Charles Mason Remey: Second Encyclical Letter

 

II

ENCYCLICAL

LETTER

TO

THE BAHA'I WORLD

FROM

MASON REMEY

GUARDIAN

OF THE BAHA'I FAITH

TO THE BAHA'I WORLD

THIS IS THE SECOND OF THE SERIES OF ENCYCICAL LETTERS

FROM MASON REMEY, THE GUARDIAN OF THE BAHA'I FAITH

Sent Forth From Washington 4, D.C. U.S.A.

P.O. Box 418

BELOVED BAHA'I FRIENDS:

            After receiving and reading my Proclamation to the Baha'i world, announcing my appointment as The Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith as made by The Beloved First Guardian of the Baha'i Faith during his lifetime, almost the entire Baha'i world, it would seem, endorsed the violation of the Hands of the Faith in their repudiation of the most important act of The Beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, in thus fulfilling that which he was commanded to do in the Will and Testament of the Blessed Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: namely, during his lifetime as First Guardian of the Faith, to appoint his successor, the Second Guardian of the Faith.  This he accomplished, as directed in the Will and Testament, when he appointed me, Mason Remey, as his successor in command of the Baha'i Faith.

            Although my appointment was veiled at the time, when as his first step he appointed me President of the Baha'i International Council, later on The Beloved Guardian very explicitly explained (still veiled, but clearly explained when all of his statements were taken together with the instructions in the Master’s Will and Testament) his appointment of me as his successor.  It is very clear and concise and not to be misunderstood.

            Shoghi Effendi’s pronouncement first appointed me President of the International Council, saying that this was his first step toward the establishment of the Universal House of Justice.  His next explanation was that the Baha'i International Council, under my Presidency, was the embryonic Universal House of Justice that would develop into the Universal House of Justice.  Consequently, when this embryonic House of Justice becomes the fully developed House of Justice, I, Mason Remey, would find myself to be the President of the full functioning Universal House of Justice of the Baha'i world.

            As explained in the Will and Testament, the Guardian of the Faith is to be the President of the Universal House of Justice; therefore, he who is President of the Universal House of Justice can be none other personage than the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.

            This is indeed a clear and understandable statement of my appointment by The Beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, as the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, so this same President of this same living embryonic Universal House of Justice can be none other than the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.

            Thus did Shoghi Effendi indicate to the Baha'i world that I, Mason Remey, was to be his successor in the Guardianship of the Faith!

            When the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land come out, as they are doing in these days, condemning me for telling the Baha'is that I am their Guardian, they are in reality condemning and violating the Beloved Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi Himself.  It was he who made the pronouncement: President of the embryonic Universal House of Justice that would develop into the Universal House of Justice –this embryonic Universal House of Justice in reality actually being The Universal House of Justice –that could only exist with The Guardian of the Faith as its President, which is no other person than I, Mason Remey, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, thus appointed to this supreme position in the Cause by The First Guardian of the Faith during his lifetime and to take office as Second Guardian of the Faith upon his (Shoghi Effendi’s) death; all is according to the Will and Testament of The Blessed Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

            What manner of appointment of The Second Guardian of the Faith could be more clear and understandable that this?

            Therefore, when the Hands of the Faith condemn me for telling the Baha'i world of this appointment and accuse me of attempting to usurp the Guardianship of the Faith, they are in reality denying that which The Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi himself, wrought; for it was he who thus appointed me to be his successor.  It was all accomplished by him.  I have never made any claims at all for myself.  According to the Will and Testament, such was not my role as The Second Guardian of the Faith to perform.  The Guardians of the Faith do not appoint themselves, for they are appointed – each Guardian by his predecessor.  Thus did Shoghi Effendi appoint me during his lifetime as the Guardian to follow him.  My Proclamation to the world was merely the announcement to all Baha'is of that which Shoghi Effendi had done when he appointed me to be his successor, which I have been ever since his death in England in November, 1957.

            Now why Shoghi Effendi made my appointment of Guardianship in the particular way in which he did, I do not know.  Nor is it admissible or permissible for any Baha'i to inquire about or attempt to understand, because none of the Faith would question this which was done by the Beloved Guardian of the Faith.

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

            This matter of violation, treated of so thoroughly in the teachings of The Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and acted upon for the protection of the Faith by The First Guardian of the Faith, is not generally understood by many of the believers in these days.  Otherwise, the people of the Faith would not be so misled as they are by these violating Hands of the Faith, who, like all violators in the history of the Cause, have been bent upon the destruction of the Faith, as they are now upon the way to do; should they succeed in doing this and should the Guardianship end, as they are striving that it should; the Baha'i Faith would indeed be ended, for without the Guardianship—that is the heart and the soul of the Faith – the Faith must die.

            But we of the Baha'i Faith have all assurance that in this great day of God His Kingdom is to triumph in this world and His Kingdom has come to dominate the world and all of its activities, even including the activities of the violators.  Therefore, I assure you that nothing is in the end going to prevail against the Baha'i Faith.  I assure you of this; and as Guardian of the Faith, my promise to you is infallible.  You can with all safety to yourselves as individuals, and collectively as a Cause, depend upon this: the eventual victory of the Baha'i Faith over all obstacles, even this present united violation that seems to be of all of the Hands, save myself, against the Guardianship of the Faith.  In the end the Cause will triumph over all.

