| ←Previous | Bahá’í News Issue 327 |
Next→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
| No. 327 | BAHA’I YEAR 115 | MAY, 1958 |
The Faith of Baha’u’llah[edit]
The tribulations attending the progressive unfoldment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have indeed been such as to exceed in gravity those from which the religions of the past have suffered. Unlike those religions, however, these tribulations have failed utterly to impair its unity, or to create, even temporarily, a breach in the ranks of its adherents. It has not only survived these ordeals, but has emerged, purified and inviolate, endowed with greater capacity to face and surmount any crisis which its resistless march may engender in the future.
Whatever may befall this infant Faith of God in future decades or in succeeding centuries, whatever the sorrows, dangers and tribulations which the next stage of its world-wide development may engender, from whatever quarter the assaults to be launched by its present or future adversaries may be unleashed against it, however great the reverses and setbacks it may suffer, we, who have been privileged to apprehend, to the degree our finite minds can fathom, the significance of these marvelous phenomena associated with its rise and establishment, can harbor no doubt that what it has already achieved in the first hundred years of its life provides sufficient guarantee that it will continue to forge ahead, capturing loftier heights, tearing down every obstacle, opening up new horizons and winning still mightier victories until its glorious mission, stretching into the dim ranges of time that lie ahead, is totally fulfilled.
—Shoghi Effendi, Gad Passes By, pp. 410, 412
The friends of God farewell to the mortal remains of “the most wondrous[edit]
The chapel in the Great Northern Cemetery at New Southgate, London, where funeral services were held for Shoghi Effendi, November 9, 1957.
A few of the several hundred Bahá’ís at the grave of the beloved Guardian.
The casket holding the sacred remains of Shoghi Effendi being carried from the chapel, to be transported to the grave.
unique and priceless pearl that doth gleam from out the Twin Surging Seas”[edit]
The grave of the Guardian after interment of his remains, surrounded by floral tributes. Across the foot lies the sheaf of red roses, white gardenias, and lilies-of-the-valley, given by Rúḥíyyih Khánum on behalf of the Bahá’ís of the world, and scattered over the vault are flowers from the Bahá’í Shrines and gardens in the Holy Land, placed there by Hands of the Cause, Auxiliary Board members, and members of several National Spiritual Assemblies.
Tribute to Shoghi Effendi by Ruhiyyih Khanum[edit]
At the Kampala Intercontinental Conference January 26, 1958[edit]
Everybody who had the great privilege of knowing the Guardian recognized in him tremendous power; he not only had great spiritual and mental power which radiated from him, he had an electric something in his nature which was like being in the presence of a very powerful dynamo. I have been in electric plants where dynamos have generated electrical power for a whole city; the whole building shook and vibrated with the force that was being created in those generators. I have witnessed, myself, for twenty years, the strange force which emanated from Shoghi Effendi. This emanation from the Guardian was so strong that when he was not in the house, I felt less of it; when he was up on the mountain in the gardens of the Shrine. I would feel the force of it diminish; when he was in Bahjí, I would feel still less of it; and if we were not in the same city, I would not feel it. It was a very extraordinary thing, and it was not my imagination.
Another thing about the Guardian, which I have sometimes wondered if those who were not closely associated with him ever realized, is that Shoghi Effendi was a very sensitive person. He was sensitive as a child. He was one of those children that, I believe in my long observation, should have always received encouragement. You know, there are children who don’t need it; they are tough little plants. But there are other children who need to be told for everything they do, “My dear, you were sweet to think of it,” “You are a wonderful person," “That was a wonderful idea,” “How well you did it.” The Guardian was like that—he needed, not to mention what he deserved, to always be encouraged.
I would not have you think that the Guardian was a sad being; he had a peculiarly joyous and luminous heart. The one characteristic of that heart was the most extraordinary and true humility I have ever seen. He had, of course, like any other human being, self respect. But he had no pride whatsoever—no pride in his own person, no pride in his station; but when it came to this religion, then he had a fiery pride. He would never tolerate any insult or any slight that reflected on him as Guardian, nor on the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. But in his own nature he was the quintessence of humility.
Shoghi Effendi’s Transition to Guardianship[edit]
I have heard many times from the Guardian that he never dreamed that he would be made Guardian. He had no idea that there would be an Institution of the Guardianship and that he would be chosen to become the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. He said that his hope and ambition was to return to serve the Master, translate the Teachings into English, and that he thought that perhaps when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ascended, as he was the eldest grandson, it might fall to his lot to be requested by the Master, posthumously naturally, to open any documents of instruction and communicate them to the Bahá’ís.
So, you see that this man, who was twenty—four years old and who had what I would call such an eager heart, so full of purity, enthusiasm, innocence, humility, and love for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, this pure heart of the Guardian received the first and most terrible blow through hearing of the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He was anxious for news of the Master and went to Mr. Tudor Pole’s office in London from Oxford. Tudor Pole had received a cable saying that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had ascended. Shoghi Effendi was left by the secretary of Tudor Pole in his private office for a moment, and without meaning to, his eyes fell on this cablegram, laid open on the corner of the table, saying that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had ascended. A few moments later, when Tudor Pole came into the room, he found Shoghi Effendi crumpled in a heap on the floor.
They brought the Guardian back to Haifa, practically ill; and when he arrived there, he received a second most terrible shock of his life because the Will and Testament was read to him, and he found that the burden which had rested first on the Báb, then on Bahá’u’lláh, and then on his beloved grandfather, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, had fallen with all its weight on his shoulders. He told me once, “The day they read me the Will and Testament I ceased to be a normal human being.”
We take too much for granted in this world, all of us. I took the Guardian for granted before I went to live in Haifa. I don't know what I thought, I must have thought that he just sat there and all the time heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaking into his ears, and that it was a lovely, peaceful experience. My observations, naturally, are those of an ant looking at the sun. But nevertheless I did observe certain things, and I believe that the nature of divine inspiration is not like something that is written up that these great souls read constantly before their eyes. It is rather in the nature of intermittent pulsations—flashes of lightning.
The Guardian was always guided and always protected, but that doesn’t change the fact that he had agonizing moments of anxiety, of sorrow, of despair perhaps, over certain situations, and that he suffered terribly. Then came these tremendous impulses, He always said the right thing; he always did the right thing. God never abandoned him for a second. But it was not a constant process—it was flashes, and in[Page 5]
between those flashes, there was room for infinite suffering.
Acute Suffering: of the Beloved Guardian
I am not going to give a discourse on the subject of Covenant-Breaking, but everybody knows that in this world, where there is light, there is shadow, and the closer you are to the light itself, the darker is the shadow at the foot of the lantern. In the sky, where the sun shines, there is no shadow—that is the world of God. But in this world, wherever there is brilliant light, at the foot of it is blackest shadow. The Guardian had a heart which was exactly like a source, a spring. It bubbled. Left alone, he had the happiest and most radiant heart of any being I have ever seen, and up until the very end of his life, in spite of the troubles and sorrows that had come to him one could see, sometimes, that heart bubble. Now, no doubt it is bubbling freely on high. But in those early years he suffered so terribly, it left its imprint on him for life.
When my mother and I were in Haifa in 1922 or 1923 (I was a child) the Guardian was going away and he called us to his bedroom. He looked so absolutely haggard, with great circles under his eyes. He said “Mrs. Maxwell, I cannot stand it, I am going away.” But of course, he came back in the Autumn and went on with his work.
He was so conscientious, so conscious of the burden that had been placed upon him, that in the early years almost to the end of his life he denied himself practically everything. Although there were very few things that Shoghi Effendi liked or wanted (he had extremely simple tastes in food, in dress, in everything), he had a very beautiful characteristic—what he liked, he liked all through and for ever.
I don’t think that the friends know, and especially up until perhaps ten years ago, how hard on himself he was——in the sense of depriving himself, of living very simply. He ate once every twenty-four hours. This had nothing either to do with economy or asceticism, he just did not feel hungry more often than that, and from his early childhood he did not seem to be able to eat more than once or twice a day. This was a life-long habit, to eat one meal a day. It worried me terribly, and I used to speak to the doctors about it. They said, “Don’t worry, as long as he is healthy and does not feel that he wants to eat more than once a day, don’t insist, leave him alone.” At length I got used to it.
I think that it encourages the friends to know, especially the poorer friends who have sacrificed so much to this Faith, that the Guardian, although he was so very careful of everything to do with his honor as Guardian, as a man and as an individual where he was not known, lived with the utmost simplicity. For many, many years, when he went away in the summer to rest, and I assure you friends, that the Guardian wouldn’t have lasted for thirty-six years if he had not had a little rest in the summer, he lived very, very modestly. He had a room for about two and a half shillings, and it was so small that when one of his relatives came to see him in it, he could not stand up straight because his head banged on the slanting ceiling.
Fearless Defense of the Cause of God
The Guardian was absolutely fearless when it came to defending the Cause of God. He was like a lion. One of his strongest characteristics was an absolutely inflexible sense about compromise. Shoghi Effendi never compromised a hair’s breadth. I could give you a hundred examples of this in his nature, but I will give you a few, because I think this is very, very important for all of us. It is important for every Bahai, but it is particularly important for the teachers of the Faith, the pioneers and the national assembly members. I don’t have to tell this to the Hands.
