Bahá'u'lláh was NOT a prophet, but a MANIFESTATION

A MANIFESTATION IS NOT A PROPHET

I have always thought that Manifestations are not prophets at all. Manifestations like Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and Bahá'u'lláh don't predict the future. They start the future. Through Bahá'u'lláh God has started a new era. It's like God is the Employer, Bahá'u'lláh the Foreman and we are the workers. The Employer expect that the work shall be done and gives instructions to the Foreman. And this is not prohecies, because the Employer and the Foreman don't predict that the work shall be done. They know that the work shall be done.

Jesaja was a prophet. Elisa was a prophet, Jeremiah was a profet, etc, and maybe also 'Abdu'l-Bahá was a prophet. But Zarathustra, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Báb and Bahá'u'lláh were Manifestations = Foremen. They didn't predict anything – the started new eras by giving God's orders to the humanity.

Mi Randa

Anagrams of the Guardian Shoghi Effendi

The belowed Guardian Shoghi Effendi Rabbani (Mars 1, 1897 -- Nov 4, 1957) has translated amounts of Bahá'u'lláh's writings to English. "Feeds Info High" is a good anagram for all his work.

But if he with bad intentions translated it wrong the anagram "Feed Of High Sin" is better.

Revision, Censorship, and Suppression in Modern Baha'i Literature

About Posthumous Additions, Deletions, and Suppression in Popular Baha'i Books

During the first half of this century, English speaking Baha'is who were interested in the history of the movement generally came to rely upon the works of the British orientalist Edward Granville Browne 1) because, not only were they scholarly, reasonably sympathetic, and the most accurate sources at that time, but because they were essentially the only English language sources available which treated the subject in any depth. Therefore, Browne's works were cited quite frequently in a number of books by popular Baha'i authors. But, as time passed, Browne's materials began to be replaced by the hagiographical works, God Passes By and The Dawnbreakers; the former being a survey of the first hundred years of the movement by Shoghi Effendi, while The Dawnbreakers is a translation of an early history by Nabil Zarandi, a partisan of Baha'u'llah. ( Browne's comments which cast the Baha'i faith in a favorable light still appear in Baha'i books, but his opinions on the origins and evolution of the faith have become quite unwelcome in recent years.

Evidence of attempts on the part of Baha'is to divert readers from Browne's contributions to Babi and Baha'i history can be seen by comparing original and later editions of All Things Made New by John Ferraby. Ferraby, who served as the National Secretary of the British Baha'i community and who was appointed a "Hand of the Cause" in 1957, penned an introduction to the faith which was published that same year. The original edition contains a list of references, as well as a list of abbreviations of "Baha'i Books Referred To." Browne's Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion and his translation of A Traveller's Narrative , with notes, both appear in these lists, but have been removed from the 1987 edition, which was revised posthumously. Further, Browne's writings are still included in the text of the book, but the references have been changed so that they no longer direct the reader to the primary source, but to Baha'i books which contain the same quotations, as well material which is critical of Browne. Apparently, the editors wish to make use of the scholar's favorable comments, but refer their readers to books which question Browne's value as an authority on the subject and which may neutralize potential problems which could result from consultation of his more critical writings.

About the treatment of Esselmont's book Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era

Another case of suppression involves John E. Esselmont's (Esselmont is the man on the photo above) use of materials by the former Baha'i historian Abdu'l-Husayn Ayati, named Avarih or Wanderer by Abdu'l-Baha. Avarih was also a "Hand of the Cause" who was commissioned by Abdu'l-Baha to write a history of the Baha'i Faith in Persian, which was published in 1923 and 1924. After completing a missionary journey to Europe, Avarih lost faith in the Cause and was subsequently declared a Covenant-breaker 2) by Shoghi Effendi. In the original edition of Baha'u'llah and the New Era, Esselmont expressed his gratitude to Avarih for his assistance in the preparation of the book and referred to him as "the learned Persian historian of the Baha'i movement." In later editions, this acknowledgement has been removed from the preface without any notation.

