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The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís
of the United States and Canada
General Office: Evergreen Cabin, West Englewood, New Jersey
With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ascension, and more particularly with the passing of His well-beloved and illustrious sister the Most Exalted Leaf—the last survivor of a glorious and heroic age—there draws to a close the first and most moving chapter of Bahá’í history, marking the conclusion of the Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. It was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Who, through the provisions of His weighty Will and Testament, has forged the vital link which must for ever connect the age that has just expired with the one we now live in—the Transitional and Formative period of the Faith—a stage that must in the fulness of time reach its blossom and yield its fruit in the exploits and triumphs that are to herald the Golden Age of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. —Shoghi Effendi.
THE TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION[edit]
The Convention dates are Thursday, May 31, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 1, 2 and 3. Location, the Foundation Hall of the House of Worship.
For reservations write to Mrs. May Scheffler, chairman of Hospitality Committee, 1821 Lincoln Street, Evanston, Ill.
Ballots are being mailed directly to delegates whose election has been reported by the local Assembly. Information on voting by mail accompanies each ballot.
Believers who may be planning to bring to the Convention articles to be sold for the benefit of the National Fund are requested to dispose of such articles locally and donate the cash proceeds instead. This request is made by the National Spiritual Assembly in order to maintain the spiritual character of the Annual Meeting. It is also in keeping with a resolution adopted by the National Assembly last year, directing the Treasurer not to accept donations in the form of merchandise but only in the form of cash or negotiable securities. Local Assemblies are left perfectly free to arrange for the sale of donated articles if they wish, but the National Spiritual Assembly feels that it is not within its true province of activity to assume responsibility for the sale of jewelry and other forms of general merchandise.
LETTERS FROM THE GUARDIAN TO THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY[edit]
I am over-joyed to hear of the contract that has recently been signed, a fresh and compelling evidence of the indominatable will of the American believers to prosecute, under the inspiring leadership of their able national representatives, their historic enterprise. (signed) Shoghi.—Haifa, February 13, 1934.
Shoghi Effendi feels it to be inadvisable that the Temple Foundation Hall be used for dramatic performances. He believes that only Bahá’í meetings, and business sessions of the Convention, can be held in it until such time as the erection of a special edifice for this purpose has been undertaken by the American friends....
Concerning the best method of presenting the Master’s Will to the newcomers, Shoghi Effendi is of the opinion that the N. S. A. should first make some suitable extracts from the Testament, and to send these to all the local Assemblies for their use, so that there may be full unity in circulating the provisions of the Will among the new believers. The problem of choosing such excerpts is left entirely to the discretion of the N. S. A. The main thing, as it appears to the Guardian, is that the full station of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá be clearly explained, and that the origin, nature and working of the Administrative Order of the Faith be clearly stated. The full implications of such a recognition are evidently beyond the comprehension of any new believer. Such a knowledge can be acquired gradually, and only when the essentials of the Faith have been clearly recognized and adequately understood.
In regard to the activities of Ahmad Sohrab, Shoghi Effendi has already stated that such attacks, however perfidious, do not justify the friends replying or taking any direct action against them. The attitude of the N. S. A. should be to ignore them entirely. For any undue emphasis on attacks made upon the Cause by Ahmad and his supporters would make them feel that they constitute a real challenge to the Cause and a menace to its institutions. Should these attacks continue and acquire a serious importance the Guardian will surely advise the N. S. A. to take definite and decisive action.
As regards the general conditions of the future in America, Shoghi Effendi feels that the existing distress will not be rapidly alleviated. There is no danger, however, of any great crisis in the immediate future. Conditions are certainly bad, and dissatisfaction is undoubtedly universal, but the hour of universal relief has not yet approached. The friends need not have any grave anxiety as to the immediate developments of the present situation.
May I also draw your attention to the fact that the Báb’s photograph which appeared in Nicola’s book “Siyyid Ali Muhammad dit le Báb” many years ago is not authentic, although it presents great similarity to the original drawings of the Báb’s portrait.
