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Ridvan
1991
Baha'i Era 148
by
Universal House of Justice
1991
To the Bahá'ís
of the World
Dearly loved
Friends,
1 No earthly tongue can voice
the gratitude we feel for the extraordinary bestowals vouchsafed by the
Blessed Beauty to His world-wide community and to the World Centre of His
Faith during the year just ended. We bow our heads in humility before the
striking evidences of His sustaining grace and all-compelling might.
2 The overwhelming danger
which, as a result of the turmoil in the Middle East, enveloped the Holy Land
during the latter part of the year receded without halting or even seriously
hampering the operation of the Bahá'í administration. The situation was a
poignant reminder of the contrast between the unobtrusive, steadily
developing, distinctly integrative System of Bahá'u'lláh and the turbulent
character of the Age of Transition, "whose tribulations",
Shoghi Effendi avers, "are the precursors of that Era of blissful
felicity which is to incarnate God's ultimate purpose for all mankind".(1)
It was another of the "ominous signs simultaneously proclaiming the
agonies of a disintegrating civilization and the birth pangs of that World
Order---that Ark of human salvation---that must needs arise upon its ruins".(2)
3 The forces which united the
remedial reactions of so many nations to the sudden crisis in this region
demonstrated beyond any doubt the necessity of the principle of collective
security prescribed by Bahá'u'lláh more than a century ago as a means of
resolving conflict. While the international arrangement envisioned by Him for
the full application of this principle is far from having been adopted by the
rulers of mankind, a long step towards the behaviour outlined for the nations
by the Lord of the Age has thus been taken. How illuminating are Bahá'u'lláh's
words foreshadowing the future reorientation of the nations: "Be
united, O concourse of the sovereigns of the world," He wrote,
"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."(3)
4 Indeed, from whatever
direction we gaze, the power of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation is visibly at work
in the world. In the call for a new world order, which has issued like a
refrain from the statements of political leaders and influential thinkers,
even when they themselves were incapable of defining their own meaning, can
be discerned the slow awakening of humanity to the principal purpose of His
Revelation. That such a call should have come so insistently from the head of
that republic which is destined, in `Abdu'l-Bahá's words, to be "the
first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement" and
to "lead all nations spiritually"(4), is an
indication of the efficacy and the acceleration of two simultaneous
processes, one operating outside and one inside the Cause, which Shoghi
Effendi tells us are destined to culminate "in a single glorious
consummation".(5)
5 Within the Cause, the signs
of overwhelming achievements for the Six Year Plan, though not necessarily as
projected at the outset, are abundant. Arresting examples are evident in the
wake of the phenomenal changes occurring in the Soviet Union and its former
satellite countries. Just one year since the re-establishment of the Local
Spiritual Assembly of Moscow, a National Spiritual Assembly of the Soviet
Union is to be formed. Similarly, little more than a year since the
revolutionary political changes in Romania, the Government has recognized the
Bahá'í community as a religious association with the right to spread the
teachings of Bahá'u'lláh; here, too, a National Spiritual Assembly is to be
formed this Ri.dván. Rapid expansion of the Faith in Czechoslovakia compelled
the decision taken only in recent weeks also to establish a National
Spiritual Assembly there. At the same time, in the Caribbean area, the
National Spiritual Assembly of the West Leeward Islands will be formed as a
result of the division of the Leeward Islands group into two regional
administrative units. With these four very welcome formations, the number of
National Spiritual Assemblies reaches 155.
6 We are happy to say that
three Hands of the Cause of God will represent the Universal House of Justice
at these historic events: Amatu'l-Bahá Rú.híyyih Khánum in Romania,
Mr. `Alí Akbar Furútan in the Soviet Union, and Dr. `Alí-Mu|hammad Varqá in
Czechoslovakia. Counsellor Ruth Pringle will be the representative in the
West Leeward Islands.
