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Bahá'í Administration
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Pages 106-110
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Letter of May 11th, 1926.
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To the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
the United States and Canada.
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Fellow-laborers in the Vineyard of God:
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Various happenings of recent months, highly disquieting in
their suddenness, their complexity and consequences, have time and
again, to my regret, compelled me to defer correspondence with
you, my highly valued co-workers, who are destined to share no
small a part of the burden that now weighs so heavily upon me.
The prolonged and delicate negotiations arising out of the critical
situation of Bahá'u'lláh's house in Baghdád; the shameful recrudescence
of unrestrained barbarism in stricken Persia; the unexpected
reverse recently sustained in our legal transactions for the deliverance
of Bahá'u'lláh's mansion at Bahjí from the hands of the enemy;
the unprecedented increase in the volume of work resulting from the
rise and expansion of the Movement in various parts of the world
--these and other issues, no less pressing in their demand upon my
time and energy, have gradually affected my health and impaired
the efficiency required in the discharge of my arduous duties. But,
though body and mind be sorely strained by cares and perplexities
which a Movement such as ours just emerging from obscurity must
needs encounter, yet the spirit continues to draw fresh inspiration
from the manner in which the chosen deliverers of the Faith in the
Western world, and particularly in the American continent, are
proving themselves increasingly worthy of such a stupendous yet
so noble a task.
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Grave and manifold as are the problems confronting the struggling
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, none appear more significant, nor seem
more compelling in their urgency, than the incredible sufferings
borne so heroically by our down-trodden brethren of the East. Recent
reports confirming the news which I have lately communicated
to you have all emphasized the barbarous severity practiced on the
innocent followers of our Cause. They reveal the possibility of
the extension of this agitation, partly instigated for political purposes
and selfish motives, to neighboring towns and provinces, and
dwell upon the traditional slackness of the local authorities to
inflict prompt and severe punishment upon all the perpetrators of
such abominable crimes. It has been ascertained that in the town
of Jahrum women have suffered martyrdom in a most atrocious
manner, that the knife of the criminal has mercilessly cut to pieces
the body of a child, that a number have been severely beaten and
injured, their bodies mutilated, their homes pillaged, their property
confiscated, and the homeless remnants of their family abandoned
to the mercy of a shameless and tyrannical people. In other parts
of Persia, and particularly in the province of Ádhirbayján in the
town of Marághih, the friends have been pitilessly denied the civic
rights and privileges extended to every citizen of the land. They
have been refused the use of the public bath, and been denied access
to such shops as provide the necessities of life. They have been
declared deprived of the benefit and protection of the law, and all
association and dealing with them denounced as a direct violation
of the precepts and principles of Islám. It has even been
authoritatively stated that the decencies of public interment
have been refused to their dead, and that in a particular case
every effort to induce the Muslim undertaker to provide the wood
for the construction of the coffin, failed to secure the official
support of the authorities concerned. Every appeal made by
these Bahá'ís on behalf of their brethren, whether living or dead,
has been met with cold indifference, with vague promises,
and, not infrequently, with severe rebuke and undeserved chastisement.
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The tale of such outrageous conduct, such widespread suffering
and loss, if properly expressed and broadcast, cannot fail in the end
to arouse the conscience of civilized mankind, and thereby secure the
much-needed relief for a long-suffering people. I would, therefore,
renew my plea, and request you most earnestly to redouble your
efforts in the wide field of publicity, to devise every possible means
that will alleviate the fears and sorrows of the silent sufferers in
that distracted country. Surely these vile wrong-doers cannot long
remain unpunished for their ferocious atrocities, and the day may
not be far distant when we shall witness, as we have observed elsewhere,
the promised signs of Divine Retribution avenging the blood
of the slaughtered servants of Bahá'u'lláh.
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6 |
In connection with the Plan of Unified Action, enclosed in your
letter of January 19th, I feel that the friends must be constantly
reminded of the vital necessity for a continuous and whole-hearted
support of the scheme, the success or failure of which will to a
marked extent affect the course of the progress of the Cause not only
in Northern America but throughout the Bahá'í world. Let the
friends recall and ever bear in mind the repeated exhortations and
glowing promises of our beloved Master with reference to the
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, the crowning institution in every Bahá'í community.
Let them arise with determination and confidence to lend
a helping hand to the Plan which you have so admirably devised
for its speedy and practical realization. Theirs is a splendid opportunity;
let their response to your call be prompt, whole-hearted and
decisive.
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I have specially requested that indefatigable pioneer of the Cause
of God, our well-beloved Bahá'í sister, Mrs. Victoria Bedekian, to
concentrate for the present all the resources of her mind and heart
upon this vast and vital undertaking. I have urged her to direct her
energies to this lofty purpose, and by the aid of her most valuable
letters arouse both the East and the West to a fresh consciousness
of the significance and urgency of the object you have set yourselves
to achieve.
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8 |
Regarding the series of World Unity meetings which some of
the thoughtful, capable and devoted servants of the Cause have
carefully organized and successfully conducted, and to which you
have referred in your letter of March 8th, I wish to express my
keen appreciation of such a splendid conception, my deep gratitude
for the efforts they have exerted, and my gratification in view of the
success they have achieved.
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9 |
The administrative machinery of the Cause having now sufficiently
evolved, its aim and object fairly well grasped and understood,
and its method and working made more familiar to every
believer, I feel the time is ripe when it should be fully and consciously
utilized to further the purpose for which it has been created. It
should, I strongly feel, be made to serve a twofold purpose. On
one hand, it should aim at a steady and gradual expansion of the
Movement along lines that are at once broad, sound and universal;
and on the other it should insure the internal consolidation of the
work already achieved. It should both provide the impulse whereby
the dynamic forces latent in the Faith can unfold, crystallize, and
shape the lives and conduct of men, and serve as a medium for the
interchange of thought and the coordination of activities among
the divers elements that constitute the Bahá'í community.
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10 |
Whether it be by an open and bold assertion of the fundamental
verities of the Cause, or the adoption of a less direct and more
cautious method of teaching; whether by the dissemination of our
literature or the example of our conduct, our one aim and sole object
should be to help in the eventual recognition by all mankind of the
indispensability, the uniqueness and the supreme station of the
Bahá'í Revelation. Whatever method he adopts, and however indirect
the course he chooses to pursue, every true believer should
regard such a recognition as the supreme goal of his endeavor.
Whilst consciously laboring towards the attainment of this end, he
should, by supporting every branch of the administrative activities
of his national and local assembly, seek and obtain the fullest information
on the character and extent of the worldwide progress
of the Cause, and strive to contribute his share towards the strengthening
of the spirit of solidarity among the component parts of the
Bahá'í world.
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11 |
Such in their broad outline are the guiding principles which those
who have been placed in charge of the administration of the affairs
of the Cause should at present endeavor to promote, explain and
securely establish. Nothing short of the spirit of unwavering faith,
of continuous vigilance and patient endeavor can hope to secure
eventually the realization of this our cherished desire.
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12 |
May America's national representatives arise with clear vision,
with unswerving determination and renewed vigor to carry out in
its entirety the sacred task they have purposed to perform.
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Assuring you of my continued and earnest prayers for the success
of your efforts,
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I am your true brother,
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SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
May 11th, 1926.
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