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Bahá'í Administration
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Pages 70-75
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Letter of November 27, 1924.
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To my dear friends and fellow-workers, the members of the American
National Spiritual Assembly.
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My friends and fellow-workers:--
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The letters which our able and devoted friend, Mr. Horace
Holley, has addressed in your behalf to the Greatest Holy Leaf and
myself have all been received, and, together with their enclosures,
read with the closest attention. It is indeed highly gratifying to
observe that notwithstanding the strain and stress of the critical
period through which our beloved Cause is passing, the elected representatives
of the friends in America have, with unflinching faith,
undaunted courage, and conspicuous ability, persevered in their task
and fulfilled their arduous duties.
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4 |
The splendid contribution you have made to the efforts of your
fellow-workers in England in connection with the Conference on
the Living Religions within the British Empire, we all heartily
appreciate and regard as a fresh evidence of the growing power and
solidarity of the Cause of God. Both in the admirable paper which
you arranged to be drafted and prepared, and in the person of your
devout, trusted and talented President, who performed his duty with
absolute fidelity and high distinction, you have rendered the Cause
of Bahá'u'lláh a fresh and distinguished service. May the results
achieved lend a fresh impetus to the onward march of the Cause
in the West.
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5 |
The recent measures you have adopted in view of the necessity
of promoting fuller confidence and a greater measure of understanding
and cooperation between the body of the believers and the local
and National Assemblies, will, I am confident, be of the greatest
value, and indicate clearly that you are fully aware of the true
position, the privileges and responsibilities of every Bahá'í Assembly.
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6 |
We all long to hasten by wise and effective measures the completion
of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, and we fervently supplicate the All-Bountiful
to bless richly our teaching work that our numbers may
be reinforced in time by men who with sufficient means at their
disposal may voluntarily and abundantly support this vast and noble
endeavor. I trust that you will encounter no further obstacles in
receiving the necessary support to meet the immediate needs of this
Universal House of Worship as decided at your recent general
gathering in Chicago.
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7 |
The Star of the West, the latest issues of which I have read
with genuine satisfaction, has admittedly made a notable advance
towards the ideal which the Master has set before it. Articles on
broad humanitarian lines, well-conceived, adequately treated, and
powerfully presented, should have their proper place in every issue
together with such accounts of the history and the teachings of the
Cause as will portray to the Bahá'í and non-Baha'i alike the unique
beauty as well as the compelling power of the Bahá'í spirit. Matters
political and partisan in character should be carefully avoided as they
would eventually lead to entanglements that would be not only futile
but positively harmful. As regards the Persian Section: I feel that
in view of the severe restrictions imposed on the friends in Persia
its temporary suspension would be well-advised, particularly as it
makes such a disproportionate demand on the meagre resources of
the friends in America.
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The increasing efforts displayed by my beloved brothers and
sisters in America, both individually and collectively, and the action
taken by you in constituting regional Teaching Committees are of
vital importance to the spread of the Cause in the present stage of
our work. I feel that we should all collaborate in widening its
scope, intensifying its influence, assuring its continuity, and endeavoring
to subordinate every other activity to this most urgent
and vital task. It is our bounden duty to do all in our power to give
the Cause from day to day a fuller publicity, to maintain and stimulate
the interest aroused, and to concentrate at the same time our
attention on a chosen few, endeavoring tactfully and persistently to
make of them earnest and unreserved supporters of the Bahá'í
Faith.
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9 |
I am deeply conscious of the manifold and unavoidable difficulties
that confront you in your labors for the administration of the
affairs of the Cause. Vast distances; personal professional preoccupations;
insufficient number of capable and experienced teachers,
unhampered by the necessity of earning their means of livelihood;
the inadequacy of the means at your disposal, financial and otherwise;
the prevailing tendencies in the general thought, sentiment,
and manners of the people in whose midst you work--all these,
though insuperable obstacles at present, will, if we stand steadfast
and faithful, be one by one removed, and pave the way for the
ultimate ascendency of the Cause and the fruition and triumph of
our labors.