In closing I must express the Guardian’s deep sense of admiration for the stupendous sacrifices which the American followers of the Faith have gladly and spontaneously and with such an unremitting zeal consented to undergo in order to carry out the oft-repeated wishes of the Master concerning the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America. The early signs of that great spiritual renaissance which the completion of this sacred edifice must
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inevitably usher in are already manifesting themselves in the growing
unity and solidarity with which the
new-born Administrative Order of the
Cause is functioning and developing
in no less than forty countries of the
world. Surely the credit for such a
truly remarkable development in the
administrative field of the Cause must
be primarily attributed to the members of the American Bahá’í community and particularly to those who so
fittingly represent them in the National Assembly. May Bahá’u’lláh
continue to inspire you with His wisdom and guidance, that through your
collective endeavors the Cause may
progress and its institutions may increase and its unity, both doctrinal and
administrative, be effectively safeguarded. (signed) H. Rabbani.
(Postscript to the foregoing letter.) The completion of the Dome, the mighty emblem of our invincible Faith, marks a notable landmark in the rise and establishment of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. The Bahá’í world feels greatly indebted to the American believers for so striking a testimony of the unconquerable spirit of the Cause in these days of unprecedented stress and turmoil. They who by their self-sacrifice have crowned this noble and historic Edifice deserve the praise and are indeed the object of the envy and the admiration of their fellow believers throughout the world. For their imperishable deeds I cannot but feel eternally gratified. (signed) Shoghi.—Haifa, March 21, 1934.
Concerning the list of Bahá’í teachers sent to America by the Master, I wish to make it clear that the statement I made on that point on behalf of the Guardian in my communication (see article entitled “Explanation of Passages in ‘America and the Most Great Peace’ ”, published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS February, 1934.—Editor) is, due to a misunderstanding on my part, incorrect. Khayru’lláh could not have been one of these teachers, since these were sent to the United States in order to remedy the situation which Khayru’lláh himself had created through his treacherous actions against the Master and the Cause. A careful perusal of the paragraph on page 14 in “America and the Most Great Peace” makes that point indubitably clear. As to the five teachers referred to in that epistle of the Guardian, there must have been a typographical error, and instead of five we should, therefore, read only four. (signed) H. Rabbani.
(Postscript to the foregoing letter.) I wish to add a few words in person to assure you and your dear and distinguished fellow-workers in the National Assembly of my fervent prayers for the success of your strenuous endeavors in connection with the ornamentation of the clerestory section of the Temple. May Bahá’u’lláh bless your efforts and crown your magnificent labors with signal success. (signed) Shoghi.—Haifa, March 24, 1934.
IN MEMORIAM[edit]
The believers are requested to remember in prayer the following Bahá’ís who have entered the Kingdom:
- Lorene Neville, Glendale, Calif.
- Henry Blankenbecker, Milwaukee, Wis.
- Mrs. C. B. Anderson, New York City.
- Mrs. C. L. Lincoln, Brooklyn.
THE QUESTION OF HUMANITARIAN RELIEF[edit]
It has been pointed out by a believer who has studied the teachings with unusual care and insight, that in the Bahá’í community when fully developed the practice of “charity” in the narrower meaning of that word will be rendered unnecessary. The House of Justice, from its resources derived not only from voluntary contributions but also from certain specified taxes, will as one of its functions come to the assistance of every deserving believer in distress. That relief will not be as “charity” but as a normal right arising from the very nature of a community based upon oneness and able, by the application of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, to abolish poverty at its source.
But that era has not yet been established. The believers today find themselves in a community whose spiritual laws are known but whose material powers and capacities are limited. The result is that conditions arise which Spiritual Assemblies find themselves apparently powerless to remedy. They are grieved as they feel themselves torn between the claims of true compassion and the need of concentrating their available means upon such vital objects as the Temple.
