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| Bahá’í News | August 1983 | Bahá’í Year 140 |
Iran: The persecution continues
Bahá’í News[edit]
Sixteen Bahá’ís including 10 women are martyred in Shíráz, Iran | 1 |
House of Justice urges Bahá’í youth around world to redeem martyrs | 2 |
Works by Bahá’í Mahmehr Golestaneh, ‘the foremost muralist in Iran’ | 3 |
Hiroji Mukasa, president of Rotary International, visits World Centre | 4 |
Some thoughts about the development of Local Spiritual Assemblies | 6 |
Lydia Zamenhof: Teacher, scholar, and heroine of the Cause of God | 10 |
A personal remembrance of Lydia Zamenhof by Mrs. Margaret Ruhe | 12 |
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe | 13 |
Bahá’í News is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to the Periodicals Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Changes of address should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates: one year, $12 U.S.; two years, $20 U.S. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1983, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
World Centre[edit]
16 more Bahá’ís are martyred in Iran[edit]
WITH GREAT SORROW IMPART NEWS EXECUTION BY HANGING LATE HOURS 16 JUNE IN SHIRAZ ANOTHER SIX VALIANT SERVANTS CAUSE:
DR. BAHRAM AFNAN, PROMINENT PHYSICIAN, 48 YEARS OLD; MR. BAHRAM YALDA’I, STUDENT, 23 YEARS OLD; MR. JAMSHID SIYAVUSHI, MERCHANT, 39 YEARS OLD; MR. ’INAYATU’LLAH ISHRAQI, RETIRED OFFICER OIL COMPANY, 60 YEARS OLD; MR. KURUSH HAQBIN, ELECTRICAL TECHNICIAN, 27 YEARS OLD; MR. ’ABDU’L-HUSAYN AZADI, EMPLOYEE HEALTH MINISTRY, 60 YEARS OLD.
GRAVELY CONCERNED LIVES OTHER PRISONERS THREATENED BE SUBJECTED SIMILAR FATE IF REFUSE RECANT FAITH AND EMBRACE ISLAM. THIS RUTHLESS TREATMENT BY FANATICS NOW TAKING REINS JUSTICE THEIR HANDS IN DEFIANCE WORLD PUBLIC OPINION, DEMANDS SPECIAL CONSIDERATION BY GOVERNMENTS AND PEOPLE OF PROMINENCE TO EXERT UTMOST EFFORTS PREVENT CONTINUATION SUCH ACTS WHICH VIOLATE PRINCIPLES JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS.
JUNE 18, 1983
FOLLOWING OUTRAGEOUS EXECUTION SIX
BAHÁ’ÍS IN SHIRAZ ON 16 JUNE, FURTHER
HIDEOUS CRIME HAS BEEN PERPETRATED BY AUTHORITIES THAT CITY BY HANGING TEN INNOCENT WOMEN NIGHT OF 18 JUNE. THEY ARE:
MRS. NUSRAT YALDA’I, 54 YEARS OLD, MOTHER OF BAHRAM, HANGED 16 JUNE; MRS. ’IZZAT JANAMI ISHRAQI, 50 YEARS OLD, WIFE OF INAYATU’LLAH, HANGED 16 JUNE; MISS RUYA ISHRAQI, IN EARLY 20’S, DAUGHTER OF ABOVE; MRS. TAHIRIH, SIYAVUSHI, 32 YEARS OLD, WIFE OF JAMSHID, HANGED 16 JUNE; MISS MUNA MAHMUDNIZHAD, 18 YEARS OLD, DAUGHTER OF YADU’LLAH, EXECUTED 12 MARCH; MISS ZARRIN MUQIMI, UNDER 25 YEARS OLD; MISS SHIRIN DALVAND, EARLY 20’S; MISS AKHTAR THABIT, 19 YEARS OLD; MISS SIMIN SABIRI, IN EARLY 20’S; MISS MAHSHID NIRUMAND, 18 YEARS OLD.
THE EXECUTION OF THESE GUILTLESS WOMEN IN THE NAME OF RELIGION MUST SHOCK CONSCIENCE HUMANITY. THEY WERE ARRESTED FOR ACTIVITIES IN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY INCLUDING EDUCATION OF YOUTH.
FOLLOWING LONG INTERROGATION IN PRISON THEY WERE WARNED THEY WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO FOUR SESSIONS PRESSURING THEM RECANT THEIR FAITH ACCEPT ISLAM AND IF BY FOURTH TIME THEY HAD NOT SIGNED PREPARED STATEMENT RECANTING FAITH THEY WOULD BE KILLED. ALL PREFERRED DIE RATHER THAN DENY THEIR FAITH.
FEW HOURS PRIOR EXECUTION WOMEN MET WITH FAMILIES, NONE OF WHOM KNEW IMPENDING EXECUTION. NEWS THIS DASTARDLY CRIME NOT PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED OR FORMALLY GIVEN TO FAMILIES. AUTHORITIES REFUSED ALLOW FAMILIES TO RECEIVE BODIES FOR BURIAL OR EVEN TO SEE THEM.
IT SHOULD BE RECALLED THAT BETWEEN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 1982 OVER 80 BAHÁ’ÍS WERE ARRESTED IN SHIRAZ. AUTHORITIES LATER REVEALED THAT 22 PERSONS AMONG THE 80 WERE CONDEMNED TO DEATH IF WOULD NOT RECANT. NAMES OF THESE 22 HOWEVER WERE NEVER REVEALED, INTENSIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AMONG BAHÁ’Í PRISONERS.
IN DEFIANCE APPEALS WORLD LEADERS AND WORLD PUBLIC OPINION, 21 OF THESE BAHÁ’ÍS HAVE THUS FAR BEEN EXECUTED, CASTING SHADOW ON FATE REMAINING BELIEVERS LANGUISHING IN PRISON.
YOU ARE REQUESTED AROUSE SYMPATHY INTEREST WELL-INTENDING PEOPLE YOUR COUNTRY, AND AGAIN URGE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, PRIVATE AGENCIES DEALING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS, WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS, NEWS MEDIA TO TAKE EFFECTIVE MEASURES WITH GOVERNMENT IRAN INDUCE THEM CEASE ACTIONS ABHORRENT TO CONSCIENCE HUMANITY. CONTINUE PRAYERS SAFETY WELL-BEING STEADFAST BRETHREN CRADLE FAITH.
JUNE 18, 1983
World Centre[edit]
Youth must arise to vindicate martyrs[edit]
TO BAHÁ’Í YOUTH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD:
RECENT MARTYRDOMS COURAGEOUS STEADFAST YOUTH IN SHIRAZ, SCENE INAUGURATION MISSION MARTYR-PROPHET, REMINISCENT ACTS VALOR YOUTHFUL IMMORTALS HEROIC AGE. CONFIDENT BAHÁ’Í YOUTH THIS GENERATION WILL NOT ALLOW THIS FRESH BLOOD SHED ON VERY SOIL WHERE FIRST WAVE PERSECUTION FAITH TOOK PLACE REMAIN UNVINDICATED OR THIS SUBLIME SACRIFICE UNAVAILING.
