Attainment of the Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace

Memorandum

To: The Universal House of Justice       

Date: 19 April 2001

From: Research Department

Re: Attainment of the Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace

Introduction

The Baha'i Writings about world peace envisage the Most Great Peace coming as the culmination of two distinct processes which unfold gradually over a lengthy period. One of these processes concerns the growth and development of the Baha'i community, with the evolution of the Administrative Order and its efflorescence in the World Order of Baha’u’llah. The other process, the subject of this memorandum, is associated with developments in the wider society, notably the attainment of the unity of nations and the establishment of the Lesser Peace.

Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace

Shoghi Eftendi refers to Baha’u’llah addressing "all the kings of the earth, summoning them to cleave to the Lesser Peace, as distinct from that Most Great Peace which those who are fully conscious of the power of His Revelation and avowedly profess the tenets of His faith can alone proclaim and must eventually establish...." In the words of Baha’u’llah:

“Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace, hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents.”

“O rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.”

Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should anyone among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice. [1]

Definition and Scope of “Devotional Meetings"

Memorandum

2001  

To: The Universal House of Justice

From: Research Department

The Research Department has studied the questions concerning the concept of the devotional meeting raised by ... in his email of 4 August 2001 to the Universal House of Justice. ... mentions a recent meeting called by the Local Spiritual Assembly of ... in which representatives of the Bahá'í institutions who are resident in ... participated. He reports that one important area of consultation was the devotional meeting. In light of this gathering, ... enquires whether the Universal House of Justice has specified in any detail "what a Devotional Meeting looks like". He is particularly interested in "the definition and scope of such a meeting". We provide the following response.

As to the nature of the devotional meetings referred to in recent letters of the House of Justice, in response to a similar question raised by one of the believers, the House of Justice in a letter dated 13 March 2001 written on its behalf, provided the following general guidance:

Regarding your email message dated 14 February 2001, which has been received at the World Centre, questions concerning local devotional meetings should be referred to your Local or National Spiritual Assembly.

While the Research Department has, to date, been unable to locate any comprehensive definition of the nature and scope of devotional meetings, we have assembled, for ... information and study, a short compilation entitled "Selected Guidance Concerning Devotional Gatherings" [see below] The compilation consists of extracts from letters written by and on behalf of the Universal House of Justice. A number of themes emerge from perusal of the extracts contained therein. For example:

Servants in the Households of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb

Memorandum

To: The Universal House of Justice

From: Research Department

Date: 2 February 2000

The Research Department has considered the questions raised by Mr. ---, in his email message of 2 December 1999. Mr. --- states that on some Internet discussion groups there is a discussion on the personal status of Mubarak, Isfandiyar and other Ethiopian servants in the households of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh (and other believers). Mr. --- ... states that "it has been alleged that the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice deliberately concealed" information on the status of the servants. Mr. Terry requests that he be sent information relevant to the above, or that a statement be prepared by the Research Department "in response to these allegations". We reply as follows.

By way of introduction, we note that, as Mr. --- is no doubt aware, the Bahá'í Faith is the first religion to explicitly ban slavery in its Sacred Scripture. Bahá'u'lláh prohibited this practice in clear and un-ambiguous language. In the Kitab-i-Aqdas (paragraph 72), it is stated:

“It is forbidden you to trade in slaves, be they men or women. It is not for him who is himself a servant to buy another of God's servants, and this hath been prohibited in His Holy Tablet. Thus, by His mercy, hath the commandment been recorded by the Pen of justice. Let no man exalt himself above another; all are but bondslaves before the Lord, and all exemplify the truth that there is none other God but Him. He, verily, is the All-Wise, Whose wisdom encompasseth all things.”

Returning to Mr. ---'s questions regarding the lives of servants of African descent in the households of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb, we note that very little is known on the subject, and the information available is highly fragmentary and anecdotal in nature. Currently, the only work on this subject is Abu'l-Qasim Afnan's ‘Black Pearls: Servants in the Households of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh” (Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 1988). In addition, we have found references to servants of the Holy Family in the following works:

Use of Star of the West in electronic form

Memorandum

To: The Universal House of Justice

Date: 3 March 1999

From: Research Department

The Research Department has considered the question raised by Mrs. Erica Toussaint in her email message of 27 December 1998. Mrs. Toussaint states that she and Mr. Chad Jones are involved in a "two-year long electronic scanning project" to make some of the secondary writings of the Faith available in electronic form. As part of this project, searchable electronic text of the Star of the West, volumes 1-25, is being made available, with a feature reminding users that "much of this material falls into the category of 'pilgrim's notes'". Since "some of the material in the Star of the West is not authenticated or is inaccurate," Mrs. Toussaint asks if the Universal House of Justice has any policy regarding republishing the Star of the West in electronic form. We reply as follows;

We have not been able to find any statement by the Universal House of Justice prohibiting the republication of the Star of the West volumes. Mrs. Toussaint may be interested in the following extract from a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, giving some guidelines on the use of the Star of the West volumes:

The House of Justice gave its permission for a republication of the volumes of Star of the West with the provision that the reproduction should be exactly as the originals with no additions, omissions, or comment, except for a brief publisher's note.

Mirza Mihdi; "Holy Family"; capitalization of pronouns, Guardian's use of English

Memorandum

To: The Universal House of Justice

Date: 13 October 1998

From: Research Department

Queries on Various Subjects

The Research Department has studied the queries contained in email messages of 25 March and 20 August 1998 to the International Teaching Centre from Mr. .... We have numbered his queries consecutively beginning with those in the earlier email and answer them below in turn.

1. Who took care of Mírzá Mihdí when Bahá'u'lláh was exiled to Baghdád?

There is apparently very little information available on this subject. In ‘Robe of Light’ it states that the only one of Bahá'u'lláh's relatives who came to say farewell on the day He left for Baghdád was "lady Ásíyih's mother who was to care for her little grandchild Mihdí".[1] According to Ásíyih Khánum: The Most Exalted Leaf, "[Ásíyih Khánum's] mother's name is not mentioned in any of the available historical sources."[2] We found no reference to "an aunt named Mariam" in connection with Mírzá Mihdí.

2. Use of the title "Holy Family"

The Research Department has not found any explicit guidelines in the Bahá'í Writings regarding the appropriate use of the title "Holy Family". It appears to be a general term which has meant different things at different historical times. The following extract from a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi illustrates how he used the terms "Holy Family" and "Holy Household":

“As to your question whether the members of the Holy Family fulfil, as such, any specific function in the Administrative Order, or in the teaching field: the Guardian wishes me to state that, while the members of the Holy Household, who stand loyal to the Cause, are entitled to every respect and consideration by the believers, yet there is no such function which they can inherently claim by being related to the Centre of the Cause. The believers, moreover, are not under any obligation to rise at the entrance or exit of any member of the Holy Family at the meetings. The higher the station of those who have the privilege of being related by ties of blood to the Centre of the Cause the greater indeed must be their responsibility to serve, and thus prove in deeds their worthiness to occupy such an exalted and responsible position.” (26 January 1939 to an individual)