'Abdu'l-Baha riding up Mount Carmel

The “prime requisites” (indispensable requirements) for LSA members when taking “counsel together”

The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and long-suffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of Baha shall be vouchsafed to them. In this day, assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity. Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory. The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions. If after discussion, a decision be carried unanimously, well and good; but if, the Lord forbid, differences of opinion should arise, a majority of voices must prevail.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated March 5, 1922; ‘Baha'i Administration’)

To train our soul in this life so that “at the hour of death, [it will] ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment.”

The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying Their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High. 

- Baha'u'llah  ('Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah')

1909: A group of Baha'is in Washington, D.C.

Holding the Greatest Name is Mason Remey. Directly in front of him, seated behind the table is Lua Getsinger with a scarf over her hair. Seated behind the table on the far right is Joseph Hannen. Left of him is his mother-in-law, Amelia Knobloch. The young man seated on the floor in front of the table is Ahmad Sohrab

Physical absence of the Guardian and the functioning of the Universal House of Justice

The question therefore arises: In the absence of the Guardian, is the Universal House of Justice in danger of straying outside its proper sphere and thus falling into error? Here we must remember three things: First, Shoghi Effendi, during the thirty-six years of his Guardianship, has already made innumerable such definitions, supplementing those made by ‘Abdu’l Bahá and by Bahá’u’lláh Himself. As already announced to the friends, a careful study of the Writings and interpretations on any subject on which the House of Justice proposes to legislate always precedes its act of legislation. Second, the Universal House of Justice, itself assured of divine guidance, is well aware of the absence of the Guardian and will approach all matters of legislation only when certain of its sphere of jurisdiction, a sphere which the Guardian has confidently described as “clearly defined.” Third, we must not forget the Guardian’s written statement about these two Institutions: “Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other.” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 27 May 1966 to an individual believer; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

The Guardian’s Introduction to the Dawn-Breakers

Outstanding as an example of his historical perspective is the Introduction to the Dawn-Breakers. It contains a concise and brilliant history of Islam, to inform the reader concerning the forms and elements which concurred to set the stage on which the deeply moving drama of the Báb's Revelation was played. Many a time, during his table conversation, to illustrate some points, he would accurately quote from that particular book, or from God Passes By, or some other of his writings, often showing surprise or perplexity at the limited information, or lack of it, of some of his listeners. 

- Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery  (‘Shoghi Effendi – Recollections’)

Hands of the Cause Adelbert Muhlschlegel and Hasan Balyuzi

National Spiritual Assemblies as of 1925

* NSA of the Baha’is of Persia

* NSA of the United States and Canada

* NSA of the Baha'is of Germany

* NSA of the Baha’is of Great Britain and Ireland

* NSA of the Baha’is of India and Burma

* NSA of the Baha’is of Egypt

* NSA of the Baha’is of Turkistan

* NSA of the Baha’is of Caucasus

* NSA of the Baha’is of Iraq

(Baha’i Year Book 1925-1926)

How the “prestige of the [Bábi] community, and particularly that of Bahá’u’lláh” began “to mount in a steadily rising crescendo” in Baghdad

The prestige of the community, and particularly that of Bahá’u’lláh, now began from its first inception in Kurdistán to mount in a steadily rising crescendo. Bahá’u’lláh had scarcely gathered up again the reins of the authority he had relinquished when the devout admirers He had left behind in Sulaymáníyyih started to flock to Baghdád, with the name of “Darvísh Muhammad” on their lips, and the “house of Mírzá Músá the Bábí” as their goal. Astonished at the sight of so many ‘ulamás and Súfís of Kurdish origin… thronging the house of Bahá’u’lláh, and impelled by racial and sectarian rivalry, the religious leaders of the city… began to seek His presence, and, having obtained completely satisfying answers to their several queries, enrolled themselves among the band of His earliest admirers. The unqualified recognition by these outstanding leaders of those traits that distinguished the character and conduct of Bahá’u’lláh stimulated the curiosity, and later evoked the unstinted praise, of a great many observers of less conspicuous position, among whom figured poets, mystics and notables, who either resided in, or visited, the city. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Bahá’u’lláh “extols the age that has witnessed the advent of His Revelation”