How many mosquitoes does it take to give you malaria or yellow fever? When we compromise our Faith, it is like taking a glass of pure water, and putting one drop of ink in it—it does not become a glass of ink, but the purity of the water is gone. We all know that there is no compromise with people who were Covenant-Breakers, if they had not changed in their hearts, because the heart is the measure. When they were repentant in their hearts, Shoghi Effendi forgave them, and there are many people who were out of the Faith and are in it again because the Guardian inhaled one breath of sincerity from their hearts and accepted them.
You see, the Guardian had so many sides to his
nature, and you have seen how strong he was when
it came to defending the Faith. He never compromised
on principle. Now, I would like to show you another
aspect of his nature. He had a tremendous capacity
for love and for loyalty for those whom he loved, but
when they became Covenant-Breakers it evaporated,
they ceased to exist and the bounties ceased to flow.
I remember when Dr. Zia Baghdadí died and the news
reached him. I don’t know exactly when it was, but
it was a very, very short time after my marriage
with the Guardian. Perhaps in the first month, or
maybe even less time than that. News came saying
that Zia Baghdadí had died and the Guardian cried[Page 6]
for almost an hour that night.
The Guardian was not emotional, he was absolutely impervious to influence. I think that the friends don’t realize that the Central Figures of our Faith had an untarnished, steely quality in their nature that was never influenced by their emotions and that whatever they considered right they did in spite of everything.
I don’t think the friends realize what went behind those cables putting the different members of the Master’s family out of the Cause. Years of suffering, years of crushing his heart, years of hurt and insult—he kept silent and bore and bore and bore and bore, until it reached the point where it was bad for the Cause—then he took action. But what they did to him personally he always endured. He used to suffer very much from two things, and one of them was, of course, the actions of people who were either Covenant-Breakers or in process of becoming Covenant-Breakers, and the other was from the suffering of the Bahá’ís.
Method of Meeting Obstacles
There are three other qualities in the Guardian’s nature which I think the friends would like to hear about, and which are very important ones for us to remember now as we go forward into the next five years of the Plan. The first of these is audacity; the second is ingenuity, and the third is economy. The Guardian had all these qualities to a pronounced degree. The Guardian was never prevented from accomplishing anything because there were obstacles in the way. He charged them full on, he never tried to avoid them or go around them—he flew at them. His ingenuity in accomplishing the work in Haifa particularly, was phenomenal. He devised ways of doing things which he himself had never seen done, and had never heard of being done.
For instance, he used to build terraces and gardens. People would come to him and they would say “A tree can’t grow in one meter of soil—a tree can’t grow on top of a roof of a cistern—you cannot plant a tree in the ground and pile up earth all around up to its crown, it will die,” and so on. He did all of those things, he planted trees on tops of cisterns and nothing happened to them, he covered trees up to the crown and it looked as if three beautiful trees would grow out of the soil instead of one. He was not intimidated by the opinions of other people.
The Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith watched the expenditure of every penny that he was responsible for in the Holy Land, and indeed all over the world, to a degree which I think the Bahá’ís have no idea about whatsoever. I have no time to go into details, but I can assure you that there was never any work carried out in Haifa that was not greatly economized by the Guardian—in the building of the Shrine, the building of the gardens, the development of the entrances, the gates, the paths, the pedestals supporting the ornaments—the Guardian made very sure that he was doing the thing in the most economical manner. No matter what the thing was, if he considered that the price was exorbitant, he would not pay it, whether it was required, or very important, or needed for part of a scheme; if the price was exorbitant he just would not pay that price. The basis of this religion is sacrifice, conscientious, tireless, wholehearted, endless sacrifice—that is what we saw in our Guardian for 36 years.
His Life a Total Sacrifice
The degree to which Shoghi Effendi sacrificed himself in every human sense is unbelievable—he had no life of his own, no time of his own, practically no joys of his own, very little happiness in all of his life. He hurried all the time, he had a sense of haste and pressure, and I think all those who worked with him in Haifa and the friends all over the world, when receiving his messages, and when they felt the vibrations of this power within him, realized this sense of urgency—hurry, hurry, hurry, all the time, to get it done quickly before something happened.
The Guardian said to some of the pilgrims, during the last year and a half or two years, something very strange. He said there are two Plans. The long-term eternal Plan of Almighty God for mankind on this planet; that is the Plan that has the Prophets of God, the Adamic Cycle and all of the Great Manifestations of God, like Christ and Mohammed, Buddha, Zoroaster, and Moses and so on, bringing us to this day with the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. This is the Mighty Plan of God, educating humanity and bringing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth on this planet. He said this is the plan of God, it goes forward in mysterious ways, we do not always understand its workings.
Then, he said, we have the Divine Plan, which is being carried forward by the Bahá’ís in the form as we know it, first, the two Seven-Year Plans, and then this Ten-Year Plan—the World Crusade which we are now engaged upon and part of which has passed.
The Guardian said, who knows, maybe this great Plan of God will interfere in the other Plan. We always thought, at least I always thought, that this meant the war which we have reason to believe we may not be able to avert, was probably the thing. I could never dream that this trial that could cut across the Plan, the Ten-Year Plan that we are working on now, would be the ascension of our Guardian.
The beloved Guardian sacrificed himself for this Cause as completely as anyone who was ever martyred in the physical sense. He burned away until there was nothing left, and suddenly God took his spirit in the twinkling of an eye because he had evidently finished his task in this world. The Guardian was in better health this summer than he had been for years. His own physician said so; he had good doctors when he had the Asiatic flu in London, and he was examined thoroughly and there was nothing in the world for anyone to believe that he could possibly pass away.
We can only bow our heads before the Will of God, believing and knowing that Bahá’u’lláh has His Own Plan, that He will guard and protect this Faith and that nothing can thwart His Will. But He did not leave us empty-handed, we have His work to carry on and the greatest monument that we can build in our love and our sorrow for Shoghi Effendi is the monument of our work in this world-encircling Plan. There are some words of Abdu’l-Bahá which I should like to quote: He said “As you have faith, so shall your powers and blessings be, this is the balance, this is the balance, this is the balance.”
So, in the name of Shoghi Effendi, I appeal to you all to carry on his work as one soul in many bodies.
Soul-Stirring Visit of Ruhiyyih Khanum Inspires Kampala Conference to Heights of Devotion to Faith[edit]
NEVER has the language of silence spoken so eloquently messages of the heart as for the first time she passed up the center aisle of the auditorium, crowded beyond capacity with believers gathered here in the heart of Africa from thirty-eight countries of the world, almost half of Whom were from among the African believers of the continent; beloved, revered ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum was embraced by waves of sympathy, and love poured out to her by over 950 believers standing in reverent silence, whose tearflooded eyes were but a mirror of her own. When she was able, these were the first of the many heart-soothing and inspiring words she addressed to us during this Intercontinental Conference for Africa—January 1958.
“I don’t know with what voice to address the friends —it is so hard to speak to them now——it seems too unbelievable that I should ever have to stand here and the Guardian not be in Haifa.
“I want to read you some Words which have been a big comfort to me at this time. Perhaps they will comfort all of you. I will read it first in very bad Arabic and then in English. ‘He doeth what He willeth, and ordaineth what He pleaseth. None hath the right to ask why or wherefore, and he that doeth so hath indeed turned aside from God, the Lord of all the worlds.’
“Why God should have taken our Guardian away from us, I don’t know, but that nothing in the world can ever happen to even the humblest servant of God without its being the Will of God, we know from all the Holy Books of the world. And how much more true this is of such a being as Shoghi Effendi. If he was taken from us, then it was because at last Bahá’u’lláh had mercy on him and ended his burden and his sorrows.
“We know that nothing can deflect the development of the mighty river of God. This Faith will go on. It will illumine all the peoples of the world. The civilization of Bahá’u’lláh will be established, and His premises will come true. But before this great mystery, all of us are broken-hearted, and all of us bow our heads.
“We now must ask ourselves what we must do. If we had performed our duties better during the last thirty-six years as Bahá’ís, I think we would have prolonged the life of the Guardian. But we didn't. He had too many blows, too many sorrows; he was too tender, too sensitive. He threw himself into the fire of service to this Cause, and like a math in the flame, he was burned up and consumed by it.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum arriving at the Conference Hall.
“He has performed miracles in five years—now it
is our turn. We must perform miracles in the next five years, and this is the only way that we can show that we are his true servants and his true lovers. So I urge you all to devote your minds and your hearts to absorbing as much as you can from this great gathering—not only giving out, but taking in as much as you can of the spirit that is going to he inevitably engendered from this Conference and carry back with you a torch to set the Bahá’í world on fire, because we are not going to have another opportunity. The people are all alone now, and this is their last opportunity. If we have failed in the past we cannot fail now, neither the Guardian, nor the Cause of God, nor humanity. I hope that each one of you will go back from this Conference, whether it's to your homes in the villages of Africa, whether it’s to Persia, the Cradle of the Faith, or to America, to Europe, Asia, wherever it may be, just like a blazing fire, and set the Bahá’í world aflame and create a worthy memorial to our beloved Guardian.”
