Chapter 1

Directives from the Guardian

by Shoghi Effendi

Edition 1, (September 2006)

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CONTENTS

Baha'i Terms of Use 1: 'ABDU'L-BAHA (Stories About) 2: 'ABDU'L-BAHA'S MINISTRY (Re: World Objectives) 3: ADMINISTRATION--Attitude Towards (National Assembly's Statement Approved) 4: ADMINISTRATION, BAHA'I--(Rules and Regulations) 5: ADMINISTRATION (Study and Apply) 6: ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY (Related to America) 7: AFRICAN STUDENTS AND VISITORS 8: AGES AND EPOCHS (Define) 9: ALLAH-U-ABHA (Baha'i Greeting) 10: ANNUAL CONVENTION 11: AQDAS (THE)--LAWS OF 12: ARCHIVES (The Importance Of) 13: ARCHIVES 14: ASSEMBLIES--UNITY OF (Baha'u'llah's Promise) 15: ASSEMBLY MEETINGS 16: ASSEMBLY VACANCY 17: ASSOCIATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS (Appointing of) 18: ATTACKS FROM CHURCH MISSIONARIES 19: BAB, DECLARATION OF 20: BAB'S PHOTOGRAPH 21: BAHA'I DISPENSATION (Duration of) 22: BAHA'IS (Destiny of) 23: BAHA'IS--NEW (On Admittance of New Applicants) 24: BAHA'IS--NEW (On Presenting the Master's Will to New Applicants) 25: BAHA'IS--NEW (Qualifications of a New Believer) 26: BAHA'IS--NEW (The "Two Extremes" in Bringing in New Baha'is) 27: BAHA'IS (Two Kinds of) 28: BAHA'I WAY OF LIFE (The Strength of the Cause) 29: BAHA'U'LLAH (In accepting) 30: BELIEVERS, NEW (Accept Cause Without Qualifications) 31: BELIEVERS, REMOVAL OF 32: BIBLE (Authenticity of the) 33: CALENDAR (BAHA'I) 34: CALIPHATE AND IMAMATE 35: CATASTROPHE (The Apocalyptic Upheaval) 36: CIVIL COURTS (Disputes) 37: CIVIL ELECTIONS (Voting in) 38: COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS (Assembly Members) 39: COMMITTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES 40: CONTRIBUTION 41: CONTRIBUTIONS (Lifting the Burden of Misery from Mankind) 42: CONTRIBUTIONS ARE VOLUNTARY 43: COVENANT (Meaning of Baha'i) 44: COVENANT BREAKERS (Expulsion and Reinstatement of) 45: COVENANT BREAKERS (Shun) 46: CRIMSON BOOK (The) 47: CRITICISM 48: CRITICISM (On) 49: DANIEL, THE PROPHECY OF 50: DISPENSATION OF BAHA'U'LLAH 51: DISPUTES, INDIVIDUAL--(Consultation with Assembly) 52: DRAMA--MANIFESTATIONS (Dramatic Works) 53: DRAMA OF THE FAITH 54: ECONOMIC TEACHINGS 55: ECONOMICS--BAHA'I 56: ECONOMIC TEACHINGS 57: EDUCATION (On Inability of Modern Education to Produce a Mature Mind) 58: ELDERS (Four and Twenty) 59: ELECTION (Acceptance of) 60: ELECTIONS (BAHA'I) 61: ELECTIONS (BAHA'I) (To Administrative Posts) 62: ELECTIONS (Assembly Voting) 63: ELECTIONS (The Character of Baha'i) 64: ELECTION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES (Radical Changes Not Advised) 65: ELECTIONS, REGARDING (In the United States) 66: EMMANUEL, HIS HIGHNESS 67: ESPERANTO (The Subject of) 68: EVOLUTION, MAN'S 69: FAMILY TIES, SPIRITUAL TIES (Vs.) 70: FAST (Necessary Permission For) 71: FASTING (The Ordinance of) 72: FAST (THE) 