But here it is:
Although deepening the friends’ understanding of the Covenant and increasing their love and loyalty to it are of paramount importance, the duties of the Auxiliary Board members for Protection do not end here. The Board members must remain ever vigilant, monitoring the actions of those who, driven by the promptings of ego, seek to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of the friends and undermine the Faith. In general, whenever believers become aware of such problems, they should immediately contact whatever institution they feel moved to turn to, whether it be a Counsellor, an Auxiliary Board member, the National Spiritual Assembly or their own Local Assembly. It then becomes the duty of that institution to ensure that the report is fed into the correct channels and that all the other institutions affected are promptly informed. Not infrequently, the responsibility will fall on an Auxiliary Board member, in coordination with the Assembly concerned, to take some form of action in response to the situation. This involvement will include counselling the believer in question; warning him, if necessary, of the consequence of his actions; and bringing to the attention of the Counsellors the gravity of the situation, which may call for their intervention. Naturally, the Board member has to exert every effort to counteract the schemes and arrest the spread of the influence of those few who, despite attempts to guide them, eventually break the Covenant.
The need to protect the Faith from the attacks of its enemies may not be generally appreciated by the friends, particularly in places where attacks have been infrequent. However, it is certain that such opposition will increase, become concerted, and eventually universal. The writings clearly foreshadow not only an intensification of the machinations of internal enemies, but a rise in the hostility and opposition of its external enemies, whether religious or secular, as the Cause pursues its onward march towards ultimate victory. Therefore, in the light of the warnings of the Guardian, the Auxiliary Boards for Protection should keep “constantly” a “watchful eye” on those “who are known to be enemies, or to have been put out of the Faith”, discreetly investigate their activities, alert intelligently the friends to the opposition inevitably to come, explain how each crisis in God’s Faith has always proved to be a blessing in disguise, and prepare them for the “dire contest which is destined to range the Army of Light against the forces of darkness”.
The Universal House of Justice
[The above excerpt is from this original document. Look for it on paragraph 72 onward and page 27 onward.]
And if you think that this is simply rhetoric or theory that is not implemented, you are in for an even bigger shock. It is not. Regularly, Baha´is like you and me are the target of witch hunts. You want names? Taheri, Karimpour, Glaysher, McKenny, Marshall, Cole, Pleasant, Gasink, and unfortunately, many many more.
What I find revolting is that not only has there been a systematic mechanism built through the appointed institutions, ala KGB, to spy and report on Baha´is, but that Baha´is themselves are being asked to snitch on their fellow believers!
This paranoia would be hysterical if it weren´t so damaging. Within a few decades it has substituted the tolerant and loving community life that once thrived with a distrustful and poisoned one. Whereas before the Faith community was based on pluralism and unity in diversity, it now seeks to inculcate a strict dogma. If you find yourself, in anyway not buying into it wholesale, then you are an “internal” enemy. A “friendly” visit by a fellow Baha´i to chat over coffee can instantly become much more sinister.
Of course, the interesting and paradoxical result of looking for negatives is that you find them, all over the place. This is the amazing power of an individual and/or collective mind. Whatever you set as your target you will attract it, like a heat seeking missile. Try it.
As you are sitting there right now reading this, you suddenly realize that your tongue feels rather heavy. You move it around trying to find a comfortable place for it. You swallow a bit but it still feels weird. Why does your tongue feel so heavy? it was fine a minute ago?
Simple. We made it into an issue. We brought a negative connotation to it as well as attention. Now you will probably spend the rest of the day preoccupied, wondering what the heck to do with your tongue. From this simple example we see the amazing principle that whatever you give attention to, your mind will seek.
This is an inestimably powerful principle. Used positively and collectively it can lead mankind into a virtuous cycle or used negatively it can spiral into a vicious cycle (as history readily attests to it). Is this why in every religion we are told to seek the good, the positive, the beautiful, the unifying and to do good, to help, to aid and rescue? Hmmm…there might be something there.
Returning to our discussion, it is worthwhile to give credit to a few Baha´is who have publicly shared that when they were being appointed to positions in the institutions, they were told that their job would be keeping files on other Baha´is, and they got up and left the room. They could not imagine doing something like that to their friends. You really have to wonder how any true Baha´i could both follow the Exemplar of the Faith, and do such a horribly unBaha´i thing as keeping secret files. I don´t know how they sleep at night, really.
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