The Baha'i Administrative Order

Working in groups effectively requires some kind of organization.
Therefore, Baha'u'llah provided for an administrative order at the local, national and international levels to guide the Baha'i World after His passing.
Houses of Justice
The Baha'i Administrative Order is organized into Houses of Justice of nine members each.
The Local House of Justice is elected by the believers in the local community.
The National House of Justice is elected by delegates at a national convention.
The Universal House of Justice, the supreme international body in the administrative order, is elected by the National Houses at a world convention.
The Universal House of Justice is authorized to rule on any aspect of the Faith not expressly revealed in Baha'i scriptures. This hierarchy of elected representative bodies constitutes the administrative wing of the Baha'i Order.

OPEN INVITATION

Dear Bahai Friends
This is an open invitation to all bahais of the world to post your comments and thoughts about tarbiyat bahai faith on this blog.
We can have fruitful discussion to know the real message ofBahaullah.

Q: What is the difference between the Tarbiyat Baha'i Community and other Baha'i groups?

A: The only difference between the Tarbiyat Baha'i Community and the rest of the Baha'i world relates to the spiritual leadership of the Faith. The Tarbiyat Baha'i Community believes that the institution of the hereditary Guardianship, delineated by Abdu'l-Baha in his Last Will and Testament, is necessary to preserve the long-term integrity of the Faith. The Tarbiyat Baha'i Community believes that the Guardian must come from the bloodline of Baha'u'llah, and that a Guardian from the Holy Family will arise in due time. The largest Baha'i group, with American headquarters in Wilmette and international headquarters in Haifa, Israel, believes that the institution of the Guardianship terminated when the Faith's first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, died without children and, apparently, without appointing a successor Guardian.

WHAT IS UHJ?

Q.What is the reason then why the present group of Baha’is under the leadership of the Haifa organization do not recognize the continuance of the Guardianship?Ans.Upon the passing of Shoghi Effendi in November 1957, a majority of the Baha’is were tragically led astray from their former faithful adherence to the provisions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha by the highly revered Hands of the Cause (distinguished and highly esteemed assistants appointed by the Guardian who serve under his direction) who, upon the passing of Shoghi Effendi, failed to recognize the import and significance of Shoghi Effendi’s appointment of Mason Remey as President of the first International Baha’i Council (the embryonic Universal House of Justice) over which according to the provisions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha only the Guardian of the Faith presides as its “sacred head” and for this reason had been carefully retained by Shoghi Effendi as an inactive body, pending his passing. These Hands, losing sight of the fact that the Guardian must appoint his successor “in his own life-time” and therefore not by a conventional will and testament, upon not finding such a will, erroneously concluded that the Guardianship had come to a premature end. They then appointed a body of nine Hands from their own number, a body outside the provisions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, which assumed the role and functions of the Guardianship and took control of the world administrative seat of the Faith in Haifa. Some six years later, in 1963,this body transferred the authority and functions it had illegitimately assumed to the UHJ in Haifa, a now headless and incomplete body in the absence of a presiding Guardian, whose successor elected bodies have been similarly named Universal Houses of Justice.

SHOGHI EFFENDI

Baha’i Faith would be imperiled without the Guardian.Shoghi Effendi warned to the Baha’is in his Spiritual Testament “The Administrative Order of The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah” that the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of entire fabric would be gravely endangered without the guardian. Therefore Baha’is should obey his commandments and search the Living Guardian of Baha’i Faith.

BAHAI GATHERING

Nineteen days Feasts(NDF)
The only regular Baha'i activity which might be considered a religious service is the Feast. The Feast, which is held once every nineteen days, consists of three portions. The spiritual portion involves the reading of prayers. The administrative portion is a discussion of community business, and the material portion is the sharing of refreshments and fellowship.Baha'u'llah established a new calendar with nineteen months of nineteen days each and four "intercalary" days to adjust to the solar year. Therefore, the Baha'i community's monthly gatherings are known as the Nineteen Day Feast.

OUR BELIEFS

We are an organized community of Baha'is who accept the Teachings of Baha'u'llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith, and uphold the validity of the continuing Guardianship of the Cause of God. The institution of the Guardianship was established to provide spiritual guidance to the Baha'i World. The Faith has been without that necessary leadership since the death of the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, in 1957. We believe a lineal descendant of Baha'u'llah will arise to take up the mantle of the Guardianship in the future. In the meantime, this community of believers is led by a Council of "Regents" who serve no other purpose than to unite Baha'is in anticipation of that day when the second Guardian arises to restore spiritual guidance to the Faith and reunify the Baha'i World.