“This is the King of Days,” He thus extols the age that has witnessed the advent of His Revelation, “the Day that hath seen the coming of the Best-beloved, Him Who through all eternity hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World.” “The world of being shineth in this Day with the resplendency of this Divine Revelation. All created things extol its saving grace and sing its praises. The universe is wrapt in an ecstasy of joy and gladness. The Scriptures of past Dispensations celebrate the great jubilee that must needs greet this most great Day of God. Well is it with him that hath lived to see this Day and hath recognized its station.” “Were mankind to give heed in a befitting manner to no more than one word of such a praise it would be so filled with delight as to be overpowered and lost in wonder. Entranced, it would then shine forth resplendent above the horizon of true understanding.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah; included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

The mystical reality of the Manifestation of God

Magnified be Thy name, O Lord my God! I know not what the water is with which Thou hast created me, or what the fire Thou hast kindled within me, or the clay wherewith Thou hast kneaded me. The restlessness of every sea hath been stilled, but not the restlessness of this Ocean which moveth at the bidding of the winds of Thy will. The flame of every fire hath been extinguished except the Flame which the hands of Thine omnipotence have kindled, and whose radiance Thou hast, by the power of Thy name, shed abroad before all that are in Thy heaven and all that are on Thy earth. As the tribulations deepen, it waxeth hotter and hotter.

Behold, then, O my God, how Thy Light hath been compassed with the onrushing winds of Thy decree, how the tempests that blow and beat upon it from every side have added to its brightness and increased its splendor. For all this let Thee be praised.

I implore Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, and Thy most ancient sovereignty, to look upon Thy loved ones whose hearts have been sorely shaken by reason of the troubles that have touched Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine own Self. Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

The “human world will adapt itself to a new social form” as a result of the “manifestation of spiritual forces” brought forth by Baha’u’llah

Still today, can anyone claim to have glimpsed anything but an intimation, distant and indistinct, of the future society to which the Revelation of Baha'u'llah is destined to give rise? For let none suppose that the civilization towards which the divine teachings impel humankind will follow merely from adjustments to the present order. Far from it. In a talk delivered some days after He laid the cornerstone of the Mother Temple of the West, 'Abdu'l-Baha stated that "among the results of the manifestation of spiritual forces will be that the human world will adapt itself to a new social form," that "the justice of God will become manifest throughout human affairs". These, and countless other utterances of the Master to which the Baha'i community is turning time and again in this centennial period, raise awareness of the distance that separates society as it is now arranged from the stupendous vision His Father gifted to the world. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (Ridvan 2012 message to the Baha’is of the world)

Seeker enters “the City of Love and Rapture”

When once the seeker hath ascended unto this station, [completing the requirements of the “Garden of Search”] he will enter the City of Love and Rapture, whereupon the winds of love will blow and the breezes of the spirit will waft. In this station the seeker is so overcome by the ecstasies of yearning and the fragrances of longing that he discerneth not his left from his right, nor doth he distinguish land from sea or desert from mountain. At every moment he burneth with the fire of longing and is consumed by the onslaught of separation in this world. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gems of Divine Mysteries’)

The “Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh”

With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ascension, and more particularly with the passing of His well-beloved and illustrious sister the Most Exalted Leaf—the last survivor of a glorious and heroic age—there draws to a close the first and most moving chapter of Bahá’í history, marking the conclusion of the Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’, included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

1907: Thornton Chase Visits Cairo

Chase is seated second from right. To his left is Mirza Abu'l-Fadl

“God hath created all humankind in His own image”

...women are accounted the same as men, and God hath created all humankind in His own image, and after His own likeness. That is, men and women alike are the revealers of His names and attributes, and from the spiritual viewpoint there is no difference between them. Whosoever draweth nearer to God, that one is the most favoured, whether man or woman. How many a handmaid, ardent and devoted, hath, within the sheltering shade of Baha, proved superior to the men, and surpassed the famous of the earth. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women)

Book: The Priceless Pearl - by Hand of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum

The Priceless Pearl, although biographical in treatment, is what the author prefers to call an appraisal of the life and work of this distinguished, unique and far-visioned man, believing that we stand too near to such a towering figure to assemble, at so early a date, a more detailed record of his achievements.