7 Another illustration of the
rising authority of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in the public mind emerges from
Germany, where the Federal Constitutional Court, the highest legal authority
in the land, rendered a decision of capital importance to the recognition of
the Faith. A series of lower courts had refused to register the by-laws of a
Local Spiritual Assembly on the grounds that the authority granted to the
National Spiritual Assembly in that document violated the legal principle
requiring the autonomy of all legally incorporated associations. The issues
involved are indeed complex and cannot be elaborated here. Suffice it to say
that the Federal Constitutional Court upheld the appeal of the Local
Spiritual Assembly in a long, closely-reasoned decision in which, among other
things, it affirmed the right of the Bahá'í community to gain legal capacity
in the very shape ordained in the scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and stated
that its nature as a recognized religion was unquestionably confirmed by its
inherent character, by public knowledge, and by the testimony of scholars of
comparative religion. So significant was the verdict in the Court's own
estimation that it took the rare step of issuing a statement to the press
explaining its decision. This outstanding act will have implications for the
Bahá'í community far beyond the borders of a united Germany.
8 Yet another instance of the
growing public appreciation for the penetrating perspectives of the Cause
involves the Republic of South Africa, where the National Spiritual Assembly,
taking advantage of the initiatives of the Government towards resolving the
decades-long problem of apartheid, decided to submit its views for the
drafting of a new constitution for the country. The President of the South
African Law Commission, the judge acting on behalf of the Government, who
received the National Spiritual Assembly's submission from a delegation
appointed by it, commented that the Bahá'ís were the only group thus far
whose ideas had provided a spiritual and moral foundation for a constitution.
9 Whatever may be the
individual effects of any one of these aforementioned developments---and of
such others as the appearance of a representative of the Bahá'í International
Community as the only non-Buddhist speaker invited to address a public
meeting held in conjunction with the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace in
Mongolia; the specific mention of the Bahá'ís by Pope John Paul II
10 at a reception during his
recent visit to Burundi; the official listing of the Bahá'í Faith as one of
the common religions in Tuvalu; the International Exposition on Education for
Peace sponsored by the Brazilian National Spiritual Assembly with the
participation of 23 embassies and educational institutions---one thing is
abundantly clear: the cumulative impact across the globe affirms the
emergence of the Faith from obscurity. Such marks of increasing public
recognition of the true character and rich potentialities of the Bahá'í
community are a distinctive feature of the advancement of the Faith in the
fourth epoch of the Formative Age.
11 In contemplating these
marvellous signs and portents, we cannot resist the impulse to express our
profound love and appreciation to the Continental Counsellors, and to their
Auxiliary Boards, who stimulate and buttress efforts which make possible the
accomplishment of such stupendous developments as have already been cited and
whose ministrations, more especially, spur the dynamic thrust of the teaching
work, which is fundamental to all of the community's successes. We are
delighted and encouraged beyond measure by the vigorous beginning which the
Boards of Counsellors have made as they entered the new term of their
indispensable and highly appreciated services to the Bahá'í world. The fresh
initiatives to which, with the whole-hearted encouragement and splendid support
of the International Teaching Centre, they now bend their energies augur well
for a gratifying completion of the Six Year Plan. May their exertions be
greatly bolstered by the increase, as of the Day of the Covenant this year,
in the number of Auxiliary Board members to 846---90 more than exist at
present. The world-wide community will certainly welcome the strength which
this action will bring to the scope and quality of the spiritual duties
assigned to the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, whose operation
at the grass roots is a guarantee of the continued expansion and
consolidation of our glorious Faith.
12 The magnificent progress of
the Six Year Plan brightens our spirits and exalts our hopes. All but one of
the years of that Plan have passed and a mighty advance toward achieving its
seven major objectives has been made. Our community has changed dramatically
from what it was at the Plan's beginning in 1986. It has greatly expanded and
developed. It is more diverse, more dynamic, more distinctive. As we enter
the closing year of the Six Year Plan, a horizon of thrilling prospects
stands before us all:
13
The preparation of the long-expected, annotated English
translation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Book of Laws, the Most Holy Book, the
Mother Book of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation, will be completed -- a monumental
achievement which alone and of itself will usher in a new stage in the
evolution of the Bahá'í world and thus crown the accomplishments of the Six
Year Plan.