73: FEAST DAY (Changing Observance of) 74: FEAST (Nature of) 75: NAW-RUZ FEAST (Observance of Feast Day Calendar) 76: NAW-RUZ, TIME OF CELEBRATION OF 77: FEAST (Time for Holding) 78: FEASTS (Attendance at) 79: FEASTS AND ANNIVERSARIES--Baha'i 80: FUND (How Every Believer Can Test the Measure of His Faith) 81: FUND (The Life-blood of these Nascent Institutions) 82: FUND (National Fund, Chief Obligation of) 83: FUND (We must be like the Fountain) 84: FUND (The Sacred Obligation) 85: FUNERAL (Baha'i Funeral Service) 86: GREATEST NAME (Translation of Symbol of) 87: GROUP, BAHA'I 88: GUARDIAN (Infallibility of the) 89: GUIDANCE, DIVINE (Of Guardian) 90: GUIDANCE (Individual) 91: GUIDANCE (Question of) 92: HANDS OF THE CAUSE--INSTITUTIONS (Station and Function--When Mentioned in Writing) 93: HAZIRATU'L-QUDS (Functions of) 94: HEALING 95: HEROISM IS NEEDED 96: HIDDEN WORDS (Arabic) 97: HOLY DAYS--BAHA'I 98: HOLY DAYS OF OTHER RELIGIONS 99: HOLY SHRINE (Believers turn to the) 100: HOSTS OF HIS TESTAMENT (The) 101: CORD (Meaning of) 102: ILLNESS 103: ILLNESS (Cancer) 104: INHERITANCE (Division of) 105: INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE (Whole question of) 106: ISLAM 107: JESUS (Virgin Birth of) 108: LIFE AFTER DEATH 109: LOVE (Turn to Baha'i Brothers and Sisters) 110: LOVE, CUSTODIANS OF (World Exceedingly Dark) 111: LOVE--UNITY (The Greatest Need) 112: MANIFESTATION--IN 1000 YEARS (Organic Unity) 113: MANIFESTATIONS (The Phrase--"His Holiness") 114: MANIFESTATIONS (Return of the Qualities) 115: MANIFESTATIONS (Significance of the Remains of the Prophets) 116: MANIFESTATIONS (Station of) 117: MARRIAGE, BAHA'I 118: MARRIAGE, BAHA'I (Consent of Parents--duty of Assembly to ascertain validity) 119: MARRIAGE--(Consent of Parents--Non-Baha'i Participants) 120: MARRIAGE TO NON-BAHA'I 121: MARRIAGES, BAHA'I--(Reporting to the NSA) 122: MARRIAGE, BAHA'I (re: Consent of Natural Parents) 123: MARRIAGE OF BAHA'U'LLAH 124: MASONRY, FREE (Membership in) 125: MEDICAL SCIENCE (Leaving bodies to) 126: MEDITATION 127: MEETINGS, BAHA'I 128: MEMBERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES, LSA (Residential Qualifications) 129: MEMORIAL OFFERINGS 130: MENTAL ILLNESS 131: MILITARY DUTY (Status of Baha'is in relation to) 132: MILITARY SERVICE 133: MORMONS (Religious sects--Associate with all--Show tolerance and friendliness) 134: MUNIRIH _KH_ANUM 135: MUSIC 136: NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES (Authority of) 137: N.S.A. INVOLVEMENT (Appeals Prohibited) 138: N.S.A.'s JURISDICTION OVER COMMITTEES (Authority of) 139: NEW ASSEMBLIES (Formation of) 140: NEW ASSEMBLIES (Residence Qualifications) 141: NINE (Number) 9: religions of the world, that is 'existing religions, we should not 142: ORIENTALS 143: ORIENTALS (Association with) 144: PACIFISM (Baha'i View of) 145: PEACE 146: PHOTOGRAPHS 147: PILGRIM'S NOTES 148: PIONEERING 149: POLITICAL