Our beloved Guardian had, in his last message to the
Bahá’í world in October, announced these five Intercontinental Conferences to mark and celebrate the mid[Page 8]
way point of the Ten-Year Spiritual Crusade, and had
dedicated them to “The glorification of His Name.”
Here in Africa, we had rejoiced much that he had
chosen this continent for the honour of receiving beloved ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum as his personal
representative.
Hand of the Cause William Sears greeting some of the
African Bahá’ís at the Kampala railroad station upon
their arrival at the Conference.
Conference Overwhelmingly Successful
Kampala is, by the standards of the world, a small and quiet town, situated high on a cool, green plateau on the shores of azure Lake Victoria, in the heart of Uganda and Africa. If one could turn back the pages of its history, it is doubtful if one could discover records of any comparable period of furious preparation for coming events.
It was at first visualized that approximately 400 people would attend the Conference; about half of whom would be from among the African believers. Then the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land acted—first, to invite as their guests an African attendance of at least 400, and then to urge as many as possible of the Persian friends to come. Successive stages of frantic planning and re-planning brought us to within two weeks of the convening of the Conference, when it was learned that five chartered aircraft would bring 315 believers from Persia alone. All our plans were now totally inadequate. Every hotel in town was solidly booked with Bahá’ís. There wasn’t another bed to be had. The auditorium in which it had been planned to hold the Conference would seat at most six hundred. We had to begin all over again.
The first gathering of the friends was at the Unity Feast on the afternoon prior to the official opening of the Conference. The seven bus-loads of African believers from Uganda were yet to arrive, but already a wonderful spirit of unity and purpose could be felt as the friends listened to the opening greetings of Hands of the Cause Tarázu’lláh Samandarí, Enoch Olinga, and William Sears.
Immediately after the Feast, a small group of the Hands of the Cause, Auxiliary Board, National Assembly, and Conference Committee members went to the airport to greet ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, accompanied by Dr. Lotfullah Ḥakim, member of the International Bahá’í Council, and by Mr. and Mrs. Challoner Chute, ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s cousin and her husband. From the moment she stepped off the plane, dressed in beautiful white, she was, as the Chairman expressed it so well on the closing afternoon of the Conference—“the heart, the light, the life, everything about this Conference.”
Deeply tired, grief-stricken—she nonetheless gave of herself utterly, without regard for health or rest, standing at times for many hours, despite their ardent protests, to meet and greet the believers who now turned to her for love and comfort in their deprivation. Her beauty of spirit and face, her simplicity and informality, her deep understanding of our needs, her gentle love and comforting touch, and most of all her deep, deep love of our Guardian and her determination that his plans shall be fulfilled, eased our aching hearts, and turned our thoughts and energies to consideration of the vital work ahead.
Ultimately, six Hands of the Cause, a member of the International Bahá’í Council, sixteen Auxiliary Board members, and representatives from eleven national spiritual assemblies (including those from the four African regional assemblies, those from the other national assemblies which had participated in the African campaign—Britain, India, ‘Iráq, Persia, and the United States, and those from Arabia and Japan), 450 of the devoted African believers, and other friends from Africa and the rest of the world to a total of 950 were present at the formal convening of the Conference the following morning.
A magnet to the sorrowing Bahá’í world, the Conference had drawn believers from its remotest precincts. Two Knights of Bahá’u’lláh had winged their way to Africa from far-off island outposts, one from palm-clad Truk in the Caroline Islands of the mid-Pacific Ocean, and the other from Lofoten Island, deep within the icebound reaches of the Arctic Circle. on that opening morning, we heard greetings from the revered Hand of the Cause, Musa Banání, and had our first opportunity of welcoming ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum.
Those who could not journey to Kampala nonetheless came in spirit. Cablegrams and letters of greeting poured in from the far corners of the world. Hands of the Cause and national assemblies, innumerable communities and individuals throughout the globe sent messages of love and loyalty—from England, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, ‘Iráq, Persia, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the United States, and Alaska—and from South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Italian Somaliland, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, French West Africa, Madeira Island, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands, and Angola.
Portrait of Bahá’u’lláh Reverently Shown
On the afternoon of the first day when the doors were
opened, there was a loud scuffling of running feet, the
sounds of many voices, much pushing and peering—something important was about to happen. Now had
come that one sacred moment when they were to be[Page 9]
allowed to gaze on His countenance. They rushed to the
scene of their joy, eager, excited. As the prayers were
read and chanted, as the friends sat facing the banks
of many-hued tropical flowers, in the bosom of which,
arranged on a cloth of rich green velvet and surrounded by deep red roses and carnations, were the
four precious relics sent to the Conference by our beloved Guardian, a deep silence fell over the room.
As they passed slowly, reverently before ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum to be annointed with the attar of roses found in our beloved Guardian’s suitcase at the time of his passing, as they paused on bended knee before the framed lock of Bahá’u’lláh’s precious hair, the exquisitely ornamented, round silver box containing a small bag of the blessed earth from the Inmost Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, the beautifully framed reproduction of His portrait, and, resting in a wooden mosaic box, the piece of the plaster from the Báb’s cell in the Prison Fortress of Mah-ku, one could not but note the solemnity and awe with which they went. From 3:30 until 7:15 p.m., row after row moved slowly forward.
All of this time ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum stood —annointing all, embracing most of the women, chatting briefly with many, a smile touching her lips as she recognized some eager African friend come twice to see his Lord.
The convention hall at the Kampala Intercontinental Conference.
Guardian’s Map Displayed
The following morning our hearts were again stirred when we heard ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum explain the beautiful map, especially prepared and sent by our beloved Guardian, showing the progress of the Ten-Year Spiritual Crusade at its midway point, and about the manner of his work for this Cause.
“Friends, it is a very happy and unhappy moment in our lives to see this precious last gift of the Guardian. Happy because it shows the triumphs we owe to him, and unhappy because it is the last thing of that kind we will ever have from his blessed hands.
“I would like to tell you that this map—not this one but the original of which this is a copy—was entirely drawn up by the Guardian himself. He had the most extraordinary genius for so many things, and one of them was making these maps. Nobody every taught him how to make them, and I don’t think he ever saw anyone make a map in all of his life. He would go and do it with swiftness that was unbelievable. To copy this map took a professional two weeks in Haifa, and I think that the Guardian must have drawn most of it the first day that he worked on it, and I don’t think that it took him a total of more than three days working time to make the entire map. The whole plan in its symmetry and beauty is that of the Guardian.
“We are too near to our work to realize what we have accomplished: and above all, we are too close to the Guardian to realize what he has accomplished. Many of the people in Israel who had a sort of esteem and admiration for the Faith, after the passing of the Guardian realized with a shock that they had lost something very great, and even ordinary people—people who had Contact with us as laborers, as workers at Haifa, were very, very grieved by his passing, because suddenly the body of the man had disappeared and the greatness of the man, like the shadow on the wall, began to appear before their eyes‘ We don't know what we are commemorating in this meeting, but future generations will realize.
“Everything he accomplished, he didn’t accomplish because he was lost in prayer and meditation. He accomplished it because he worked often sixteen hours a day until his heart stopped. I wanted to say that we have everything. Of course, we haven’t got what we want, which is our Guardian, but he has left us with such a heritage of plans and instructions and example, apart from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that we can safely say that we have everything to go forward with the work of his Faith.
“If the friends, and by that I mean all of them from[Page 10]
the highest to the lowest, and the most active to the
most inactive, would pause before they take action,
and just consider the Guardian's Words and example,
they will find that they know what is the right thing to
do for the Cause.
Hands of the Cause and Auxiliary Board members
attending the Kampala Intercontinental Conference.
“The Guardian, having the whole Bahá’í world in
his hand, keeping all the reins in his hands, was able
to accomplish so much, of course, because he was the
Sign of God on earth also, but the means by which he
did it was the close Contact he had with all the national
assemblies and many of the local assemblies, and, of
course, the Hands all over the world. This was how he
kept the reins in his hand and so was able to create
this map. If he had not had this close contact, he would
not have been able to do the map.
“Now you must all remember that although the Guardian has ascended to the Abhá Kingdom and is freed from the torture and slavery of his life in this world, we must go on and carry out his plans, and carry forward our faith.
“The World Center of the Faith is the Qiblih of the Bahá’í world, where the body of the supreme Manifestation of God is laid to rest. It is also the seat of the future International House of Justice. The friends must go on turning to that Center, strengthening it with their love and prayers and sending in their reports, so that the Hands, who are broken-hearted and crushed with the burden of responsibility that has fallen upon them, can continue this work of the Guardian until such date as the administration of the Faith can be handed over to the International House of Justice.