Avarih was quoted five times in the original edition to shed additional light on certain events. Two of these quotations were dropped completely from the text of the 1980 edition, but the other three were retained entirely. However, in one note, Avarih's name has disappeared and there is no reference to any source. In another he is quoted, but his name has been substituted by the words "On this point a historian remarks." And finally, Esselmont included an account of the marriage of Abdu'l-Baha which was "kindly supplied to the writer by Janab-i-Avarih," but the 1980 edition refers only to "a Persian historian of the Baha'i Faith."

Actually, these are but a few of the many changes which were originally made in the 1937 revision of the Baha'u'llah and the New Era by "the American National Spiritual Assembly, acting under the advice and approval of Shoghi Effendi." The preface to the 1937 edition states that the revision was necessary to correct "a few errors of fact," to update Esselmont's explanations of the stations of Abdu'l-Baha and the Bab, and to remove his treatments of issues which are no longer relevant to the Faith". It is further stated that "these revisions in no respect alter the original plan of Dr. Esselmont's book, nor effect the major portion of his text." These assertions, however, are misleading. In fact, there have been over forty changes, some of which include entire sections or paragraphs totaling hundreds of words. And, some of the revisions do "alter the original plan of Dr. Esselmont's book." This is certainly the case in the removal of Esselmont's eyewitness accounts of discourses by Abdu'l-Baha.

Like many of the early Western believers, Esselmont was captivated by and completely devoted to his Master, Abdu'l-Baha. After corresponding with him, Esselmont received an invitation to come to Haifa in 1919, where he spent over two months as his guest. During this period, the two discussed the manuscript of Baha'u'llah and the New Era and "several valuable suggestions" were made. In the 1923 edition, Esselmont included a number of statements by Abdu'l-Baha which he had personally heard and recorded. In spite of the value which these firsthand accounts contribute to our understanding of Abdu'l-Baha and the perceptions of early believers, some of them have been removed from later editions without any notation. For example, on page 123, Abdu'l-Baha advocated, in detail, a constitutional form of monarchy over a republican form of government as practiced in the United States. This was included in Esselmont's chapter titled "True Civilization," to illustrate the type of government which Baha'u'llah counseled nations to adopt until the next Manifestation of God appears. In later editions Esselmont's words have been replaced with nearly three pages of new material speaking merely of the fact that there will be different types of governments during the "Lesser Peace" and the "Most Great Peace." Although Abdu'l-Baha was quite specific, these later accretions are vague and give no clear illustration of what type of rule Baha'u'llah would have nations adopt.

Perhaps the most important change in Baha'u'llah and the New Era was made on page 212 of the 1923 edition. Recorded as a Baha'i prophecy concerning the "Coming of the Kingdom of God," Esselmont cited Abdu'l-Baha's interpretation of the last two verses of the Book of Daniel from the Bible. He stated that the 1335 days spoken of by Daniel represented 1335 solar years from Muhammad's flight to Medina in 622 A.D., which would equal 1957 A.D.. When asked "'What shall we see at the end of the 1335 days?'," Abdu'l-Baha's reply was: "'Universal Peace will be firmly established, a Universal language promoted. Misunderstandings will pass away. The Baha'i Cause will be promulgated in all parts and the oneness of mankind established. It will be most glorious!'" In editions published after his death, Esselmont's words have been changed to say that Abdu'l-Baha "reckoned the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy from the date of the beginning of the Muhammadan era " and one of Abdu'l-Baha's Tablets is quoted on the same subject in which he writes, "'For according to this calculation a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth....'" Esselmont appears to conclude that Abdu'l-Baha was referring to the year 1963 and the one hundredth anniversary of Baha'u'llah's public claim to be a Manifestation of God. These words, however, were never written by the author, but were added posthumously. And, it should be noted that the phrase "'the dawn of the Sun of Truth'" is not a reference to a particular year, in this case 1863, but to a period of years when the Bab and his followers were preparing the way for the Manifestation of Baha'u'llah. Hence, they are commonly referred to as the "Dawn-Breakers."

