[Talk presented 11 November 2002 by Darren Hiebert at the public program of the Interfaith Mission Service entitled "The Gift and Abuse of Power"]
by Darren Hiebert
The relevant definitions of "power" from the dictionary are:
1 a : ability to act or produce an effect
2 a : possession of control, authority, or influence over others(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
I will endeavor to describe how each of these elements of power are realized within the Bahá'í Faith.
Upon surveying the Bahá'í writings, one finds the subject of power addressed in these three forms:
The Bahá'í administrative system is unique in that it prescribes a method which entirely prevents the undesirable side-effects of present-day electoral systems and their attendant politics. The Bahá'í administrative system consists of two arms which embrace the community--an elected and an appointed arm.
The Bahá'í electoral process dispenses with nominations and campainging; nobody runs for office. During a Bahá'í election, each voter simply writes, in private ballot, the names of the nine people the voter regards as "those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience." [Bahá'í Administration, p. 88] When the ballots are counted, the nine people receiving the highest number of votes are elected, whether they desire it or not. Bahá'ís do not discuss among one another who they vote for, nor would a Bahá'í express a desire for or against being elected. The Bahá'í writings describe this process in the following manner:
"The fundamental difference between the system of cadidature and the Bahá'í system is that, in the former, individuals, or those who nominate them, decide that they should be placed in positions of authority and put themselves forward to be voted into it. In the Bahá'í system it is the mass of the electorate which makes the decision. If an individual ostentatiously places himself if the public eye with the seeming purpose of getting people to vote for him, the members of the electorate regard this as self-conceit and are affronted by it; they learn to distinguish between someone who is well known as an unintentional result of active public service and someone who makes an exhibition of himself to merely attract votes."
(From a communication dated 16 November 1988 written by the Universal House of Justice to the International Teaching Center)
This electoral process is carried out on the local, national, and international levels. At the local and national levels, these elected administrative bodies are referred to as spiritual assemblies. The international body is named the Universal House of Justice. Each of these administrative bodies has the authority to make the decisions for the community which elected it.
Just as the individuals elected to these bodies are obligated to serve if elected, the members of the community which elected it are obligated to abide by its decisions. Criticism of the body, its members, or its decisions, is highly condemned. However, any community member has a right, and quite likely an obligation, to bring to the attention of that body information or opinion which might show that its decision is not in the best interest of the community and ask for a reconsideration, possibly even appealing that decision to the next higher body.
Only institutions which are elected have authority over their respective communities, but this authority resides in the body only, not in its members.
The second arm of Bahá'í administration is appointed by the Universal House of Justice. It appoints a Continental Board of Counselors, who in turn appoint and direct members of an Auxiliary Board. The members of these boards, known collectively as the institution of the learned, are regarded as highly qualified individuals and are greatly respected within the community for their service, knowledge, and position. Though these members possess no authority, since they are not elected, they wield considerable influence through the respect for their position. Their task is an advisory one to both the elected institutions and their communities. The relationship between the community, its elected institutions and the institution of the learned is summarized in the following passage.
Authority and direction flow from the Assemblies, whereas the power to accomplish the tasks resides primarily in the entire body of the believers. It is the principal task of the Auxiliary Boards to assist in arousing and releasing this power.
(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to Continental Boards of Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies, October 1, 1969: The Continental Boards of Counsellors, Wilmette, 1981, pp. 37-38; cited in LOG #1124)
So we see how the variations of power we defined above are distributed and shared among the community members and the elected and appointed institutions. I would like to close with an overview of these variations of power as they apply to leadership in the Bahá'í community.
In a Bahá'í context the term "leaders" may be applied to elected bodies, which are the only place where authority rests. The term "leaders" may also be applied to the the individual members of either the elected or appointed arms, or even to any community member who arises to the occasion, but they can possess no authority over the community. To comprehend how leadership is understood in a Bahá'í context, let us review a brief list, distilled from the Bahá'í writings, that describe the functions, responsibilities, and desirable qualities of those serving in positions of leadership within the Bahá'í Faith:
All of which center around the fact that the power to "produce an effect" resides in the community. The role of leaders is to help the community realize its inherent power. The purpose of authority is to help direct and channel that power for collective benefit.
[END]
"Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion."
Inevitably, in any form of election, worthy individuals fail to be elected simply because they are not widely known. This is true in the system that uses nominations and electioneering as it will be in the Bahá'í system. However, this is not the point. Election to an Assembly, from a Bahá'í point of view, is not a right that people are entitled to, or an honour to which they should aspire; it is a duty and responsibility to which they may be called. The purpose is that those who are elected to an Assembly should be the most worthy for the service; this does not and cannot mean that all theose who are worthy will be elected.
Let us also bear in mind that the keynote of the Cause of God is not dictatorial authority but humble fellowship, not arbitrary power, but the spirit of frank and loving consultation.
If we but turn our gaze to the high qualifications of the members of Bahá'í Assemblies, as enumerated in Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets, we are filled with feelings of unworthiness and dismay, and would feel truly disheartened but for the comforting thought that if we rise to play nobly our part every deficiency in our lives will be more than compensated by the all-conquering spirit of His grace and power. Hence it is incumbent upon the chosen delegates to consider without the least trace of passion and prejudice, and irrespective of any material consideration, the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience.
We have only to refer to the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh in order to realize for ourselves God's invincible power to turn every fleeting abasement, every transient sorrow, into abiding joy and glory.
By the sublimity of their principles, the warmth of their love, the spotless purity of their character, and the depth of their devoutness and piety, let them demonstrate to their fellow-countrymen the ennobling reality of a power that shall weld a disrupted world.
...its [the Assembly's] members have very sacred and heavy responsibilities, its power to steer the Community, to protect and assist its members is likewise very great.