            But now before this triumphant end comes to pass, we find our Faith to be torn and wounded by the claws ad talons of the powers of violation, and so for the moment our attention must be focused upon this enemy that must be overcome in order that the Faith live.

            The Master’s last message to America came in a cablegram to me and to another believer (Mrs. Parsons) in Washington, transmitted through Roy Wilhelm in New York.  It was a warning to the believers, saying: “He who sits with leper contracts leprosy”.

            It is most important now, at this time, that the people of the Faith study the Master’s teachings and tablets upon violation.  It is most important that they can see and understand how this spirit of violation now, at this moment, dominates the Hands of the Faith and all their actions.  The people should read and study the Will and Testament and note the manner in which the Beloved Guardian built up the Administration of the Cause, founding it upon the plan revealed in the Will and Testament. I urge them to study these holy teachings that they can see and understand for themselves how the Hands of the Faith are trying to lead them astray and kill the Faith in a fixed intent to do away for all time with the Guardianship, the very heart and life center of the Faith.  What more can I, their Guardian, say to them?  Why do they seek any other direction that this that I give them – I, the Guardian of the Faith?

            Acceptance of the basic principles of the Baha'i Faith – namely, the present-day fulfillment of the Covenant as taught by The Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the acceptance of His Will and Testament that gave the Administration of the Faith to the Baha'i World –this forms the basis of the Faith to the Baha'i World – this forms the basis of the Baha'i Faith and belief today and is the message that the Baha'is have in this day to give the world.  Such was the message given in the days of The First Guardian of the Faith, thus it still is and ever shall be under The Second Guardian of the Faith in this day, and thus will it be in the days of succeeding Guardians of the Faith in the future.

            The message that the violating Hands of the Faith have substituted in place of the message of The Beloved Guardian, the message of the Faith “Sans Guardian”, is similar to that of Ahmad Sohrab and his followers of The New History Society, who claim that they are Baha'i followers of Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá but that they do not accept the Guardian of the Faith.  Thus, like Ahmad Sohrab and his followers, are the present Hands of the Faith violating the Administrative Guardianship of the Faith. 

            How does it come that this is not clear to the minds of the overwhelming number of believers of today who are blindly following these Hands of the Faith?  Why can they not see, and see clearly, that they are all wrong?  I will answer this question “Why?”.  It is because of the disrupting forces of VIOLATION that poison the hearts and blind the eyes of the people of the Cause.

            Let all Baha'is turn to the teachings and explanations of The Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá regarding violation, and therein they will find clearly explained the dangers and the pitfalls that attack those who violate and seek to change the Holy Revealed Texts to suit their own ends.

            Such is the abyss into which these erring Hands of the Faith are now plunging the Cause the world around.  Such should be clearly evident to anyone who reads The Will and Testament upon which is founded the Administration of the Faith.

            The first move that should be taken by those who are firm in their support of the Administrative – Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith should be to go to the aid of those of the Faith who are confused and wavering – confused by the false and pernicious teachings of the Hands of the Cause that the believers have been subjected to since the death of the First Guardian of our Faith.  These confused souls should be talked to and reasoned with, all argument based upon the study and restudy of the Will and Testament of the Master and the writings and teachings of Shoghi Effendi.

            The spiritual safety of those people of the Faith, who have been and are supporting the program of violation of the Faith carried on by the Hands of the Faith, depends upon their knowledge of the Master’s Will and Testament and the interpretations of the Infallible Guardian of the Faith.

            The Arc of the Covenant of the Faith in this present storm is in danger.  As the first consideration of the Commander of a ship in distress in a storm at sea is to save the lives of those on his ship, so my first concern now, as Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, is the spiritual safety, life, assurance and well-being of the believers in this time of peril to the Faith.

            Those who are confirmed and firm in the Covenant and the Administration of the Faith will now, with renewed energies and confirmation, go forth to continue the teaching of the world crusade instituted by our late Beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.  The success of the crusade will be assured to them because they will be working under the Guardianship of the Faith – their Guardian being the heart of the Faith and leading them on to this victory, which victory will be followed by other victories of the Faith.

            But the believers are now up against this pernicious condition of the violation that has so taken possession of the body of the Hands of the Faith as to make these Hands of the Faith the enemies-in-chief of the Baha'i Cause.

            Are the believers of the Baha'i Faith going to accept and follow this studied and determined plan of the violating Hands of the Faith to destroy and put aside forever the Administration of the Guardianship of the Faith, given to the Baha'i world by The Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will and Testament and founded upon the Will and Testament by the Beloved First Guardian of the Faith?  Is the Administration of our Faith, that is being attacked by these violating Hands of the Cause, now to be abandoned?  Are the believers going to join with the violators in their plans for 1963 to set up for themselves another and a different order of procedure, one that they falaciously proclaim will be infallible?