“Haifa is the administrative and spiritual center of our Faith, established by the Manifestation of God, Bahá’u’lláh, All the friends must constantly turn in their hearts to that center—strengthen it and draw strength from it, and pour in information of what they are doing so that we can know where we stand, and in 1963, God willing, we will be able to have accomplished all the plans of our beloved Guardian.”
On the afternoon of the second day, 'Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum read to us the moving and beautiful message which had been sent to the Conference by the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land. (Editor’s Note: This message appears in March BAHÁ’Í NEWS)
The consultations on this and other messages brought forth that afternoon a most remarkable display by the Persian friends of their willing self-sacrifice, devotion, loyalty, and love for our Faith and for ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum and the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land at this time of supreme crisis. In a spontaneous burst of generosity, which many of them could ill afford from the worldly viewpoint, the Persian friends, and a small group of the other friends present. contributed a total of £100,000 (£280,000), ear
Rúḥíyyih Khánum speaking with the architect of the
African Temple at the site, prior to the ceremony to
place the two caskets in the Temple foundation.
marked variously for the Temple, the teaching work,
pioneering, literature, the Continental Fund, the erection and perpetuation of a Bahá’í School, and other important needs of the Faith in Africa.
Of this wonderful response to the needs of the Cause, ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum said:
“The Persian Bahá’ís are our ancestors. They are the ones who had the inestimable bounty of having the Manifestation of God for this age appear in their country. They are the ones who first accepted Him, and twenty thousand of them laid down their lives in His path. Because of the handicaps in the country in which they live, they are neither able to go out and serve as freely as their offspring, nor have they the same vigor always. And so, like good parents, they yearn over their children; they bless their children; they take care of their children; and, in this case, it looks as if they are going to finance their children.
On Friday evening, ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum
showed us first the exquisite colored films she had
brought oi the Shrines and gardens in ‘Akká and
Haifa, explaining first in Persian and then in English[Page 11]
(with Ateso translations following) all that we saw,
telling us the stories of how our beloved Guardian had
created this magic world of beauty out of the rocky,
forbidding mountainside and plain.
Then, in the darkness and silence, our eyes gazed through a veil of tears upon that wintry London scene, where our hearts lay buried beneath the sweet-scented mounds of fresh-cut flowers which bore the inscription, “From Rúḥíyyih and all your loved ones and lovers all over the world whose hearts are broken.”
The following morning, the Conference cabled a request to the British National Assembly that a large bouquet of roses, gardenias, and lilies so loved by the Guardian, be placed upon his grave on behalf of the Conference. The roses and carnations which had lain on the table with the holy relies on the opening day had been lovingly gathered by ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum and given to the British representative, also to be placed on the grave of the Guardian. On the final afternoon, at a time when the platform was filled to capacity with the pioneers to and in Africa, and at that moment when, it had been cabled, Hand of the Cause Hasan Balyuzi would be placing our flowers on the beloved Guardian’s final resting place, we paused in the utter silence of our deepest feelings to join him there at the graveside.
Laying Foundation Stone at Temple
On the afternoon of the fourth day, a long line of private cars and taxis, followed by fourteen huge
buses, wound their way into the lush green countryside surrounding Kampala and up the lower slopes of
“our bill,” Kikaya Hill, where our Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
is being constructed, and where we witnessed, under
the heat of a blazing sun, the laying of the foundation
stone, beneath which ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum
and Hand of the Cause Musa Banani lovingly placed
the silver box containing the sacred earth from the
Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, and the wooden box containing
a piece of the plaster from the Prison Fortress of
Mah-kú, where the Blessed Báb had been incarcerated.
The foundation stone, shielding its precious treasures,
will ultimately lie under the wall on that side of the
Temple facing out across a grassy valley towards the
Qiblih of the Bahá’í warld—‘Akká.
Thus, this Africa of ours and its Mother Temple are forever spiritually linked to the World Center and the Cradle of our Faith. In the morning, we had heard the story of the purchase of the land, the design and construction of the Mother Temple, and the appeals for its successful completion. In the afternoon, at the Temple ceremony, ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum told us how she had found a number of small, handsewn silk bags made by the Greatest Holy Leaf herself, and how the beloved Guardian had been pleased and had instructed that the sacred earth for our Temple should be placed in one such bag. The Hand of the Cause, Musa Banani, explained that this plaster was from the ceiling of the cell in which the Holy Báb had revealed His Book of the Covenant and His Laws.
Visitors assembling at the Temple site prior to the ceremony to place the caskets containing the earth from
the Inmost Shrine of Balui’u’llah and the fragment of plaster from the cell of the Báb in Mah-kú prison.
Each of these treasured dusts was carefully protected from the ravages of time. The earth in its small bag was placed first in a glass container, then in its silver box. The plaster, in its wooden box, was sealed in an outer container of metal. The Vault itself was lined with two hand-woven Persian silk scarves.
The Hour of Consultation and Response
Following the stirring tribute to Shoghi Effendi by Rúḥíyyih Khánum (see page 4 of this issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS), there came the hour of consultation—the hour of response. Now the African friends rose to open their hearts, to reveal their deepest feelings, to voice their love, to pledge their strength.
Of all the many who spoke, Max Kanyerezi, a member of Central and East African National Assembly, seemed to epitomize their sentiments: “In the first place, after the passing away of our beloved, there came the letter from the National Assembly telling us that we have everything. I did not realize that we have everything until we came to this Conference. We, particularly Africans, we have everything; really everything is love of our beloved Guardian. We have seen, and we have been assured by ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, how great the love of our beloved Guardian was towards us.
“Now what are we going to do? Are we going to go back with this love and sit down in our cottages and be sure that the Guardian loved us? Are we going to be proud that we were brave to have been among the Bahá’ís today, and rest assured that we have everything because the Guardian loved us and we are Bahá’ís? I just must remind you about a few words of Jesus Christ—to whom is given much, he will be asked much. Do you realize the great responsibility that our beloved Guardian has laid on our heads? It
Rúḥíyyih Khánum with some of the African women
Bahá’ís.
is tremendous, and we don’t know how to fulfill it. We
cannot repay what we have been given—the only way
that we can show that we realize how great was the
love of our beloved for us is to dedicate ourselves to
the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh Let everyone of us be content
in his mind that he can say that we shall set on fire
The metal box containing the wooden box which encloses the fragment of plaster from Mah-kú.
the whole of this continent . . . I think you will (turning to ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum) when you go back to Haifa, please, give the account to the Hands
that Africans have now determined to do everything,
and will leave nothing until everything be brought to
completion.”
Ruhiyyih Khanum’s Journey to Teso
The joy and anticipation of the African believers when they first heard that a Conference was to be held in Kampala, and that ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum would attend, sowed also the seeds of longing in their hearts—longing that ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum might come to visit them in their own homes.
Loving requests were received inviting her to come to Teso, the heart of the Faith in Uganda, 200 miles from Kampala, where over 1400 Bahá’ís live, and where there are forty—two spiritual assemblies. The longing wishes of the friends were conveyed to her, and to everyone’s great joy, she decided to make a brief visit to Teso.
There, for twenty-four of what she described as some of the happiest hours of her visit to Uganda, ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum shared the life of Africa—eating curried turkey and soup, millet, rice, and matoke (cooked, green bananas), drinking what he came her favorite African beverage “smoked water,” and sitting on handwoven grass mats to watch the evening program of traditional dancing and singing.
From all over Teso had come the outstanding teachers of the Faith to hear more about the Guardian’s love for them, and to be encouraged and inspired by her loving words. The meetings were held on the site of the former Tilling Bahá’í Center, originally constructed of mud and wattle, with grass for the roof. When she heard that their center, despite repeated efforts to save it had ultimately been consumed by white ant invasions, ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum generously contributed for the erection of the new and permanent center for which they have yearned so long.
A local chief came to pay his respects to ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Ruliiyyih Khánum, and she asked him to be one of her translators. She visited an African junior secondary school, where a Teso Bahá’í is headmaster, and where she spoke to the entire student body.
The Teso friends will never forget her loving informality, her wonderful sense of humor, her deep love for them, and her admiration of their work for our beloved Faith. The women, in particular, flowered under her spontaneous interest in their lives, especially their kitchens! The love of the believers was expressed in beautiful gifts of hand-carved ebony and ivory one of which, a beautiful walking stick, had been bought some time ago to be sent through her to the beloved Guardian. and which ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum promised would now be placed in his room in the Mansion of Bahjí.
In Teso, now, and wherever there are African believers who attended the Conference, the friends proudly wear a small black and gold nine-pointed star pinned to their lapels—the black of the background, a sym-
Rúḥíyyih Khánum visiting the Bahá’ís of Teso, Uganda.
bol of the black races of the world; and the gold of
the Greatest Name, a symbol of the yellow races.
Five hundred of these pins, inscribed on the back,
“Bahá’í love from Bahá’ís of Japan” were sent as a
special gift from the Bahá’ís of Japan to the African
believers attending the Conference.
Farewell to Rúhíyyih Khánum
The final morning had dawned. Beloved and revered Hands of the Cause William Sears, Enoch Olinga, Tarázu’lláh Samandari, John Robarts, and Musa Banani were on the platform with ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum—there to send us back from paradise into the world, to place our feet firmly on God's earth and to speed us along His ordained path.
At lunch on that final day of her visit to Africa ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum drew from her handbag an article wrapped in a white silk handkerchief. To the friends gathered about her she said, “I cannot do more for you than to show you this—our beloved Guardian’s notebook, which he kept always in his pocket.” With that she unfolded the handkerchief and revealed a small but thick red leather loose-leaf notebook.
Opening it, she showed us the pages upon pages of lists of statistics of the Faith and other notes, all meticulously entered in the beloved Guardian’s own handwriting. Where goals had been accomplished, they had been crossed off. One page had all but one item crossed off in heavy ink. The pages of the notebook had been endlessly thumbed, and ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum told us that the beloved Guardian thus carried the Bahá’í world in his pocket, using this small book incessantly.
As we drove those twenty sad miles to bid her farewell at the airport, our minds dwelt upon the scenes of the Conference and all that it had meant to us—and especially upon what ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s presence had brought of love and comfort, of inspiration and renewed dedication. Particularly, we thank her in our hearts for that one sublime day when she had spoken many hours to us of our beloved Guardian, and had, all evening, selflessly stood to be introduced and to chat to every believer who had come to the Conference. Indeed she had been “the heart, the light, the life—everything about this Conference.”
As the silver wings of the plane carrying our beloved and revered ‘Amatu’l-Bahá into the cloudless African skies and back to the Holy Land flew low over our heads and then up to disappear in the blue horizons, these beautiful and stirring words of Bahá’u’lláh and the Master, quoted by Hand of the Cause William Sears at the close of the Conference, echoed and re echoed in our memories and seemed to bring together in one small breath, all that we had been trying so inadequately to say during these many days.
“I say unto you that any one who will rise up in the Cause of God at this time shall be filled with the spirit of God, and that He will send His hosts from heaven to help you, and that nothing shall be impossible to you if you have faith. And now I give a commandment which shall be for a covenant between you and Me—that ye have faith; that your faith be steadfast as a rock that no storms can move, that nothing can disturb, and that it endure through all things even to the end; even should you hear that your Lord has been crucified, be not shaken in your faith; for I am with you always whether living or dead, I am with you to the end. As ye have faith, so shall your powers and blessings be. This is the balance—this is the balance—this is the balance . . . Ye are . . the breeze that stirreth at the break of day, the soft-flowing waters upon which must depend the very life of all men, . . . Neither sun nor moon hath witnessed a day such as this Day . . . This is the day in which to speak . . . Appreciate the value of the hours that are still yours, for they shall come to you no more and you will never have a like opportunity. For even as the swiftness of lightning your body shall be laid to rest beneath a canopy of dust. What can ye then achieve? How can ye then atone your past failures? Arise in My Name, upon you be the glory of all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth.”
—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF CENTRAL AND EAST AMERICA
Legal Recognition, Increase in Centers Reported in Morocco[edit]
The last weeks preceding Riḍván found the Regional Teaching Committee of Morocco working concertedly with the friends to form as many new local spiritual assemblies as possible from their collective numbers.
The history of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in Morocco is a unique one that begins, upon the announcement of the Ten-Year Plan, with the discovery that a Bahá’í was already resident in the country. This was followed, less than four years later, by the supplementary plan that included acquisition of a Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. The friends in Morocco replied, almost by return mail, that this goal, too, was achieved twice over, in Rabat and in Larache, and that the site for a third had been acquired in Tangier.
These past five years have been marked by the increase by more than a hundredfold of that first lone banner of Bahá’u’lláh: local spiritual assemblies number six; the formation of at least two new ones is assured this Riḍván (Meknez and Port Lyautey); the number of centers equals no less than fifteen; the Faith has been officially registered with the government, and the resulting recognition is expected to bring with it an official request by the government to incorporate a permanent national body; if so, the Moroccan National Spiritual Assembly may be elected during Riḍván 116.
The friends, both indigenous and pioneers, are most eager to accomplish whatsoever is advantageous to the Cause they love so dearly; so much so that when it became known that Meknez and Port Lyautey had insufficient numbers to assure formation of the new local assemblies, more than enough persons from other communities took up residence in these cities, the trend went too far, and a previously established community found itself lacking.
This is one of the problems with which the Regional Teaching Committee struggles, but to the friends in Morocco it is just‘ another manifestation of that wonderfully dedicated spirit through which the Bahá’ís, worldwide, achieve the goals that each year become more startling than the year before.
—ROBERT L. HAFER
Photostats of deed of sale, transferring thirteen titles to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, to the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh, and all the properties at Bahjí from the State of Israel to the Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America.
Cornerstone Containing Baha’i Documents and Relics Laid in Ceremony at Baha’i Home in Wilmette[edit]
The cornerstone of the Bahá’í Home for the Aged in Wilmette, containing many Bahá’í documents and relies, was laid in a formal ceremony on April 5, 1958.
Horace Holley, Hand of the Cause and Secretary of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, representing the Bahá’í Temple Trustees, addressed the gathering of over sixty persons that included John C. Sanderson, president of the Wilmette Village Board; William Campbell Wright, architect of the Bahá’í Home; representatives of the contractor and construction firms; Wilmette residents, and Bahá’ís from the Chicagoland area.
“Our architect, William Campbell Wright, has designed a structure which admirable provides for guests and management personnel, and in addition has produced a building in keeping with the neighborhood,” Mr. Holley stated in his address. “The Bahá’ís are proud indeed to add this second national Bahá’í institution to the resources of Wilmette Village. Our investment in the village exceeds three million dollars, and the House of Worship and its landscaped gardens have attracted some nine hundred thousand visitors from countries throughout the world.”
Horace Holley, Hand of the Cause (far right), addressing the audience at
the laying of the cornerstone of the Bahá’í Home for the Aged in Wilmette
on April 5, 1958.
Explaining the significance of the
Bahá’í Horne, MIA Holley said: “The
Bahá’í Home has this relationship to
the Bahá’í Temple: it fulfills the
meaning and power of divine worship in service to our fellow men;
for this institution is not restricted to
members of our Faith. but opens its
doors to persons without any religious discrimination."
The Bahá’í Home for the Aged in Wilmette, showing progress in construction as of April 5, 1958
Words of appreciation to the Village authorities were followed by the
announcement that the Bahá’í
Temple Trustees have submitted an
offer to the Wilmette Village Board
to select a Wilmette resident as a
non-paying guest in the Bahá’í
Home:
“On behalf of the Bahá’í Trustees I wish to express our grateful appreciation to the Village authorities for their kind cooperation over the period of nearly fifty years since the first piece of land was purchased for the future Temple.
“In token of this appreciation, the Trustees have submitted an offer to the Village Board to receive as a non-paying guest any Wilmette resident the Board chooses to designate.”
After describing the contents of the copper box that was later placed within the concrete comerstone inscribed with the figure “1958,” Mr. Holley closed his talk with “May I now, in conclusion, express the confident hope that the Bahá’í Home will prove to be a credit to this Village and deserve the goodwill of its citizens.”
The documents and materials to be preserved within the cornerstone include:
Members of the National Spiritual Assembly 1957-58
Names of Architect and Contractors Messages from the Guardian:
Launching the World Embracing Spiritual Crusade, October 8, 1952
To the Forty-ninth Annual Convention of the American Bahá’ís, April 1957
The Bahá’í Faith-Ten Year Bahá’í Teaching Plan by Shoghi Effendi
Bahá’í House of Worship
World Map showing where Bahá’ís reside, April 1957
Bahá’í World Faith
(marked copy)
Photographs:
Shrine of the Báb in the Holy Land Bahá’í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois
Sand from the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh Quartz used in building Bahá’í House of Worship
Orange from tree in the courtyard of the House of the Báb in {{u|Shíráz, Persia
City of Acre—Israeli Tourist Pamphlet
Chicago Tribune article, March 3, 1957
Chicago Daily News article, March 13, 1958
Wilmette Life article, December 5, 1957
Copy of letter to President of village of Wilmette, April 1, 1958
[edit]
A Bahá’í Youth Committee of Asmara, Eritrea (Ethiopia), appointed by the Local Spiritual Assembly of Asmara a year ago, has made excellent progress in teaching as well as in deepening their own knowledge of the Faith. Through their efforts they have not only increased their numbers considerably in a year, but have rendered a great service to the entire community, the Local Assembly states.
One of their first steps was to organize Youth Conferences, held every other week, with lecturers and discussion on various Bahá’í topics. They also took responsibility in conducting courses at the First Asmara Summer School and in bringing friends to the sessions. Other services rendered by the youth have been translation work, and assisting the Teaching Committee during the months of their school vacation.
Visitors Bring Stimulus to Bahá’ís of Somalia
Colored films of the Asmara Summer School were taken by Auxiliary Board member Mr. Shayani on a Visit to the Bahá’ís of Mogadiscio in Somalia in January just prior to the Africa Conference in Kampala. Shortly after the Conference the revered Hand of the Cause, Mr. Samandari. accompanied by Habibullah Manavi of Turkey, visited the Mogadisco community and met with many of their friends. The Assembly reports: “He was always ready to receive and serve visitors and his wonderful spirit was an inspiration and example for all.” Jeanne Mesbah, returning to Asmara from the Conference, also met with these friends, “bringing her radiance and enthusiasm to encourage a small community.”
“A New Day Comes” Published in Oneida for Indian Teaching[edit]
A New Day Comes, selections from Bahá’í Writings in Oneida and English, is just off the press. Oneida is a dialect of the Iroquois Indian group, Friends who can use this booklet in their teaching work among the Indians are invited to request free copies from the American Indian Service Committee; Mrs. Nancy Phillips, secretary: 736 Encanto Drive, S.E.; Phoenix, Ariz.
Bahá’í's attending the Naw-Rúz observance in Kampala, Uganda, 1958.
Los Angeles Bahá’ís Assist Indians in Adjustment to City Life[edit]
Mrs. Stevie Standingbear (left) and Mrs. Piquali Rifle (right), directors of the Los Angeles Indian Center, with Mrs. Nancy Phillips of the Bahá’í Indian Service Committee, at the Los Angeles Indian Center on February 22. The friendly welcome the Bahá’ís received seems to be reflected in the faces of Mrs. Standingbear and Mrs. Rifle.
The Los Angeles Bahá’í Community has initiated a program, under
the guidance of the American Indian
Service Committee, of assisting
American Indians in their city who
are undergoing the difficult problem
of relocation and adjustment to city
life. It began with an all—day Indian
Teaching Conference on February 22,
with thirty-eight Bahá’ís present in
the morning to hear Francis Johnson
and Mrs. Nancy Phillips from the
Indian Service Committee, and David Villasenor of Pasadena speak on
the Indian’s background, his spiritual
depth, and his special problems.
In the afternoon twenty-eight Bahá’ís went to the Indian Center in Los Angeles and held frank consultation concerning the needs of the Indians, after which they were escorted to residential areas where the Indian relocates live. In the evening the Bahá’ís again met to discuss ways in which they might be of service to the Indians. They were advised by Mr. Johnson, chairman of the Indian Service Committee, to be sincere in their efforts and above all not to make any promises to the Indians that they could not fulfill.
Concerning these initial efforts the Los Angeles Bahá’í Journal states: “Each Bahá’í who attended felt the historic importance of this ‘reaching out’ by the Bahá’í community to assist the Indians . . . Positive plans for a continuing action program will now be centered on one facet of America’s Spiritual Mission—that of teaching the Indian through service.”
Abdul’-Bahá said, “You must give great importance to teaching the Indians, that is, the aborigines of America.” Shoghi Effendi has continually emphasized the importance of this teaching work.
In addition to the urgent pioneering needs on the reservations, opportunities are now being presented to Bahá’ís in major cities of the United States to engage in service to their brothers, the first Americans. The United States Government Bureau of Indian Affairs has a program of relocating Indians to five major cities—Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, and St. Louis.
David Villasenor of Pasadena, Calif., explaining the symbolism of Navajo sand painting, with Mrs. Nancy Philips
Many New Book Titles Announced at U. S. National Convention[edit]
An unusual number of new titles has been announced this year by the U.S. Bahá’í Publishing Trust, their publication dates coinciding with the 1958 National Convention and the Western Hemisphere Conference. The majority of these works have been planned specifically to fill the most urgent needs in relation to the teaching work that remains to be accomplished during this last half of the Ten-Year Plan.
Tribute to Shoghi Effendi
Through arrangements with the publisher of Circle of Faith by Marcus Each, 21 book has been published that includes only the section on Shoghi Effendi, along with an introduction by Hand of the Cause Horace Holley, and including a tribute given to the beloved Guardian by Marcus Bach at the time of his passing in London.
An Appeal to Christians by Auxiliary Board Member
Great Themes of Life by Eric Bowes consists of lectures originally given in a Congregational church in Australia with simple, direct logic, clearly understandable to the average Christian church member. This is an excellent follow-up to the teaching campaign inaugurated so vigorously last year with The Christian Century Reprint, Christ and Bahá’u’lláh, and The Lord of the New Age.
Flexible-Covered Prayer Books New Available
Because of many requests from the friends for a soft-covered prayer book printed on thin India paper, an edition has been published. This is the Combined Edition, containing both the General and Occasional Prayers. A flexible-covered General Prayers has also been produced but printed on the same antique paper as before.
New Children’s Book in Color
A new children’s book that delightfully illustrates the invocation Blessed Is the Spot, has been published, with drawings prepared by Anna Stevenson.
Other new titles include God, His Mediator and Man, a book on comparative religion by Pritam Singh and Doris McKay; The Destiny of America, a new pamphlet by Stanwood Cobb that covers the inception of the Faith in America, the Divine Plan, the present World Crusade, and the future of the American nation, all in a manner to gain the respectful attention of the public for the meaning and purpose of the Bahá’í Faith; and a 1958-59 Pocket Calendar.
A complete listing and description, with prices, appears on page 23 of this issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS, in the Bahá’í Publishing Trust section.
First Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Apia, Western Samoa, formed on April 21, 1957. This is the first local assembly of the Samoan Islands.
Centralized literature Service Organized in Morocco[edit]
The Regional Teaching Committee for Morocco announces that it has organized a central literature distribution service for all the communities and friends in Morocco. Literature will be stocked in Arabic, English, French, and Spanish. The purchase of literature with different currencies will be facilitated by locating the distribution center in the free exchange city of Tangier.
In the past, difficulties incurred in obtaining literature on the part of individuals and by several communities have resulted in much duplicated effort and a sporadic supply. The teaching efforts here have definitely been hampered by a lack of literature and it is believed that the new central distribution service will elminate these problems.
Hand of Cause, Auxiliary Board Member on Teaching Tours in Canada[edit]
John A. Robarts, Hand of the Cause from Africa, and former Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, is at present on a cross-Canada speaking tour.
While he was in the Maritimes, several believers in the New Territories goals gathered for the conference held in Moncton. Bruce Matthews arrived from Newfoundland, Mrs. Doris Richardson from Grand Manan, Mrs. Ola Pawlowska from St. Pierre and Miquelon, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Allen and Mr. and Mrs. Irving Geary from Cape Breton, and Larry Rowdon from the Magdalen Islands.
Mrs. Peggy Ross of Scarborough, Ontario, a member of the Auxiliary Board for Teaching for North America, recently visited western Ontario, where it is reported there is very active teaching work progressing. It is hoped that two new local assemblies will be formed, and another assembly restored.
Announce Dates For Djakarta Conference[edit]
The fifth and final Intercontinental Conference for 1958 will be held at Djakarta, Indonesia, on September 22 to 27.
Further details will be published in an early issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS.
The Teaching Challenge to Negro Baha’is[edit]
Ever since the passing of our beloved Guardian, the American Bahá’í community has been endeavoring as never before to assess their total responsibility in the global Crusade. Perhaps nowhere else can they find a clearer statement of the specific objectives for this closely-knit family than in Shoghi Effendi’s matchless document, “Heights Never Before Attained.” Not the least of his strong admonitions and pleas is the urgent necessity to remove the stain of racial prejudice from the mantle of the true believers and thereby attract with hearts of pure gold and actions of stainless sincerity the colored people while there is yet time in which to demonstrate the vitality and meaning of their Faith.
Race Amity Day poster. This is a layout of the new
four-color poster to be printed on heavy paper, size
14x20 inches, ready to mount on card or corrugated
board. Space at the bottom can be used for information of a local meeting, or for offering literature.
The price is fifty cents each, line for $2.00, by third
class mail. If wanted sent first class, add five cents
for one poster, ten cents for five. Money must accompany order, which should be received not later
than May 31. Order from Bahá’í Press Service, 434
Thomas Ave., Rochester 17, N.Y.
In The Advent of Divine Justice
the beloved Guardian’s acute and
peerless knowledge was forevisioned
for us over twenty years ago, when
he emphasized the critical necessity
for the American friends to rid themselves, once and for all, of any taints
or hints of this pernicious defilement.
The hour has now come when the
Negro, enticed and sought after by
an ever-increasing number of missionary bands, have become deeply
suspicious and highly sensitive, This
suspicion, the Guardian said, was
the Negro’s protection against the
perfidy of the white man’s word and
intention. Had they not been “a
sound, talented and sensitive” people, he explained, they would have
been relegated to the same conditions
as the Indian minority.
No individual, regardless of position or experience, could ever grasp the intensity and seriousness of this situation better than the Guardian. This was all the more evident in the force and power of his words, the sincerity and empathy of his feelings, the fearlessness and audacity of his attitude. At one point in our meeting with the beloved Guardian, his disapprobation of the depth and degree of this malignant tumor in the fabric of American society caused us to suffer, with the white friends present, the depression induced by his words.
Can such intense concern ever he considered lightly or easily dismissed? Dare we, as the products of that very society, lose sight of this cancerous growth that has eaten away the heart and soul of those who harbor it? Cannot the submerged turbulence of this whole crisis be seen almost daily, a vindication of the Guardian’s dire prediction?
A Staggering Test at Faith
Indeed, the friends of this country are faced with a difficult and staggering test of their faith. The chosen of God are bound to be a severely tested and tried people. The beloved Guardian explained that the Faith has not grown in America because there have as yet been no tests, no persecutions, no crises. Their glory and blessings are held back until they have sacrificed everything solely for love of God and obedience to His commands.
The true Bahá’í can expect to draw at first the recriminations and attacks of the misguided through his efforts to reflect the light and spirit of his Faith. Every day finds a fresh opportunity for the believer to show forth the attributes and qualities of the new race of mankind, inspired by the Báb. established by Bahá’u’lláh, exemplified by Abdu’l-Bahá, and guided by Shoghi Effendi.
The Guardian said that crises have a two-fold effect. On the one hand, they purge the Faith, and on the other, they cause the Faith to grow and progress. He emphasized that the friends should be audacious in their devotion to the Cause and fearless in their undying zeal to serve Bahá’u’lláh. As an example of the purity of heart and soul, the deep sincerity and patient determination of the true believer, he pointed to the outstanding victories of the pioneers in Africa and the South Pacific.
Bahá’í Summer School held at Gwalior, India, in October 1957.
Opportunity Extended Again
What a golden opportunity for the colored friends to arise and answer the call to extend the loving arm of the Faith they espouse to their brothers in the south as well as in the rest of the country! The beloved Guardian offered this precious privilege once before to the colored believers when the Africa campaign was opened. Only a few responded. Now the gift of leading the ranks and laying a firm foundation has been proffered to them again. As the Guardian said when he spoke of the American believers as a whole regarding the triumphs of the African and South Pacific campaigns compared to the gains on the home front, “It remains to be seen what will be done!”
Who else but our beloved Guardian could perceive the signs of the times and delineate our role so clearly and unmistakably? Let us with firm resolve and prayerful but instantaneous action meet this challenging responsibility with undiminshed vigor and win for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh those “inestimable prizes within our reach.”
—WILLIAM W. ALLISON THELMA ALLISON
First Bahá’í Summer School of Paraguay, held in the
ḤAẓíratu’l-Quds in Asuncion on March 1-2, 1958.
Spirit of Rededication Emerges From South American Schools[edit]
Many new summer schools were inaugurated in South America this year in accordance with the Guardian’s instructions to establish schools in each country. From all over the continent have come acclamations of a new spirit of rededication and a determination to accomplish all of the appointed tasks of the World Crusade. Although land has been acquired for these schools, complete facilities for functioning are not yet available everywhere, so that temporary arrangements had to be made in many places; but the new spirit of unity and enthusiasm that prevailed was not dimmed by any lack of facilities.
Special School for Huanuni Indian Pioneers
Bolivia held its first summer
school December 20 to 30 in Cochabamba. with the all-Indian Bahá’í[Page 21]
community of Huanuni joining them
in close fellowship. In addition to
this, a special Indian School was
held in La Paz during the full month
of March to give deepening and
pioneer courses for the Indian volunteers who wish to give the Bahá’í
message to their freinds.
In Ezeiza, Argentina, one of the older established summer schools, intensive deepening classes brought out a peak attendance of forty on weekends. Both Paraguay and Uruguay established the institution or the summer school this year—the former in Asuncion on March 1~and 2. Before and after the Asuncion school sessions, an intensive teaching program was carried on with most encouraging results. Uruguay’s first summer school met February 21, 22, and 23 in Montevideo with strong and harmonious participation by all who enrolled.
Bahá’í Summer School and Congress held in Medelin,
Colombia, on January 4-6, 1958.
Three Declarations Result
from Loncoche School
“So intense was the spirit of confirmation that three enrollments resulted . . .” states a report from the Loncoche, Chile, Bahá’í School, at their meeting from January 17 to 25.
Because of distances involved and difficulties of travel, the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela proposed that each Bahá’í community have its own Summer School this year. The sessions in Arequipa, Peru, on February 9 and February 17 took the form of a workshop, with each Bahá’í given an opportunity to demonstrate how to teach some aspect of the Faith. Their fellowship was highlighted by a picnic in a nearby country village for about thirty Bahá’ís and their families.
Colombia held a combination Summer School and their annual Regional Congress in Medelin from January 4 to 6, with study classes focused on the best ways to teach the Faith in their country.
Bahá’í Youth Group of Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic,
who have organized a study club for young people interested
in steps to unite the human race around the world.
Five Baha’is Participate In New York UN NGO Conference[edit]
Among the 500 participants from 150 organizations attending the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations on United Nations Information, held February 26 and 27 at UN Headquarters in New York, were five Bahá’ís representing the US. National Spiritual Assembly and the Bahá’í International Community.
The major theme was the tenth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is being observed during 1958. Stressed was the key importance of non-governmental organizations helping to make this observance worthy and fruitful.
For two and a half of the four sessions the Conference met in plenary session; during the remaining time attendants separated into two working groups, one devoting itself to plans for the observance, the other studying problems of the dissemination of information on the progress of the work on two draft Covenants of Human Rights previous to February 20, 1957, when they were approved by the Economic and Social Council, but action has not yet been taken by the General Assembly.
Whereas the Declaration of Human Rights establishes general principles and ideals, but is not compulsory, the Covenants, when adopted, will have the force of international law.
The Conference as a whole was ad[Page 22]
dressed during the earlier part of the
first morning session by Ahmed S.
Bokhari, UN Under-Secretary for the
Department of Public Information;
and Benjamin Cohen, Under-Secretary for the Department of Trusteeship and Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Mr. Bokhari declared that in the future, when contemporary events are viewed in proper perspective, the adoption of the Declaration ten years ago might be judged the most important action taken by the United Nations, of greater long-term importance than current political issues. The remarkable fact of the Universal Declaration is that its principles have been found acceptable to all the divers peoples of the United Nations.
Mr. Cohen declared that implementation of the right of self-determination has been progressing quietly through UN activities. One-quarter of the world’s population has acquired self-rule since 1945, and more than a score of nations have been brought into the councils of the UN. The aim of leading peoples toward independence or self-government, set down in the UN Charter as a principle of Trusteeship, is in fact being carried out.
In answer to questions, delegates were informed that both UN Day on October 24, and Human Rights Day on December 10 will be observed in 1958, despite the fact they are so near together. Though the celebrations will be entirely separate, the theme for UN Day this year will emphasize Human Rights. Whereas UN Day is a celebration, Human Rights Day is more properly an observance, since the Declaration is an instrument for facing the facts and promoting future amelioration.
All conferences to date have been sponsored by the Department of Public Information, which has felt duty bound to adhere to its function of giving information about the United Nations. There has been a demand through the years for more participation by the non-governmental organizations and for a wider choice of subject. DPI officers stated that they would welcome conferences so planned, but felt that they must be sponsored in that case by the NGO’s, though with full cooperation on the part of the DPI.
Accordingly, a resolution was adopted instructing the Executive Committee to study the problem of running a Conference under the sponsorship of the NGO’s, and to bring in a recommendation to the next conference. The two Bahá’í delegates voted for this resolution.
It was a fine conference. To Bahá’ís it clearly revealed the fact that principles of the Bahá’í Faith are being put into force by wellmeaning peoples covering many walks of life. To other attending delegates and observers, the conference demonstrated the tremendous strides that have been made in the field of human rights, and pointed out the responsibility of the NGO’s to publicize the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, as well as to awaken new interest and understanding of them.
—MARY L. C. BURNETT LEE BLACKWELL
Gbarnga, Liberia, Sunday Study Class conducted by Mrs. Zara Dunne (center, rear), travelling teacher for Liberia and Sierra Leone. On March 2, 1958, Mr. and Mrs. George Washington (foreground, facing each other), pioneers from the U. S. to Gbarnga, accepted the declarations of five Africans in this group.
List Baha’i Addresses For Visitors to Brussels[edit]
Presuming a considerable number of Bahá’ís who will tour Europe this summer will include a visit to the World’s Fair in Brussels, the Local Spiritual Assembly of Brussels wishes them to have addresses where Bahá’ís can be reached. The address of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Belgium is 54 rue Stanley, Brussels, but as no one lives there, it is essential to telephone any of the following members on the reception committee before going to the Center:
47.03.29—Mr. and Mrs. Nys (in French and English)
47.68.92—Mrs. DeKeninck (in French only)
47.63.77—Mr. and Mrs. Samii (Persian, French, English)
All Bahá’ís going abroad with the intention of meeting believers anywhere are instructed to carry current identification cards signed by the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Benelux Countries will welcome Bahá’í teachers who can undertake teaching visits to Holland and Luxembourg in addition to cities of Belgium.
BAHA’I IN THE NEWS[edit]
A work by Charles S. Braden entitled “Jesus Compared” contains this reference to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh: “On the basis of numbers, the Bahá’í Faith . . . might . . . be considered one of the great religions . . .”
The Chicago American Pictorial Living for November 24, 1957, carried a photograph of the Bahá’í Temple entitled “Picture of the Week” with an award to the photographer.
