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Search Result on "non-political"
- Bahá'í Administration, by Shoghi Effendi, pp. 160-161:
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labor unremittingly for the spread of the Bahá'í Faith a state of
affairs that is highly unfortunate and perplexing. For ten years,
however, ever since the promulgation of that policy, by some miraculous
interposition of Providence, the Bahá'ís of Soviet Russia have
been spared the strict application to their institutions of the central
principle that directs and animates the policy of the Soviet state.
Although subjected, as all Russian citizens have been, even since the
outbreak of the Revolution, to the unfortunate consequences of civil
strife and external war, and particularly to the internal commotions
that must necessarily accompany far-reaching changes in the structure
of society, such as partial expropriation of private property,
excessive taxation and the curtailment of the right of personal
initiative and enterprise; yet in matters of worship and in the conduct
of their administrative and purely non-political
activities they have, thanks to the benevolent attitude of their rulers, enjoyed an
almost unrestricted freedom in the exercise of their public duties.
Lately, however, due to circumstances wholly beyond their control
and without being in the least implicated in political or subversive
activity, our Bahá'í brethren in those provinces have had
to endure the rigid application of the principles already enunciated
by the state authorities and universally enforced with regard to all
other religious communities under their sway. Faithful to their
policy of expropriating in the interests of the State all edifices and
monuments of a religious character, they have a few months ago
approached the Bahá'í representatives in Turkistan, and after protracted
- Messages to the Bahá'í World: 1950-1957, by Shoghi Effendi, p. 87:
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purpose. Unbowed by adversity, disdainful of the clamors, undeterred
by the machinations of the inveterate, artful, traditional
enemies who are alarmed by their own declining fortunes, contrasting
with the evidence of the dynamic force, impelling power, rising
prestige, indivisible unity, accumulating resources, multiplying institutions
and inextinguishable spirit of God's infant Faith, it behoveth
them to bend their energies, rise to higher levels of consecration,
vigilantly combat all forms of misrepresentations, eradicate
suspicions, dispel misgivings, silence criticisms, through still
more compelling demonstration of loyalty to their respective governments,
win, maintain and strengthen the confidence of the civil
authorities in their integrity and sincerity, reaffirm the universality
of the aims and purposes of the Faith, proclaim the spiritual character
of its fundamental principles, and assert the non-political
character of its administrative institutions.
Appeal to members of communities untrammeled by the disabilities
and shackles imposed on their less privileged brethren, particularly
those established in the North American continent, recognized
stronghold of the administrative order of the Faith, and
those residing in the British Commonwealth and Empire, situated
in the heart, the East and West of the African continent, scattered
throughout the Antipodes and Pacific area, to arise promptly and
accelerate the tempo of their activities, multiply exploits which will
more than offset the transient setbacks which a steadily-advancing
and as yet not fully-emancipated Faith may suffer. Theirs is the
sublime opportunity so to act as to thoroughly dishearten and confound
any schemes which envious, fanatical and embittered adversaries,
- Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand, by Shoghi Effendi, pp. 36-37:
-
believers in this vital issue of the hour.
The friends should indeed make a careful study of this statement,
so as to be able to intelligently and correctly answer any
questions put to them either by the authorities or individual
inquirers.
The Guardian has been particularly pleased to note that the
response of the Prime Minister, and of the premier of Victoria
and other ministers to whom you had submitted a copy of the
above statement has been so cordial, and he feels relieved to
know that through this action of your Assembly any doubts or
misapprehensions regading the attitude of the Bahá'ís to war
have been dispelled, and that the authorities feel, as a result,
much more favourable towards the Cause, now that they know
for themselves that it is entirely non-political
in character and that it enjoins absolute loyalty and obedience to the Government.
This opportunity your Assembly has had of establishing
direct contact with the authorities is indeed a step of vital significance
to the Cause in Australia and New-Zealand, and is
bound to pave the way for its ultimate recognition as an independent
religious Faith, entitled to the same rights and privileges
which other religious bodies and institutions enjoy in that land.
The Guardian wishes me in closing to express his deepfelt
appreciation of your teaching services in Melbourne and Hobart,
in which cities you seem to have accomplished such splendid
work, both in introducing the Cause to the general public and
- The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, by Shoghi Effendi, p. 198:
-
benefits and the fleeting joys which this earthly life can confer,
though eager to participate in whatever activity that conduces to the
richness, the happiness and peace of that life, they can, at no time,
forget that it constitutes no more than a transient, a very brief stage
of their existence, that they who live it are but pilgrims and wayfarers
whose goal is the Celestial City, and whose home the Country
of never-failing joy and brightness.