The National Assembly understands that the Guardian has expressed the view that under present conditions a local Assembly which has before it a case of urgent distress should endeavor, first, to have it relieved by members of the believer’s own family, and second, to exercise the rights of all citizens to employ all civil instruments of help and assistance. In many instances loving consultation will serve to remove certain obstacles which, perhaps unconsciously, have been the cause of the distress.
Most difficult and grievous of all are those cases which concern believers not members of an organized local community. The National Spiritual Assembly does not vote from the National Fund any appropriations for personal relief, for its resources are imperatively demanded for direct Bahá’í purposes the fulfilment of which brings us all gradually nearer the blessed day when the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh shall prevail, and existing causes of suffering be removed. Institutions described in the teachings will in the future be maintained in all communities for those who need home and care.
The subject is one which the National Assembly brings forward at this time in a tentative form, in the hope that suggestions emanating from local consultation will be made. The spirit of the Cause is such that some way must and will be found to remedy a general situation which may become even more serious before it is solved by the development of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. There may be individual believers in a position to offer a home to some believer whose difficulties are known to the National Assembly. Any and all advice and constructive suggestions will be deeply appreciated.
THE TRUE CHARACTER OF CONSULTATION[edit]
At a recent meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly the attention of the members was called by two Local Spiritual Assemblies to the fact that an anonymous letter has recently been issued and distributed to a number of American believers. Both these Assemblies protested that type of individual Bahá’í action.
After careful consideration, the National Spiritual Assembly voted to record the view, first, that anonymous communications are not in conformity either with the spirit or the letter of the Bahá’í Teachings, and secondly, that the general distribution of any letter, whether anonymous or otherwise, by an individual believer to members of the American Bahá’í communities is an improper method of Bahá’í consultation.
It was further voted to bring this view to the notice of all Local Spiritual Assemblies in a general letter and
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also to publish it in the next issue of
BAHÁ’Í NEWS.
In this connection reference is made to the Guardian’s instruction on page 23 of Bahá’í Administration: “Not only with regard to publication, but all matters without any exception whatsoever, regarding the interests of the Cause in that locality, individually or collectively, should be referred to the Spiritual Assembly, in that locality, which shall decide upon it, unless it be a matter of national interest, in which case it shall be referred to the national body.” And to the Guardian’s further instruction of November 18, 1933, published in BAHÁ’Í NEWS of February, 1934: “Shoghi Effendi firmly believes that consultation must be maintained between the N. S. A. and the entire body of the believers, and that such consultation, while the Convention is not in session, can best be maintained through the agency of the local Assemblies, one of whose essential functions is to act as intermediaries between the local communities and their national representatives. The main purpose of the Nineteen Day Feasts is to enable individual believers to offer any suggestion to the local Assembly which in its turn will pass it to the N. S. A. The local Assembly is, therefore, the proper medium through which local Bahá’í communities can communicate with the body of the national representatives.”
PUBLICITY COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT[edit]
In years to come our simple attempts at publicity will seem almost childish and yet we would call your attention to the necessity for this simplicity. The average reader of the daily papers looks at the pictures and reads the head lines. Our efforts should be to present material that may interest not only this type of reader but those who read carefully the daily news.
With this thought in mind we must pattern our publicity to receive acceptance at the desk of the editor and be so worded as to arrest the attention of the reader. Editors seldom use a suggested heading and space should be left for this at the top of your copy. Your first paragraph should be the longest and should contain the most important facts which you wish to present. This is often used in full and the rest either discarded or greatly cut.
