the first and Heroic
Age of the Bahá'í Faith and signalized the opening of the Formative Age
destined to witness the gradual emergence of its Administrative Order, whose
establishment had been foretold by the Báb, whose laws were revealed by
Bahá'u'lláh, whose outlines were delineated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and
Testament, and whose foundations are now being laid by national and local
councils which are elected by the professed adherents of the Faith, and
which are paving the way for the constitution of the World Council, to be
designated as the Universal House of Justice, which in conjunction with me,
as its appointed Head and the authorized interpreter of the Bahá'í
teachings, must coordinate and direct the affairs of the Bahá'í community,
and whose seat will be permanently established in the Holy Land, in close
proximity to its world spiritual center, the resting-places of its
Founders."
When Shoghi Effendi subsequently proclaimed the appointment of this "World
Council" in his cablegram of 9 January 1951, he significantly and
appropriately addressed this Proclamation to the "National Assemblies of
East and West" for, as the supreme administrative body in the Bahá'í World,
this Council would exercise administrative authority over these national
bodies. He provisionally named this World Council the "International Bahá'í
Council," a title that appropriately described its role and function as the
supreme administrative institution in the Bahá'í Administrative Order, and
he outlined the several intermediary stages through which it would
necessarily evolve prior to "its efflorescence into the Universal House of
Justice." However, he did not immediately activate this World Council as an
administratively functioning body under his Presidency, as would have been
anticipated, in the light of his statement to the United Nations Committee
quoted above, but created this Council as an embryonic institution, but yet
a complete organism "from the first" which, as explained by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is
true of all embryonic organisms, (BWF p.313). In creating this supreme
administrative institution in its embryonic form, Shoghi Effendi appointed
both its irremovable embryonic Head (who would remain that head as long as
he lived) and a body of eight other members who, although initially
appointed, would, as he outlined, be elected members when the Council became
"an elected body," in the third stage of its development. Having thus
established "this first embryonic International Institution,"this embryonic
Universal House of JusticeShoghi Effendi then carefully retained it as an
inactively functioning institution during the remaining years of his
ministry, as attested by Mason Remey, its appointed President, assigning
tasks only to individual members of the Council. In retaining, in this way,
the International Bahá'í Council as an inactive embryonic institution,
Shoghi Effendi had been able to use it as an instrument for indirectly
appointing and identifying his chosen successor "in his own lifetime," as
enjoined by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, for the embryonic
President of this embryonic body and therefore the Guardian-to-be, are
indisputably one and the same person who would be awaiting birth into active
life upon Shoghi Effendi's passing. As neither the Hands of the Cause nor
the believers at large had perceived the significance of this act, Shoghi
Effendi had been successful in ingeniously veiling from the believers at the
time the identity of his chosen successor, Mason Remey, a Hand of the Cause
whose unparalleled services for the Cause had commenced at the turn of the
century during the Ministry of 'Abdul-Bahá, Who had acknowledged his unique
and outstanding services and his exemplary fidelity to the Covenant in his
many eulogies of him that may be read in the early publication, "Star of the
West." As evidence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's esteem for him, He had addressed a
Tablet to him on 2 March 1915, appearing in that publication, in which he
significantly promised him that: "Ere long, Thy Lord shall make thee a sign
of guidance among mankind." He was at the time of his appointment as
President of the International Council (identified to the Bahá'í World as
President of the Council in Shoghi Effendi's cablegram of 2 March 1951 )some
twenty five years older than Shoghi Effendi. Had he been recognized at that
time, by the Hands and the believers throughout the World as Shoghi
Effendi's successor by reason of that appointment, this would have
inevitably revealed to them, to their great consternation, the inescapable
fact that for Mason Remey to outlive Shoghi Effendi and succeed him as
Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi had clearly foreseen and had, in
effect, predicted his own early passing (destined to take place some seven
years later in November 1957).
It should therefore be clear why Shoghi Effendi had retained the Council as
an inactively functioning body during the remaining years of his ministry
which would only, upon his passing, assume its rightful active role, as the
supreme administrative body in the Bahá'í World presided over by Shoghi
Effendi's appointed President, Mason Remey, who could be none other than his
chosen successor. This Council then, for the first time, would become an
actively functioning "World Council," and commence to "coordinate and direct
the affairs of the Bahá'í community" as Shoghi Effendi had projected in his
letter to the United Nations Committee.