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10 |
As to the projected prayer-book, I feel the need for a specially
prepared compilation of the prayers of Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá
designed for the general public which would both prove of value
for devotional purposes and act as a fresh incentive to eager and
inspiring minds. I am enclosing copies of prayers which you may
have not yet received and trust to send you more in future. I should
be glad to receive any particulars you might wish me to consider
in this connection.
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11 |
Our untiring and devoted sister, Dr. Moody (the handmaid of
the Most High), has had to her profound regret to discontinue for
a time the invaluable and unique services she has been rendering
to the Cause in Persia. She is proceeding to America, and will
familiarize you with the deplorable state of affairs in that unhappy
country. You will get first-hand information from her regarding
the present condition and activities of our long-suffering friends in
Persia, and she will take counsel with you as to the best way to
meet the needs and serve the Cause of Education in Tihrán. I
hope and pray that as soon as circumstances permit, the friends in
America may enable Dr. Moody to take back with her to Persia
suitable, capable and ardent collaborators who will contribute their
distinct share towards the uplift and the advancement of their
brethren and sisters in that land.
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Concerning the magazine ... I feel we must make it unmistakably
plain to those in charge of it that the Bahá'ís would gladly
and gratefully respond to the invitation to cooperate with those that
are responsible for it immediately they are fully satisfied that nothing
is or will be published by them, whether in the magazine or
elsewhere, that would, however indirectly, prejudice or reflect upon
their conception of what the Bahá'í Movement is or stands for.
Should this be refused, and unfriendly and harmful matters be published
against them, the attitude of all of us should be a definite
refusal to help and absolute non-interference, as well as the absence
of any form of retaliation which will instead of achieving
our end defeat our purpose. We should leave him in the hands
of God.
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As to the suggestion of the Annual Convention being held next
summer at Green Acre, I believe it to be both wise and helpful, and
trust that it will forge another link between the Bahá'ís as a body
and its founders and trustees, and will serve to draw them closer
and closer to the outward form as well as to the spirit of the activities
of the friends in America.
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14 |
The financial help extended recently by the friends in America
to their fellow-workers of the Faith in Qadiyán, Punjab, has given
us all intense satisfaction and made us deeply grateful. Their contribution
has immediately been forwarded to them through the
National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma, and will, I am
certain, enhance the prestige and the influence of the Cause.
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15 |
I feel that the conditions are now favorable for the circulation
of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá only in manuscript form
and among recognized believers in America. Every such believer
should be trusted with a single copy with the express understanding
that no duplicate copies or extracts of it be made or published anywhere.
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16 |
The suggestion made by my dear and able friend, Mr. Horace
Holley, as to the compilation of an annual "Bahá'í Year Book" is
extremely valuable and timely. I am much impressed by it, and feel
that an immediate start should be made. I believe it can best be
now undertaken under the direction and supervision of your Assembly
until the time should come for the friends in the East and
particularly Persia to participate effectually in its development. I
trust you will send me a copy of the skeleton of the material you
propose to include, and I shall here attempt to fill up any gap and
render any assistance I can to make it as comprehensive, as attractive,
and as authoritative as possible.
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17 |
I am sending through my dear brother, Mr. M. Mills, various
relics and Tablets of our beloved `Abdu'l-Bahá, the only and priceless
treasures of the devoted gardener of Bahá'u'lláh's Shrine, Ustad
Abu'l-Qasim Khurasani, who has offered them to be preserved in
his behalf in the Archives of the friends in America. I am hoping
to be able to send you in future precious additions to what the
Archives Committee has already collected, and may I in this connection
express to those who have conceived so admirable a plan my
profound admiration and heartfelt gratitude.
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I wish to assure you in conclusion of my readiness and genuine
desire to help you and serve you to the utmost of my ability. I fully
realize the enormous burden that weighs on your shoulders, and
am constantly mindful of the distinct and eminent share you are
contributing to the advancement of the Cause. I wish you from
the depths of my heart entire satisfaction in your glorious work.
Our beloved Master is surely watching from the Realm Beyond
over His children whom He nurtured and loved so well, and will
certainly guide you in every step you take, and crown your patient
efforts with signal success.
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Your brother and fellow-worker,
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SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
November 27, 1924.
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