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Citadel of Faith
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Pages 24-26
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INITIATING NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS AND ADAPTING TEACHING METHODS
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1 |
A beginning, however limited in scope, should be made, ere the
present stage of the Divine Plan draws to a close, in the direction of
establishing befitting administrative headquarters for the rising communities
and their projected assemblies in the capital cities of Stockholm,
of Oslo, of Copenhagen, of The Hague, of Brussels, of Luxembourg,
of Madrid, of Lisbon, of Rome and of Bern, through the rental
of suitable quarters which, in the course of time, must lead to either the
construction or the purchase in each of these capitals of a national
Hazíratu'l-Quds, as a future seat for independent, elected national
spiritual assemblies.
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2 |
A tentative start, though strictly speaking excluded from the scope
of the present Plan, should, I feel, be made, ere the six remaining years
have run their course, aiming at the formation, in each of the ten
designated countries, of a number of nuclei, however few, however
unstable, which will proclaim to the entire Bahá'í world the ability of
the prosecutors of the Plan to exceed their allocated task, even as they
surpassed, in the Latin American field, the goals which they had
originally set before them. Such a feat, if accomplished, would impart
to my overburdened heart a joy that would equal the many consolations
which a dearly loved community has showered upon me, in the past,
by its signal acts, both within its homeland and abroad, since the
passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
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3 |
Nor should any of the pioneers, at this early stage in the upbuilding
of Bahá'í national communities, overlook the fundamental prerequisite
for any successful teaching enterprise, which is to adapt the presentation
of the fundamental principles of their Faith to the cultural and
religious backgrounds, the ideologies, and the temperament of the
divers races and nations whom they are called upon to enlighten and
attract. The susceptibilities of these races and nations, from both the
northern and southern climes, springing from either the Germanic or
Latin stock, belonging to either the Catholic or Protestant communion,
some democratic, others totalitarian in outlook, some socialistic, others
capitalistic in their tendencies, differing widely in their customs and
standards of living, should at all times be carefully considered, and
under no circumstances neglected.
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4 |
These pioneers, in their contact with the members of divers creeds,
races and nations, covering a range which offers no parallel in either the
north or south continents, must neither antagonize them nor compromise
with their own essential principles. They must be neither provocative
nor supine, neither fanatical nor excessively liberal, in their
exposition of the fundamental and distinguishing features of their
Faith. They must be either wary or bold, they must act swiftly or mark
time, they must use the direct or indirect method, they must be
challenging or conciliatory, in strict accordance with the spiritual
receptivity of the soul with whom they come in contact, whether he be
a nobleman or a commoner, a northerner or a southerner, a layman or a
priest, a capitalist or a socialist, a statesman or a prince, an artisan or a
beggar. In their presentation of the Message of Bahá'u'lláh they must
neither hesitate nor falter. They must be neither contemptuous of the
poor nor timid before the great. In their exposition of its verities they
must neither overstress nor whittle down the truth which they champion,
whether their hearer belong to royalty, or be a prince of the
church, or a politician, or a tradesman, or a man of the street. To all
alike, high or low, rich or poor, they must proffer, with open hands,
with a radiant heart, with an eloquent tongue, with infinite patience,
with uncompromising loyalty, with great wisdom, with unshakable
courage, the Cup of Salvation at so critical an hour, to the confused,
the hungry, the distraught and fear-stricken multitudes, in the north,
in the west, in the south and in the heart, of that sorely tried continent.
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