Beloved friends,
Recently we have received queries from several sources about
the nature of the Institution of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and its
relationship to the Institution of the Hands of the Cause, and we feel it is
timely for us to give further elucidation.
As with so many aspects of the Administrative Order,
understanding of this subject will develop and clarify with the passage of time
as that Order grows organically in response to the power and guidance of
Almighty God and in accordance with the needs of a rapidly developing
world-wide community. However, certain aspects are already so clear as to
require a proper understanding by the friends.
In the Kitab-i-Aqdas (the Book of His Covenant) Baha'u'llah
wrote "Blessed are the rulers and the learned among the people of
Baha," and referring to this very passage the beloved Guardian wrote on 4
November 1931:
In this holy cycle the "learned" are, on the one
hand, the Hands of the Cause of God, and, on the other, the teachers and
diffusers of His teachings who do not rank as Hands, but who have attained an
eminent position in the teaching work. As to the "rulers" they refer
to the members of the Local, National and International Houses of Justice. The duties of each of these souls will be
determined in the future.
(Translated from the Persian)
The Hands of the Cause of God, the Counsellors and the
members of the Auxiliary Boards fall within the definition of the
"learned" given by the beloved Guardian. Thus they are all intimately interrelated and
it is not incorrect to refer to the three ranks collectively as one institution.
However, each is also a separate institution in itself. The
Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God was brought into existence in the
time of Baha'u'llah and when the Administrative Order was proclaimed and
formally established by 'Abdu'l-Baha in His Will, it became an auxiliary
institution of the Guardianship. The Auxiliary Boards, in their turn, were
brought into being by Shoghi Effendi as an auxiliary institution of the Hands
of the Cause.
When, following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, the Universal
House of Justice decided that it could not legislate to make possible the
appointment of further Hands of the Cause, it became necessary for it to create
a new institution, appointed by itself, to extend into the future the functions
of protection and propagation vested in the Hands of the Cause and, with that
in view, so to develop the Institution of the Hands that it could nurture the
new institution and function in close collaboration with it as long as
possible. It was also vital so to arrange matters as to make the most effective
use of the unique services of the Hands themselves.
The first step in this development was taken in November
1964 when the Universal House of Justice formally related the Institution of
the Hands to itself by stating that "Responsibility for decisions on
matters of general policy affecting the institution of the Hands of the Cause,
which was formerly exercised by the beloved Guardian, now devolves upon the
Universal House of Justice as the supreme and central institution of the Faith
to which all must turn." At that time the number of members of the
Auxiliary Boards was increased from 72 to 135, and the Hands of the Cause in
each continent were called upon to appoint one or more members of their
Auxiliary Boards to act in an executive capacity on behalf of and in the name
of each Hand, thereby assisting him in carrying out his work.
In June 1968 the Institution of the Continental Boards of
Counsellors was brought into being, fulfilling the goal of extending the
aforementioned functions of the Hands into the future, and this momentous
decision was accompanied by the next step in the development of the Institution
of the Hands of the Cause: the
continental Hands were to serve henceforth on a world-wide basis and operate
individually in direct relationship to the Universal House of Justice; the
Hands ceased to be responsible for the direction of the Auxiliary Boards, which
became an auxiliary institution of the Continental Boards of Counsellors; the
Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land were given the task of acting as
liaison between the Universal House of Justice and the Boards of Counsellors;
and the working interrelationships between the Hands and the Boards of Counsellors
were established. Reference was also made to the future establishment by the
Universal House of Justice, with the assistance of the Hands residing in the
Holy Land, of an international teaching centre in the Holy Land.
In July 1969 and at Ridvan 1970 further increases in the
numbers of Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members were made.
Other developments in the Institution of the Hands of the
Cause and the Institution of the Continental Boards of Counsellors will no
doubt take place in future as the international teaching centre comes into
being and as the work of the Counsellors expands.
We have noted that the Hands, the Counsellors and the
Auxiliary Boards are sometimes referred to by the friends as the
"appointive arm" of the Administrative Order in contradistinction to
the Universal House of Justice and the National and Local Assemblies which
constitute the "elective arm."
While there is truth in this description as it applies to the method used
in the creation of these institutions, the friends should understand that it is
not only the fact of appointment that particularly distinguishes the
institutions of the Hands, Counsellors and Auxiliary Boards. There are, for
instance, many more believers appointed to committees in the "elective
arm" than are serving in the so-called "appointive arm." A more
striking distinction is that whereas the "rulers" in the Cause
function as corporate bodies, the "learned" operate primarily as
individuals.
In a letter written on 14 March 1927 to the Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha'is of Istanbul, the Guardian's Secretary explained, on his behalf,
the principle in the Cause of action by majority vote. He pointed out how, in
the past, it was certain individuals who "accounted themselves as superior
in knowledge and elevated in position" who caused division, and that it
was those "who pretended to be the most distinguished of all" who
"always proved themselves to be the source of contention." "But
praise be to God," he continued, "that the Pen of Glory has done away
with the unyielding and dictatorial views of the learned and the wise,
dismissed the assertions of individuals as an authoritative criterion, even
though they were recognized as the most accomplished and learned among men and
ordained that all matters be referred to authorized centres and specified
Assemblies. Even so, no Assembly has been invested with the absolute authority
to deal with such general matters as affect the interests of nations. Nay
rather, He has brought all the assemblies together under the shadow of one
House of Justice, one divinely appointed Centre, so that there would be only
one Centre and all the rest integrated into a single body, revolving around one
expressly designated Pivot, thus making them all proof against schism and
division." (Translated from the Persian.)
Having permanently excluded the evils admittedly inherent in
the institutions of the "learned" in past dispensations, Baha'u'llah
has nevertheless embodied in His Administrative Order the beneficent elements
which exist in such institutions, elements which are of fundamental value for
the progress of the Cause, as can be gauged from even a cursory reading of the
Guardian's message of 4 June 1957.
The existence of institutions of such exalted rank,
comprising individuals who play such a vital role, who yet have no legislative,
administrative or judicial authority, and are entirely devoid of priestly
functions or the right to make authoritative interpretations, is a feature of
Baha'i administration unparalleled in the religions of the past. The newness and uniqueness, of this concept
make it difficult to grasp; only as the Baha'i Community grows and the
believers are increasingly able to contemplate its administrative structure
uninfluenced by concepts from past ages, will the vital interdependence of the
"rulers" and "learned" in the Faith be properly understood,
and the inestimable value of their interaction be fully recognized.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)