FIGURES (Non-Political Character of the Baha'i Faith) 150: POLITICS (Loyalty to World Order of Baha'u'llah) 151: POLITICS (Non-Interference in) 152: POLITICS (Remain Aloof from Political Affairs) 153: POLITICS (Shun Politics Like the Plague) 154: PRAYER (Five Steps of) 155: PRAYER BEADS 156: PRAYER (Baha'u'llah's in Dispensation) 157: PRAYERS 158: PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS (Book of) 159: PRAYERS (Daily) 160: PRAYERS (Daily Obligatory) 161: PRAYERS (Healing) 162: PRAYERS (To be Read as Revealed) 163: PREJUDICES (Racial) 164: PROPHETS (Many will appear) 165: PSYCHIATRY 166: PSYCHIC PHENOMENA 167: PURE SOULS 168: PYRAMID PROPHECIES 169: PROMINENT FIGURES (Letters to Government Heads) 170: QUR'AN ('Sales' Translation Recommended) 171: QUR'AN--STUDY OF (Concerning School Program) 172: QUR'AN, SURIHS OF THE 173: RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS, NON-BAHA'I 174: RESURRECTION (Explains the Passage on page 231 of the Gleanings) 175: RINGSTONES AND BURIAL STONES 176: SUMMER SCHOOLS, BAHA'I (Importance of) 177: SUMMER SCHOOLS, BAHA'I (Purpose of) 178: SERVICE TO HUMANITY 179: SEVEN LIGHTS OF UNITY 180: SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE FAITH (A Single Divine and World-Embracing System) 181: SPIRITUALITY (The Troubles of This World Pass) 182: SUMMER SCHOOLS (The Baha'i) 183: SUMMER SCHOOLS (Baha'i Atmosphere in) 184: SUPREME TRIBUNAL 185: TABLETS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHA 186: TEACHERS (Unqualified Loyalty) 187: TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS (Can Serve as Both) 188: TEACHERS, BAHA'I (A Principle) 189: TEACHING 190: TEACHING (Love for Baha'u'llah) 191: TEACHING 192: TEACHING (Advent of Divine Justice) 193: TEACHING, CONCENTRATE ON (Source of Joy and Consolation) 194: TEACHING (The Concourse on High) 195: TEACHING (Direct) 196: TEACHING--Divine World Order--The Sole Panacea 197: TEACHING (Duty of Every Believer) 198: TEACHING (Give the Message) 199: TEACHING (Greater Unity Among the Friends) 200: TEACHING (Love and Unity) 201: TEACHING--BAHA'I FAITH (What the Cause Now Requires) 202: TEACHING (Study Early History and Principles of the Faith) 203: TEACHING (The Utmost Effort) 204: TEACHING (In South) 205: TEACHING METHODS 206: TEMPLE, CHANTING IN THE 207: TESTS AND PROBLEMS 208: THEOCRACY 209: TOMBSTONE, BAHA'I SYMBOL ON 210: TRANSLITERATION OF BAHA'I TERMS 211: UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE, MEMBERSHIP 212: VACCINATION 213: VISIONS 214: VOTING--(Civil) 215: VOTING RIGHT, The 216: VOTING RIGHTS (Status of Individuals Deprived of) 217: WORK, BAHA'I 218: WORK, DAILY--(Baha'u'llah's Command Concerning Daily Work) 219: WORLD FEDERATION--(On Baha'i Participation in International Conferences) 220: YEAR NINE, The 221: YOUTH 222: YOUTH (Regarding the Age of Fifteen) 223: BAHA'I YOUTH IN SCHOOL 224: YOUTH, JUNIOR (Do Great Deeds)

