CHAPTER III
THE APPOINTED INTERPRETER
"The Guardians are the evidences of the maturity of mankind in the sense that at long last men have progressed to the point of having one world, and by needing one world management for world affairs...In the spiritual realm they have also reached the point where God could leave in human hands, that is, the Guardians’, guided directly by the Bab and Baha’u’llah, the affairs of His Faith for this Dispensation..." Shoghi Effendi cited in Baha’i News, June 1950
In The World Order of Baha’u’llah, page 20, Shoghi Effendi writes of the lack of specific authority from Christ, giving any of His followers the sole right to interpret His Word, and the results of that missing authority. The same problem now exists within the Baha’i community (communities) without an appointed Guardian, and unless God intervenes the future is bleak for the Baha’is.
"...none did He specifically invest with sufficient authority to either interpret His Word, or to add to what He had not specifically enjoined...For this reason, in later generations, voices were raised in protest against the self-appointed Authority which arrogated to itself privileges and powers which did not emanate from the clear text of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and which constituted a grave departure from the spirit which that Gospel did inculcate...’
Today the leaders of each of the Baha’i groups consider themselves to have the right to call anyone who disagrees with their interpretations of the Teachings, or their acts based on such interpretations, ‘violators’. None of these leaders, including the UHJ as a body, can substantiate such claims from the explicit text of either the Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha or the writings of Baha’u’llah. If such a situation continues, in the future there would be millions who would disagree with the interpretations of these leaders, quite willing and able to challenge their claims of authority. As a consequence those millions would be considered outcasts from the Baha’i communities. How can there be a World Order based on such an unstable foundation? The Hands called the Guardianship ‘Bada’, meaning that God had changed the plans for His Cause, and the Guardianship was no longer necessary. But did He change His Plans?
In the opening quotation we see that Shoghi Effendi spoke of the Guardianship as being a sign of human maturity, and that it would last for the length of the Dispensation of the Revelation of the Greatest Name. Abdu’l-Baha stressed the importance of having an authorized or ‘appointed’ interpreter of the Word, and as we have seen, at this time there is no such interpreter.
"The text of the Divine Book is this: If two souls quarrel and contend about a question of the Divine Questions, differing and disputing, both are wrong. The wisdom of this incontrovertible law of God is this: that between two souls from amongst the believers of God, no contention and dispute might arise; that they may speak with each other with infinite amity and love. Should there appear the least trace of controversy. they must remain silent, and both parties must continue their discussions no longer, but ask the reality of the question from the Interpreter. This is the irrefutable command." Abdu’l-Baha cited in Baha’i World Faith, p. 428
According to Shoghi Effendi’s interpretations, stated in his book Dispensation, any future UHJ must have a Guardian to interpret the Teachings, and tell the UHJ members when their legislation is opposed to the Writings of Baha’u’llah, and if they are exceeding their mandate. As you can see from the following statement by Baha’u’llah, interpretations of Writings are manifold. and only an appointed Interpreter can comprehend their meanings. So any future UHJ will need a Guardian as a member of that body.
"Know assuredly that just as thou firmly believest that the Word of God, exalted be His glory, endureth for ever, thou must, likewise, believe with undoubting faith, that the meaning can never be exhausted. They who are its appointed interpreters, they whose hearts are the repositories of its secrets, are, however, the only ones who can comprehend its manifold wisdom." Baha’u’llah in Gleanings, p. 175
Despite this clear statement of Baha’u’llah’s that the meaning of the Word of God can never be exhausted, and that only the appointed interpreters can comprehend its meaning, the editors of the 1980 edition of Baha’u’llah and the New Era on page 285,inserted the statement: "Pure and inviolate, the revealed Word of Baha’u’llah, with its authorized interpretation, remains throughout the Dispensation the uncorrupted and incorruptable source of spiritual life to men", implying that single interpretations in our possession from the time of Shoghi Effendi will suffice until the next Manifestation. Speaking of the mportance of the guardianship in the World Order of God’s Cause, Shoghi Effendi, on page148 of The World Order of Baha’u’llah (also in the separate edition called Dispensation which is part of that book) tells us that the Guardianship is indispensable.
"Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Baha’u’llah would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as Abdu’l-Baha has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God...Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled. and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations, would be completely lacking, and necessary guidance to define the sphere of legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn."
No Baha’i should underestimate the vital importance of the Guardianship, the Appointed Interpreter, for the spiritual unity of humanity, and the success of any World Order. It is God’s World Order, not ours, and it belongs to all of humanity, not to the Baha’is. The idea, held by many, that any one of the existing leaders or the UHJ can fulfill the functions of a Guardian, are seriously in error, and the very Words of God testify to this fact, as do current events within the Baha’i community. Today a serious problem exists, a problem that only God can resolve, and we ought not believe that God cannot intervene in human affairs whenever He wills, in order to establish HIS WORLD ORDER and the Kingdom of God on earth.
"What ‘oppression’ is more grievous than that a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek it? For opinions have sorely differed. and the ways unto the attainment of God have multiplied. This ‘oppression’ is the essential feature of every Revelation. Unless it cometh to pass, the Sun of Truth will not be made manifest. For the break of the morn of divine guidance must needs follow the darkness of the night of error..." Baha’u’llah in Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 31