The projected active role and supreme administrative authority of the
International Council was further confirmed in a message sent to the Bahá'í
World on 23 November 1951 in which Shoghi Effendi stated that during the
evolution of the "Master Plan designed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá," the final stage of
which he titled the "Ten Year Global Crusade," would commence at Ridván 1953
and be designed to: "embrace all the continents of the earth and will bring
the Central Body [i.e. the International Bahá'í Council] directing these
widely ramified operations into direct contact with all the National
Assemblies of the Bahá'í world which in varying degrees, will have to
contribute their share to the world establishment of the Cause of
Bahá'u'lláh, as prophesied by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and envisioned by Daniel,a
consummation that God willing, will be befittingly celebrated on the
occasion of the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the hundredth anniversary
of the formal assumption by Bahá'u'lláh of His Prophetic Office."
As Shoghi Effendi labored to erect, "at long last the machinery of its
highest institutions" and the "supreme organs of its unfolding Order," he
followed up his appointment of the International Bahá'í Councilthis
"Central Body" of the Faithwith the appointment of the first contingent of
twelve living Hands of the Cause in his cablegram of 24 December 1952. He
made additional appointments during the concluding years of his ministry,
raising the number to twenty-seven at the time of his passing. On 8 October
1957, one month before his passing, Shoghi Effendi dispatched his last
cablegram to the Bahá'í World in which he referred to the Hands of the Cause
as the "Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Comonwealth" with
the clear implication that unfortunately was never perceived by the Hands,
that while they were the current Chief Stewardsthese Hands of the
Causeappointed by the Guardian of the Faith would, as they died, be no
more, but the institution of the Hands itself as an integral and immortal
organ of the embryonic Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh, would continue to exist
as long as the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh endured, and that future Hands
would continue to be appointed by future Guardians during the course of the
development of this embryonic Commonwealth and as it achieved ultimate
maturity in the Golden Age of Bahá'u'lláh, similarly to the other
institutions of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, delineated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá
in his sacred, divinely-conceived and immortal Will and Testament.
Upon Shoghi Effendi's passing, the Hands convened a conclave in 'Akká less
than three weeks later and, as their first act, delegated nine Hands from
their number to undertake a search of the safe and files of Shoghi Effendi's
office in Haifa, which had previously, upon his death, been carefully sealed
and secured. This search was carried out apparently in the expectation of
finding a will and testament in which Shoghi Effendi had named a successor,
in spite of the clear and unambiguous provision of the Will and Testament of
'Abdu'l-Bahá which states that: "It is incumbent upon the guardian of the
Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his
successor."
Of course, no such will and testament was found, for Shoghi Effendi, in
complete fidelity to and compliance with the provisions of Abdu'l-Bahá's
Will and Testament, had not used a testamentary document to appoint a
successor but had accomplished the appointment in the manner discussed
above. Although a will and testament was not found, the Hands would still
have been expected to retain an unwavering faith and assurance that Shoghi
Effendi would not have failed to be completely faithful to the provisions of
the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and to conclude that he had appointed
a successor in some other way unforseen by them at the time. Assuming that
to be the case, they certainly would have been expected to at least have
taken the time to re-examine the provisions of the sacred and
divinely-conceived Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to discover why or if
they had been wrong in looking for a testamentary document in which Shoghi
Effendi had appointed a successor. For in accomplishig such a review they
would have perceived that 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will clearly makes it incumbent
upon the Guardian to name his successor "in his own life-time," and that it
would have been for this reason that Shoghi Effendi had not left a will and
testament naming a successsor. The Hands then would certainly have realized
the necessity of undertaking a careful and thorough review of the important
acts taken, historic decisions announced or statements made by Shoghi
Effendi during his ministry, the significance of which they had obviously
overlooked at the time that had pointed to or had revealed the identity of
his appointed successor. Such a review however was never undertaken by the
Hands, as attested by Mason Remey in his diary titled "Daily Observations,"
and, in fact, in the opening few minutes of the first consultative meeting
they held after searching in vain for a will and testament left by Shoghi
Effendi, they came to the hasty, tragic and unwarranted conclusion, as
announced by them to the Bahá'í World in the "Unanimous Proclamation" they
issued on 25 November 1957., that Shoghi Effendi had passed away "without
having appointed a successor."