The Jacksonville (Florida) Journal, November 11, 1957, ran a feature
story entitled “Some Information on
Bahá’í Faith,” a very fair presenta[Page 23]
tion of Bahá’í history and teachings.
Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Cleveland
Heights, Ohio, incorporated on September 21, 1957, with the
articles of incorporation amended on February 24, 1958.
Congressional Record, January 21,
published remarks by Hon. Abraham
J. Multer, Representative of New
York, on “Israel’s Youngest Religion,” which quotes the article by
Herbert Freeden, Jerusalem, already
noted in this column.
The Sarasota (Florida) Herald Tribune on February 17, reporting the all-Florida sculpture exhibit, reproduced a photograph of the sculpture winning the first prize. This piece was designed and constructed by Vernon Voelz, member of the local Bahá’í community.
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, March 2, is publishing a series of articles by foreign consuls. The final article by Nahum Astar, Counsel of Israel, stressed the freedom of religion accorded by the Israeli government, mentioning the fact that the “country is the world center of the Bahá’í Faith and the spiritual leader of the Faith resides in Israel.”
Pittsburgh Courier Sunday Magazine section, March 1, featured a story on the Faith under the caption “Followers of World’s Youngest Religion Spread the Message.” Written by Julius W. Holder, the article speaks of local Bahá’í interracial groups who are spreading the Message throughout the United States. Illustrations include the House of Worship, the Shrine of the Báb, and a photograph of two Bahá’í teachers, Mrs. Joseph W. McCormack and Eulalia Barrow, sister of Joe Louis.
On March 13, an article by John Drury was devoted to Wilmette in a Chicago Daily News series dealing with towns and villages adjacent to Chicago. “A world-renowned sight in the Village today is the Bahá’í Temple. . . .” Photographs of the House of Worship and the old Grosse Point Lighthouse illustrate the text.
Three poems by Mrs. Belle Tatum, Bahá’í of Muskegon, Mich., have been published in the Muskegon Chronicle. One is entitled “Our Guardian” and another “The Temple.”
L’Afrique et le Monde, a weekly journal published in Brussels, Belgium, announced in its February 6 issue that an intercontinental Bahá’í conference was being held in Kampala, and described the Faith as a Moslem religious sect originating in Persia. Immediate action was taken by the Regional Assembly of the Benelux Countries to correct this error and a later issue published a letter prepared by the Assembly.
Le Petit Journal, a Quebec Province newspaper published in French ran a feature article on March 2 entitled “The Followers of the Great Bahá’u’lláh—there are 100 Bahá’ís in Montreal.” An illustration of the Wilmette Temple referred to its French—Canadian architect, Louis Bourgeois. The author, Roland Cöté, evidently studied the basic literature and also the three-fold character of the Nineteen-Day Feast.
A reprint has been made of an article written by Marie Kershaw Frain, M. D., Bahá’í of Jackson, La., from the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 124, No. 4.
A German illustrated magazine, Pflanze and Garten for June 1956. published a beautiful photograph of the Shrine of the Báb, and photographs of the Bahá’í Gardens, the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh, and a View of the Bay of Haifa from Mt. Carmel.
Baha’i Publishing Trust[edit]
Shoghi Effendi: An Appreciation. By Marcus Bach. Introduction by Horace Holley. A tribute to Shoghi Effendi made at the time of his passing and the special section of Circle of Faith related to the Guardian. (Hawthorn Books)
Hardbound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2.00
Great Themes of Life. By Eric Bowes. Relates the most familiar and beloved Bible themes to their fulfillment today in the Bahá’í Faith. This direct challenge to Christians is given with understanding and sympathy as lectures originally given in the author’s childhood church in Australia. The author, member of the Auxiliary Teaching Board, once studied for the ministry. Bound in yellow cloth
(with jacket) . . . . . . . . . . . .$1.50
Blessed Is The Spot. Invocation of Bahá’u’lláh. Illustrated by Anna Stevenson. Each portion of the beautiful text, such as “the mountain,” “the valley,” etc., has been charmingly illustrated with a double-page spread. The artist has drawn inspiration from many children of the world occupied with imaginative things that engage hearts and minds of children everywhere. An appealing book for children up to eight or ten years of age (and their parents and teachers). A book that can be freely given as a gift to all children of any religion. as the theme is universal. 8½ x 7, three colors. Hardbound (illustrated cover) . . . . . . . . .$1.5O
God, His Mediator and Man. A Study in Comparative Religion. The opening essay by Pritam Singh of India, summarizing briefly the revealed religions of the world, is followed by an exposition on the theme, “The Oneness of Mankind” by Doris McKay. The work of these two Bahá’í authors of widely separated cultural and religious backgrounds was prepared originally for World Order magazine.
The major portion of the book, by Doris McKay, compares the way in which the Word of God has been given to each Revelator — and their lives and teachings — in a progressive way that evolves into the one Book of God for this day. The work is useful for discussion groups and all teaching and contact work, as well as being highly educational for Bahá’ís themselves. 40 pp., 9 x 6, designed by Conrad Heleniak.
Bound in stiff paper . . . . . . . . .$ .40
20 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6.50
The Destiny of America. By Stanwood Cobb. A completely new work on America’s spiritual role in the world today, written to gain respect and attention of the public. It is suitable for every type of distribution—personal contacts, mailing lists, public meetings, literature racks, and for prestige presentations. The size, 3½ x 7, is mailable in standard No. 8 business envelopes, and in some smaller stationery envelopes. Cover designed by Wm. Musler.
10 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 1.00
25 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 2.00
100 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ 7.00
500 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$30.00
Pocket Calendar, 1958-59. This small billfold or pocket-sized calendar indicates all Feast and Holy Days. The back of the card has inspirational reminders of “Ten Ways I Can Resolve to Serve the Faith of God.” Calendar begins with May 1, 1958, and runs until May 1, 1959.
10 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ .50
25 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1.00
New Flexible-cover Prayer Books Now Available[edit]
Bahá’í Prayers. Combined Edition. The text of this book is identical to the 1954 Combined Edition, containing special prayers tor Bahá’ís under Bahá’í Occasional Prayers in the back, separated by tinted divider for easy reference. It is printed on Thin text (India paper), with soft, fully flexible covers, round corners, and will easily fit vest pocket or purse. (Please specify blue, flexible cover, Combined Edition; otherwise regular hardbound edition will be sent). Bound in royal blue simulated Moroccan leather, stamped in gold leaf . . . . . . . .$1.60
Bahá’í Prayers. General Edition. Same as 1954 General Edition, with exception of fully flexible, round-cornered binding. This is a beautiful book and is especially appropriate as a gift since it does not contain the prayers that have meaning only for Bahá’ís.
Bound in old ivory
Spanish leatherette
(no increase in price) . . . . . .$1.25
NOTE: Copies of the green hardbound Combined Edition of Bahá’í Prayers will continue to be available for a limited period of time at regular price of $1.50.
Atomic Mandate. By Marzieh Gail. There is a way of living in the world today that can make the bomb harm-
National Bahá’í Addresses[edit]
Please Address Mail Correctly!
National Bahá’í Administrative Headquarters
530 Sheridan Road, Wilmettei Illinois.
National Treasurer:
112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois.
Make Checks Payable to: National Bahá’í Fund
Bahá’í Publishing Trust:
lltl Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois.
Bahá’í News:
Editorial Office: 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois
Subscription and change of ad- dress: 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois
less. The author of this brief pamphlet tells how, and in doing so gives the Bahá’í message in a way that is understandable to everyone.
10 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ .50 100 copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$4.50
Minimum Mail Order, $1.00
Available from
BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING TRUST
110 Linden Avenue
Wilmette, Illinois
Correction[edit]
The photograph of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Seremban. Malaya, in the March 1958 issue of BAHÁ’Í NEWS, was incorrectly reported as the first Local Assembly, formed on April 21, 1957. Actually the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Seremban was formed at Riḍván 1955.
Calendar of Events[edit]
FEASTS[edit]
May 17 — ’Aẓamat (Grandeur)
June 5 — Núr (Light)
HOLY DAYS[edit]
May 23—Declaration of the Báb
May 29 — Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
Bahá’í House of Worship[edit]
Visiting Hours[edit]
Weekdays
10:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. (Entire building)
7:00 RM. to 9:00 P.M. (Auditorium only)
Sundays and Holidays
10:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. (Entire building)
5200 RM. to 9 P.M. (Auditorium only)
Service at Worship[edit]
Sundays 3:30 P.M., lasting until 4:15.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í: of the United States as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í World Community.
Reports, plans, news items and photographs of general interest are requested from national committees and local assemblies of the United States as well as from National Assemblies of other lands. Material is due in Wilmette on the first day of the month preceding the date of issue for which it is intended.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee. The Committee for 1957-58: Mrs. Eunice Braun, chairman; Miss Charlotte Linfoot, secretary; Mr. Richard C. Thomas.
Editorial Office: 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Ellinois, U.S.A.
Change of address should be reported directly to National Bahá’í Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
