Dear Max,
Thanks for your informed note.
> As Baha'u'llah has stressed on this short answer itself indicates that His
> intention was to make this procedure extremely simple and flexible, and it
> appears that all details are left for those in charge of the burial process.
I think there are a couple of other factors to consider.
1. Early believers were predominately Iranian of Shi'i background, obsessed with details of civil laws. So naturally they would ask about details of this or that, and Baha'u'llah didn't want to get caught in a situation where He spent the next 20 years revealing minute details of very minor legalistic situation (something that thousands and thousands of mullas do every day).
2. On the other hand, since the majority of the believers in His time were Iranian Muslim and already grounded in such practices, He may have felt that they could continue with their current practice and no further details was needed for the present time.
3. Baha'u'llah was also careful not to undermine the House of Justice by revealing too many civil laws and limiting their operation. Imagine a CEO that micromanage everything, which results in the middle management being pretty unhappy and ineffective. That's the scenario that He was avoiding. That is, too much micro-management by the Prophet is never good for the successor who will be tied down to all those details. Best policy is to stay at the level of "principles" and overall policies.
So, as you say, there may not be any instructions at the present and that's fine. But I suspect down the road this issue will be considered by the House and they would rule on the details, much the same that they will need to rule on so many other things left unspecified by Baha'u'llah.
Regards,
ahang.
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