As was to be expected, the very first charge came from the Covenant-breakers: Muhammad 'Ali, who had tried in vain to discredit 'Abdu'l-Baha, disaffect the believers, corrupt certain writings of Baha'u'llah, and even had on more than one occasion sought to have the Master's life taken, revived his faded hopes when he beheld such a (as he thought) defenseless youth placed at the helm. His attack was disturbing, if somewhat ludicrous, for. he chose to have one of his henchmen seize the sacred shrine of his Father, Baha'u'llah, and rob the Baha'i Keeper of the keys. Distressing though the incident was, the case of the successor of 'Abdu'l-Baha was so clear in the eyes of the British authorities, that in a short time he was obliged to return the keys to Shoghi Effendi's representative. This was the first, so to speak, crossing of swords with our appointed Guardian, and both the Baha'is and local observers, friend and foe alike, learned through it that we had an active and skilled Defender of the Faith!
In Egypt, a proud Armenian, blinded by vanity and ambition, waved his own little flag of rebellion and succeeded in drawing away from the Baha'i community (at that time in the early stages of its own development) a number of his compatriots and other misguided souls. But the hand that waved the flag soon got tired as it became aware of the futility of trying to coax people out of such a watertight ark as 'Abdu'l-Baha's Covenant has proven itself to be. Gradually, over the years, those who after such a disillusioning and spiritually unhealthy experience, still possessed any vital spark of faith, returned to knock on the door they had left and were, whenever the sincerity of their intentions was proven, welcomed back into the now actively working and expanding Egyptian Baha'i community.
An American woman, Mrs. Ruth White, suffering from a truly remarkable form of delusion-namely, that the Will and Testament of the Master is a forgery-expended a great deal of time, money and energy on expounding her views. The document in question, its hand-writing, text and style, seals and history is so obviously protected from this accusation that her violent agitation had no effect on the body of the Baha'is, with the exception of a few simple souls in Germany. Most of these (who remained devoted to the Faith but confused on this point) have now expressed their deep remorse over these deluded and wasted years they spent outside the Baha'i community, and have re-entered it in Germany and are among its most active workers.
In Persia, Avarih, at one time a very active Baha'i teacher, developed what must seem to any sane person, a sort of spiritual hydrophobia. He not only attacked the Guardian exhaustively and fantastically in about ten volumes, but turned against both Baha'u'llah and the Master as well. His statements, unbalanced, compounded of such a high percentage of lies that even an intelligent and sincere enemy of the Faith would recognize them as such, have poured forth in the cheap press of Persia for practically decades. But the results have been very disheartening from his standpoint, for he neither gathered unto himself a following, nor has he been able to disrupt the affairs of the large, devoted and loyal community of believers in Baha'u'llah's native land.
Ahmad Sohrab, a former secretary of 'Abdu'l-Baha, largely thanks to the generous support given him by a deluded woman, has been able to expend all his gifts of perversion on his favorite theme-a prolonged and windy attack on the Administrative Order of the Faith as it exists at present, with Shoghi Effendi as its head, and soundly organized Assemblies cooperating with him throughout the world in spreading Baha'u'llah's message and building up His divinely ordained institutions. He holds the honor of being undoubtedly the most mischievous of the trouble makers the Cause has raised up during this quarter of a century. Yes, the Cause of God has raised him up! For what beauty does not produce envy, and what purity does not produce slander, and what goodness does not challenge the evil hidden in an envious heart? This man, who received as charity-as we all do-some drops of God's overflowing bounty, could have done much to assist the Baha'is in carrying out the wishes of 'Abdu'l-Baha, and the plans of Baha'u'llah. But ambition proved too strong. In our Faith we must submit to having our personal desires and plans integrated into the plans for the whole, for unity is our watchword and we are not only propagating a new Faith with its new principles, but are building a divinely laid down system into society, and this requires the discipline of the personal ego to some extent, and the integration of all members of the community into a coherent pattern. To this Ahmad Sohrab would not submit, for it did not allow him the personal prominence he craved. The hot wind of his slander has blown upon us for some time now, and though it troubled and disaffected a few hearts, to the vast majority of believers it proved an irritating stimulant, which not only made them cherish more dearly the Master's Will and its provisions, but spurred them on to greater endeavor.
We Baha'is are neither afraid to, nor ashamed of, mentioning the names of these prominent backsliders.
(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)
0 comentários:
Post a Comment