            Are the Baha'is going to accept this falacious plan and reject the Administration founded upon the Will and Testament and created by our Beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi?  If so, it would be better had you never heard of the Baha'i Faith and well for you to so avow our intention that those believers standing firmly with the Guardian of the Faith should know who you are, that they can avoid you, and thereby not allow you to empoison others with this spiritual virus of violation that is so deadly to the Faith.

            All Baha'is should read and study the Will and Testament of the Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the teachings that he gave about violation and its ruinous ability to spread corruption and destructiveness in the Cause of God; for unless they read and study these Baha'i teachings and get a basic knowledge of these realities, they will not be able to protect themselves against the forces that, at this time, are so obsessing the Baha'i Faith as to threaten its very existence.

            What matters most is that within the Baha'i Fold there be those who understand the Faith, for in knowledge there is safety and spiritual power.  Knowledge of the teachings shows the believers how to teach and spread the Faith.  Without this knowledge, and the accompanying wisdom that goes with it, one is at the mercy of every violator of the Faith, who one may chance to meet, and he will be unable to protect himself from this violation.

            The Hands of the Cause accuse me of attempting to create a split in the Cause –as if this were a bad thing for the Baha'i Faith!  I am indeed making a split in the Faith, for I am separating the diseased from the healthy living spiritual organisms of the body of the Baha'is.  Such was the manner in which The Blessed Master saved the Faith in his day and the Beloved Guardian saved the Faith in his day.

      When there is a cancerous growth in the human body the only way to save that person is for the surgeon to cut out completely all of the infection.  Such is the way that we of the Baha'i Faith are taught to treat violation of our teaching – to cut it out and cut it off absolutely and entirely lest all the members of the entire body be destroyed.  Those who are the source of this infection should be separated from the others lest all become infected.

            Therefore, it is necessary now, at this time, that I, Guardian of the Faith, call all believers to separate and to cut themselves off completely from the direction of the Hands of the Faith and from participation in any way or form or manner with them in their plans for 1963, because these plans are all in violation of the Administration of the Faith as taught by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.  Therefore, I exercise the right of the Guardianship to cut off from the Baha'i Faith all of those Hands of the Faith who went upon record in the report of November, 1959, sent forth from the Holy Land and published to all the Baha'i world, declaring their intention of support to their plan for 1963.

            These Hands of the Faith I expel from the Faith, and I forbid all association with them and any support of their plan by the believers.  I cut them off from the Faith until each of them renounces his stand for this violation and indicates to me, beyond a doubt, his intention of following and supporting the Second Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith.

            There may be those among the twenty-two Hands, who signed that statement of violation, who did so under pressure upon the false concept that the minority should always follow the majority in Baha'i Administrative matters.  If so, to these Hands of the Faith I give every opportunity for reinstatement in the Faith as Hands of the Baha'i Cause.  But should there be such who persist in supporting this violation, then these are to remain as outcasts from the Faith.

            The rule of the majority applies in all Baha'i administrative matters with the exception of the violation of the teachings and of the principles of the Faith.  Where and when the traces of violation become apparent there should be no uniting whatsoever with the violators.  Such is the Baha'i teaching.  If there are Baha'is who do not understand this, let them turn to the Will and Testament and to the other teachings of the Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and they will find this principle of the cutting off from all association with the violators clearly taught and explained.

            Therefore, in order to maintain the purity and the spiritual strength of the Cause, I, your Guardian, insist that the Faithful followers of the Baha'i Faith comply with this order to maintain a most firm stand against any violation of our Faith and to sever all connections with and support of those who violate the Faith.

            The way of the Baha'i Faith is difficult.  At all times one must be awake to its perils, and particularly so in times of crisis such as the one in which the Faith now finds itself; for, at this present time, the very existence and the future of the Faith upon earth hangs in the balance.  Should the Guardianship of the Faith lapse and the line to allowed to break (as these violators are making every effort to accomplish), the line of Guardianship will be broken, infallibility will be lost to the Faith, and all hopes will be lost for the Kingdom of God upon Earth.

            Such a condition we must not allow to happen.  Even though we be but a mere handful – a very small number of followers faithful to the Covenant and the Administration of the Guardianship – we, with all the world in violation against us, must stand together and support the Guardianship.

            We must stand in firmness for the Guardianship, that is, the Administration of our Faith.  Not only must we do this for our own sakes and for the present existence of our Faith; but it must be done for the Faith in the ages to come, for it we fail now and allow the Guardianship to pass out of existence and this spiritual line of heritage to become extinct, future generations will have no Cause.  All infallible divine guidance will be at an end.

            Therefore, Friends of the Baha'i Faith, arise and maintain the life center – the heart and the soul of the Abha Kingdom upon earth that is the Guardianship – for only by our so doing will the Cause of El Abha be saved for this world.  Even though all the rest of the world be against us, nothing can destroy this Cause so long as even a small few believers stand in support of the Guardian and the continued Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith.

 With Baha'i love.

                                                           Faithfully in EL ABHA,

                                                           Mason Remey, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith