Directives From The Guardian Part 8

81: FUND (THE LIFE-BLOOD OF THESE NASCENT INSt.i.tUTIONS)

"As the activities of the American Baha'i Community expand, and its world-wide prestige correspondingly increases, the Inst.i.tution of the National Fund, the bedrock on which all other Inst.i.tutions must necessarily rest and be established, acquires added importance, and should be increasingly supported by the entire body of believers, both in their individual capacities and through their collective efforts, whether organized as groups or as Local a.s.semblies. The supply of funds, in support of the National Treasury, const.i.tutes, at the present time, the life-blood of these nascent inst.i.tutions you are laboring to erect. Its importance cannot, surely, be overestimated. Untold blessings shall no doubt crown every effort directed to that end."

82: FUND (NATIONAL FUND, CHIEF OBLIGATION OF)

"Regarding his special contributions to the Teaching Fund; he feels that this is a matter to be left entirely to the discretion of the N.S.A. He feels that the continuous expenditure of a considerable sum to provide for traveling expenses of teachers who are in need, const.i.tutes in these days the chief obligation of the National Fund. An effort should be made to facilitate as much as possible, the extension of the teaching work by helping those who are financially unable to reach their destination, and once there to encourage them to settle and earn the means of their livelihood."

83: FUND (WE MUST BE LIKE THE FOUNTAIN)

"We must be like the fountain or spring that is continually emptying itself of all that it has and is continually being refilled from an invisible source. To be continually giving out for the good of our fellows undeterred by fear of poverty and reliant on the unfailing bounty of the Source of all wealth and all good--this is the secret of right living."

84: FUND (THE SACRED OBLIGATION)

"And as the progress and extension of spiritual activities is dependent and conditioned upon material means, it is of absolute necessity that immediately after the establishment of Local as well as National Spiritual a.s.semblies, a Baha'i Fund be established, to be placed under the exclusive control of the Spiritual a.s.sembly. All donations and contributions should be offered to the Treasurer of the a.s.sembly, for the express purpose of promoting the interests of the Cause, throughout the locality or country.

It is the sacred obligation of every conscientious and faithful servant of Baha'u'llah who desires to see His Cause advance, to contribute freely and generously for the increase of that Fund..."

85: FUNERAL (BAHa'i FUNERAL SERVICE)

"Regarding the Baha'i funeral service: It is extremely simple, as it consists only of a congregational prayer to be read before burial. This prayer will be made available to the friends when the Aqdas is translated and published. In the meantime your N.S.A. should take great care lest any uniform procedure or ritual in this matter be adopted or imposed upon the friends. The danger in this, as in some other cases regarding Baha'i wors.h.i.+p, is that a definite system of rigid rituals and practices be developed among the believers. The utmost simplicity and flexibility should be observed, and a selection from the Baha'i Sacred Writing should serve the purpose at the present time, provided this selection is not rigidly and uniformly adopted on all such occasions."

"There is no objection whatsoever to non-Baha'is being present when the long prayer for the dead is read, as long as they respect our manner of reading it by rising and standing as the Baha'is do on this occasion. Nor, indeed, is there any objection to non-Baha'is being present during the reading of any Baha'i prayer for the departed.

"An official Baha'i funeral service should only be given for a believer, but there is no objection to the reading of Baha'i prayers, or indeed, to a Baha'i conducting the funeral service of a non-Baha'i if this has been requested."

86: GREATEST NAME (TRANSLATION OF SYMBOL OF)

"He also wishes me to inform you that the symbol of the Greatest Name represents an invocation which can be translated either as 'O Glory of Glories' or 'O Glory of the All-Glorious'. The word Glory used in this connection is a translation of the Arabic term 'Baha, the name of Baha'u'llah."

87: GROUP, BAHa'i

"...next to an isolated believer, any number of confirmed Baha'is less than nine persons should be considered as automatically const.i.tuting a Baha'i Group..."

88: GUARDIAN (INFALLIBILITY OF THE)

"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."

89: GUIDANCE, DIVINE (OF GUARDIAN)

"He feels that if ... ponders more deeply about the fundamentals of Divine Revelation, she will also come to understand the Guardians.h.i.+p. Once the mind and heart have grasped the fact that G.o.d guides men through a Mouthpiece, a human being, a Prophet, infallible and unerring, it is only a logical projection of this acceptance to also accept the station of 'Abdu'l-Baha and the Guardians. The Guardians are the evidence of the maturity of mankind in the sense that at long last men have progressed to the point of having one world, and of needing one world management for human affairs. In the spiritual realm they have also reached the point where G.o.d could leave, in human hands (i.e. the Guardians) guided directly by the Bab and Baha'u'llah, as the Master states in His Will, the affairs of His Faith for this Dispensation. This is what is meant by 'this is the day which will not be followed by night.' In this Dispensation, divine guidance flows on to us in this world after the Prophet's ascension, through first the Master, and then the Guardians. If a person can accept Baha'u'llah's function, it should not present any difficulty to them to also accept what He has ordained in a Divinely guided individual in matters pertaining to the Faith."

90: GUIDANCE (INDIVIDUAL)

"The questions you ask in your letter about individual guidance have two aspects, one might say. It is good that people should turn to G.o.d and beseech His aid in solving their problems and guiding their acts, indeed every day of their lives, if they feel the desire to do so. But they cannot possibly impose what they feel to be their guidance on anyone else, let alone on a.s.semblies or Committees, as Baha'u'llah has expressly laid down the law of consultation and never indicated that anything else superseded it."

"As to meditation: This also is a field in which the individual is free.

There are no set forms of meditation prescribed in the teachings, no plan as such, for inner development. The friends are urged--nay enjoined--to pray, and they also should meditate, but the manner of doing the latter is left entirely to the individual."