GROWTH OF ORTHODOX BAHA’I COMMUNITY IN INDIA - PART-1

The Baha’i Faith started in Iran by Husain Ali Nuri, titled as Baha’u’llah. He was born in Tehran on 12th November 1817. He was the prophet of the Baha’i Religion. 
His intimate proclamation took place at the “Black Pit” (Siyahchal) of Tehran in 1853 when he was 36. His open proclamation occurred in Baghdad in the Najib Pasha garden later titled Ridvan Garden, at 3 in the afternoon of 21st April 1863. 
He proclaimed his mission to the world by sending out tablets from Adrianpole to the Rulers of States, Kings, Emperors, Presidents and Religious Leaders during the year 1867 to 1873. The duration of his prophethood was 39 years during which he was exiled from Tehran to Baghdad (11 years), Constantinople (4 months), Adrianpole (5 years) and at last to the prison city of Acre in Palestine (25 years). 
Over a hundred volumes were revealed from his pen, among which we can name Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), The Hidden Words, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, The tablets to the leaders of the world, Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude, The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys, many Tablets addressed to various believers, many prayers etc.

A. Parikh,

Hand of Cause of God

Secretary National Baha'i Council of India,

YOU ARE NOT A BAHA’I IF…

You are not a Baha’i,

 if you don’t believe in Shaikh Ahmad Ehsaa’i and Syed e Rashti.

You are not a Baha’i,

 if you don’t believe in Syed e Bab, The forerunner.

You are not a Baha’i,

 if you don’t believe in Baha’u’llah and His writings and commands.

You are not a Baha’i,

 if you don’t believe in Abdu’l Baha and his “Will and Testament” and all his Writings and Commands. You are a “Covenant Breaker”.

You are not a Baha’i,

 if you don’t believe in the First Guardian of Baha’i Faith, Shoghi Effendi. You are a “Covenant Breaker”.

You are not a Baha’i,

 if you don’t believe in the Second Guardian of Baha’i Faith, Charls Mason Remey. You are a “Covenant Breaker”.

You are not a Baha’i,

 if you don’t believe in the Third Living Guardian of Baha’i Faith, Joel Bray Marangella. You are “Covenant Breaker”.

Attention:

He is not a Baha’i who believes in any SANS GUARDIAN Universal House of Justice.

Divine Administration of Baha’i Faith is based on Twin Pillars – (1) Guardian as a Head of Baha’i Faith and (2) Universal House of Justice.

Come on:

Let us investigate the Truth independently on this holy occasion of Ascension of Baha’u’llah.

Vinod Kumar,

Secretary,

National Teaching Committee

(Orthodox Baha’is of India),

Rohini-New Delhi.

Celebrating Declaration of the Bab

On the evening of May 22, we Baha’is throughout the world commemorate the Declaration of the Bab, which took place in the Persian city of Shiraz in 1844.
The Báb declared, that the Promised One is destined to usher in the age of justice, unity and peace promised in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and all the other great religions. Bahá’u'lláh, one of the Báb’s leading advocates, announced in April 1863 that He was the Divine Messenger the Báb had promised.
The Báb’s announcement in the middle of the 19th century came at a time when many Christians were expecting the return of Christ based on their reading of Biblical prophecy.
Simultaneously, half way around the world, in the Middle East, many followers of Islam were also expecting their Promised One to appear irrespective of their sectarian beliefs.
Bab attracted thousands of followers in Iran in a very short time. His followers were persecuted by the religious and political heads. Thousands were tortured and put to death.
We celebrate the anniversary of the Báb’s declaration through prayers and programs. Suspend our mechandise and work on this day as it is one of the nine holy days in the Bahá’í calendar.
We appeal to the Baha'is of the world to celebrate this day in full vigour and effective force.