AT THIS HOUR OF AFFLICTION AND GRIEF, AND AS WE APPROACH ANNIVERSARY MARTYRDOM BLESSED BÁB CALL ON BAHÁ’Í YOUTH TO REDEDICATE THEMSELVES TO URGENT NEEDS CAUSE BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. LET THEM RECALL BLESSINGS HE PROMISED THOSE WHO IN PRIME OF YOUTH WILL ARISE TO ADORN THEIR HEARTS WITH HIS LOVE AND REMAIN STEADFAST AND FIRM. LET THEM CALL TO MIND EXPECTATIONS MASTER FOR EACH TO BE A FEARLESS LION, A MUSK-LADEN BREEZE WAFTING OVER MEADS VIRTUE. LET THEM MEDITATE OVER UNIQUE QUALITIES YOUTH SO GRAPHICALLY MENTIONED IN WRITINGS GUARDIAN WHO PRAISED THEIR ENTERPRISING AND ADVENTUROUS SPIRIT, THEIR VIGOR, THEIR ALERTNESS, OPTIMISM AND EAGERNESS, AND THEIR DIVINELY-APPOINTED, HOLY AND ENTHRALLING TASKS. WE FERVENTLY PRAY AT SACRED THRESHOLD THAT ARMY OF SPIRITUALLY AWAKENED AND DETERMINED YOUTH MAY IMMEDIATELY ARISE RESPONSE NEEDS PRESENT HOUR DEVOTE IN EVER GREATER MEASURE THEIR VALUED ENERGIES TO PROMOTE BOTH ON HOMEFRONTS AND IN FOREIGN FIELDS, CAUSE THEIR ALL-WATCHFUL AND EXPECTANT LORD.
MAY THEY MANIFEST SAME SPIRIT SO RECENTLY EVINCED THEIR MARTYR BRETHREN CRADLE FAITH, SCALE SUCH HEIGHTS OF ENDEAVOR AS TO BECOME PRIDE THEIR PEERS CONSOLATION HEARTS PERSIAN BELIEVERS, AND DEMONSTRATE THAT THE FLAME HIS OMNIPOTENT HAND HAS KINDLED BURNS EVER BRIGHTER AND THAT ITS LIFE-IMPARTING WARMTH AND RADIANCE SHALL SOON ENVELOP PERMEATE WHOLE EARTH.
JUNE 23, 1983
Two views of picturesque Innsbruck, Austria, site of this summer’s European Bahá’í Youth Conference.
Pictorial[edit]
Works by ‘foremost muralist in Iran’[edit]
The murals on this page were painted by Mahmehr Golestaneh, a Bahá’í who was considered the foremost muralist in Iran before the 1978 revolution that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power. Mrs. Golestaneh, who left Iran to preserve her artistic freedom, now lives and works in Miami, Florida, where an exhibit of some of her works was shown in December 1981. The mural at the right, which was painted in 1967, is in the Tehran Opera House. The mural below, painted in 1969, is in the Saderak Bank in Kermanshah. Mrs. Golestaneh works in a broad spectrum of materials from hammered bronze to ceramics and stainless steel. Among her present projects is a memorial to her cousin, Shidrokh Dagha, one of six members of the Spiritual Assembly of Tehran who were martyred in December 1981.
World Centre[edit]
World Rotary president visits Haifa[edit]
Dr. Hiroji Mukasa, president of Rotary International, and his wife Kiyoko visited the Seat of the Universal House of Justice on March 15.
The opportunity to receive the president of the million-member worldwide service organization came in the course of his scheduled visit to Rotary Clubs in Israel as a part of the visitation program that is a feature of his one-year term of office.
The guests arrived at the World Centre in Haifa accompanied by Rotary’s district governor for Israel and Rotarians from Haifa and Tel Aviv.
They were greeted on the steps of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice by Bahá’í Rotarians serving at the World Centre.
Dr. Mukasa is promoting international goodwill among Rotarians in 157 countries using the theme “Mankind Is One.” It is illustrated by depicting humanity as a single tree whose
Representatives of the Universal House of Justice and the Bahá’í International Community are shown with a group of Rotarians who visited the World Centre in Haifa on March 15. Dr. Hiroji Mukasa, the president of Rotary International, and his wife Kiyoko are eighth and ninth from left. At the far right is Charles Wolcott, a member of the Universal House of Justice and a Rotarian. Donald Barrett, secretary general, and Ronald Bates, deputy secretary general of the Bahá’í International Community, are in the back row (fifth from left, and behind Mrs. Mukasa, respectively). Dr. Mukasa has selected the phrase ‘Mankind Is One’ as the Rotary Club theme for the current year.
[Page 5]
branches are filled with the faces of all
races and nations.
The remarkable coincidence with the Bahá’í teachings is further reflected in Dr. Mukasa’s message to Rotarians. He states that “... mankind is one family ... without peace and happiness in the entire family, no individual can enjoy peace and happiness.”
He has been urging members to “build bridges of friendship” as, by so doing, “distrust and suspicion will be eliminated, barriers will be overcome, and world peace and happiness will emerge.”
The visitors entered the newly furnished Reception Concourse through the main doors and were welcomed by a Japanese member of the World Centre staff, Mrs. Yoshie Ragland, who carried on an animated conversation in Japanese with the couple throughout their tour of the building. They were obviously pleased and surprised at being greeted in their native tongue, and were struck by the beauty of the surroundings.
They were escorted to the level of the Council Chamber, and Dr. Mukasa was visibly moved by the life-size portrait of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that hangs on the anteroom wall just outside the chamber.
The party was taken next to the library where the staff had mounted an appropriate display of Bahá’í books in Japanese. The recently published Japanese translation of the work by the late Bernard Leach, Beyond East and West, captured the attention of the visitors, who also showed special interest in the volumes of The Bahá’í World that contain “In Memoriam” articles about Kanichi Yamamota, the first Japanese Bahá’í, and Saichiro Fujita.
Stately hall[edit]
From the library the guests were escorted to the stately banquet hall which runs the width of the building’s ground floor, immediately beneath the library.
The visitors then moved to a sitting room in the Reception Concourse where they were served a cold drink of “sikanjibín,” a Persian specialty, as they strolled about the Concourse. A copy of the book A Crown of Beauty and Volume XVII of The Bahá’í World were presented to Dr. Mukasa.
Dr. Hiroji Mukasa (second from left), president of Rotary International, shakes hands with fellow Rotarian Hugh Chance, a member of the Universal House of Justice, after receiving a copy of the book A Crown of Beauty during a visit March 15 to the Seat of the Universal House of Justice. Charles Wolcott, another Rotarian and member of the Supreme Body of the Faith, waits to present Dr. Mukasa with a copy of Volume XVII of The Bahá’í World. Mrs. Mukasa is seated at left. The presentations took place in a ground floor sitting room of the Reception Concourse in the recently completed Seat. Dr. Mukasa’s visit to the World Centre came during a presidential tour of the international organization’s member clubs in several countries.
The Bahá’í Rotarians and their wives were present that evening at a dinner in Haifa, as were the mayor of Haifa and the Speaker of the Knesset.
They heard the honored guest, who is a psychiatrist by profession, tell a charming story about his grandson’s query as to how many “grandparents” he had. Deciding to calculate the answer to the question, Dr. Mukasa found that, by going back 30 generations, his grandson would have had “an astronomical 1,000,000,000 grandparents.”
He used the story to illustrate his conviction that mankind is without a doubt one great family.