(Postscript to the above letter.) “With the assurance of my
continued prayers for the friends
who through their unsparing and
self-sacrificing efforts are so effectively promoting the national
as well as international interests
of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
(signed) Shoghi. |
We cannot emphasize too much the necessity for persistence. That drops of water will wear away a stone has proven a fact in some of our Communities this year and the results have been satisfying. Editors should be approached with material which will awaken interest—either in the coming meeting, the meeting of the night before, or an event which is anticipated. This publicity is your opportunity to speak with the public—scrutinize it closely—see if it answers the requirements suggested in the publicity letter in the January 1934 News Letter. Read your material out loud and see how it would sound if you were a disinterested reader. Take it to the editor with the thought that you are serving the Cause of God to the best of your ability.
We suggest to publicity chairmen a careful study of the recent letters from Shoghi Effendi. In these are many paragraphs that should be used to create interest. Herein lies the material which we must present to the public another year and we ask your cooperation in this study that we may be prepared to use this material that is without equal, in educating the public in the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
- PUBLICITY COMMITTEE,
- RUTH RANDALL BROWN, Chairman.
A Summer School Session for Young People
At the invitation of the Lima group sixteen young people from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin met in Lima, Ohio for a conference during the Easter week end, March 30 to April 1. At this time certain important changes were made by them concerning the Central States Summer School plan for young people. It is to be noted that the time of the Youth session, previously scheduled for July, has been changed to June 25-28, inclusive. It will immediately precede the general session.
The young Bahá’ís are urged to bring non-Bahá’í friends to this conference and do all in their power to make it a big success. Many are planning to attend both sessions which will cover two weeks in all.
The four-day youth conference is planned as follows:
Morning:—
- Devotionals—Mrs. Baker.
- The New World Order—Forum conducted by Harlan Ober.
- Effective Leadership—Marion Holley.
- Spiritual Aspects of Bahá’í Teachings—Mrs. Ford.
Afternoon free for recreation and companionship.
Evening:—
- Bible Study and Comparative Religion—James McCormick.
Rates for the four days, meals and sleeping apartments:—
- Dormitory—$5.00.
- Double room—$7.00.
- Single room—$8.00.
Louhelen Ranch is situated on M15 about nine miles from Flint and about fifty from Detroit. Trains or bus will be met at Flint if notice is given in advance.
Reservations should be made as early as possible with Mrs. L. W. Eggleston, 201 East Kirby Avenue, Detroit, Michigan.
GREEN ACRE ANNOUNCEMENT[edit]
Green Acre, as you know, offers to every Bahá’í the opportunity of a vacation in the country together with study of the teachings under competent teachers. You may take part in meditations and courses in the morning, and play tennis, swim, make pottery, or walk in the pines in the afternoon. There are frequent intimate talks by the fire, or on Mrs. Schopflocher’s delightful porch, in the eve-
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ning. There are Saturday night
dances and costume parties, picnics on
Mt. Salvat, corn roasts on the beach,
and afternoon teas in the auditorium.
The April BAHÁ’Í NEWS gives a complete list of courses some, if not all, of
which are sure to attract you. You
notice that there are three conferences
besides the courses—the Youth, Amity, and Teaching conferences. The
Pageant Committee, also, is at work
planning tableaux from The Dawn Breakers.
Rates this season are $10 and $12 a week, the lowest rate consistent with an adequate living standard, and also with the need of preventing loss to the National Bahá’í Fund. As you may remember, the Inn needs many things to make it more attractive. Perhaps some of you have rugs, lamps, pillows, books, or magazines which you could contribute for the summer.
With the same spirit of cooperation which we had last year, and with the excellent program which has been planned, Green Acre should have an inspiring Summer School. The place which Shoghi Effendi gives it is revealed in a letter to the Eliot Assembly last year. He writes: “Your group occupies an important position in the Bahá’í world for you are situated in that locality where Green Acre Summer School is held—the most important institution of its kind in the world.”
All these considerations surely make it imperative for every believer in the Eastern sections of Canada and the United States to make great effort to come to Green Acre this season.
- HELEN CAMPBELL,
- Manager, Green Acre Inn.