Guardianship – The Heart of the Bahá’í Faith

Every living organism has a heart. Upon the healthy action of which these organisms are dependent for their proper functioning, so does the Bahá’í Faith have a heart upon which its life depends and this heart is the Guardianship of the Faith. But the Hands of the Faith in their dilemma at the death of our beloved Guardian (Shoghi Effendi) were so confused and upset that they thought the Cause must get along without any more Guardianship -   thus setting up a substitute for this Guardianship in their present-intending leadership of the nine Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land, for which body there is no authority whatsoever in the administrative plan of Bahá’í government as given us in the “Will and Testament” of the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.


Hands of Faith destroyed the 36 years labor of Shoghi Effendi 


The beloved Guardian labored for thirty-six years to establish the Administration. The Guardianship is the heart of the Cause and now, in less than two years after his death, the Hands of the Faith are doing what they can to destroy any hopes that believers may entertain of our ever having another Guardian. Until this present time this destruction seems to be having results that please the Hands of the Holy Land, all but with the exception of myself. The Hands are constantly calling my attention to the success of their program. 
Those who in their hearts oppose the Guardianship will in the end fall short…? 


Let each one of us face and see his own problem, a problem that rests between himself and God, whether or not he or she wants a Guardian or not, for if the Hands of the Faith unitedly want a Guardian, they will have no difficulty, but if they, in their hearts don’t want the Guardianship, God help the Cause and God help them too. We know that in the end, the Cause will prevail. The Administration of the Cause cannot live without its heart that is the Guardianship, therefore those who in their hearts oppose the Guardianship will in the end fall short of that to which they were called to perform.


Charles Mason Remey,
Second Guardian of Baha’i Faith

Celebration of Ridvan at Tungareshwar

Entrance of the beautiful Ridvan Garden

The National Baha’i Council of Orthodox Baha’is of India take immense pleasure in announcing a unique celebration on the occasion of a great Baha’i Festival the “Ridvan” at Tungareshwar, which is at an altitude of about 2177 feet,  one of the highest mountain plateaus in Vasai/Thane on 21^st  April 2012 near Chinchoti Water Fall.

Celebration will be hosted by Mr. Rajendra Upadhyaye. Orthodox Baha’is from Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, New Delhi, Dombivili, Kalyan, Baroda, Nagpur and all the friends of Thane District will participate in it.

Ridvan is the Anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's Declaration of His Prophetic Mission to His followers.

Ridvan Messages, a Tradition of Guardian of the Faith

In the year 1923, the First Guardian of Baha’i Faith Shoghi Effendi sent a letter of encouragement and greeting to the American national Bahá'í convention at Ridvan. Later it was his regular practice to write a Ridvan letter to the Bahá'ís of the world summarizing the progress of the Faith in the previous year and setting out general directions for the coming year.

Living Guardian

The Living Guardian of Baha’i Faith Joel Bray Marangella follows the tradition of the first Guardian and he also writes a Ridvan Letter to the Orthodox Baha’is of the world. (Sans Guardian UHJ cannot write a Ridvan Letter to the Baha’is).

Hands of the Cause of God Appointed by Third Guardian are:

1.  Marilyn Meyer
2.  Madeline Byers (posthumous)
3.  Nosrat'u'llah Bahremand
4.  Jeffrey Goldberg
5.  David Maxwell
6.  Y.H. Taylor
7.  Grace Behrens (posthumous)
8.  Joel JaniMarangella
9.  James Meyer
10. Dr. A. Parikh
11. Martin Lavallee
12. Frank Schlatter (Departed Soul)

We extend our heartiest Ridvan Greetings to all the Bahais of the world and invite them on this great festival to look in the matter of continuity of guardianship.

With Best Abha Greetings,

Rajendra Upadhyaye,

The Chairman of the National Bahai Council of India.

  

NAW-RUZ as a Festival Unto Those Who Have Observed the 19 Day Fast

“Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained Naw-Ruz as a festival unto those who have observed the fast for love of Thee and abstained from all that is abhorrent unto Thee.