Further, in another quotation which originally appeared on the same page, but was also removed from later editions, Abdu'l-Baha plainly stated, "' This is the Century of the Sun of Truth. This is the Century of the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.'" Esselmont recorded Abdu'l-Baha as declaring explicitly that the prophecy was to be computed from the Hijra or 622 A.D. and that specific conditions would exist in the world upon it's fulfillment in 1957. When it became apparent that this Baha'i prophecy would not be fulfilled, it was replaced with the ambiguous material which has remained in the text to the present. This is evident from the fact that, although Esselmont's other eyewitness accounts were removed in the 1937 revision, the record of Abdu'l-Baha's prophecy was left intact by the American National Spiritual Assembly and Shoghi Effendi. It was not changed until after 1957. Also, Abdu'l-Baha's conviction that all of these events would take place in this century have been expressed in other writings and it is evident that Shoghi Effendi shared his optimism as well.

Upon an examination of revisions in recent Baha'i literature, it seems that the institution of the Guardian of the Cause of God has been the subject of the most widespread bowdlerization of texts. The office of the Guardian was first established by Abdu'l-Baha in his Will and Testament. Shoghi Effendi, his eldest grandson, was named as the first in a succession of hereditary Guardians. The Guardian is the authoritative interpreter of the holy writings and the permanent head of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme administrative body which was referred to by Baha'u'llah in his Kitab-i-Aqdas. Through the Guardianship, the Cause of God is believed to be safeguarded from schism, because he is to be under the protection and infallible guidance of Baha'u'llah and the Bab. However, the Baha'i world was thrown into confusion when Shoghi Effendi died suddenly on November 4, 1957. He had left no Will or instructions, and he had named no successor. Since all of Baha'u'llah's living male descendents had been declared Covenant-breakers by Shoghi Effendi, the Hands of the Cause of God assumed authority over the entire Baha'i community. The Hands were a group of leading Baha'is who had been chosen in accordance with Abdu'l-Baha's Will and had been named "the Chief Stewards of Baha'u'llah's embryonic World Commonwealth" by Shoghi Effendi, shortly before his death. The Hands of the Cause moved the community in a direction which culminated in the election of the Universal House of Justice. This was accomplished with surprisingly little opposition or schism.

Changes in books written prior to 1957 indicate that the failure of what was to be a perpetual, divinely ordained and protected institution became a delicate subject with the Baha'i Administration. But, it should be pointed out that, although there have been numerous revisions, there are still books which have not been changed at all. So, there does not appear to be a conspiracy or systematic program to eradicate the notion of a continuous Guardianship. However, the books which have been substantially reworked are popular introductions and histories, often used for propagating the Faith.

1) E.G. Browne is appointed by the Universal House of Justice to be an enemy of the Baha'i Faith. 2) Covenant-breakers are those who have accepted Baha'u'llah as a Manifestation of God, but have later apostatized and opposed Baha'u'llah, his successors, or Baha'i institutions. Faithful members are instructed to shun entirely those who have rebelled against the Cause of God and, although not explicitly commanded, the reading of material written by Covenant-breakers is discouraged as well.

Heaven Is Shunned (The Old Men in the Palace of Ivory)

Heaven Is Shunned

Slaving for the Faith,
a servant every day
When I'm alone
always in prayer, always in prayer,
for oneness, for unity, for mankind
waiting for the promises to fulfil.

My friend in Faith talked too much
about the old men in their Palace of Ivory,
Her words were dancing in the air,
but she only tried to understand the Faith.
She was expelled from the Faith
appointed to be an internal enemy.

The bigwigs roared
Shunned! Shunned! Shunned!
The top brass screamed
Spiritual disease, Spiritual disease!

They killed her just like they killed the Báb,
because they rule with terror, terror.
But her dancing, spiritual words
forming an image in my mind,
infiltrating my exposed soul.

Tears on humanity's face,
because shundamentalism can't save them.

The Covenant is a weapon
which sounds expel! expel! expel!
Is not damaging another individual's soul a crime?
Heaven is shunned, I say.

