Issues of Authority and Station in the Bahá’í Faith
There is a strong and inseparable connection between the highest authority in the Administrative Order of the Faith i.e. the Guardianship, and the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh. The Covenant is the channel from which authority is derived and flows through and passes on by appointment. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Center of that Covenant, and the Guardians have emerged from the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.
Authority of the Guardians:
The authority of the Guardians includes, but is not limited to the right to interpret, to determine, command, control, adjudicate, and to settle issues or disputes in the Faith or about the Faith. [Also, there are other levels of authority in the Administrative Order of the Faith, such as the different levels of the Houses of Justice which shall not be discussed here]
Station:
This word is used to distinguish spiritual status in the Faith (spiritual position or rank). For example, a Hand of the Cause has a station while a member of the Universal House of Justice does not. The station of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is continued in the next world while the station of the Guardians is limited to this world.
Relation of authority to station:
Authority is an integral of station and they are inseparable. To make it more clear, I give an example: If we look at a chart of a business organization we will see some boxes which like a pyramid is pointed at the top i.e., one box is at the top; in which is written Chairman of the Board of Directors and a line downward connects this box to another box which is written Board of Directors and from this box several lines go to some boxes which represent the positions of the high level directors and executives of the company and the departments that they preside over and from each of these boxes some downward lines are connected to the lower levels of management. Then in the constitution of the company, for each position from top to bottom, there is an explanation of the authority and duties for each position¬Ý and an explanation as to the extent of supervision, command or taking of orders etc. The authority is attached to the position as well as the duties for anybody who occupies these positions. As soon as the person leaves that position, authority will shift to and be exercised by the next person who occupies their place, so the authority is attached to the position and it is not attached to the person. It is the same way with the station of the Guardianship. When a person becomes the Guardian i.e., occupies the station of the Guardianship, he will be endowed with the authority that the “Charter of the New World Order” describes. Neither the authority nor the station of the Guardian has any relationship to bloodline, race, nationality or language. “Acquired infallibility is not a natural necessity.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 171.
Infallibility and protection from error:
The fact that we must not exaggerate about the station of the Guardians in no way means that we should understate their exalted station. The Guardians are the sign of God, the chosen branch, and interpreter of the Word of God and recipients of the “ray of the bounty of infallibility which shines from the Sun of Reality upon hearts, and grants a share and portion of itself to souls. Although these souls have not essential infallibility, still they are under the protection of God — that is to say, God preserves them from error.” If we believe that Guardians are “under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One” as the Master explains in his Will and Testament, and recognize that they are receivers of divine guidance we must accept that they will not make mistakes in matters which are related strictly to the Cause and in interpretation of the teachings. To me “God preserves them from error” clearly means they will not make errors. You preserve food so that it will not deteriorate. We know that Guardians are not infallible on subjects that are not related to the Cause and about these subjects they are like other humans, but whatever they do or say in regards to matters related to the Cause, since they are guided by Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, it is correct and infallible, and it is the way that it should be at the time, of the situation, condition or occasion, although it may seem to some of us as not right.
There is no one with authority to judge a Guardian:
It is questionable who has the authority to judge a Guardian in regards to matters related to the Cause; to say in this case or that case he made a mistake? We have seen in T.R.B. some comments that Shoghi Effendi made a mistake because he did not announce his successor more clearly than he did or that Mason Remey made a mistake because he delayed making his proclamation or similarly why did Joel B. Marangella wait so long to issue his proclamation? My answer is: those things or similar things had to happen. They were guided to do it the way they did. If Shoghi Effendi trusted Rúhíyyih Khánum, he did not make a mistake as she was a Hand of the Cause and also his secretary. Moreover, she was his wife, and all of the records of her writings prior to the passing of the first Guardian reveal to the reader her profound knowledge of the Faith and the Covenant and emphasize her clear testimony to the necessity of the continuation of the Guardianship until the end of the Bahá’í Dispensation. If Rúhíyyih Khánum after the passing of Shoghi Effendi followed the satanic promptings of her human soul,that was her great error which made her the “Arch Covenant-breaker.” The Guardians are not prophets. Some people claim that the Manifestations of God have made a lot of mistakes (which is not true), the fact is that we cannot judge those things that have been done or have happened in the past according to today’s knowledge and¬Ýunderstandings and conditions. We cannot blame Jesus for what He did with the businesses in front of the Temple, which by today’s laws¬Ýwould be considered a crime. He did what He had to do then according¬Ýto the Will of God. Some people have raised questions as to why Shoghi Effendi put so many of his relatives out of the Faith. The fact is that the condition of the Faith in its infancy required a non-tolerant discipline and on the other hand those relatives’ exploitation and misuse of the privileges that they possessed was not acceptable and they left no other choice for the Guardian. He did what he had to do according to the Will of God.
The Guardian must be obeyed:
We have to accept and obey the explanations and interpretations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Guardians, so we have to believe in the explanation and interpretation of Shoghi Effendi, about infallibility, when he says: “The infallibility of the Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to the Cause and interpretation of the teachings; he is not an infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics, science, etc. When he feels that a certain thing is essential for the protection of the Cause, even if it is something that affects a person personally, he must be obeyed, but when he gives advice, such as that he gave you in a previous letter about your future, it is not binding; you are free to follow it or not as you please.” (Directives from the Guardian, p. 33)
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