Grant, O my Lord, that the fire of Thy love and the heat produced by the fast enjoined by Thee may inflame them in Thy Cause, and make them to be occupied with Thy praise and with remembrance of Thee.”   

 -- Baha’u’llah--

The National Baha’i Council of Orthodox Baha’is of India congratulate to all the Baha’is on this Day of God, the Naw-Ruz  (21st March) and pray on this auspicious day to guide the innocent Baha’i friends who still believe that the Universal House of Justice appoints the guardian.

Message of Love from Living Guardian

During this holy period of Ayyam-i-Ha, the Third Guardian of Baha’i Faith, beloved Joel Bray Marangella addresses to the Baha’i friends in the words of Master, Abdu’l Baha in which he has emphasized the importance of LOVE in one of his wonderful Tablet.   

     "O thou who warmest thyself by the fire of the love of God, spreading from the Tree of the Covenant!  Let thy soul be at ease and thy heart in peace concerning the perfect success and progress which the pen is not able to express, for in a short time thou shall see the flag of the Kingdom waving in those far and wide regions, and the lights of the Truth shining brilliantly in its dawn above those horizons, and thou shalt know that thou art the center of the circle of the love of God, the axis around which souls revolve in their way and supplication to God.  Therefore,, thou must widen thy heart, dilate thy breast,  have patience in plenty, calmness of soul and cut thyself from everything but God !

The above words of the Master are so appropriate and equally apply to all of us who are assiduously laboring today for the victory of the Covenant of Baha'u'llah and its divinely-conceived, sacred and immortal "Child."

Joel Bray Marangella.

The Guardian of Baha’i Faith.

Thou art the center of the circle of the Love of God

During this holy period of Ayyam-i-Ha, the Third Guardian of Baha’i Faith Beloved Joel Bray Marangella addresses to the Baha’i friends in the words of Master Abdu’l Baha in which He has emphasized the importance of LOVE in one of His wonderful Tablet.   

     "O thou who warmest thyself by the fire of the love of God, spreading from the Tree of the Covenant!  Let thy soul be at ease and thy heart in peace concerning the perfect success and progress which the pen is not able to express, for in a short time thou shall see the flag of the Kingdom waving in those far and wide regions, and the lights of the Truth shining brilliantly in its dawn above those horizons, and thou shalt know that thou art the center of the circle of the love of God, the axis around which souls revolve in their way and supplication to God.  Therefore,, thou must widen thy heart, dilate thy breast,  have patience in plenty, calmness of soul and cut thyself from everything but God !

The above words of the Master are so appropriate and equally apply to all of us who are assiduously laboring today for the victory of the Covenant of Baha'u'llah and its divinely-conceived, sacred and immortal "Child."

Joel Bray Marangella.

The Guardian of Baha’i Faith.

Ayyam-i-Ha, the days of hospitality, charity and gift giving (February 26 to March 1)

The Ayyam-i-Ha are devoted to spiritual preparation for the fast, and are a time of hospitality, charity and gift giving.

Prayer for Ayyam-i-Ha

My God, my Fire and my Light! The days which Thou hast named the Ayyam-i-Ha (the Days of Ha, Intercalary days) in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching.

I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance.

These, O my Lord, are Thy servants whom no corrupt inclination hath kept back from what Thou didst send down in Thy Book. They have bowed themselves before Thy Cause, and received Thy Book with such resolve as is born of Thee, and observed what Thou hadst prescribed unto them, and chosen to follow that which had been sent down by Thee. Thou seest, O my Lord, how they have recognized and confessed whatsoever Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures. Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting.

I implore Thee, O Thou the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, to ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come. Write down for them, moreover, what none of Thy creatures hath discovered, and number them with those who have circled round Thee, and who move about Thy throne in every world of Thy worlds. Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

                                                                                                            -- Baha'u'llah

Who Placed Themselves Outside the True Faith?

Dear Baha'i Friends! 

Please pay attention to the following and and investigate the "Truth".