1: 'ABDU'L-BAHA (STORIES ABOUT)

"He would also urge you to attach no importance to the stories told about 'Abdu'l-Baha or to those attributed to Him by the friends. These should be regarded in the same light as the notes and impressions of visiting pilgrims. They need not be suppressed, but they should not also be given prominent or official recognition."

2: 'ABDU'L-BAHA'S MINISTRY (RE: WORLD OBJECTIVES)

"As to the three aims which Shoghi Effendi has stated in his America and the Most Great Peace to have been the chief objectives of 'Abdu'l-Baha's ministry, it should be pointed out that the first was: The establishment of the Cause in America; the erection of the Baha'i Temple in I_sh_qabad, and the building on Mt. Carmel of a mausoleum marking the resting-place of the Bab, were the two remaining ones."

3: ADMINISTRATION--ATTITUDE TOWARDS (NATIONAL ASSEMBLY'S STATEMENT APPROVED)

"He also wishes me to express his approval of your statement in the November issue of the Baha'i News to the effect of creating within the Assemblies and individual believers a more positive and active attitude towards the Administration. The need for positive action seems, indeed, to be one of the most urgent needs of the Cause at present."

4: ADMINISTRATION, BAHA'I--(RULES AND REGULATIONS)

"The various rulings and regulations recorded in the 'Baha'i Administration', and the supplementary statements already issued by the National Assembly, he feels, are for the present sufficiently detailed to guide the friends in their present-day activities... The American believers, as well as their National representatives, must henceforth direct their attention to the greater and vital issues which an already established Administration is called upon to face and handle, rather than allow their energies to be expended in the consideration of purely secondary administrative matters."

5: ADMINISTRATION (STUDY AND APPLY)

"Without the study and application of the administration the teaching of the Cause becomes not only meaningless, but loses in effectiveness and scope."

6: ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY (RELATED TO AMERICA)

"Now that they (the American believers) have erected the administrative machinery of the Cause they must put it to its real use--serving only as an instrument to facilitate the flow of the spirit of the Faith out into the world. Just as the muscles enable the body to carry out the will of the individual, all Assemblies and committees must enable the believers to carry forth the Message of God to the waiting public, the love of Baha'u'llah, and the healing laws and principles of the Faith to all men."

7: AFRICAN STUDENTS AND VISITORS

"He hopes that wherever it is possible the believers will make every effort to contact African students and visitors, and to show them kindness and hospitality. This may not only lead to the conversion of some while in America, but will also make friends for the Faith in Africa."

8: AGES AND EPOCHS (DEFINE)

"The Faith is divided into three Ages: the Heroic, the Formative, the Golden Age, as has been outlined in His Writings. The Heroic Age closed with the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha. The Formative Age is divided into epochs. The first epoch lasted 25 years. We are now actually in the second epoch of the Formative Age. How long the Formative Age will last is not known, and there will probably be a number of epochs in it.

"The Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Baha is divided into epochs. The first Seven-Year Plan constituted the first stage of the first epoch; the second Seven-Year Plan constitutes the second stage; while the Ten-Year Crusade will constitute the third stage of the first epoch of the Divine Plan. The first epoch of the Divine Plan will conclude with the conclusion of the Ten-Year Crusade."

9: ALLAH-U-ABHA (BAHA'I GREETING)

"The Baha'is are free to greet each other with Allah-u-Abha when they meet, if they want to, but they should avoid anything which to outsiders, in a western country, might seem like some strange Oriental password. We must be very firm on principles and laws, but very normal and natural in our ways, so as to attract strangers."

10: ANNUAL CONVENTION

"I am deeply convinced that if the Annual Convention of the friends in America, as well as the National Spiritual Assembly, desire to become potent instruments for the speedy realization of the Beloved's fondest hopes for the future of that country, they should endeavor, first and foremost, to exemplify, in an increasing degree, to all Baha'is and to the world at large the high ideals of fellowship and service which Baha'u'llah and the beloved Master repeatedly set before them."

