Organizational Aspect of Baha'i Faith and Comparison with Maitreya's Plan Presented at the Feast of Tabernacles 2000 On the Fifth Seal, Universalism By Radah (With the Help of God)

Introduction n Maitreya's Plan: u The way to manifest the system u The starting point of the process by which the ultimate Hierarchy will be manifested on earth u The MAP u The LIGHT

Some points about the Baha'i Faith n An independent religion based entirely on Baha'u'llah teachings n Baha'is think that Baha'u'llah is a descendant from Abraham, by his 3rd wife, Keturah (Gen 25:1) (?) n Baha'is consider the Bab as the Forerunner of Baha'u'llah n Baha'is do not believe in reincarnation

Some points about the Baha'i Faith n Baha'is think that God continually sent Great Messengers to the earth n But those Messengers were different entities (not only in their bodies but also in their souls) n Baha'is call the Messengers "Manifestations of God"

Some points about the Baha'i Faith n Baha’u’llah is the most recent Messenger in this line n Baha’u’llah is the last Messenger for a very long period of time (1000 years) n Baha’u’llah has brought a teaching that address the moral and spiritual challenges of the modern world

The Bab n At the end of the day of May 23rd, 1844, a young man (24 years old) named Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, said that he was the Promised One n To Mulla Husayn (a believer of the coming back of Imam Mahdi, the successor of Prophet Muhammad) n The same day, the young Siyyid wrote down his revelation in the Qay-yumu'l-Asma, the base of the Faith

The Bab n To the 18 first believers, the Bab wrote letters and called those believers "Letters of the Living" n Among the 18 Letters of the Living, one woman, Tahirih, a great poet in Persia n Later, the Bab wrote a system of laws…

The Bab Baha'is say that the Bab Himself proclaimed that the goal of His mission was to prepare the coming of a universal Manifestation of God: " The One Who will be manifested by God " n They understood that it was Baha'u'llah

The Shrine of the Báb Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel

Baha'u'llah n 19 years after the Declaration of the Bab and 13 years after His death, in 1863, Baha'u'llah declared officially His mission n And finished a document, the Kitab-I-Aqdas (The Holiest Book)

Baha'u'llah n The establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth will be done by 2 ways: u 1- Establishment of laws to transform individual souls and to guide humanity collectively u 2- Creation of institutions to direct the community

Baha'i Organizational Structure n A Covenant: u Established by Baha'u'llah with his disciples u Dealing with social laws & institutions based on spiritual principles which are linked as well to the current affairs of humanity

Maitreya's Plan n The Plan will manifest the Hierarchy on earth, from the bottom to the top n By the creation of Communities Of Light (COL) n When established, the KOHOE u will facilitate the greater progress of humanity u and will bring the Spirit (Will of God) into all levels of human existence

Maitreya's Plan The Levels of the Hierarchy u The Eldest u The 3 Guardians u World Government u 12 Regions u 144 Subregions u States or countries u Counties u Districts u Communities of Light: ~ 2000 persons u 144 persons: Second level of the COL u 12 persons: Basic Unit of the COL

Baha'i Administrative Order vs. World Order n The World Order is the vision of Baha’u’llah of the future of mankind n The future World Order will be the full manifestation of the teachings of the founder of the Faith in a world government, lasting peace and united civilization

Future Baha'i World Order n Universal Legislative Body n World Executive Body n World Judicial Court n Universal literature n Universal writing n One system of money n One system of weights and measures

Baha'i Administrative Order n For the present time, the Covenant of Baha’u’llah with mankind is working through the system called Administrative Order n The Administrative Order, created by Baha’u’llah and built up by His successors, Abdu’l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, is based on 2 themes:

Baha'i Administrative Order n 1-Laws & rules (institutional mechanisms to ensure the realization of justice in human affairs) n 2-Institutions of the community where the 2 pillars are: u A Universal House of Justice (the supreme legislative body) u The Guardianship

The Universal House of Justice n At 3 levels: local, national (or secondary) and international n Those Houses of Justice are viewed as instruments for ensuring human well-being n The decisions taken by the Universal House of Justice are uniquely inspired and authoritative

