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Bahá'í Administration
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Pages 49-52
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Letter of November 14, 1923.
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1 |
To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful
throughout America, care of the members of the American National
Spiritual Assembly.
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Fellow-laborers in the Divine Vineyard:
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Upon my return, after a forced and prolonged absence, to the
Holy Land, it is my first and most ardent wish to renew and
strengthen those ties of brotherly love and fellowship that bind our
hearts together in our common servitude to His sacred Threshold.
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4 |
The two years that have elapsed since the passing of our beloved
Master have been for the Cause, as well as for mankind, years of
deep anxiety and pain. The momentous changes that are taking
place in the history of both have proved so swift and far-reaching
as to arouse in certain hearts a strange misgiving as to their stability
and future.
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On one hand the remarkable revelations of the Beloved's Will
and Testament, so amazing in all its aspects, so emphatic in its
injunctions, have challenged and perplexed the keenest minds, whilst
the ever-increasing confusion of the world, threatened as never
before with disruptive forces, fierce rivalries, fresh commotions and
grave disorder, has well-nigh overwhelmed the heart and damped
the zeal of even the most enthusiastic believer in the destiny of
mankind.
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And yet, how often we seem to forget the clear and repeated
warnings of our beloved Master, who, in particular during the concluding
years of His mission on earth, laid stress on the "severe
mental tests" that would inevitably sweep over His loved ones of
the West--tests that would purge, purify and prepare them for their
noble mission in life.
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And as to the world's evil plight, we need but recall the writings
and sayings of Bahá'u'lláh, who, more than fifty years ago, declared
in terms prophetic the prime cause of the ills and sufferings of
mankind, and set forth their true and divine remedy. "Should the
Lamp of Religion be hidden," He declares, "Chaos and confusion
will ensue." How admirably fitting and applicable are these words
to the present state of mankind!
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8 |
Ours is then the duty and privilege to labor, by day and by
night, amidst the storm and stress of these troublous days, that we
may quicken the zeal of our fellow-men, rekindle their hopes, stimulate
their interest, open their eyes to the true Faith of God and enlist
their active support in the carrying out of our common task for the
peace and regeneration of the world.
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9 |
Let us take heart and be thankful to our beloved `Abdu'l-Bahá,
as we remember His manifold blessings and unfailing care and protection,
ever since the hour of His departure from our midst. The
flames of sedition, so maliciously kindled in the past by those who
have dared to flout His will, are gone out for ever, and the fondest
hopes of these evil plotters are now abandoned, doomed never to
revive. He has indeed redeemed His promise!
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10 |
It seemed not a long time ago that their agitation, so violently
renewed immediately after the passing of our Beloved, would for a
time confuse the Divine Message of Bahá'u'lláh, obscure His Covenant,
retard the progress of His Cause, and shatter its unity; and
yet how well we see them all today, not through our efforts, but
by their own folly, and above all, by the intervention of the
hidden hand of God, reduced to the vilest and most humiliating
position.
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11 |
And now, with the Cause purified and inwardly victorious, its
principles vindicated, its enemies silenced and sunk in unspeakable
misery, may we not, henceforth, direct all our efforts to collective
action and constructive achievement, and, in utter disregard of the
flickerings of their fast-fading light, arise to carry out those urgent
measures that will secure the outward and complete triumph of the
Cause.
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12 |
I, for my part, as I look back to the unfortunate circumstances
of ill-health and physical exhaustion that have attended the opening
years of my career of service to the Cause, feel hardly gratified, and
would be truly despondent but for the sustaining memory and
inspiring example of the diligent and ceaseless efforts which my
fellow-workers the world over have displayed during these two
trying years in the service of the Cause.
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13 |
I cherish the hope that, from now on, the Beloved may bestow
upon me all the strength and vigor that will enable me to pursue over
a long and unbroken period of strenuous labor the supreme task of
achieving, in collaboration with the friends in every land, the speedy
triumph of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. This is the prayer I earnestly
request all my fellow-brethren and sisters in the Faith to offer on
my behalf.
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14 |
Let us pray to God that in these days of world-encircling gloom,
when the dark forces of nature, of hate, rebellion, anarchy and
reaction are threatening the very stability of human society, when
the most precious fruits of civilization are undergoing severe and
unparalleled tests, we may all realize, more profoundly than ever,
that though but a mere handful amidst the seething masses of the
world, we are in this day the chosen instruments of God's grace, that
our mission is most urgent and vital to the fate of humanity, and,
fortified by these sentiments, arise to achieve God's holy purpose
for mankind.
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Your brother in His Service,
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16 |
SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine.
November 14, 1923.
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