I raise my head,
now crying out for this uncaring Faith,
a result of afraid old men in their Palace of Ivory.

Terror on a child's face.

This young Faith was murdered
through shunning of all relatives and descendants of the Beloved,
through cutting all the branches of the divine Tree.

I raise my head, now crying out.
Heaven is shunned, I say!

What had Baha'i been without Sufism?

When I'm reading more about this, I'm surprised why not the Sufis and the Baha'is cooperate. Yes, I know that the Sufis in muslim countries don't have the same faith as Sufis in the Western world. Murshid Elias Amidon writes:

Some years ago I went to Fez, Morocco, to deepen my practice under the tutelage
of a Sufi shaykh of the Qadiri order. Although I am not formally a Muslim,
I was welcomed by him and in the dhikr circles I attended. One day, however,
when I was visiting the house of one of his students, the student turned on me
angrily for not being a real Muslim, and insisted that the only true Sufi path
could be found by following the Shari’a—the laws of Islam. Some months later
the shakyh told me he had heard of this conflict and had been furious at his
student for his narrow-mindedness.

But the shaykh’s accepting view is less common than his student’s. One often
reads in current books on Sufism repeated and harsh attacks on what the authors
perceive as “pseudo-spirituality” masquerading as Sufism in the
Western world. They are especially sensitive about any suggestion
that Sufism could function as an authentic path of awakening outside
the Shari’a and doctrine of Islam, or that it could look for any
of its origins prior to the revelations of the Prophet Mohammed.
In my view these authors are quite right in affirming that Islamic
Sufism is Islamic Sufism, which naturally takes for its primary reference
the Qur’an, hadith, and the treasury of Sufi mystical writings
that have formed the body of Islamic Sufi doctrine through the
past fourteen centuries.

Universal Revelation

But when the Sufi mystic Inayat Khan brought Sufism to the West in 1910,
a major watershed occurred in the history of Sufism. Himself a Muslim Sufi
initiated into the four primary Sufi orders—Chisti, Suhrawardi, Nakshibandi,
and Qadiri—Inayat Khan revolutionized and re-expressed traditional Sufism by
releasing it from an exclusive relation with Islam. “Sufism has never been owned
by any race or religion,” he wrote. “Sufism itself is the essence of all the religions
as well as the spirit of Islam.”

But it is unlikely the critics who condemn the “pseudo-spirituality” of our times
have Inayat Khan or his message of universal Sufism in mind when they write.
After all, the several Western Sufi orders that follow in Inayat Khan’s lineage
amount to no more than a few thousand people. Rather I think they are responding
to an unmistakable drift in Western spiritual culture away from adherence
to a single religion and dogma, and consequently many people’s
spiritual openness toward the inner teachings of several religions.
It is this more pervasive cultural movement that disturbs the religionists.
The well-respected writer William Stoddart sums up their objections
in this way: “One cannot take the view that, since mysticism or
esoterism is the inner truth common to all religions, one can dispense with
religion (exoterism) and seek only mysticism (esoterism).” Or, as other authors
repeat, “There can be no esoterism without an exoterism,” that is,
there can be no authentic mystical path without a “divinely revealed
religion” to ground it and inspire it.

I would like to explore this issue here because it causes much confusion in those
who find themselves outside a formal religious tradition but who are nevertheless
dedicated to a rigorous spiritual aspiration and path. Specifically I would
like to look at what is meant by the exoteric, especially its ethical dimension,
and how we might understand the source of exoteric forms in revelation, which
is the arising of what we experience as true.

If the function of the esoteric refers to a path of mystical realization, of interest
to only a few, the function of the exoteric refers to (at least) three areas of benefit
to a more general audience of humanity. These three areas are:

1. Ethics. The provision by formal religions of codes of social conduct
to promote peace, fairness, and social and personal well-being.
Here we have the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the
Mount, the Shari’a, Buddhist precepts, Jewish law, etc.

2. Doctrine. The doctrine of a religion unites us with the divine or
ultimate reality through the view it gives us of our place in the cosmos,
the meaning of life and our mortality, as well as the spiritual
lessons given through its symbolic narrative. When it claims to
be based on divinely revealed scripture, religious doctrine carries a
profound power to engage people and to secure their commitment
to its view and teachings.

