Nor should it be thought for a moment that the followers of
Bahá'u'lláh either seek to degrade or even belittle the rank of the world's
religious leaders, whether Christian, Muslim, or of any other denomination,
should their conduct conform to their professions, and be worthy of the
position they occupy. "Those divines," Bahá'u'lláh has affirmed,
"...who are truly adorned with the ornament of knowledge and of a goodly
character are, verily, as a head to the body of the world, and as eyes to the
nations. The guidance of men hath, at all times, been and is dependent upon
these blessed souls." And again: "The divine whose conduct is
upright, and the sage who is just, are as the spirit unto the body of the
world. Well is it with that divine whose head is attired with the crown of
justice, and whose temple is adorned with the ornament of equity." And yet
again: "The divine who hath seized and quaffed the most holy Wine, in the
name of the sovereign Ordainer, is as an eye unto the world. Well is it with
them who obey him, and call him to remembrance." "Great is the
blessedness of that divine," He, in another connection, has written,
"that hath not allowed knowledge to become a veil between him and the One
Who is the Object of all knowledge, and who, when the Self-Subsisting appeared,
hath turned with a beaming face towards Him. He, in truth, is numbered with the
learned. The inmates of Paradise seek the blessing of his breath, and his lamp
sheddeth its radiance over all who are in heaven and on earth. He, verily, is numbered
with the inheritors of the Prophets. He that beholdeth him hath, verily, beheld
the True One, and he that turneth towards him hath, verily, turned towards God,
the Almighty, the All-Wise." "Respect ye the divines amongst
you," is His exhortation, "They whose acts conform to the knowledge
they possess, who observe the statutes of God, and decree the things God hath
decreed in the Book. Know ye that they are the lamps of guidance betwixt earth
and heaven. They that have no consideration for the position and merit of the
divines amongst them have, verily, altered the bounty of God vouchsafed unto
them."
- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Promised Day is Come’)
