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Bahá'í Administration
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Pages 86-89
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Letter of June 3rd, 1925.
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To the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful, the delegates
and visitors to the Bahá'í Convention, Green Acre, Maine, U.S.A.
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Fellow-laborers in the Vineyard of God:
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Once again the hand of divine power has gathered together the
chosen representatives of the American believers, assembled this
time amid the pleasant surroundings of a blest and beloved spot,
to deliberate upon the most effective measures that will insure the
advancement of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. I feel it a pleasure and
privilege to offer you these few thoughts as my humble contribution
to the proceedings of your annual Convention.
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May I at the outset reaffirm my feelings of gratitude and keen
appreciation for the eminent share which the friends in America,
individually as well as by their collective efforts, have contributed to
ease the burden of responsibility and care that has so often oppressed
my heart. Your steadfastness, your unsparing devotion; your self-sacrifice
in upholding and fostering the institutions of the Cause;
the notable advance you have achieved in the coordination of your
activities; the remarkable solicitude you have shown, and the magnificent
response you have made on behalf of the oppressed and
needy among your brethren; the measures you have initiated, the
hindrances you have removed and the means and methods you have
perfected--these and others beside have established you in the confidence,
the esteem and the admiration of all the Bahá'í world. I
personally appreciate and am thankful for your unfailing supplications
and special prayers on my behalf. I am deeply touched by
your expressions of unwavering faith, of loyalty and affection, and
fully reciprocate your brotherly sentiments and your keen desire and
readiness to collaborate with me more closely and effectively than
ever before.
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And now regarding this forthcoming Convention, I feel that the
dominating purpose inspiring the assembled friends, delegates and
visitors alike, should be a two-fold one. The first is a challenge to
the individual, the second a collective responsibility. The one seeks
to reinforce the motive power of our spiritual activities, the second
aims at raising the standard of administrative efficiency so vitally
needed at this advanced stage of our work. We should first and
foremost endeavor by every conceivable means to revitalize our
precious Cause, rudely shaken by the constant vicissitudes attending
the outward departure of a vigilant and gracious Master. Our next
object should be to seek to approach, through more intimate association,
fuller and more frequent consultations, and a closer familiarity
with the character, the mission and the teachings of the Cause,
that standard of excellence which should characterize the cooperative
efforts of Bahá'í Communities in every land.
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High aims and pure motives, however laudable in themselves,
will surely not suffice if unsupported by measures that are practicable
and methods that are sound. Wealth of sentiment, abundance of
good-will and effort, will prove of little avail if we should fail to
exercise discrimination and restraint and neglect to direct their flow
along the most profitable channels. The unfettered freedom of the
individual should be tempered with mutual consultation and sacrifice,
and the spirit of initiative and enterprise should be reinforced
by a deeper realization of the supreme necessity for concerted action
and a fuller devotion to the common weal.
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It would be impossible at this stage to ignore the indispensability
or to overestimate the unique significance of the institution of the
National Spiritual Assembly--the pivot round which revolve the
activities of the believers throughout the American continent. Supreme
is their position, grave their responsibilities, manifold and
arduous their duties. How great the privilege, how delicate the task
of the assembled delegates whose function it is to elect such national
representatives as would by their record of service ennoble
and enrich the annals of the Cause! 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. May the
incoming National Spiritual Assembly--the privileged and chosen
servants of the Cause--immortalize their term of stewardship by
deeds of loving service, deeds that will redound to the honor, the
glory and the power of the Most Great Name.
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I would also earnestly entreat all the delegates at this coming
Convention, and through them I appeal to the larger body of
believers whom they represent, to ever bear in mind the supreme
injunction of `Abdu'l-Bahá, to teach unceasingly until the "head
cornerstone of the foundation" of the Cause of God is firmly established
in every heart. Let those whose time, resources and means
allow, travel throughout the length and breadth of that vast continent,
let them scatter to the most distant regions of the earth and,
fired with enthusiasm and detachment, hand on the torch of God's
undying flame to the waiting multitudes of a sadly-stricken world.
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One word more in conclusion. Let the West, and particularly
the Great Republic of the New World, where a quarter of a century
ago Bahá'u'lláh's Banner was firmly implanted, realize that upon it
now rests the responsibility of achieving the universal recognition
of the Bahá'í Faith, of fulfilling `Abdu'l-Bahá's fondest hopes.
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Persia, the cradle of an unfolding world civilization, is still bereft
of her freedom, sunk in ignorance, a prey to contending policies
and factions, beset on one hand by the powers of orthodoxy and
sectarian fanaticism and assailed on the other by the forces of
materialism and unbelief. In her evil plight she is radiantly confident
that the Flame she had kindled in the world will, in the fullness
of time, blaze forth in the heart of the mighty West and shed redeeming
illumination upon the silent sufferers of a distracted country.
Will it be America, will it be one of the nations of Europe,
that will seize the torch of Divine Guidance from Persia's fettered
hands and with it set the western world aflame? May your Convention,
by its spirit, its resolutions and its accomplishments, give
to that country's urgent call a noble and decisive answer.
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Your brother and fellow-worker,
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SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
June 3rd, 1925.
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