Administration[edit]
On the development of Local Assemblies[edit]
INTRODUCTION[edit]
We know from the writings of our Faith that the Bahá’í Revelation represents the advent of maturity in the collective life of man. As Bahá’ís we thus face the basic challenge not only of accomplishing tasks never previously accomplished, but also of doing many traditional tasks from a radically new point of view. In this way, we are all pioneers of a new maturity, a new “pattern for future society,” just by the attitude we have toward even the simplest tasks of administrative service to the Faith.
| This article on the development of Local Spiritual Assemblies, reprinted from the January-February and March-April 1983 issues of Bahá’í Canada, is taken from a talk given at the Montreal International Conference in September 1982 by Dr. William Hatcher, a professor of mathematics at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, and a member of that country’s recently formed Assembly Development Committee. |
God has given us the basic tools to build this new maturity by ordaining an administrative order animated by His own Spirit, but He has left to us the task of discovering for ourselves many of the subtle implications and deep significances inherent in the Bahá’í pattern of community life.
This calls forth a creative effort on our part, and it means that the administration of our Faith can never be encompassed in a formula or reduced to a set of rules routinely followed. It allows us to contribute the best of ourselves—of our individual, God-given, infinitely valuable, personal spiritual qualities—to the ongoing work of the Cause. In this way, administrative service to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh becomes charged with all the richness of a noble artistic endeavor.
... Local Spiritual Assemblies are divinely ordained decision-making bodies whose task it is to make decisions concerning certain clearly defined areas of the collective (and to some extent the individual) life of the Bahá’í community.
Concerning the process of the proper development of the administrative order, the Guardian has said:
“The Bahá’í administration is only the first shaping of what in future will come to be the social life and laws of community living. As yet the believers are only first beginning to grasp and practice it properly. So we must have patience if at times it seems a little self-conscious and rigid in its workings. It is because we are learning something very difficult but very wonderful—how to live together as a community of Bahá’ís, according to the glorious teachings.” (The Local Spiritual Assembly, p. 24)
In other words, the pattern we are called upon to develop in our community life is the pattern which, in the future, will be followed by the whole of mankind.
LOCAL ASSEMBLIES[edit]
Let us turn our attention for a moment to the crucial role played by the Local Spiritual Assemblies in this development.
Fundamentally, Local Spiritual Assemblies are divinely ordained decision-making bodies whose task it is to make decisions concerning certain clearly defined areas of the collective (and to some extent the individual) life of the Bahá’í community. In the book Bahá’í Administration, Shoghi Effendi tells us that, at the present stage in the development of the Administrative Order, the two basic tasks of the Local Assembly are to “... aim at a steady and gradual expansion of the Movement along lines that are at once broad, sound and universal,” and to “... insure the consolidation of the work already achieved.” (The Local Spiritual Assembly, p. 23)
In fact, as many statements in the Writings clearly indicate, the key to the successful integration of the local community is the proper functioning of the Local Spiritual Assembly. The House of Justice has said: “... the one vital activity which will enrich the quality of Bahá’í life is the strengthening of Local Assemblies, for in this institution, operating at the first level of human society, rests the greatest opportunity to foster the sound and healthy growth of the Bahá’í community.” (The Seven Year Plan, Phase 1, p. 16)
Decision-making bodies and administrative structures also exist outside the Bahá’í Faith, so we might profitably reflect on the differences between administration within and without the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
In Western society, administration is largely power-oriented. Those who engage in administrative activity seek primarily the rewards of high status, of security, of material benefits, and of wielding power and dominion over others. To the degree that such selfish motives do exist, they cannot fail to undermine the integrity of the decision-making process so that decisions are often made for the short-term benefit and self-interest of an elite group
[Page 7]
rather than for the long-term benefit
and interest of all.
This tends to create attitudes of suspicion, mistrust and fear on the part of the public. People often sense that they are being manipulated by decision-makers and therefore develop strategies of resistance to many of the decisions emanating from the various administrative bodies of society. This helps create the atmosphere of tension, conflict, carping criticism and hostility which we so often experience in modern society and its institutions.
In the Bahá’í Faith, administration is service-oriented, not power-oriented. Those who are called upon to engage in administrative activity must make personal and material sacrifices, and they must strive to make decisions that serve the collectivity rather than manipulate it. In fact, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá so often pointed out, it is not really we who administer the affairs of the Cause, but the divine spirit working through us: “There is a power in this Cause—a mysterious power—far, far, far away from the ken of men and angels; that invisible power is the cause of all these outward activities. It moves the hearts. It rends the mountains. It administers the complicated affairs of the Cause ...” (The Bahá’í Revelation, p. 185)
It follows that our maturity as spiritual administrators is measured by the degree to which we become effective instruments for this power. The Local Assemblies serve the community by becoming the means by which this power can operate. In administration as in teaching, it is not we who produce results but the spirit working through us.
We might say, then, that in the realm of administrative and decision-making activity, the transition to maturity in the collective life of man is represented by the change from a power-oriented administration to a service-oriented, Spirit-led administration. This is the new maturity that we and we alone are called upon by God to pioneer, for it is only the Bahá’í Administrative Order, based on the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, which has the guarantee of such a level of divine assistance.
Thus, all of the spiritual processes of
In the Bahá’í Faith, administration is service-oriented, not power-oriented. Those who are called upon to engage in administrative activity must make personal and material sacrifices, and they must strive to make decisions that serve the collectivity, rather than manipulate it.
Bahá’í administrative functioning, including consultation itself, are most properly viewed not as ends in themselves but rather as a means of producing a mature, service-oriented administration, one that is capable of functioning as a conscious instrument for the power of the Covenant. In this regard, the Guardian has said: “The friends must never mistake the Bahá’í administration for an end in itself. It is merely the instrument of the spirit of the Faith.” (The Local Spiritual Assembly, p. 24)
Therefore, the development and consolidation of Local Spiritual Assemblies and local communities means nothing more nor less than nurturing and fostering the transition to maturity. We help consolidate Assemblies and communities whenever we contribute to providing conditions favorable to the realization of service-oriented, Spirit-led administration, and we hamper community development whenever we contribute, however indirectly, toward creating conditions which inhibit this maturation process. This is the duty and privilege of each believer, not just Assembly members or Board members and their assistants.
It is only when Assembly and community development is viewed in this way as part of a universal, integrative maturation process that it can become genuinely effective. We cannot regard the consolidation and integration of our communities as the unique concern of a limited number of specially designated or elected individuals. The House of Justice has said:
“The friends are called upon to give their whole-hearted support and cooperation to the Local Spiritual Assembly, first by voting for the membership and then by energetically pursuing its plans and programmes, by turning to it in time of trouble or difficulty, by praying for its success and taking delight in its rise to influence and honor. This great prize, this gift of God within each community must be cherished, nurtured, loved, assisted, obeyed and prayed for.” (The Seven Year Plan, Phase 1, p. 16)
It is also clear from the writings of our Faith that the proper development of the Administrative Order and the personal spiritual development of each one of us, are closely linked. Shoghi Effendi has said:
“When a person becomes a Bahá’í actually what takes place is that the seed of the spirit starts to grow in the human soul. This seed must be watered by the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. These gifts of the spirit are received through prayer, meditation, study of the Holy Utterances and service to the Cause of God. The fact of the matter is that service in the Cause is like the plough which ploughs the physical soil when seeds are sown. It is necessary that the soil be ploughed up, so that it can be enriched, and thus cause a stronger growth of the seed. In exactly the same way the evolution of the spirit takes place through ploughing up the soil of the heart so that it is a constant reflection of the Holy Spirit. In this way the human spirit grows and develops by leaps and bounds.” (The Bahá’í Life, p. 20)
Nor can we count on the grace of God to make up for any failure to contribute our part to this endeavor, for Shoghi Effendi has said: “No matter how strong the measure of Divine grace, unless supplemented by personal, sustained and intelligent effort it cannot become fully effective and be of any real and abiding advantage.” (The Bahá’í Life, p. 6)
Thus the opportunity for each of us, whether an Assembly member or not, to participate in the process of consolidating our local communities is in reality the God-given means whereby we ourselves may grow spiritually and thereby fulfill our own deepest spiritual needs and longings.