14 Earthwork on the lower Terraces of
the Shrine of the Báb and excavation for the Centre for the Study of the
Texts and the Annex to the International Archives Building will commence,
initiating a new phase of these mighty and incalculably significant enterprises
on God's Holy Mountain.
15 The Plan's end will mark the
beginning of the Holy Year, 1992-1993, a conscious year-long pause to allow
His followers to pay befitting regard to the Centenary of the Ascension of
Bahá'u'lláh and of the inauguration of His world-unifying Covenant. As has
already been announced, major observances are being planned to reflect the
distinctive character and world-shaking importance of the two occasions.
16 The one: the gathering of
representatives of the Bahá'í world, along with Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, at
Bahjí in the precincts of the Mansion, from whence Bahá'u'lláh's liberated
Spirit repaired to the throne of His heavenly sovereignty, and in the
vicinity of the Most Holy Shrine, wherein the Roll of Honour of the Knights
of Bahá'u'lláh will be deposited as a gesture indicative of the response of
His lovers to His call to spread His teachings throughout the earth. There at
Bahjí this gathering will engage in a solemn act of worship, the sacred
readings for which will soon be shared with Bahá'í communities every- where
for use in their own commemorations, so as to unify the devotional experience
of the entire Bahá'í world during this centennial observance.
17 The other: the World Congress
scheduled to be held on 23-26 November 1992 in New York City, where the
beloved Master revealed the implications of His station as the appointed
Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and which He designated as the City of
the Covenant. Throughout the world, Bahá'í communities will hold appropriate auxiliary
events to magnify the Congress's purpose, which is to celebrate the centenary
of the inauguration of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and to proclaim its aims
and unifying power. A corollary to these activities will be the wide
distribution of a statement on Bahá'u'lláh, prepared at our request by the
Office of Public Information, which will serve both as a source of study and
inspiration for the Bahá'ís themselves and as an informative publication for
presentation to the public. In these and other ways the community of the
Greatest Name will endeavour to blazon the Name of Bahá'u'lláh across the
globe, to make it a known eminence in the consciousness of peoples
everywhere.
18
Such an
exceptional confluence of imminent achievements---the publication of the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the progress of the building projects on Mount Carmel, the
conclusion of the Six Year Plan, the inception of the Holy Year---animates
the expectations of the Bahá'í world, sets the stage for mightier endeavours
than have already been attempted, and points us all to the opening of a new
phase of history. It seems fitting, then, that the sacred law which enables
each one to express his or her personal sense of devotion to God in a
profoundly private act of conscience that promotes the common good, which
directly connects the individual believer with the Central Institution of the
Faith, and which, above all, ensures to the obedient and the sincere the
ineffable grace and abundant blessings of Providence, should, at this
favourable juncture, be embraced by all who profess their belief in the
Supreme Manifestation of God. With humility before our sovereign Lord, we now
announce that as of Ri.dván 1992, the beginning of the Holy Year, the Law of
.Huqúqu'lláh, the Right of God, will become universally applicable. All are
lovingly called to observe it.
19 Our very dear brothers and
sisters: Witness how the Beloved One has answered our entreaties. See how He
has enriched our lives with new brethren and new institutions in lands
hitherto closed to His healing Word. Consider with what potency His divine
prescriptions are being affirmed as guide-lines for the behaviour of nations
large and small. Surely such abounding benedictions have imbued you with
indomitable courage and with confidence to face a challenging but brilliant
future. Indeed, you have embarked on this auspicious year poised for the
ultimate triumph of the Six Year Plan.
20 May you continue, through
your selfless deeds in His service, to be blessed from the inexhaustible
treasury of His love and tender care.
The Universal
House of Justice
Footnotes
(1)
"The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters", rev. ed. (Wilmette:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982), p. 171
(2)
"The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters", p. 155
(3)
"The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Selected Letters", p. 192
(4)
"Citadel
of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, 1980), p. 35
(2)
(5)
"Citadel
of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957", p. 32
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