Seizing upon the appellation that Shoghi Effendi had given them in his last
message to the Bahá'í World, quoted above, the Hands interpreted this
appellation to endow the institution of the Hands with a primacy over all
other institutions of the Faith and an institution now invested with supreme
authority in the Faith, notwithstanding the fact that such authority is
clearly not theirs under the provisions of the Will and Testament of
'Abdu'l-Bahá. Deluded as they now were in this belief of their supreme
authority, the Hands had the temerity to announce to the Bahá'í World in the
Proclamation cited above, that they were "the supreme body of the Bahá'í
World Community and yet, in the very same Proclamation, they surrendered
most, if not all, of their authority in their announced appointment of an
illicit body of nine Hands from their number to which they gave the
appellation: "Custodians of the Bahá'í World Faith," a body completely
outside the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This
illicitly formed body then ignominiously proceeded not only to flagrantly
usurp the functions that should have been rightfully exercised by an
actively functioning International Council, as Shoghi Effendi had planned,
but, as announced in this same Proclamation, to shamelessly assume all of
the "functions, rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the
Bahá'í Faith." Thus, this illicitly established bogus body disregarded
Shoghi Effendi's projected plans for the International Council, made it
subordinate to themselves, and blatantly usurped its functions as they took
over direction of the National Assemblies in their prosecution of the
remaining goals of the Ten Year Global Crusade.
In their further plans, the Hands announced that the body of the Custodians
in which they had invested such great authority would cease to exist after
its brief reign of some six years with the election of the Universal House
of Justice during Ridván in 1963. Although it would be a body minus its
"sacred head"the Guardian of the Faithand therefore a headless, fallible
and illegitimate body, they nevertheless would pretend that it was nothiing
less than "that Supreme body" unmindful of the further fact that its
election at this stage in the evolution of the Faith was far too premature,
as Shoghi Effendi's plans, embodied in the goals of the Ten Year Global
Crusade had not envisaged the evolution of the International Bahá'í Council
beyond its second essential stage as an International Bahá'í Court by Ridván
1963 and even then it's establishment as an International Court would be
contingent upon the establishment of six national Bahá'í Courts "in the
chief cities of the Islamic East" which he had named. Although, the demise
of the ill-named body of the "Custodians of the Bahá'í World Faith" would,
according to their plans, take place coincident with the election of their
headless Universal House of Justice at Ridván 1963, they made no mention
about the assumption by that illegitimate body of the "functions rights and
powers in succession to the Guardian" previously usurped by these
Custodians. It may have been inferred that the Hands intended that these
function, rights and powers be assumed by their so-called Universal House of
Justice, even though interpretation of the sacred Writings is a right
reserved solely to the Guardian of the Faith according to the Will and
Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
It should be clear to any unbiased observer from the foregoing discussion
that, in the Hands' unseemly haste to end the Guardianship of the Cause of
God and in their usurpation of the "functions, rights and powers" of the
Guardian of the Cause of God as well as the role and functions of the
International Bahá'í Councilthe embryonic Universal House of Justicethey
had been guilty of an inexcusable lack of faith in the Covenant of
Bahá'u'lláh, a repudiation of the most important provisions of the Will and
Testament of 'Abu'l-Bahá, and a shameful betrayal of both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and
Shoghi Effendi in their complete corruption of the Bahá'í Administrative
Order whose Institutions he had so laboriously labored to erect during his
36 year ministry in complete conformity with the divinely-conceived, sacred
and immutable provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The Hands of the Cause were equally guilty of ignoring other historic and
equally highly significant statements made by Shoghi Effendi in his writings
and cablegrams that undeniably proved the continuation of the Guardianship
and the essentiality of this Institution to the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
These failures have been discussed at length in other writings of the
undersigned as well as by many of the believers who have remained steadfast
in their faith in the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and may be found in the
respective web pages where this documentation has been posted.
Joel Bray Marangella
Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith
WEB: http://Bahai-Guardian.com |
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