The panorama of his life, so filled with sorrow and drama, victory and crisis, stretches through the pages of this book in a memorable and moving tale of historic events, ably portrayed by the pen of one who was not only a Baha'i from birth, but honoured by becoming the wife of the Guardian or her Faith, who served him tirelessly as his personal secretary, who was appointed by him a Hand of the Cause of God and who he stated had been his "shield" during difficult days of his life.

Born Mary Sutherland Maxwell the author grew up in Montreal, Canada; since the passing of her illustrious husband in 1957 she has travelled all over the world, giving public lectures and devoting particular attention to villagers and tribal peoples whom she has made a special point of visiting in Asia, Africa and throughout Latin America.

Her previous book Prescription for Living has been widely read and translated into a number of languages.

(From the back cover of the book)

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

The Childhood and Youth of Shoghi Effendi

The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha and its Immediate Consequences

Early Years of the Guardianship

Martha Root and Queen Marie of Rumania

The Principle of Light and Shadow

Facets of Shoghi Effendi's Personality

The Deepest Ties

Intimate Glimpses

War

The Writings of the Guardian

The Development of the International Institutions

of the Faith

The Rise of the World Centre

The Rise of the Administrative Order

Guiding Lines

The Prosecution of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan

A Unique Ministry

Index

Life is made up of crisis and victory

One night he [the Guardian] said that we would be completely cut off from the Guardian...and I thought he meant war! Then again he said that 1957 mentioned in the New Era was not referring to a world event, but a major crisis in the Cause itself...and this I did not understand...not until November 5, 1957!  He said that all life was made up of crisis and victory--crisis and victory.  Then with the sweetest smile he said, "Do not forget, without the crisis, you do not have the Victory".

(Excerpt from Pilgrimage Notes of Laura R Davis, shared with Velma Sherrill by Margery McCormick, December 1958)

October 1819 - Birth of the Báb

Siyyid (or Mirza) 'Ali-Muhammad, known to history as the Báb, was the son of Siyyid (or Mir) Muhammad-Rida, a mercer of Shiraz [Persia]. He was born on October 20th 1819 (Muharram 1st, 1235 A.H.). Through both His father and His mother He was descended from Imam Husayn, the third Imam. Thus He stood in direct line of descent from the Prophet Muhammad. According to Mirza Abu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpaygani [a renown Baha’i scholar], Siyyid Muhammad-Rida, the Bab's father, died when his only child was an infant, unweaned. Then the care of the child devolved upon a maternal uncle, Haji Mirza Siyyid 'Ali. He was the only relative of the Báb to espouse His Cause openly during His lifetime and, as will be seen, to accept martyrdom for His sake. But according to a manuscript history of the Bábí-Bahá'í Faith in Shiraz by Haji Mirza Habibu'llah-i-Afnan,[1] Siyyid Muhammad-Rida [the Bab’s father] passed away when his son was nine years old, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá appears to confirm this account.[2]

[1] Haji Mirza Habibu'llah's father, Aqa Mirza-Aqa, was a nephew of the wife of the Báb, and his paternal grandfather, Aqa Mirza Zaynu'l-'Abidin, was a paternal cousin of the father of the Báb.

[2] Browne (ed.), A Traveller's Narrative, Vol. II

- Hand of the Cause H.M. Balyuzi  (The Báb - The Herald of the Day of Days)

“Knowledge is one of the wondrous gifts of God”

Knowledge is one of the wondrous gifts of God. It is incumbent upon everyone to acquire it. Such arts and material means as are now manifest have been achieved by virtue of His knowledge and wisdom which have been revealed in Epistles and Tablets through His Most Exalted Pen – a Pen out of whose treasury pearls of wisdom and utterance and the arts and crafts of the world are brought to light. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)

A prayer for individual: - Assistance to recognize the Manifestation of God; Spiritual transformation

Unto Thee be praise, O Lord my God! I entreat Thee, by Thy signs that have encompassed the entire creation, and by the light of Thy countenance that hath illuminated all that are in heaven and on earth, and by Thy mercy that hath surpassed all created things, and by Thy grace that hath suffused the whole universe, to rend asunder the veils that shut me out from Thee, that I may hasten unto the Fountain-Head of Thy mighty inspiration, and to the Day-Spring of Thy Revelation and bountiful favors, and may be immersed beneath the ocean of Thy nearness and pleasure.