The Seat of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa

The Universal House of Justice n Members are elected for 5 years, between Baha'is of the world n During an international congress, where all national Spiritual Assemblies are represented n Delegates have previously been elected in their local communities n Their number depends of the number of Baha'is in a region n The first election took place in 1963

The Universal House of Justice n Election by secret ballot n All adults believers are equally eligible n Each voter writes down 9 names on a ballot n The 9 persons with the highest number of votes are elected n Electioneering is forbidden n Minorities are favored

The Guardianship n The first Guardian was the son of Baha'u'llah ( ), Abdu'l-Baha (until 1921) n The second, and the last one, was Shoghi Effendi (until 1957), Abdu'l- Baha's eldest grandson n The Guardian is the only authorized person to interpret spiritual Baha'i teaching n After him, no one was named to succeed as the Guardian

The Guardianship n Today, the Universal House of Justice takes the decisions & plays the role of Guardian n Hands of the Cause of God : Counselors and Protectors of the Faith n After the death of Shoghi Effendi, no more "Hands" were named

The Guardianship n So, Baha'is created a Counselors Body of 7 to 13 members, named for 5 years, at the international level n On each continent, the Counselors named Auxiliary Bodies (or secondary bodies) n Those ones can name Assistants to help them at a local level n But none of those persons can take decisions neither interpret Baha'i Scripture

The Guardianship n In 1973, the "Hands" still alive, the Counselors and the members of Auxiliary Bodies were placed under u An international institution called International Teaching Center, in Israel n The Guardianship works also at 3 levels: continental, regional and local

Other Baha'i Institutions n Local Spiritual Assemblies: 9 or more Baha'i adults, in any town or village n National Spiritual Assembly: when there is a sufficient number of local Spiritual Assemblies n Elections take place in the same manner as for the Universal House of Justice

Other Baha'i institutions n Houses of Worship, open to all people u Simple devotional programs : prayers, meditations, reading of selections from Baha'i and other religions Scriptures, music… n Schools n Administrative centers n Community centers

House of Worship New Delhi, India

Baha'i Calendar, Feasts and Fasting n The Bab set up a Calendar n 19 months of 19 days = 361 days n The 4 (or 5) days missing are added at the beginning of the last month of the year = Days of feast n The last month, from March 2 to March 21 is a month of fasting n New year : March 22 n Feast of Ridvan, the most important Baha'i Feast = 12 days

Some Principles of Baha'i Faith n Truthfulness of all religions of the world n Need to shatter racial prejudice n Equality of man and woman n Universal education n Justice in social and economical systems n Etc.

Baha'i Financial System, Clergy, … n Finances : Voluntary contributions from the members n No Clergy n No Politics Role of North America : The East replaced by the West, spreading the light of the divine direction… Now Maitreya is here!

"For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Bible, Matthew 23:39)

Maitreya's Plan A Practical Process to Manifest The Plan n 1 st step: Initial Elder Body u To facilitate to manifest the COL u 11 members: F The Eldest F 2 Direct Reporters to the Eldest F 4 Judiciary (Ethical) Directors F 4 Administrative Directors Guardian of the Faith and Hierarchy

Maitreya's Plan A Practical Process to Manifest The Plan 2 nd Step: Initial Administrative Body u 19 members: F 1 as the Head F 2 Direct Reporters to the Head F 4 Assistants to the Direct Reporters F 12, each Responsible for 1 region

Maitreya's Plan A Practical Process to Manifest The Plan 2 nd Step : Initial Judiciary Body u 19 members: F 1 as the Head F 2 Direct Reporters to the Head F 4 Assistants to the Direct Reporter F 12, each Responsible for 1 region

Maitreya's Plan A Practical Process to Manifest The Plan 3 rd Step : Initial Legislative Body u 29 members: F 1 as Speaker of the House F 4 Direct Reporters to the Speaker of the House F 24, two Representatives for each region

Maitreya's Plan n The Vision n The Facilitators One form of the ultimate manifestation of The Plan

Praise be to the Lord for sending us His Great Messengers! Sal-Ôm!