Though loyal to their respective governments, though profoundly
interested in anything that affects their security and welfare, though
anxious to share in whatever promotes their best interests, the Faith
with which the followers of Bahá'u'lláh stand identified is one
which they firmly believe God has raised high above the storms, the
divisions, and controversies of the political arena. Their Faith they
conceive to be essentially non-political
, supra-national in character, rigidly non-partisan, and entirely dissociated from nationalistic ambitions,
pursuits, and purposes. Such a Faith knows no division of
class or of party. It subordinates, without hesitation or equivocation,
every particularistic interest, be it personal, regional, or national, to
the paramount interests of humanity, firmly convinced that in a
world of inter-dependent peoples and nations the advantage of the
part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and that
no abiding benefit can be conferred upon the component parts if the
general interests of the entity itself are ignored or neglected.
Small wonder if by the Pen of Bahá'u'lláh these pregnant words,
written in anticipation of the present state of mankind, should have
been revealed: "It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his
own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The
- Unfolding Destiny, by Shoghi Effendi, p. 91:
-
Dear Bahá'í Friend,
At the request of the Guardian I am sending you enclosed the
programme of "The New Commonwealth", a society for the
promotion of international law and order, having its headquarters
in London, and which seems to have a wide and well selected
membership. The Guardian wishes the British N.S.A. to consider
the possibility of their joining this organisation, and to carefully
investigate whether any affiliation with that body involves any
political allegiance or may indirectly and eventually lead to
participation in any form of political activity. In the contrary
case, he strongly advises the N.S.A. to join that organisation, as
he feels that in this way the friends can give a wide and effective
publicity to the teachings of the Cause. Membership in non-political
organisations of this type is, indeed, the best method of
teaching indirectly the Message by making useful and frequent
contacts with well-known and influential persons who, if not
completely won to the Faith, can at least become of some
effective use to it.
Trusting that you are in the best of health, and with the
assurance of Shoghi Effendi's ardent prayers on your behalf and
on behalf of all the friends in London.
Yours in His Service,
11 February 1934
Dear Bahá'í Friend,
- Citadel of Faith, by Shoghi Effendi, pp. 22-23:
-
to its free distribution among the public on certain occasions, and its
presentation to both the leaders of public thought and the numerous
and famous libraries established in those countries. No time should be
lost in establishing, on however small a scale, initial contact with the
press and other agencies designed to invite greater attention on the part
of the masses to the historic work now being initiated in their respective
countries.
No opportunity, in view of the necessity of insuring the harmonious
development of the Faith, should be ignored, which its potential
enemies, whether ecclesiastical or otherwise, may offer, to set forth, in a
restrained and unprovocative language, its aims and tenets, to defend
its interests, to proclaim its universality, to assert the supernatural, the
supra-national and non-political
character of its institutions, and its acceptance of the divine origin of the Faiths which have preceded it.
Nor should any chance be missed of associating the Faith, as distinct
from affiliating it, with all progressive, non-political, non-ecclesiastical
institutions, whether social, educational, or charitable, whose objectives
harmonize with some of its tenets, and amongst whose members and
supporters individuals may be found who will eventually embrace its
truth. Particular attention should, moreover, be paid to attendance at
congresses and conferences, and to any contacts that can be made with
colleges and universities which offer a fertile field for the scattering of
the seeds of the Faith, and afford opportunities for broadcasting its
message, and for winning fresh recruits to its strength.
Nor should any occasion be neglected by the pioneers of attending,
if their personal circumstances permit, either the British or German
- Citadel of Faith, by Shoghi Effendi, p. 23:
-
and famous libraries established in those countries. No time should be
lost in establishing, on however small a scale, initial contact with the
press and other agencies designed to invite greater attention on the part
of the masses to the historic work now being initiated in their respective
countries.
No opportunity, in view of the necessity of insuring the harmonious
development of the Faith, should be ignored, which its potential
enemies, whether ecclesiastical or otherwise, may offer, to set forth, in a
restrained and unprovocative language, its aims and tenets, to defend
its interests, to proclaim its universality, to assert the supernatural, the
supra-national and non-political character of its institutions, and its
acceptance of the divine origin of the Faiths which have preceded it.
Nor should any chance be missed of associating the Faith, as distinct
from affiliating it, with all progressive, non-political
, non-ecclesiastical institutions, whether social, educational, or charitable, whose objectives
harmonize with some of its tenets, and amongst whose members and
supporters individuals may be found who will eventually embrace its
truth. Particular attention should, moreover, be paid to attendance at
congresses and conferences, and to any contacts that can be made with
colleges and universities which offer a fertile field for the scattering of
the seeds of the Faith, and afford opportunities for broadcasting its
message, and for winning fresh recruits to its strength.
