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I believe that Susan is correct, there is a letter written on the
Guardian's behalf that was published in US Baha'i News -- but Ocean does
not include all of the years Baha'i News was published, and I don't have
a copy handy. It was a letter addressed to, of all people, Rex King. My
recollection of the language was that the Master in His Will could not
possibly have provided for a conflict of authority, and that therefore
the Hands could not over-ride the choice of successor the Guardian made.
This letter raises some interesting points, among them, the method of
interpretation by the Guardian. I had always thought that infallible
interpretation would mean, he would look at the words in the original
language, and he would be inspired as to their meaning. But this letter
shows that there is something beyond that -- he also looked to the
overall subject. In this case, the authority granted to the Hands could
not contravene the authority given to the Guardian. The House speaks of
this same principle when it urges the friends to look for the "unity of
meaning" in the Text. I've quoted that passage below, from a letter of
the House. It has to do with the subject of the Guardian not being able
to over-ride the decisions of the House of Justice.
This question about the nine hands not being able to veto the Guardian's
choice of successor is, perhaps, an aspect of the other provisions in
the Will stating that the Hands were under the direction of the
Guardian, and also that all must turn to the Guardian. Also, when one
thinks about it -- who are the Hands to decide who the next Guardian
would be? Do they possess the insight to know who can be the standard
of loyalty, who meets the moral criteria set by the Master?
I agree that the Text looks plain and clear, that the Hands did have
this authority. I also agree that the fact of secret ballot supports
the view that they had the authority to veto the Guardian's choice of
successor. However, the letter from Shoghi Effendi is clear, and states
that the nine Hands could not override the Guardian's choice of successor.
I have written a piece on this subject, on my blog:
http://bahai-covenant.blogspot.com/ then scroll down and look on the
right for Observations on Shoghi Effendi not having written a will. It
also addresses the question of what "in his lifetime" means, and it is
my personal view that it means that he would designate his successor in
his will, and show the will to the nine Hands during his lifetime; and
that the purpose of all of this, including the assent by the nine hands,
was to provide assurance of the integrity and authenticity of the
Guardian's will, and remove all doubt as to who the rightful successor was.
Brent
"The first passage concerns the Guardian's duty to insist upon a
reconsideration by his fellow-members in the Universal House of Justice
of any enactment which he believes conflicts with the meaning and
departs from the spirit of the Sacred Writings. The second passage
concerns the infallibility of the Universal House of Justice without the
Guardian, namely Shoghi Effendi's statement that "Without such an
institution [the Guardianship] . . . the necessary guidance to define
the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives
would be totally withdrawn."
"Some of the youth, you indicate, were puzzled as to how to reconcile
the former of these two passages with such statements letter addressed
to a new believer as that in the Will of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which affirms that
the Universal House of Justice is "freed from all error."
Just as the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá does not in any way
contradict the Kitáb-i-Aqdas but, in the Guardian's words, "confirms,
supplements, and correlates the provisions of the Aqdas," so the
writings of the Guardian contradict neither the revealed Word nor the
interpretations of the Master. In attempting to understand the Writings,
therefore, one must first realize that there is and can be no real
contradiction in them, and in the light of this we can confidently seek
the unity of meaning which they contain."
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973, p. 37; Messages
1963-1986, paragraphs 75.2, 75.3, 75.4, p. 156)
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