11: AQDAS (THE)--LAWS OF

"In view of the importance of such a statement, he feels it is his duty to explain that the Laws revealed by Baha'u'llah in the Aqdas are, whenever practical and not in direct conflict with the Civil laws of the land, absolutely binding on every believer or Baha'i institution whether in the East or in the West. Certain laws, such as fasting, obligatory prayers, the consent of the parents before marriage, avoidance of alcoholic drinks, monogamy, should be regarded by all believers as universally and vitally applicable at the present time. Others have been formulated in anticipation of a state of society destined to emerge from the chaotic conditions that prevail today.

"When the Aqdas is published, this matter will be further explained and elucidated. What has not been formulated in the Aqdas, in addition to matters of detail and of secondary importance arising out of the application of the laws already formulated by Baha'u'llah, will have to be enacted by the Universal House of Justice. This body can supplement but never invalidate or modify in the least degree what has already been formulated by Baha'u'llah. Nor has the Guardian any right whatsoever to lessen the binding effect much less to abrogate the provisions of so fundamental and sacred a Book..."

12: ARCHIVES (THE IMPORTANCE OF)

"The importance of the institution of Baha'i Archives is not due only to the many teaching facilities it procures, but is especially to be found in the vast amount of historical data and information it offers both to the present-day administrators of the Cause, and to the Baha'i historians of the future. The institution of Baha'i Archives is indeed a most valuable storehouse of information regarding all the aspects of the Faith, administrative as well as doctrinal. Future generations of believers will be surely in a better position than we are to truly and adequately appreciate the many advantages and facilities which the institution of the Archives offers to individual believers and also to the community at large. Now that the Cause is rapidly passing through so many different phases of its evolution, is the time for the friends to exert their utmost in order to preserve as much as they can of the sacred relics and various other precious objects that are associated with the lives of the Founders of the Faith, and particularly the Tablets They have revealed. Every believer should realize that he has a definite responsibility to shoulder in this matter, and to help, to whatever extent he can, in rendering successful and valuable work which National and local Baha'i Archives committees are so devotedly accomplishing for the Faith in America."

13: ARCHIVES

"The general principle should be that any object used by Him in person should be preserved for posterity, whether in the local or National Archives. It is the duty and responsibility of the Baha'i Assemblies to ascertain carefully whether such objects are genuine or not, and to exercise the utmost caution in the matter."

14: ASSEMBLIES--UNITY OF (BAHA'U'LLAH'S PROMISE)

"Baha'u'llah has given the promise that in every Assembly where unity and harmony prevail, there His glorious spirit will not only be present, but will animate, sustain and guide all the friends in all their deliberations.

"It is to unity that the Guardian has been continually calling the friends: For where a united will exists, nothing can effectively oppose and hamper the forces of constructive development."

15: ASSEMBLY MEETINGS

"The Spiritual Assembly must decide how often it should meet in order to properly handle the affairs of the Cause under its jurisdiction. Twice a week or twice a month is not the point, the point is that it should be alert and carry on the work adequately."

16: ASSEMBLY VACANCY

"...It is establishing a dangerous precedent to allow Assemblies to put a time limit on non-attendance of their members at meetings of the S.A., beyond which that person is automatically dropped from the Assembly and a vacancy declared ... there should be no time limit fixed by Assemblies beyond which a person is dropped. Every case of prolonged absence from the sessions of the Assembly should be considered separately by that Assembly, and if the person is seen to not want to attend meetings or to be held away from them indefinitely because of illness or travel, then a vacancy could legitimately be declared and a new member be elected."

17: ASSOCIATE COMMITTEE MEMBERS (APPOINTING OF)

"The Guardian wishes your Assembly to abandon the practice of appointing associate members to some of the committees... Such a practice, he feels, tends to create confusion and misunderstanding."