THE CURRENT STAGE OF THE MATURATION PROCESS[edit]
Friends, let us try for a few moments to think about where we are in the transition process toward full administrative maturity. Let us attempt to assess as accurately as possible the progress we have made and see what steps may lie immediately ahead.
In listening to one’s fellow Bahá’ís talk about their administrative experiences in the Faith, one soon acquires the feeling that there is a sense of being burdened by administrative tasks, especially with regard to service on Local Spiritual Assemblies. Whereas teaching the Faith, prayer, proclamation, conventions, conferences, summer schools, social meetings, or deepenings are all basically attractive and interesting activities for us, Assembly service often seems to have more negative associations. These negative associations derive perhaps from experiences of frustration, of long hours spent in sometimes gruelling consultation, or of hurt feelings and misunderstandings.
If this is a reasonably accurate reflection of our prevalent feelings toward Assembly service, it suggests that perhaps we have reached a sort of midpoint or “dead center” in our progress toward maturity. On the one hand, we have rather successfully detached ourselves from the negative patterns affecting administrative service in the non-Bahá’í society; that is to say that Bahá’ís, for the most part, certainly do not seek personal aggrandizement, status, material benefits or any other such ego-centered or selfish rewards in Assembly service. (Indeed, our brothers and sisters in Iran risk their very lives in accepting election to such institutions.) On the other hand, we have perhaps not yet been so successful in gaining a sufficiently new and creative perspective on Assembly and administrative service, one that would allow us to find a mature joy and deep sense of spiritual mastery and exhilaration that should be associated with any service to the Faith.
Having mastered the “do not’s” but having failed to master the “do’s,” we may tend to view Assembly service as a dry duty. We manage to motivate ourselves toward this activity only by the most primitive sense of spiritual duty tinged with guilt feelings about our limitations, weaknesses, and our negative feelings toward the task.
In any case, it is clear that it is impossible to maintain for a long period of time a consistently high level of motivation toward any activity which has many negative associations for us. We cannot forever motivate ourselves toward Assembly service out of a sense of duty alone.
DR. WILLIAM S. HATCHER
Any growth process involves both detachment from an immature pattern of action and attachment to a more mature one. Ideally, these two aspects of growth should occur simultaneously. Detachment from an immature pattern always appears initially as a negative process. One has a sense of loss, of sacrifice, of giving up. It is only in the growing light of the more mature pattern that one regains, on an even deeper level than before, a renewed sense of creativity, of fulfillment, and of an enhanced capacity to function. Then, all the joys and rewards previously associated with the activity return to us, but in a more complete, balanced and satisfactory way.
Certainly this basic law and pattern of spiritual growth applies to Assembly and community development and in particular to administrative service. Thus, as we gradually perfect the new, mature Bahá’í pattern of administrative and community life, we will no doubt experience a tremendous increase in our creativity, our enthusiasm and our joy in administrative service to the Faith.
Let us take an example. It is quite clear from the writings of our Faith that the notion of leadership in the Baha’i Faith stands in sharp contrast to the notions of leadership current in our world today. In the non-Bahá’í society, a leader is usually a charismatic figure who induces a sense of inadequacy in those around him. The leader appears as a person so competent and strong that others must defer to him and strive vainly to imitate him. Let us see what Shoghi Effendi has said about leadership in the context of the Bahá’í Administrative Order. Speaking of the members of Bahá’í Assemblies, he has said:
“The duties of those whom the friends have freely and conscientiously elected as their representatives are no less vital and binding than the obligations of those who have chosen them. Their function is not to dictate, but to consult, and consult not only among themselves, but as much as possible with the friends whom they represent. They must regard themselves in no other light but that of chosen instruments for a more efficient and dignified presentation of the Cause of God. They should never be led to suppose that they are the central ornaments of the body of the Cause, intrinsically superior to others in capacity or merit, and sole promoters of its teachings and principles. They should approach their task with extreme humility ...” (The Local Spiritual Assembly, p. 18)
In another passage, he has said:
“The first quality for leadership both among individuals and Assemblies is the capacity to use the energy and competence that exists in the rank and file of its followers. Otherwise the more competent members of the group will go at a tangent and try to find elsewhere a field of work where they could use their energy.” (The Local Spiritual Assembly, pp. 18-19)
[Page 9]
In other words, the first quality of a
leader in the Bahá’í Faith is his servitude and devotion to others, his ability
to help develop their talents and capacities. This, then, is the mature
quality of leadership, the one we are
called upon to pioneer, for we can be
sure that no one else outside of the Bahá’í Faith is going to arise and spontaneously develop this kind of leadership.
Notice also that this is a quality of leadership to which everyone can legitimately aspire, for everyone can learn to serve others if he truly desires and strives to do so. This path of leadership is open to all of us, whereas leadership outside the Faith is open only to those few who possess certain special qualities. Like every truly spiritual and mature quality, the quality of spiritual leadership is within the reach of everyone. Indeed, perhaps this is one of the deep meanings of the Bahá’í principle of the oneness of mankind, namely, that all those truly worthwhile and mature human qualities—those that are worth our time and energy in their pursuit—are the potential gift of every human being on earth.
Our task is not to understand this and keep it for ourselves, but rather to pioneer these mature qualities for the whole of mankind, to blaze a trail for others to follow. Look how the Hands of the Cause and the members of the Universal House of Justice exemplify this kind of leadership, and how different it is from the quality of leadership in the non-Bahá’í world where the leaders consider themselves superior to those they lead.
Friends, I thought you would be interested in hearing the following statement from Bahá’u’lláh concerning this very concept:
“And amongst the realms of unity is the unity of rank and station. It redoundeth to the exaltation of the Cause, glorifying among all peoples. Ever since the seeking of preference and distinction came into play, the world hath been laid waste. It hath become desolate. Those who have quaffed from the ocean of divine utterance and fixed their gaze upon the Realm of Glory should regard themselves as being on the same level as the others and
In consultation ... the Bahá’í community gives the same value to every expression of opinion regardless of the social status or function of the one who offers that opinion. But again, in the world at large, opinions are not judged on the basis of their intrinsic merit, but on the basis of the prestige of the one who expresses them ...
in the same station. Were this matter to be definitely established and conclusively demonstrated through the power and might of God, the world would become as the Abhá Paradise.
“Indeed, man is noble, inasmuch as each one is a repository of the sign of God. Nevertheless, to regard oneself as superior in knowledge, learning or virtue, or to exalt oneself or seek preference, is a grievous transgression. Great is the blessedness of those who are adorned with the ornament of this unity and have been graciously confirmed by God.” (Quoted in Bahá’í Canada, June-July 1978, p. 3)
I have taken the question of leadership as one example of the sharp contrast between the immature pattern existing in the world today and the mature pattern we are called upon to pioneer. But there are many, many other areas of administrative service and community life which exhibit this same contrast.
In consultation, for example, the Bahá’í community gives the same value to every expression of opinion regardless of the social status or function of the one who offers that opinion. But again, in the world at large, opinions are judged not on the basis of their intrinsic merit, but on the basis of the prestige of the one who expresses the opinion in question.
As we all know, the opinions of those who, for whatever reason, are considered to have high status in the society are given much more weight than those of others even if the idea expressed is not really very useful. This has led one philosopher to comment humorously: “I’m scared; I don’t know if the world is made up of smart men who are bluffing, or imbeciles who really mean it!”
