Policy concerning provisional translations

26 November 1994

The questions which you put to Mr. ... on 23 August 1994 were submitted by him to the Universal House of Justice, and were in turn referred to the Research Department for its comments on issues which had already been determined in the past by the House of Justice. The Research Department's memorandum dated 26 November is enclosed, and it is hoped that its contents and the extracts attached to it will help to clarify some of the points which you raised.

In response to your concerns about a category of "approved" translators and the potential inequities to which this might lead, the House of Justice wishes you to know that it does not have such a list of translators who are exempt from the requirement of submitting their provisional translations to the Bahá'í World Centre for approval prior to publication. All individuals must continue to submit their provisional translations to the World Centre for approval. In making their submissions, they are free to request permission to publish specific provisional translations, and these will be considered on a case by case basis.

At this time the House of Justice is giving consideration to decentralizing, to the extent advisable and feasible, the responsibilities for revising existing translations or preparing new translations of hitherto untranslated texts. It is certainly not the intention of the House of Justice to discourage Bahá'í scholarship among the believers; on the contrary it attaches great importance to this area of activity. The existing policies are, by their very nature, temporary, and should be viewed as such by Bahá'í scholars.

Your recommendation that a translation reviewing committee, made up of translators whose work is known to the House of Justice, be formed under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, was not approved.

The House of Justice assures you of its prayers for the success of your endeavours in discharging your important responsibilities.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,

For Department of the Secretariat

Enclosure with attachment

Memorandum

Ritual abuse of children

23 October 1994 

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

The Universal House of Justice has received your letters dated 9 and 15 March 1994 and was saddened to learn of the severe traumas you have experienced and from which you are still recovering.

You indicate your desire to form a support network for survivors of satanic ritual abuse and you propose to share healing techniques, stories and extracts from the Writings which would assist and encourage these afflicted souls. Understandably, contacting others who have undergone such abuse may be difficult. We do not know of anyone else who might be interested, as the letters from and yourself are the only ones on this topic that we have been able to locate in the files at the Bahá'í World centre.

Regarding your question about methods of healing which involve temporarily re-experiencing or remembering events, these are complex medical matters and as stipulated in the Teachings, believers should seek the best medical advice which is available and follow it. Experience seems to suggest that the healing process can often be a lengthy and stressful one requiring the close guidance and help of trained professionals. Advice given by well-meaning believers to the effect that you should seek to transcend psychological problems does not qualify as competent advice on what is essentially a medical issue.

For your information and possible study, we are enclosing a copy of a compilation prepared at the Bahá'í World Centre entitled "Psychology and Knowledge of Self".

Concerning the attitude of some Bahá'ís, who seem at times to be insensitive and unsupportive, all we can do is to try to follow the patient example of the Master, bearing in mind that each believer is but one of the servants of the Almighty who must strive to learn and grow. The absence of spiritual qualities, like darkness, has no existence in itself. As the light of spirituality penetrates deep into the hearts, this darkness gradually dissipates and is replaced by virtue. Understanding this, and that the believers are encouraged to be loving and patient with one another, it will be clear that you too are called upon to exercise patience with the friends who demonstrate immaturity, and to have faith that the power of the Word of God will gradually effect a transformation in individual believers and in the Bahá'í community as a whole.

Biblical discrepancies in God Passes By

30 September 1994 

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

We greatly regret the long delay in answering your letter of 15 February 1993 to the Research Department in which you draw attention to two discrepancies on page 95 of God Passes By. A correction to the first of these was approved by Shoghi Effendi in a letter written on his behalf on 7 June 1954. All National Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá'í Publishing Trusts were notified of this correction on 30 November 1988, namely that lines 6 and 7 of page 95 should read: "Zechariah had extolled Him as the 'Lord' Who 'shall be king over all the earth,' . . ."

Following the receipt of your letter, the Research Department studied the second discrepancy and found that, while the Guardian's final typescript has the same reading as the published version: "His Day Ezekiel and Daniel had, moreover, both acclaimed as the 'day of the Lord' . . .", the handwritten first draft contained many corrections and insertions, and it is not surprising that here too an error of attribution has occurred. As you point out, it is not possible to ascertain which of the prophets who mention the day of the Lord would have been quoted by Shoghi Effendi had this discrepancy been drawn to his attention.

The House of Justice does not wish to authorize at this time a change to the text of God Passes By to correct this attribution. There are a number of similar problems that have been found from time to time, and the House of Justice proposes, in due course, to consider the whole matter in detail and decide what action should be taken. It does not want to initiate a process of piecemeal correction.

Your own verse-by-verse study of the biblical references in God Passes By may reveal other discrepancies, and the House of Justice would greatly appreciate being informed of any that you come upon.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,

The Department of the Secretariat

(Baha’i Library Online)

Balance in life; Pioneering versus getting an education

4 September 1994 

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

Your letter dated 30 June 1994 has been received by the Universal House of Justice, and we have been asked to provide the following comments.

You have asked about finding a balance between being spontaneous, sincere and easy-going and also attending seriously to one's responsibilities and obligations. There are many factors, both external and internal, involved in forming one's character and learning to cope with the exigencies of life. Ultimately, each individual must work out a pattern for living, according to his understanding of the Teachings and the dictates of his conscience. One should seek to identify practical steps in each important area of one's life and then make a plan to effect these, resolutely surmounting obstacles, which can breed a sense of frustration and paralysis. According to one's position in the life cycle, certain activities will naturally be accorded a higher priority at a given moment than others, as each season offers possibilities that must be seized. You should have no undue anxiety about having to prioritize your time in this manner. Gradually, as one cultivates one's abilities and polishes the mirror of one's soul through prayer, meditation, and service, an underlying rhythm of life begins to emerge. Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf to an individual, offered a valuable insight into the kind of life to which Bahá'ís ought to aspire:

The great thing is to "live the life"-- to have our lives so saturated with the Divine teachings and the Bahá'í Spirit that people cannot fail to see a joy, a power, a love, a purity, a radiance, an efficiency in our character and work that will distinguish us from worldly-minded people and make people wonder what is the secret of this new life in us.

Improving Our Understanding of the Cause of God

1 August 1994 

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your letter of 18 July 1994 has been received by the Universal House of Justice, which has asked us to send the following reply...

You have asked how you can “overcome [your] view of the Faith as flawed.” Your comment correctly locates the difficulty, which inheres not in the Faith, in itself perfect, but in the inability of the finite human mind to fully grasp the import and perfection of the Teachings. Given the tremendous variety of culture and individual type, it should be clear upon reflection to any fair-minded observer that the Revelation of God cannot accord with all of the theories, whims and desiderata of mankind, which are in a constant state of flux and are the product of limited human aspirations, very often corrupted by selfish motives. Nor could it possibly be true that the Revelation as a whole would necessarily appear to a given observer to be in every way a perfect tapestry, according with one’s subjective concepts of beauty, elegance, coherence, order, rationality, etc.

Thus, it would not be surprising if, during the course of one’s life and as one’s understanding and perspective evolves, from time to time one finds aspects of the Faith that seem in conflict with one’s best understanding, particularly insofar as that understanding is informed by the broader society or culture around oneself. How one responds to such episodes is of critical importance to the maintenance of one’s faith. The task is to seek a larger context in which to understand the issue which is disturbing and to seek to prayerfully accept what one cannot for the time being understand. This is different from adopting an antirational or romantic posture whereby one believes in all sorts of nonsense. Quite to the contrary, what one is doing in such a case is accepting the Teachings of One whose authority is acknowledged to be from God. This is the light of faith which enables a believer to weather difficult situations in which he cannot see his way clearly by the light of reason alone. It is an attitude which flows from a recognition of the finite nature of one’s own mind and the inevitable limitations of one’s experience. Bahá’u’lláh Himself urges us in the Hidden Words to “Pass beyond the baser stages of doubt and rise to the exalted heights of certainty.”

Schools owned by Bahá'ís and "Bahá'í schools"

30 March 1994 

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

The Universal House of Justice has received your fax of 7 February 1994 and instructed us to convey to you the following on its behalf.

The Universal House of Justice does not know of any text indicating that all Bahá'í educational facilities are to be owned by the institutions of the Faith. Presently, schools connected with the Faith fall into three categories: those that are administered by the institutions, those that are privately owned and operated by individuals, and those that are owned and directed by Bahá'í-inspired non-profit organizations. In the case of the latter two, the word "Bahá'í" does not appear in the name of the school.

As a national community grows, the activities undertaken by its members also increase in number and diversity. Some of these activities will be initiated and administered by Bahá'í institutions. Others will fall in the realm of private initiative. When an initiative is in the form of a private business venture undertaken by an individual or group, the institutions of the Faith have little reason to interfere with its daily affairs. In general, only if difficulties arise among the friends involved in such an enterprise, if their activities could damage the good name of the Faith, or if they misrepresent their relationship to the Faith, would a Local or National Spiritual Assembly intervene. Bahá'í institutions should, of course, welcome any effort by such private ventures to apply the Teachings to their operations and to use their position in society to further the interests of the Faith. Spiritual Assemblies would do well to offer them guidance, as requested or as circumstances require, and to help them develop their potential for the advancement of the Cause. A privately owned school would, naturally, enjoy a more intimate relationship with the institutions than would most other private enterprises, since the education of children and youth is a fundamental concern of the Faith.