The first Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, prior to his passing, appointed Charles Mason Remey the President of the first embryonic Universal House of Justice (titled in this embryonic stage as the International Bahá'í Council), thus designating his successor, as Presidency of the Universal House of Justice and Guardianship of the Faith are synonymous. Upon the passing of Shoghi Effendi in November 1957, this embryonic Institution came into active life and Charles Mason Remey as its Head became the second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
 
The second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Charles Mason Remey, appointed Joel B. Marangella President of the second International Bahá'í Council on 21, September 1964, a body that was activated and brought into functioning life in October 1965 with an announcement of same appearing in the official publication of the Bahá'ís under the Guardianship at the time (The Glad Tidings.) Additionally, the second Guardian confirmed his appointment of Joel B. Marangella as the third Guardian in a hand-written Ietter under date of 5, December 1961 and directed him to tell the Bahá'í world of this appointment at a time to be decided by him. The third Guardian of the Faith assumed his responsibilities as a result of a proclamatory letter sent to the Bahá'ís under the guardianship on 12, November 1969
 
Avowed Bahá'ís who espouse views and doctrines at variance with the above statement are not orthodox Bahá'ís and have placed themselves outside the true Faith.
 
(From the Writings of the Third Guardian)

Action of the believers in Lucknow following the passing of Shoghi Effendi.

The State of Guardianship is the super most thing upon the Earth.
The second Guardian, Charles Mason Remey wrote in his dairy: “Daily Observations,”(written during the years he resided in Haifa) about the remarkable action taken by the Local Spiritual Assembly of Lucknow, India, following the passing of Shoghi Effendi:


“This afternoon (12 February 1959) there was a meeting of seven of us Custodian Hands of the Cause now here in the Holy Land at which there was a discussion of many things - details of comings and goings of pilgrims all of routine work, and a letter from the Local Assembly of Lucknow, India, was laid upon the table without remark, someone saying that it was a local problem – a matter that should be referred not to the Hands but to the National Assembly of India.

“Seeing the letter, as it lay there on the table, I glanced at it and was astonished indeed at its contents. It was a record of action of that local Assembly in which seven of the nine members had united to dissolve that local body until such time as the Guardianship be renewed and functioning again – this letter (copy of which was addressed to the Hands in the Holy Land, dated 18 November 1958) was being sent to the Indian National Assembly in New Delhi. This was indeed a most remarkable statement (in six short paragraphs) of the reasons why these friends cannot accept the present condition of the Cause without a Guardian.”
A summary of the original letter:. Gupta wrote the following letter on 18 November 1957 from 51 L
 
Resolution: Where as by a resolution passed in the presence of seven members of the Assembly on November 9, 1957, [five days after the passing of Shoghi Effendi] it was resolved that “the activities of this LSA be suspended till the appointment of the next Guardian of the Faith” and the same was intimated to the NSA, New Delhi, and whereas it comes under the purview of the Supreme Council, so therefore it behooves this assembly to place the following arguments without prejudice, before the aforementioned Supreme Council through Raffanian, Haifa (Israel):

1. Man’s nature is two-fold; he is spirit and body and therefore, at once, a citizen of this world and of the Heavenly City.
2. The State of Guardianship is the super most thing upon the Earth.
3. The Guardian ought to have no equal in his realm because this would nullify the rule that an equal cannot have authority over his equals.
4. The Supremacy of the Guardian in spiritual matters is absolute under the God…The Guardian has full power to create Hands of the Cause and can do so without any of the customary forms of election.
5. The unique power possessed by the Guardian alone is, therefore a “Divine Right”…In substance the Guardian alone is the head of entire legal system, not, indeed, as a universal executive but as a court of final authority which functions not in absentia but by presence.
6. The present system is but conciliary and the concilliarists have set against it the ideal of harmony of powers cooperating by free and mutual consent. Such an argument is fraught with the implication that God had changed the mode of imposing His Divine Right according to the wishes of the few. Such a democratic conception is vitally opposed to the Spirit of the Faith.