To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous Revelation must, it is my unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents. An exact and thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious reasons beyond the reach and ken of our finite minds. We can however, and it is our bounded duty to, seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance as we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a clearer apprehension of the truths it enshrines and the principles on which it is based.—Shoghi Effendi.
PUBLISHING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENT[edit]
The Publishing Committee has received from the National Spiritual Assembly for sale to local Assemblies and individual believers, three thousand copies of a brief outline and summary of the Faith prepared for the special purpose of meeting the need for a condensed statement of fact which can be supplied to newspaper editors, encyclopaedias, and various organizations and by them kept on file for reference whenever necessary. The Outline is a four page folder, standard letterhead size, adapted for convenient filing.
In addition to the distribution being made by the National Assembly and by the Publicity Committee, it is thought that local Assemblies can use a number of copies for general teaching purposes, such as supplying one to local religious, peace, educational and other organizations and clubs. Sold in lots of one hundred, $3.00 per hundred.
Another recent addition to the periodical literature is the reprint in pamphlet form of the article entitled The Bahá’í Faith by Horace Holley, published in Unity (Chicago) during February. Sold in lots of fifteen copies, $1.00 per fifteen. This is one of the first statements on the Cause which presents the administrative order to the general public.
The Publishing Committee is engaged in working out plans for the publication of the following books and pamphlets when and as finances permit: Seven Valleys and Four Valleys, revealed by Bahá’u’lláh newly translated by Dr. Ali Kuli Khan at the Guardian’s request; Mysticism and the Bahá’í Teachings, by Ruhi Effendi Afnan, being the series of articles which recently appeared in WORLD Unity; The Supreme Affiliation, by Alfred E. Lunt, the article on Bahá’í economic teachings which appeared in THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE; and The Bahá’í House of Worship, by Dr. Genevieve Coy, a pamphlet prepared under the auspices of the Committee on Free Literature. An arrangement is also under consideration by the National Spiritual Assembly by which Security for a Failing World, by Dr. Stanwood Cobb, can be published by a non-Bahá’í firm at an early date.
A new catalog of Bahá’í literature, listing all books and pamphlets now in print, will be issued as soon as final arrangements are concluded for the new titles referred to in the preceding paragraph. Copies will be distributed to all local Assemblies without charge.
FOR MEDITATION[edit]
Portion of the Master’s Tablet on Love[edit]
O thou who are attracted by the Fragrances of God:
Know thou assuredly that—
Love is the Mystery of Divine Revelations:
Love is the Effulgent Manifestation:
Love is the Spiritual Fulfillment:
Love is the Light of the Kingdom:
Love is the Breath of the Holy Spirit inspired into the human spirit:
Love is the cause of the Manifestation of the Truth (God) in the phenominal world:
Love is the necessary tie proceeding from the realities of things through Divine Creation:
Love is the means of the most great happiness in both the material and Spiritual worlds:
Love is a light of guidance in the dark night:
Love is the bond between the Creator and the creature in the inner world:
Love is the cause of development to every enlightened man:
Love is the Greatest Law in this vast universe of God:
Love is the one law which causes and controls order among the existing atoms:
Love is the universal magnetic power between the planets and the stars shining in the lofty firmament:
Love is the cause of unfoldment, to a searching mind, of the secrets deposited in the universe by the Infinite.
Love is the spirit of life in the bountiful body of the world:
Love is the cause of the civilization of nations in this mortal world:
Love is the highest honor to every righteous nation:
The people who are confirmed therein are indeed glorified by the Supreme Concourse, the angels of the Heaven and the dwellers in the Kingdom of El-Abhá. But, if the hearts of the people become void of the Divine Grace — The Love of God — they wander in the desert of ignorance, descend to the depths of ruin, and fall to the abyss of despair where there is no refuge. They are like insects living on the lowest plane.
This is the Path of El-Bahá.
This is the Religion of El-Bahá.
This is the Law of El-Bahá.
He who has not this has no portion with El-Bahá.