3. Worship. Formal religion also provides inspiration and a channel
for our reverence and our desire to express it. Awe, intimacy, longing,
love of beauty, praise, and thankfulness are given a context and
focus through communal ritual and prayer.
Hence the charge by religionists is plain: those who follow a mystical path not
faithful to a single formal religion are separated from any authentic source of
ethics, doctrine, and worship, and are therefore relegated to a “cafeteria-style,”
“pick-and-choose” religion that has no depth, roots, or obligation.
I wish to affirm here, in the strongest possible terms, that in my experience
exactly the opposite is true. We—and now I use “we” to include all those who
follow a sincere path of spiritual awakening outside the definitions of a single
faith—we are blessed with nothing less than a source of ethics, doctrine, and
worship that arises from the Universal Revelation of All of Existence. It is sufficient
to inspire our lives with all the guidance and reverence we could hope
for as human beings.

Universal Revelation

What is Universal Revelation? It is both the source of the vast heritage of guidance
and wisdom we have received from the past and the source of our everevolving
awakening. Ultimately it is Life and the source of Life. Through the
grace of Universal Revelation we receive ethical guidance, a meaningful world
view, and a communion of worship which is non-exclusive in its scope and
profound in its realization.

Typically “Divine Revelation” is understood as a transaction that has occurred
sometime in the distant past between God and a prophet or other holy figure.
Through that transaction a message is given of benefit to a certain people or to
humanity as a whole. In speaking here of Universal Revelation I am not implying
there are two kinds of revelation, divine and universal. They are the same.
My point in using the word “universal” in the context of revelation is to free
the notion of revelation from its associations with exclusivity and with the idea
that only the great prophets of humanity could ever receive revelation from the
Divine.

Even the idea of revelation as a transaction is questionable. After all, what we
mean by God or the Divine is Oneness, Unity, the Only Being. There are not
two, a Divine Giver and a mortal receiver. The Divine reveals through Creation
immanently, not transactionally. This point is crucial in understanding
Universal Revelation: it is immanent. Immanent in the waves of the sea and
in the joy of the heart, immanent in the gaze of our eyes and the understanding
of our minds, immanent in birth and immanent in death. Both of these
words—“immanent” and “revealed”—describe the same intimate experience of
a depth being recognized out of the Very Nature of Things. The subject-object,
knower-known relation is not how this is experienced—rather the recognition
is revealed immanently and what is immanent is the transcendent.

I think that Baha'i would have been a different religion -- or no religion at all -- if not the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh had been so inspired by Sufism and the great Sufi poets who wrote poetry about Oneness 500 years ago.

Mi Randa

Sufi and Baha'i

The bridge between the Baha'i way and the Sufi way is very short

In 1923, Sufi Inayat Khan developed a multi-faith worship service that acknowledges and pays homage to the expressions of divine truth as they are revealed through all religions. This inspiring service, called the Universal Worship, honors the “unity of religious ideals,” and is celebrated on various occasions in both a formal ritual version as well as in a more informal style. The Universal Worship provides a powerful symbolic enactment of inter-religious unity and mutual gratitude in a world fractured by divisions and suspicion.

In the same peacemaking spirit of bearing witness to the unity of religious ideals, members of the Sufi Way seek to express inter-religious respect by visiting, praying, learning, and making friends in all places of worship of all faiths, wherever we are welcome.

While we each may have a root religious tradition of our own to which we are primarily committed, we experience that this active contact with other forms of worship and revelation deepens our own faith and sense of the sacred, and adds in some small way to the increase of tolerance and peace among the world’s people.

By the way, does anyone know the Arabic and Persion words for "oneness" and "unity", spelled with latin letters?

Mi Randa

Many of Bábs words are lost, but He will live!

Today we cry for the Báb (the Gate to the New Revelation of God) again. We don't know the exact day and year for the crusifixation of Jesus Christ, but we know exactly what happened to the 30 years old Báb in Tabríz in Persia at noon 1850.