Alert Bahá'í Brethren!
From the above, it is clear that those who investigate the truth independently, find the truth but those who do not struggle for the truth, God seals their hearts.

Divorced from the Institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be Mutilated

The first Guardian of Baha'i Faith Shogi Effendi wrote  in his Spiritual Testament "The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah" about the continuity of guardianship in Baha'i Faith as under:  

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. “In all the Divine Dispensations,” He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, “the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.” Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.

Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.

“He is the Interpreter of the Word of God,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, referring to the functions of the Guardian of the Faith, asserts, using in His Will the very term which He Himself had chosen when refuting the argument of the Covenant-breakers who had challenged His right to interpret the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh. “After him,” He adds, “will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.” “The mighty stronghold,” He further explains, “shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to him who is the Guardian of the Cause of God.” “It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the Aghsán, the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God, to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God.”

(Shoghi Effendi, The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah)

Baha'i House of Worship

In all religions, irrespective of them being divine or otherwise, temples and houses of worship enjoy great importance. India is the best example of having different temples and houses of worship like Hindu temples, Muslim mosques, Sikh Gurdwaras, Christian Churches, Budha Vihars and the Baha’i Temple.


In the Baha’i Faith also, temples have an important role. Please read the following quotes of beloved Master Abdu’l Baha and commandment of Baha’u’llah:
“In brief, the original purpose of temples and houses of worship is simply that of unity -- places of meeting where various peoples, different races and souls of every capacity may come together in order that love and agreement should be manifest between them. That is why Bahá'u'lláh has commanded that a place of worship be built for all the religionists of the world; that all religions, races and sects may come together within its universal shelter; that the proclamation of the oneness of mankind shall go forth from its open courts of holiness -- the announcement that humanity is the servant of God and that all are submerged in the ocean of His mercy. It is the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.
The world of existence may be likened to this temple and place of worship. For, just as the external world is a place where the people of all races and colors, varying faiths, denominations and conditions come together -- just as they are submerged in the same sea of divine favors -- so, likewise, all may meet under the dome of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar and adore the one God in the same spirit of truth... We must now realize that we are the servants of one God, that we turn to one Beneficent Father, live under one divine law, seek one reality and have one desire. Thus, may we live in the utmost friendship and love, and in return the favors and bounties of God shall surround us.”
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 65)


Please pay attention
Belief in the “Living Guardian” is essential in the Baha’i Faith. Thus, all the Houses of Worship should be under the control and care of the Guardian of Baha’i Faith.


What about the Holy Shrines in Haifa and Akka?
Since at the moment the sacred places of the Faith are under the care and control of the bogus Universal House of Justice, it would be difficult or impossible for the Orthodox Baha’is to visit them because of the animosity and hostility that will be shown to us. However, there are public sightseeing tours which guide tourists to visit the shrines. The true shrine to the Manifestation of God rests in the hearts of the faithful. No doubt the shrines and sacred sites hold great importance and significance, but in the end it is the faith of the believer that matters. The true shrine to the Manifestation of God rests in the hearts of the faithful. 


Mason Remey - the Chief Architect of the Temples and House of Worships:
Let us consider the role of the architect, Mason Remey, who was destined to be appointed by the first Guardian of the Baha'i Faith as his successor, in his development of designs for future Baha'i Temples that would be built, in the light of statements of Abdu'l-Baha.


All of the Baha’i friends in India, irrespective of their identification as orthodox or heterodox Baha'is, should be particularly aware that the beloved Master Abdu’l Baha specifically appointed Mason Remey as the architect of the Mashriqu’l Adhkar to be built in the future on Mount Carmel and he was also identified by the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi as the architect of the Baha'i Temple to be built in Iran when circumstances permitted. And he is the architect of the Temple already built in Sydney, Australia, as well as the Western Pilgrim House in Haifa, Israel, also built pursuant to the instructions of Abdu'l-Baha.