Suffer me not, O my Lord, to be deprived of the knowledge of Thee in Thy days, and divest me not of the robe of Thy guidance. Give me to drink of the river that is life indeed, whose waters have streamed forth from the Paradise (Ridvan) in which the throne of Thy Name, the All-Merciful, was established, that mine eyes may be opened, and my face be illumined, and my heart be assured, and my soul be enlightened, and my steps be made firm.

Thou art He Who from everlasting was, through the potency of His might, supreme over all things, and, through the operation of His will, was able to ordain all things. Nothing whatsoever, whether in Thy heaven or on Thy earth, can frustrate Thy purpose. Have mercy, then, upon me, O my Lord, through Thy gracious providence and generosity, and incline mine ear to the sweet melodies of the birds that warble their praise of Thee, amidst the branches of the tree of Thy oneness.

Thou art the Great Giver, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.

- Baha'u'llah  ('Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah')

“Blessed, doubly blessed…”

Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His [‘Abdu’l-Baha] footsteps have trodden, the eye that hath been cheered by the beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath been honoured by hearkening to His call, the heart that hath tasted the sweetness of His love, the breast that hath dilated through His remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the scroll that hath borne the testimony of His writings.

- Baha’u’llah (’Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

Stem Salle - the first believer of Truk islands, 1973

Stem Salle with his wife and children

Spiritual Assembly members should “regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth”

In the Most Holy Book is revealed: -- "The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Baha, and should it exceed this number it does not matter. It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. 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." 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Excerpt from a letter dated March 5, 1922; ‘Baha'i Administration’)

In ‘God Passes By’ the Guardian makes a review of certain worldwide events from 1844 to 1944

I shall endeavor to review, in their proper perspective and despite the comparatively brief space of time which separates us from them, the events which the revolution of a hundred years, unique alike in glory and tribulation, has unrolled before our eyes. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Preface to ‘God Passes By’)

“should ponder and meditate in their hearts regarding the methods of teaching”

The sanctified souls should ponder and meditate in their hearts regarding the methods of teaching. From the texts of the wondrous, heavenly Scriptures they should memorize phrases and passages bearing on various instances, so that in the course of their speech they may recite divine verses whenever the occasion demandeth it, inasmuch as these holy verses are the most potent elixir, the greatest and mightiest talisman. So potent is their influence that the hearer will have no cause for vacillation. I swear by My life! This Revelation is endowed with such a power that it will act as the lodestone for all nations and kindreds of the earth. Should one pause to meditate attentively he would recognize that no place is there, nor can there be, for anyone to flee to. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening our Knowledge of the Faith)

Summer of 1919: Photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Baha taken by an English officer in Haifa

“The infallibility of the Universal House of Justice…has not been made dependent upon the presence in its membership of the Guardian of the Cause.”

The infallibility of the Universal House of Justice, operating within its ordained sphere, has not been made dependent upon the presence in its membership of the Guardian of the Cause. Although in the realm of interpretation the Guardian’s pronouncements are always binding, in the area of the Guardian’s participation in legislation it is always the decision of the House itself which must prevail. This is supported by the words of the Guardian: “The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá’u’lláh has not expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested.

“Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent head of so august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the right of exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the majority of his fellow-members, but is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Bahá’u’lláh’s revealed utterances.”

However, quite apart from his function as a member and sacred head for life of the Universal House of Justice, the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, had the right and duty “to define the sphere of the legislative action” of the Universal House of Justice. In other words, he had the authority to state whether a matter was or was not already covered by the Sacred Texts and therefore whether it was within the authority of the Universal House of Justice to legislate upon it. No other person, apart from the Guardian, has the right or authority to make such definitions. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 27 May 1966 to an individual believer; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

circa 1920's: Shiraz Qur'an Gate

Northern gate to the city of Shiraz as it appeared in 1920's. This sketch shows a view from inside the city. 

(source: 'A Persian Journey', by Fred Richards)