The Bab attracted 30.000 – 40.000 followers, of whom 20.000 were killed between 1845 adn 1855, and the unease and commotion created by His message led the Shī‘a Islam authorities to put him to death on a charge of heresy. He and a disciple who begged to share His martyrdom were executed by a firing squad of 750 soldiers in a public square in Tabriz.

The remains of the Bab are now entombed in Haifa, Israel, in an extremly beautiful shrine on Mount Carmel.

The Baha'i Faith always request people do their own research, that's the way to religious conviction about the Baha'i Faith and that Bahá'u'lláh is the Manifestation of God and the Messenger of God in this time. But researching can be difficult because of the lack of primary information. Beside the writings of Bahá'u'lláh (Glory of God) and his son 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Servant of the Glory), 99% of the body of information comes from the Guardian Shoghi Effendi, the grandson of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

When I read about the Báb in books about the Baha'i Faith, it's always a lot of Bábs importance and about his beautiful Holy writings and about the constantly recurring statement from Báb that Bahá'u'lláh is the next great Manifestation of God. But I rarerly see any of Bábs own words published and printed. In fact, there is only a few statements and lesser than ten prayers revealed by Báb to find in one tonne of translated Baha'i books and new books about the Baha'i Faith. And that is in English; in Swedish, German or Japanese it's much much lesser. Why? Why didn't Shoghi Effendis' office translate more of Bábs words? Does anyone have an explanation?

Robert Stockman tries to explain the problem of the sources this in his book "Some Notes on The Báb:

The availability of historical sources for the study of Babism is far greater than those for examining the rise of any other major religion, but there are still major gaps, and these limit our understanding. Some of them are the following:

A. Qájár Iran is still imperfectly studied; there is a vast amount of work to do on establishing the cultural and social context of Babism.

B. The sources on the life of the Báb are still little studied. Many remain unexamined in Bahá'í archives. Many have been lost because of neglect or persecution. Some are only partially available; The Dawn-Breakers is perhaps the best example of this. When Shoghi Effendi translated the work into English he appears to have extensively edited it and partially abridged it. The Persian version of The Dawn-Breakers is a Persian translation from the English text. Scholars are anxious to examine the original manuscript. A few non-Bahá'í scholars have even questioned the reliability of Shoghi Effendi's text in the absence of the original.

Furthermore, sometimes original sources contradict each other. For example: all sources say Mullá Husayn accepted the Báb on the night of 23 May 1844. But several sources, which are second-hand accounts of Mullá Husayn's own account of the night of the Báb's declaration, say that Mullá Husayn did not accept the Bab until three nights' study; in other words, that he started his investigation of the Báb's claim not on 23 May, but two or three nights earlier. But The Dawn-Breakers and God Passes By, say Mullá Husayn first met the Báb on the night of his declaration.

Much work needs to be done to understand Shoghi Effendi's interpretations of historical events. Apparently Shoghi Effendi did not claim infallibility in matters of historical fact, only in matters pertaining to theological interpretation and matters of protection of the Faith. Thus the Guardian's writings present important challenges for historians.

C. The writings of the Báb have been imperfectly preserved; hence we have not yet been able to establish an authoritative text in Persian/Arabic for many of His works. Future scholars will have to study the various manuscripts and reconcile their variant readings.

D. Further, there is the issue of the accuracy of several extremely early histories. It is known that Mírzá Jání, a Bábí who perished in the persecutions that followed the attempt on the life of the Shah in 1852, wrote a history or part of a history of the Bábí movement. Such a history would be of great significance to Bábí Studies because it was written a mere eight years after the Báb's declaration and only two years after the Báb's death; furthermore, it would have been written before the split between the Azalís and Bahá'ís, * a split that imposed two rival theological interpretations on the events of early Babism and raised many historical issues that have not been settled to this day.