18: ATTACKS FROM CHURCH MISSIONARIES

"The Guardian has read very carefully the letters your Assembly has received from the Spiritual Assemblies of Urbana and Chicago, reporting the criticisms that have been advanced by Rev. John Elder, a missionary from Iran. While he is certain that such attacks from church missionaries are destined to increase in number and force in the future, he feels that for the present they do not constitute a challenge so grave and widespread as to justify any strong action by your Assembly. Later on, when the very progress of the Cause on the one hand, and the corresponding decline in ecclesiastical organizations on the other, will inevitably incite Christian ecclesiastical leaders to vehemently oppose and undermine the Faith, the believers will then have a real chance to defend and vindicate the Cause. Under present conditions it would be inadvisable for the American community to give such issues too much prominence."

19: BAB, DECLARATION OF

"In regard to the question submitted to your Assembly by the Baha'i group at Maui, Hawaii, concerning the passage on page 88 of the book 'Baha'i Administration,'

"...The Guardian wishes me to inform you that the festivals of the Declaration of the Bab and the birthday of 'Abdu'l-Baha referred to in that passage as having been celebrated on the twenty-second of November, 1925, by the Baha'is of the Orient, are based on the lunar calendar. For this reason the date of the celebration is not fixed, but shifts every year. Eventually as the Master has explicitly stated, a uniform system will have to be established by the International House of Justice."

20: BAB'S PHOTOGRAPH

"May I also draw your attention to the fact that the Bab's photograph which appeared in Nicolas' book, Siyyid 'Ali Muhammad dit le Bab, many years ago, is not authentic, although it presents great similarity to the original drawings of the Bab's portrait."

21: BAHA'I DISPENSATION (DURATION OF)

"Concerning your question relative to the duration of the Baha'i Dispensation. There is no contradiction between Baha'u'llah's statement in the Iqan about the renewal of the City of God once every thousand years, and that of the Guardian in the Dispensation to the effect that the Baha'i cycle will extend over a period of at least 500,000 years. The apparent contradiction is due to the confusion of the terms cycle and dispensation. For while the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah will last for at least one thousand years, His Cycle will extend still farther, to at least 500,000 years.

"The Baha'i cycle is, indeed, incomparable in its greatness. It includes not only the Prophets that will appear after Baha'u'llah, but all those who have preceded Him ever since Adam. These should, indeed, be viewed as constituting but preliminary stages leading gradually to the appearance of this supreme Manifestation of God."

22: BAHA'IS (DESTINY OF)

"I, for my part, am determined to reinforce the impulse that impels its members forward to meet their destiny. The Founders of their Faith survey from the Kingdom on high the range of their achievements, acclaim their progress, and are ever ready to speed their eventual triumph."

23: BAHA'IS--NEW (ON ADMITTANCE OF NEW APPLICANTS)

"He has noted with care what you had written him regarding the question of admittance of applicants into the Cause. This is certainly a matter which calls for the utmost tact, wisdom and consideration on the part of Baha'i Assemblies. While, as he himself has repeatedly stressed, a uniform procedure should be adopted and followed whereby every applicant should be required to express his whole-hearted and unconditional acceptance of the essential verities of the Cause, great care should also be taken not to insist on matters of a secondary importance which the newcomer cannot, for obvious reasons, fully grasp and apprehend at the beginning. Once the applicant has been admitted in the Community with a clear understanding of the duties and responsibilities, and essential implications which such membership entails, there would be no difficulty for him in gradually adjusting his whole ideas according to the requirements set forth in the Teachings. The process of becoming a Baha'i is necessarily slow and gradual. The essential is not that the beginner should have a full and detailed knowledge of the Cause, a thing which is obviously impossible in the vast majority of cases, but that he should, by an act of his own will, be willing to uphold and follow the truth and guidance set forth in the Teachings, and thus open his heart and mind to the reality of the Manifestation."

24: BAHA'IS--NEW (ON PRESENTING THE MASTER'S WILL TO NEW APPLICANTS)