CONCLUSION[edit]
Friends, in his letters to Canada, Shoghi Effendi speaks of “administrative heroism” in the Cause. This gives us some idea of how great is the degree of personal sacrifice and dedication we must have in order to succeed in our sacred task of pioneering this new form of administration and community life for the whole of mankind. But it also gives us an idea of the rich spiritual rewards that this activity can bring to us, both individually and collectively. In this light, we can see the task of building integrated local Bahá’í communities not as a dry duty or an impossible task, but rather as the creative spiritual adventure that it is.
Bahá’í history[edit]
Lydia Zamenhof: Teacher and heroine[edit]
The following article about the life of Lydia Zamenhof is excerpted from The Bahá’í World, Vol. X (1944-46).
The youngest of three children, Lydia Zamenhof was born in Warsaw, Poland, on January 29, 1904. Her parents were liberal-minded Jews, and they afforded their son and daughters good educations. Adam became the outstanding eye specialist of that city; Sofie was a physician; and Lydia received her LL.M. degree from the University of Warsaw.
It was inevitable that Lydia Zamenhof should be an idealist. Her father, Dr. Ludwig L. Zamenhof, was the eminent inventor of Esperanto; and her mother, Klara Zilbernik, was his self-effacing yet devoted and encouraging helpmeet.
Love for all humanity pervaded the atmosphere of their home, and together the parents reared their children in the spirit of world unity and brotherhood. It followed naturally that, when she received her LL.M. degree in 1925, Lydia decided not to practice law, but to devote her time to the spread and teaching of Esperanto. As an authorized instructor of the International Cseh-Institute of Esperanto at The Hague, she traveled and taught in many countries in Europe. She became the most popular instructor of the Institute, next to Father Andrew Cseh, its founder.
In 1913, when she was nine years old, Lydia had attended her first Universal Esperanto Congress, held in Berne, Switzerland. In the “Christian Commonwealth” for September 3, 1913, J.M. Warden published an interview with Dr. Zamenhof, who said: “I feel greatly interested in the Bahá’í movement, as it is one of the great world-movements which, like our own,
With acceptance of the Bahá’í Faith, troubles began for Lydia. Branded by some of her relatives as a ‘betrayer’ of the Jewish religion, she was reviled and persecuted for her belief in the unity of God and the brotherhood of man.
is insisting upon the brotherhood of mankind, and is calling on men to understand one another and learn to love each other.” On another occasion he said, “The personality of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His work I esteem most highly. I see in Him one of the greatest benefactors of the whole human race.” This was probably the first contact of Dr. Zamenhof with the Bahá’í Faith.
It was through the Hand of the Cause of God Martha Root that Lydia Zamenhof came into the fold of Bahá’u’lláh. In April 1926, Miss Root was the official representative of the Bahá’ís at the unveiling of a monument on the grave of Dr. Zamenhof in Warsaw. It was there that Lydia said to her, “It seems to me that Esperanto is only a school in which future Bahá’ís educate themselves. The Bahá’í Movement is a forward step, it is larger.”
Several months later, the 18th Universal Esperanto Congress was held in Edinburgh, Scotland. On August 2 a Bahá’í Esperanto Convention was held as part of this Congress. Martha Root, again an official representative of the Bahá’í Faith, spoke on “The Positive Power of Universal Religion.” Lydia Zamenhof was in the audience. In the city of Edinburgh, where, in the memorable year 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delivered His classic address before the Esperantists, Lydia Zamenhof attended her first Bahá’í meeting as a believer. Afire with the Message, she set herself to the difficult task of learning the English language so that she might partake in a fuller measure of the sacred Writings translated by the beloved Guardian. From that time forward her life was devoted to a two-fold purpose—spreading the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, and teaching Esperanto.
With acceptance of the Bahá’í Faith, troubles began for Lydia. Branded by some of her relatives as a “betrayer” of the Jewish religion, she was reviled and persecuted for her belief in the unity of God and the brotherhood of man.
So deep-rooted was her love for God, however, that she remained steadfast and firm against all opposition and her fervor and ardor in the Path of Bahá’u’lláh increased with the passing of time.
God had bountifully endowed Lydia with many talents. Her magnetic charm was unequaled. She was a born instructor and speaker, and her ability as a translator and writer was unexcelled. Early in her career she rendered into Esperanto the famous work of Sienkewicz, “Quo Vadis?”, “Iridiono” by the classic Polish author, Krasinski, and several novels by B. Prus. When she embraced the religion of Bahá’u’lláh, she dedicated her talents entirely to the Bahá’í Cause. Many of her inspiring articles were published in Esperanto and English periodicals with world-wide circulation. Included among her translations are:
Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era; Paris Talks, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; World Religion, by Shoghi Effendi; Bahá’í Prayers; Some Answered Questions; the Kitáb-i-Iqán; Unfoldment of World Civilization; excerpts from the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; and the letter to the Central Organization
[Page 11]
on Durable Peace, by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
She also translated into the Polish language Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era and The Hidden Words.
In 1937, at the request of Shoghi Effendi, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada invited Lydia Zamenhof to visit North America. She arrived on September 29, and on October 2 she began her first Esperanto class in America. With the cooperation of the Esperanto Association of North America, she conducted Cseh-method courses in New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland and Lima, Ohio, and at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine.
She also spoke over the radio, and before gatherings in colleges, churches, and other cultural and social groups. In all, she came in personal touch with about 1,500 people during her brief stay in the U.S. Thus were made many more contacts for the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. One of the outstanding results of her visit was the undertaking of the Esperanto translation of The Dawn-Breakers by an American Bahá’í. Her encouragement and invaluable assistance in this task was a contributing factor to its successful completion.
To live constantly before the public was a sacrifice for Lydia Zamenhof, for she was of a retiring nature, and liked to be alone. Her face in repose bore the expression of sadness which has become a characteristic of the Jewish countenance through centuries of persecution. But when the Name of Bahá’u’lláh was mentioned, or of the language of her father’s invention, as if through a miracle her whole personality changed. The tiny gnat became a mighty falcon, and she forgot her own self as with shining eyes and vibrant voice she launched into discussion or recounted her experiences in her field of service. Especially did her face become illumined as she told of her pilgrimage to the Holy Land, her precious moments with the Greatest Holy Leaf, her talks with the beloved Guardian, her communion with God in the Sacred Shrines.
On November 28, 1938, Lydia Zamenhof returned to her native land. The outbreak of war was imminent, and her loving heart yearned to be with her brother and sister in time of hardship. Upon her return to Warsaw she finished the Polish translation of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era. In one of her first letters written after her return to her home, she described how her brother, Dr. Adam Zamenhof, had let her “confiscate” his typewriter so that she might complete the manuscript, because her own machine did not have Polish characters. To such painstaking work did she devote her entire self.
LYDIA ZAMENHOF
In her last letter to America, dated August 18, 1939, Lydia wrote, “Now there are five Bahá’ís in Poland, including myself. Considering the smallness of our numbers, each new soul is all the more important and is accepted with such great joy.” She went on to tell of her plans to attend the National Esperanto Congress in Lwow early in September, and then to go to The Netherlands for several weeks.
Neither the Congress nor the trip ever took place, for Poland was invaded two days after the letter was received. At first Lydia and her family, together with all of the other Jews in Warsaw, were herded into the Ghetto. In 1942, the Zamenhof family was taken to a concentration camp. Previous to this, all of the professional Jewish men of Warsaw were shot to death. Included among them was her brother, Dr. Adam Zamenhof. In August 1944, Dr. Sofia Zamenhof was shot to death.
A few days later, exactly 18 years after she attended her first Bahá’í meeting, Lydia Zamenhof, together with many other Jews, was cremated in the Jewish death-camp at Treblinka, near Warsaw. This sad news was relayed to the Guardian, who replied by cablegram:
“Heartily approve nation-wide observance for dauntless Lydia Zamenhof. Her notable services, tenacity, modesty and unwavering devotion fully merit high tribute from American believers. Do not advise, however, that you designate her a martyr.”
In a second message, dated April 20, 1946, the Guardian, through his secretary, wrote: “She certainly deserves to be remembered by us all for her services to the Faith and her loyalty and devotion. Her death is a great loss, as she was so well able to serve and teach in different languages and different countries. It seems too terrible to contemplate what her end must have been!”
To the very end of her life Lydia Zamenhof remained a heroine, ever thoughtful of the welfare and safety of others. When it became evident that the lives of the inhabitants of the Ghetto were doomed, the non-Jewish Esperantists of Warsaw approached her with offers to hide her from the invaders. She declined, for she wished to remain with her family. Besides, she said, violent death is the punishment for those who are caught hiding Jews, and she would not think of endangering the lives of her beloved Esperantist friends. So it was that she met her death.
Bahá’í history[edit]
Lydia Zamenhof: A personal memoir[edit]
Lydia Zamenhof came to Urbana, Illinois, in the fall of 1937 when I was a senior at the University of Illinois. I was serving as chairman of the Bahá’í Youth Club of the University of Illinois, the first such club to be established in the United States.
Imagine my excitement when I was invited by our Assembly to go to the Illinois Central railroad station to receive the famous and beloved Lydia Zamenhof, a well-known Bahá’í teacher and speaker and daughter of Dr. Ludwig Zamenhof of Warsaw, Poland, the eminent founder of Esperanto.
I said with some trepidation, “But how will I recognize Miss Zamenhof amidst all the passengers on the platform?” The answer was: “You will wear a green star, the emblem of the Esperanto movement, on your coat, and you will see ... Miss Zamenhof will know you.” So I pinned the green star on the lapel of my jacket and drove happily and with keen anticipation to the railroad station.
As the train from Chicago pulled in, the passengers poured off, and I watched them for some time with considerable apprehension and concern. At last a small, shy, blonde-haired and bespectacled woman stood before me and
| This personal remembrance of Lydia Zamenhof was written for Bahá’í News by Mrs. Margaret Ruhe of Haifa, Israel. |
softly introduced herself as Miss Lydia Zamenhof. She was warm, loving, sweet and rather retiring and modest in her manner and disposition. She wore large glasses with strong lenses that gave her a rather scholarly and somewhat owlish look.
While in Urbana, Miss Zamenhof presented several introductory classes
She was a different person when she stood before us as a teacher. She was dynamic, and spoke in a vibrant, powerful voice. I recall that at one point she lifted a chair high in the air as she taught us the word in Esperanto for ‘chair’ ...
in Esperanto which I attended. She was a different person when she stood before us as a teacher. She was dynamic, and spoke in a vibrant, powerful voice. I recall that at one point she lifted a chair high in the air as she taught us the word in Esperanto for “chair,” which, sadly, I have long since forgotten.
Miss Zamenhof, who had heard of the Faith from the Hand of the Cause of God Martha Root, gave several talks on the Faith at the Bahá’í Center in Urbana, and illumined the minds and hearts with her knowledge, her sincerity, and her inspiration. She was totally devoted to the Faith, as she was also to her work as translator of Bahá’í books into Esperanto and Polish.
She was a renowned teacher of Esperanto, as her famous father had been. She traveled around the U.S. in behalf of the Bahá’í Faith and the Esperanto Society. It was a perfect combination of services to mankind: she worked to establish one universal faith, the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and to bring into existence one world language to help foster the unity of all men.
While Miss Zamenhof was visiting the U.S., Adolph Hitler had come to power in Germany, and already there was great uneasiness over the possible fate of Jews in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Lydia came from a brilliant Jewish family from Warsaw, and she decided in November 1938 that she must return to Poland. I was told that the American Bahá’ís, sensing the grave danger of the situation, urged and begged her not to go back, and even offered her asylum in the U.S. But Lydia, strong in mind and heart, replied that she must return to be near her family in Warsaw and to share their destiny.
In August 1944, when we learned of her tragic death in Treblinka, the Jewish death-camp near Warsaw, we were shattered and inconsolable, and wept for our beloved sister, Lydia. She was 40 years old. Her gifts and talents were so great ... What a waste! to have her taken from us at such an early age.
“The honor with which the Hand of Mercy will invest the soul is such as no tongue can adequately reveal ... The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto the leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 156-57)
P.S.—In Haifa, Israel, where Dr.
Ruhe and I have lived for 13 years, we
live in a house on Zamenhof Street ...
this street is named after Dr. Ludwig
Zamenhof, the father of our beloved
Lydia. Can you imagine our intense
joy and satisfaction over this? It is a
lovely street, lined with pine trees that
give soft shade all the year. I wish
Lydia could visit us here. She would be
79 years old now.
The world[edit]
Japanese welcome Australian Bahá’ís[edit]
A delegation of Bahá’ís that included the Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone was received last December by the mayor of Ibusuki, Japan, during a visit by Mr. Featherstone and his wife, Madge, to that southern Japanese city.
The visitors were accompanied by Counsellor Ruhu’lláh Mumtazi and one of the Japanese Bahá’ís, Motoka Power, who served as interpreter.
Counsellor Mumtazi presented the mayor with a copy in Japanese of Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablets to the kings and rulers of the world, while Mr. Featherstone presented him with a letter from the mayor of Rockhampton, Australia, Ibusuki’s sister-city.
During the cordial interview, the Bahá’ís also gave the mayor photos of the Japanese garden that has been created in Rockhampton under the auspices of the Ibusuki city council.
Afterward, the mayor arranged for the visitors to be taken to the site of the Australian garden being established in Ibusuki.
Prior to Mr. Featherstone’s departure from Rockhampton (his hometown), the Bahá’í community there had given him a letter addressed to the Bahá’ís of Ibusuki, seeking to fortify the spiritual axis between Bahá’ís in the two countries referred to by the Guardian.
Mr. Featherstone learned that there are no Bahá’ís in Ibusuki, but the Regional Teaching Committee for that area of Japan was eager to keep the letter, which was addressed to the not-yet-formed Spiritual Assembly of Ibusuki.
On his return to Rockhampton, Mr. Featherstone presented its mayor with a letter from the mayor of Ibusuki. An article about the presentation was published in Rockhampton’s local newspaper.
Bahá’ís from Australia and Japan and representatives of the city governments of Ibusuki, Japan, and its sister-city, Rockhampton, Australia, visit the site of an Australian garden being created in Ibusuki. They are (left to right) Motoka Power, a Japanese Bahá’í who acted as interpreter; Madge Featherstone, wife of the Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone; Counsellor Ruhu’lláh Mumtazi; the driver for the Ibusuki city council; Hiromi Kitamura of the Ibusuki landscaping department; and R. Pershouse, a member of the Rockhampton city council. Mr. Featherstone, who also visited the site, is not shown.
Trinidad/Tobago[edit]
In response to the request of the Universal House of Justice to “promote wise and dignified approaches to people prominent in all areas of human endeavour ...,” the National Spiritual Assembly of Trinidad and Tobago invited all of that country’s senators and members of parliament to a special dinner party March 19 that was held in the home of a local Bahá’í family.
Bahá’ís from all parts of Trinidad and Tobago were present at the dinner, which was also attended by Senator and Mrs. Lincoln Myers, Senator and Mrs. Samaroo of the University of the West Indies, and Dr. S. Basdeo, also of the University of the West Indies.
Mrs. Myers, who had recently attended a Bahá’í fireside, was presented a copy of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era. All of the guests were shown a video tape of the U.S. congressional hearing on the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran.
It was noted during the presentation that one of the congressmen present during that hearing, Melvin Dymally of California, is originally from Trinidad.
Senator Myers indicated that he would inform his colleagues in the Senate of the plight of Bahá’ís in Iran.
Costa Rica/Honduras[edit]
Warmly welcome occasion simultaneous conferences Costa Rica and Honduras to greet vibrant Bahá’í youth Central America. Your enthusiastic exertions in service Cause Bahá’u’lláh as shown by substantial increase your numbers bring gladness to our hearts and inspire exhilarating thought that bright prospects success lie immediately before you.
You meet at highly critical moment history when turmoil associated with this era of transition intensifies. Within Cause itself can be seen on one hand unprecedented campaign persecution long-suffering Iranian brethren and on other hand resounding triumphs Seven Year Plan induced by their sacrifices and symbolized by occupancy permanent Seat Universal House of Justice. Mankind rapidly approaches reckoning with Bahá’u’lláh’s injunction that it be united. From far and near anguished multitudes cry for peace but being largely ignorant His life-redeeming Message they feel no hope. Situation thus presents Bahá’í youth with great opportunities inescapable challenge to rescue their peers from slough despondency pointing them towards hope-restoring banner Most Great Name. How fitting then that you should consider at these conferences best means equip yourselves spiritually to fulfill teaching mission particularly suited to your capacities for service, your abounding zeal and energy.
Ardently supplicating at Holy Threshold on your behalf that in addition to praying, absorbing holy principles and teaching Faith, you will be so imbued by beloved Master’s example service to humanity as to be able through your individual and collective deeds to demonstrate civilizing power our sacred Cause and convey its vision its spiritual and socially constructive benefits to your compatriots of all ages.
March 17, 1983
Falkland Islands[edit]
BRIAN JOHN PAUL
JOHN (DUFFY) SHERIDAN
Two members of the Bahá’í community of the Falkland Islands were honored recently for their achievements.
British-born Brian Paul received a commendation from Falklands Civil Commissioner Sir Rex Hunt for his “outstanding services in support of the community” during the recent war in the Falkland Islands.
The text of the commendation states that Mr. Paul chose to stay in the capital city of Stanley during the Argentine occupation and help the residents by volunteering as an unpaid ambulance driver and general assistant in the hospital.
Another Bahá’í, John (Duffy) Sheridan, an artist and pioneer from the United States, was one of those who created paintings for a special series of postage stamps issued earlier this year to commemorate the 150th anniversary of British colonial rule in the Falklands.
When British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited the Falklands and was presented with a set of First-Day Covers of the new stamps, she asked to meet the artists.
During an official reception for the prime minister, Mrs. Thatcher expressed her delight and admiration to Mr. Sheridan and his wife, Jeanne, and said that the First-Day Covers would be framed and hung at her official residence, No. 10 Downing St. in London.
Nigeria[edit]
A paper entitled “Women and World Peace: A Bahá’í View on the Role of Women” was presented April 21 at the second annual Women in Nigeria conference at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria.
The paper was read by Druzella Cederquist, one of the several Bahá’ís attending the conference, during a section dealing with women and religion. Other papers presented during that session focused on women in Islam and in Christianity.
Copies of the papers were given to all conference participants who had come to Zaria from many areas of the country.
Mexico[edit]
Counsellor Carmen de Burafato, seven Auxiliary Board members, 20 assistants to the Auxiliary Board, and 15 other invited guests attended the second annual training institute for assistants to the Auxiliary Board in Mexico, held March 19-21 in San Miguel de Allende.
This year’s agenda included an in-depth analysis of the divinely ordained institutions of the Faith and the importance of an effective and loving collaboration between the elective and appointive arms of the Administrative Order.
The seven Auxiliary Board members present each spoke on a specific topic such as the Covenant, individual teaching, the importance of prayer, and the dynamics of Bahá’í administration.
At the close of the institute, Counsellor de Burafato called on the friends to accelerate the teaching work, giving special attention to achieving the goal of establishing at least two Local Spiritual Assemblies in each of Mexico’s 32 states.
Responding quickly to the Counsellor’s message, two Auxiliary Board members set out the following day to initiate a teaching campaign along with six other Bahá’ís under the coordination of the area’s Regional Teaching Committee.
Portugal[edit]
Shown are four members of the Bahá’í Group of Ponta Delgada in the Azores who planned and carried out a Naw-Rúz party March 21 that was attended by about 140 non-Bahá’í guests and received publicity in newspapers, on radio and television. Members of the Group are (standing left to right) Paulo Perim from Brazil, Golara Mosafee from Iran, Karyne Hyde from Canada, and Wilson Brigdo from Brazil.
One hundred-forty non-Bahá’í guests attended a Naw-Rúz observance March 21 in Ponta Delgada, the Azores, that was planned and carried out by the four-member Bahá’í Group in that city.
Publicity included 150 printed invitations that were distributed by the Bahá’ís, and a 12-minute radio interview with members of the Bahá’í community which focused on the meaning of the Naw-Rúz observance and other aspects of the Faith.
Many non-Bahá’ís helped with preparations for the party, which was held at an office workers’ union hall donated to the Bahá’ís at no charge.
The program included an explanation of Naw-Rúz, prayers for world unity, and two excerpts from The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh.
Afterward, refreshments were served and there was dancing.
The observance “took place in an environment of brotherhood and joy,” a newspaper reporter wrote in her article about the Naw-Rúz party.
“Unity in diversity is necessary,” she added, “which explains the presence at the party on Sunday of people of various creeds and thoughts ...”
Pakistan[edit]
In April, regional Youth Schools were held in Karachi, Quetta and Rawalpindi, Pakistan, sponsored by the National Youth and Education Committee and organized by the local Youth Committees.
The three schools for Bahá’í youth were well-attended, drawing young people from many cities and villages.
Three Bahá’í youth from Karachi, Pakistan, recently discussed the Faith with government officials and other prominent citizens during a 12-day teaching project in Dadu, Larkana, Shikarpur, Sukkur and Khairpur.
The youth—Hooshang Nekakhter, Naveed Mali and Naeem Ghafuri—presented Bahá’í literature to commissioners, deputy commissioners, superintendents of police, school principals and professors, headmasters, teachers, and members of various other professions.
Rustom Bidanjiri, secretary of the National Teaching Committee of Pakistan, and Bulbul Ma’ani, a Bahá’í from Kuwait, recently spent a month on a deepening and consolidation trip through the provinces of Punjab and Sind, visiting 13 cities.
Deepening classes were held for the friends, especially the youth. The two visitors also consulted with members of regional teaching committees.
Bahá’ís from all areas of Baluchistan Province attended the Spring School held February 18-20 in Sibi, Pakistan. Included were deepening classes on a variety of topics.
Uganda[edit]
More than 200 people including Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í parents and their children attended the annual Bahá’í kindergarten parents’ day held recently at the Bahá’í National Center in Kampala, Uganda.
The program was designed to display the emerging capacities, talents and Bahá’í understanding of the children and youth who conveyed the teachings through songs, small plays, and the recitation of prayers and passages from the Writings.
Auxiliary Board member Catherine Kabali, who is also a teacher in the kindergarten, gave a brief talk about progressive revelation.
There were many expressions of admiration and encouragement for the kindergarten, which was conceived and initiated through the efforts of Claire Gung, a pioneer to Africa since 1951 who was referred to by the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, as “the mother of Africa.”
Miss Gung, who is now 78 years old, has operated her own large interracial kindergarten in Kampala since 1957.
Hawaii[edit]
Arla Schreiber, a Bahá’í from Maui in the Hawaiian Islands who is partially disabled by arthritis, was honored May 13 at the second annual Independent Living Conference in Honolulu, sponsored by the Hawaii Centers for Independent Living, an organization that helps the disabled. In presenting Mrs. Schreiber with a certificate of appreciation and a lei, the organization’s executive director cited her many Bahá’í activities. Mrs. Schreiber was one of two volunteers from Maui honored at the conference.
Puerto Rico[edit]
More than 30 Bahá’ís and their guests attended a Bahá’í Winter School last December 28-January 2 in Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Participants heard presentations by Counsellors Athos Costas and Donald Witzel on the work of the Ruhi Institute in Colombia, activities of indigenous Bahá’ís in the Americas, and teaching teams.
The school also included workshop sessions on the life of Muḥammad, prayer, and Bahá’í laws.
Malaysia[edit]
More than 200 Bahá’ís gathered February 12-14 in Port Dickson, Malaysia, for a Tamil Summer School. Carloads of Bahá’ís came from as far as Sungei Petani, more than 200 miles to the north.
Included among the speakers were Auxiliary Board members V.S. Maniam, S. Satanam, Ramanaido, and Dr. M.M. Sreenivasan. Social activities and fellowship filled the evenings.
Plans were made to hold a similar Bahá’í school during September in the northern region of Malaysia.
Chad[edit]
More than 400 people attended a recent showing of the film “The Pilgrimage” that was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Moissala, Chad.
The film was preceded by a 30-minute talk on the Faith by a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Chad.
The next day, many people came to the Bahá’í library asking that the film be shown again because there had not been enough seats to accommodate all who wished to attend the first showing.
Suriname[edit]
One hundred-thirty adults and youth from Suriname, French Guiana and Guyana attended the first Bahá’í International Youth Camp April 1-4 in Nickerie, Suriname. The camp was organized by the Bahá’í Youth Committee of Suriname.
The camp was officially opened by a governmental district representative who mentioned the Bahá’í belief that all races can work together and love one another, and who said he is proud to witness the dream of the Bahá’ís coming true in his country.
Peter McLaren, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas, presented a deepening class.
Other classes dealt with the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Bahá’í Faith and the United Nations, obedience, and the role of youth in today’s world.
Workshops were conducted on “Living the Bahá’í Life,” “Local Spiritual Assemblies,” “Prayer and Meditation,” and “Teaching.”
Following the close of the camp, a week-long teaching campaign was begun. It was sponsored by the National Teaching Committee of Suriname and organized by Auxiliary Board member M. Van Lith.
The teaching campaign resulted in a long list of interested youth and 14 new Bahá’ís.
Shown (left to right) are members of the Bahá’í Youth Committee of Suriname: S. Lagas, B. Henke, M. Van Lith, R. Veira and C. Lagas. Not present when the photo was taken was C. Vasilda.
Papua New Guinea[edit]
André Brugiroux (far right), a Bahá’í who has spent 18 years traveling through 135 countries, speaks about the Faith and his experiences to about 180 students at Kokopo High School near Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, last February 4. Mr. Brugiroux was interviewed on the national radio station that covers nearly all of Papua New Guinea, and also spoke at a meeting attended by members of the Bahá’í community of Rabaul. An article about his visit appeared in the January 28 edition of Rabaul’s Post-Courier.
India[edit]
The editorial committee of Varqa children’s magazine was awarded first prize for the best display in its category during a recent Children’s Book Festival in New Delhi that was sponsored by the National Book Trust of India, a non-Bahá’í association.
The award was especially commendable because all well-known publishers of children’s literature in India and from other countries participated.
A plaque was presented to a representative of the Varqa committee at a ceremony last November 23 at Teen Murti House in New Delhi.
The book festival was held to commemorate the birthday of India’s first prime minister, Lal Nehru, who was well known for his love of children.
Four hundred residents of the
southern states of India including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh and Goa attended a regional
Bahá’í Teaching Conference held last
December 24-26 in Bangalore.
Speakers included Counsellors Dipchand Khianra, S. Nagaratnam and Zena Sorabjee. Participation of Indian women at the conference was notable.
United States[edit]
The Bahá’í community of Asheville, North Carolina, is responsible for a weekly hour-long program about the Faith that has been on the air since January 1983.
Many members of the Asheville and Buncombe County Bahá’í communities have been interviewed on various aspects of the Faith during the first half of the program, which is called “Renewal of Civilization.”
The second part of the program is devoted to presentations of Fireside Playhouse, a half-hour Bahá’í radio drama series produced in Hollywood, California, for the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly. The series has been heard on more than 100 radio stations in the U.S.
The Asheville station over which the weekly Bahá’í program is broadcast is managed by a member of the Bahá’í community of Asheville who sees the program as a first step in proclaiming the Faith.
The station has an especially loyal following among black residents in that western North Carolina area.
The Asheville Bahá’ís have now been invited to produce a regular children’s radio program.
MARTHA ROOT
Lioness at the Threshold
byM. R. GARIS
a highly readable biography of North America’s
greatest teacher and the foremost Hand of the Cause of God
raised up by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s will in the
- In South America her mule slipped dangerously close to the edge of a precipice as she crossed the Andes in the dead of winter
- In Shanghai she raced toward the harbor in a ricksha while fleeing from an aerial bomb attack on the city
- In Manila she was nearly crushed by a stampeding crowd struggling to survive one of The Philippine’s worst earthquakes
- She spent weeks on the ocean in cramped staterooms, many hours on wooden seats in third-class railroad cars, myriad nights in uncomfortable hotel rooms
Martha Root’s motivation: a whole-hearted, almost literal response to Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets of the Divine Plan.
Her goal: to devote her life and her considerable talents to bringing the message of Bahá’u’lláh to seekers around the world.
In 1909 Martha Root, a respected Pittsburgh journalist, became a Bahá’í and set her sights on the world. She traversed the globe five times ■ spoke to hundreds of audiences ■ reached millions through her newspaper articles and radio broadcasts ■ visited world leaders, scholars, kings, and maharajas ■ befriended a queen ■ tirelessly supported Esperanto and world peace conferences ■ arranged for translations of Bahá’í writings into many languages.
And she won the admiration of countless Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike. In 1939, when Martha
Root died, Shoghi Effendi wrote that her death was the heaviest blow to the teaching work since
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing. Today she still sets the pace for all who arise to teach.
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M. R. Garis, the current writer of the Uncle Wiggily stories, is a long-time resident of Amherst, Massachussets
| M. R. Garis, the current writer of the Uncle Wiggily stories, is a long-time resident of Amherst, Massachussets |
xv + 496 pages, notes, index to places, general index, 70+ photographs
| Hardcover | Catalog No. 332-105 | $2000* |
| Softcover | Catalog No. 332-106 | $1100* |
- Available from
- Available from
415 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, IL 60091
*Valid only in the United States. All others write for
prices and ordering and shipping instructions.