The truth is that we don't know what Báb said about many things. The Báb was the Herald of Bahá'u'lláh, at least in Shoghi Effendis books about the Bábi movement. However, here is a prayer the Báb wrote that God shall watch over Him Whom God shall send:

SEND down Thy blessings, O my God, upon the Tree of the Bayán, upon its root and its branch, its boughs, its leaves, its fruits and upon whatsoever it beareth or sheltereth. Cause this Tree then to be made into a magnificent Scroll to be offered to the presence of Him Whom Thou wilt make manifest on the Day of Judgement, that He may graciously allow the entire company of the followers of the Bayán to be restored to life and that He may, through His bounty, inaugurate a new creation.

Indeed all are but paupers in the face of Thy tender mercy, and lowly servants before the tokens of Thy loving-kindness. I beg of Thee, by Thy bounty, O my God, and by the outpourings of Thy mercy and bestowals, O my Lord, and by the evidences of Thy heavenly favours and grace, O my Best Beloved, to watch over Him Whom God shall make manifest that no trace of despondency may ever touch Him.

And here is a a link for a Meditation on the Martyrdom of the Bab

Mi Randa, 16 Mercy, 164 B,E.

* Mírzá Yahyá was a 13 years yuounger half-brother of Bahá'u'lláh, who appeared as Subh-i-Azal around 1852, claiming to be the real successor of the Báb.

I have found the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith

Julia Margaret Grundy visited the Haifa-Akká-Mt Carmel-region in Syria (now northern Israel) 1874. Her diary resulted in the book Ten days in the light of Akká 1907.

The creator of the Baha'i Faith was Bahá'u'lláh (1863). His son 'Abdu'l-Bahá traveled to Europe and the USA to teach about the new faith. 'Abdu'l-Bahás grandson Shoghi Effendi was appointed as the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. The Guardian's commission was to establish and organize the Faith, and to protect the Faith and the believers. The Guardian was a protector.

According to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and his will, the appointed Guardian and an elected "House of Justice" should work together as parallel institutions – implicitly in the near future. But Shoghi Effendi died without descendants 1957. Moreover, Shoghi Effendi had not appointed a successor at all, and the House of Justice had not been established. This was a state of crisis for the Baha'i Faith. Some individuals soon claimed that they were the next Guardian, but were expelled from the Faith by "The Hands of God", an assembly of leading baha'is appointed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. The first election to the Universal House of Justice was implemented 1963 – 100 years after Bahá'u'lláhs proclamation in the Ridván garden outside Baghdad, beside the river Tigris.

The Baha'i Faith still has no Guardian for spiritual protection. Or does it? According to Julia Grundy Mount Carmel was and is the protector:

“The history of Mount Carmel is holy history. A spiritual atmosphere surrounds this 'Mountain of God.' Elijah and Jesus spent part of their precious lives upon it. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá loves Mount Carmel and has often visited it, sometimes staying overnight in caves which overlook the sea, in prayer and communion with God. Syria is the center of the world. The extent and variety of its resources, its wonderful fertility and natural advantages will make its future history extraordinary. Its possibilities of development are unlimited. It is the focus of interest in world history, the site of the Old and New Jerusalem. Mount Carmel will be a Mountain of Knowledge, Peace, and Protection in the future—the vineyard of God. We will not live to see this in the body but will view it spiritually. Mount Carmel will someday be covered with great universities and colleges of learning. Then the poor will enjoy the highest advantages from the establishment here of free institutions of education.”

“This is the Holy Land from whence all the Prophets and Holy Men came. No country in the world has such a bright light of Religion. The Light of God has always shone upon the world from this land, and the Religion of God has had its Source and Revelation here. It is wonderful even in its physical conformation. The Phoenicians came from here. Their great civilizations spread from Syria. Abraham came to this land. Here His Teaching became known. The King of Salem, Melchizedek, came from this land. All the Prophets had their missions here.”

Maybe Mount Carmel really is God's mountain? Anyway it has protected Abraham, Melchizedek, Elijah, Elisa, Jesus, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. It protects the remains of the prophet and martyr Báb, who was executed by a firing squad in Tabriz, Persia, 1850.

Mi Randa, Mercy 15, 164 B.E.