Nor should any occasion be neglected by the pioneers of attending,
if their personal circumstances permit, either the British or German
Bahá'í summer schools, and of forging such links with these institutions
as will not only assist them in the discharge of their duties, but enable
them to initiate, when the time is ripe, an institution of a similar
- The Light of Divine Guidance [First of Two Volumes], by Shoghi Effendi, pp. 47-48:
-
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and precious co-worker:
I was so pleased to receive your letter. I long to hear more
fully and more frequently from you. You are a tower of ...
and a pillar of His Faith in that land. Germany has a glorious
future under the banner of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. Its
mission is to champion the cause of God in Europe and
establish it firmly in the heart of that continent. The tests
and trials which have beset the Faith in that land were
necessary and providential. It is for the German believers,
who have weathered the storm, to arise and promote the
Cause, to proclaim the non-political
character of their Faith, to establish its nascent institutions and prove by their
words and acts their freedom from every taint of
particularism and prejudice. May the Almighty guide their
steps, sustain them in their efforts and bless their activities.
Shoghi
14 June 1933
Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:
Many thanks for your letter of June 4th 1933. I presented
it together with the enclosed report on the Summer school to
the Guardian who was very pleased to read them.
- God Passes By, by Shoghi Effendi, pp. 341-342:
-
classes in public speaking, the holding of gatherings to perpetuate the
memory of historical Bahá'í personalities, inter-group regional conferences
and youth sessions held in connection with Bahá'í annual conventions.
Still other factors promoting the development of that Order and
contributing to its consolidation have been the systematic institution
of the Nineteen Day Feast, functioning in most Bahá'í communities
in East and West, with its threefold emphasis on the devotional, the
administrative and the social aspects of Bahá'í community life; the
initiation of activities designed to prepare a census of Bahá'í children,
and provide for them laboratory courses, prayer books and elementary
literature, and the formulation and publication of a body of authoritative
statements on the non-political
character of the Faith, on membership in non-Baha'i religious organizations, on methods of teaching,
on the Bahá'í attitude towards war, on the institutions of the Annual
Convention, of the Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly, of the Nineteen Day
Feast and of the National Fund. Reference should, moreover, be made
to the establishment of National Archives for the authentication, the
collection, the translation, the cataloguing and the preservation of the
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh and of `Abdu'l-Bahá and for the preservation
of sacred relics and historical documents; to the verification and
transcription of the original Tablets of the Báb, of Bahá'u'lláh and of
`Abdu'l-Bahá in the possession of Oriental believers; to the compilation
of a detailed history of the Faith since its inception until the
present day; to the opening of a Bahá'í International Bureau in
Geneva; to the holding of Bahá'í district conventions; to the purchase
- God Passes By, by Shoghi Effendi, p. 354:
-
The institutions signalizing the rise and establishment of the
Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh did not (as the
history of their unfoldment abundantly demonstrates) remain immune
against the assaults and persecutions to which the Faith itself,
the progenitor of that Order, had, for over seventy years, been subjected,
and from which it is still suffering. The emergence of a firmly
knit community, advancing the claims of a world religion, with
ramifications spread over five continents representing a great variety
of races, languages, classes and religious traditions; provided with a
literature scattered over the surface of the earth, and expounding in
several languages its doctrine; clear-visioned, unafraid, alert and
determined to achieve at whatever sacrifice its goal; organically united
through the machinery of a divinely appointed Administrative Order;
non-sectarian, non-political
, faithful to its civil obligations yet supranational in character; tenacious in its adherence to the laws and
ordinances regulating its community life--the emergence of such a
community, in a world steeped in prejudice, worshipping false gods,
torn by intestine divisions, and blindly clinging to obsolescent
doctrines and defective standards, could not but precipitate, sooner
or later, crises no less grave, though less spectacular, than the persecutions
which, in an earlier age, had raged around the Founders of that
community and their early disciples. Assailed by enemies within, who
have either rebelled against its God-given authority or wholly renounced
their faith, or by adversaries from without, whether political
or ecclesiastical, the infant Order identified with this community has,
since its inception, and throughout every stage in its evolution, felt
severely the impact of the forces which have sought in vain to strangle
- God Passes By, by Shoghi Effendi, pp. 363-364:
-
and relics; the closing, in some of the provinces of the Hazíratu'l-Quds,
and the confiscation in some localities of their furniture; the
prohibition of all Bahá'í demonstrations, conferences and conventions;
the strict censorship imposed on, and often the non-delivery of, communications
between Bahá'í centers in Persia and between these
centers and Bahá'í communities in foreign lands; the withholding of
good-record certificates from loyal and law-abiding citizens on the
ground of their avowed adherence to the Bahá'í Faith; the dismissal
of Government employees, the demotion or discharge of army officers,
the arrest, the interrogation, the imprisonment of, and the imposition
of fines and other punishments upon, a number of believers who
refused either to cast aside the moral obligation of adhering to the
spiritual principles of their Faith, or to act in any manner that would
conflict with its universal and non-political
character--all these may be regarded as the initial attempts made in the country whose soil
had already been imbued with the blood of countless Bahá'í martyrs,
to resist the rise, and frustrate the struggle for the emancipation, of a
nascent Administrative Order, whose very roots have sucked their
strength from such heroic sacrifice.