Baha’i Temples around the world:
The main architect and the appointed President of the Executive Board overseeing all plans for the construction of Baha’i Temples was Mason Remey, who later would become the second guardian of the Baha’i Faith. For the information of the reader, quoted below are applicable historical communications including the Tablet of Abdu’l Baha, written to or about Mason Remey concerning the Pilgrim House to be built in Haifa and the Mashriqu’l Adhkar (House of Worship) to be built in the future on Mount Carmel.
On 7 October 1921, Abdu’l Baha wrote the following to Mason Remey: “Some time ago I wrote thee a letter the content of which was that, praise be to God, thou hast become confirmed in drawing a plan for the Pilgrims House in Haifa. It is my hope that this Pilgrims House may be built under your supervision. Also, in the future, a Mashriqu’l Adhkar will be established on Mount Carmel. Thou wilt be its architect and founder. I give thee this glad tiding.” Star of the West, Vol. 13, No.8, November 1922.


The following acknowledgement of the approval given by Mason Remey to the Temple design of Mr. Bourgeois for the Temple to be built in Wilmette, Illinois, (outside of Chicago) appears in the following Tablet from Abdu’l Baha addressed to Mr. A. W. Randall, published in United States Baha’i News (Vol.11, No.7, p.112, 13 July 1919):


“The Model [of the House of Worship to be built in Wilmette, Illinois] of Mr. Bourgeois, praise be to God, has become acceptable to the friends, especially that it has proved approvable to his honor, Mr. Remey.”


The following Tablet from Abdu’l-Baha addressed to Corinne True appears on 20 August 1920 in the Baha’i News of the United States (Vol.11, No.9, p.139):
“Praise be unto God, that the model of the Mashriqu’l Adhkar made by Mr. Bourgeois was approved by his honor, and selected by the Convention. His honor, Mr. Remey is, verily, of perfect sincerity. He is likened unto transparent water, filtered, lucid and without any impurity. He worked earnestly for several years, but he did not have any personal motive. He has not attachment to anything except to the Cause of God. This is the spirit of the firm and this is the characteristic of the sincere.”


The style and general lines of future Temples to be built in Persia, Arabia and India:
 In the Star of the West, (Vol.17, No.2, May 1926) appears a long article written by Charles Mason Remey about the Mashriqu’l Adhkar of Ashqabad, Russia. In the introduction the editor wrote:
“The following article describing the first Baha’i religious edifice that has been constructed is written by an Architect who has traveled much among the Baha’is of Persia and the Orient. He has himself given much attention to the religious architecture, and has made a series of designs for Baha’i Temples based on religious architecture of Persia, India and Arabia.”


Mason Remey has also stated:
“Abdu’l Baha Himself established the style and the general lines upon which the Temple was to be built – namely, that it should be built upon the plan of a regular nine-sided polygon surrounded by loggias and in the midst of a garden at the intersection of nine avenues, with its principal entrance facing the direction of the Holy Land—the composition of the building being similar to that of some of the great temples of Persia and India.”
[This being the reason, no doubt, why the Lotus Temple in India was so conceived]


Eyes of Master ‘Abdu’l Baha on Indian Baha’is:
The eyes of the Master ‘Abdu’l Baha were certainly on the Indian Baha’is, for based on the above text, it is crystal clear that Abdu’l Baha foresaw the extensive embracement of the Baha’i Faith by the Indians and that is why he directed Mason Remey, in his development of future designs for Temples to consider the architectural features of some of the great temples of India.
I feel certain that He foresaw that India would be the first country in the future that would embrace the Guardianship of the Baha’i Faith, en masse.
At the end, I would like to draw the attention of all Baha’is, especially Indian Baha’is that any house of worship which is not in the control and care of Guardian of Baha’i Faith, prayers are invalid in it.

Investigate the truth independently.
A.  Parikh.
Secretary,
National Baha’i Council of Orthodox Baha’is of India.
23rd October, 2011