CHAPTER XXIV
Emancipation and Recognition of the Faith
and Its Institutions
While the initial steps aiming at the erection of the framework of
the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh were being simultaneously
- God Passes By, by Shoghi Effendi, pp. 402-403:
-
the land of its origin. It had repulsed every onslaught directed against
it, torn down every barrier opposing its advance, abased every proud
antagonist who had sought to sap its strength, and had exalted to
heights of incredible courage the weakest and humblest among those
who had arisen and become willing instruments of its revolutionizing
power. Heroic struggles and matchless victories, interwoven with
appalling tragedies and condign punishments, have formed the pattern
of its hundred year old history.
A handful of students, belonging to the Shaykhí school, sprung
from the Ithná-`Ash'áríyyih sect of Shí'ah Islám, had, in consequence
of the operation of this process, been expanded and transformed into
a world community, closely knit, clear of vision, alive, consecrated
by the sacrifice of no less than twenty thousand martyrs; supranational;
non-sectarian; non-political
; claiming the status, and assuming the functions, of a world religion; spread over five continents and
the islands of the seas; with ramifications extending over sixty sovereign
states and seventeen dependencies; equipped with a literature
translated and broadcast in forty languages; exercising control over
endowments representing several million dollars; recognized by a
number of governments in both the East and the West; integral in
aim and outlook; possessing no professional clergy; professing a
single belief; following a single law; animated by a single purpose;
organically united through an Administrative Order, divinely ordained
and unique in its features; including within its orbit representatives
of all the leading religions of the world, of various classes and
- Directives from the Guardian, pp. 55-56:
-
regions of the earth; but they are enhancing the prestige of the
Faith to a remarkable degree in the eyes of the public, and
specially in the eyes of the officials. There is no doubt that the
rapid forward march of the Faith recently has attracted a far
greater measure of attention on the part of the thoughtful
people, and people of position in society and in educational
fields, than has been the case for almost one hundred years.
"Therefore, each pioneer must feel his responsibility very
heavily, and understand that his calling is far above the average
service; and his duty to remain at his post a very pressing one
indeed."
149 POLITICAL FIGURES (Non-Political
Character of the Bahá'í Faith)
"The Guardian wishes me to draw the attention of the
friends through you that they should be very careful in their
public utterance not to mention any political figures ... either
side with them or denounce them. This is the first thing to bear
in mind. Otherwise they will involve the friends in political
matters, which is definitely dangerous for the Cause."
150 POLITICS (Loyalty to World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh)
- The Promised Day Is Come, by Shoghi Effendi, p. 0:
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in whose neighborhood He passed away in 1892. In the course of His
banishment, and particularly in Adrianople and Akká, He formulated
the laws and ordinances of His Dispensation, expounded, in over a
hundred volumes, the principles of His Faith, proclaimed His Message
to the kings and rulers of both the East and the West, both Christian and
Muslim, addressed the Pope, the Caliph of Islám, the Chief Magistrates
of the Republics of the American continent, the entire Christian sacerdotal
order, the leaders of Shí'ih and Sunní Islám, and the high priests of
the Zoroastrian religion. In these writings He proclaimed His Revelation,
summoned those whom He addressed to heed His call and espouse
His Faith, warned them of the consequences of their refusal, and
denounced, in some cases, their arrogance and tyranny....
The Faith which this order serves, safeguards and promotes
is ... essentially supernatural, supranational, entirely non-political
, non-partisan, and diametrically opposed to any policy or school of
thought that seeks to exalt any particular race, class or nation. It is free
from any form of ecclesiasticism, has neither priesthood nor rituals, and
is supported exclusively by voluntary contributions made by its avowed
adherents. Though loyal to their respective governments, though imbued
with the love of their own country, and anxious to promote at all
times, its best interests, the followers of the Bahá'í Faith, nevertheless,
viewing mankind as one entity, and profoundly attached to its vital
interests, will not hesitate to subordinate every particular interest, be it
personal, regional or national, to the over-riding interests of the generality
of mankind, knowing full well that in a world of interdependent
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