Bahá’í World/Volume 11/The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Guardianship
 | The text below this notice was generated by a computer, it still needs to be checked for errors and corrected. If you would like to help, view the original document by clicking the PDF scans along the right side of the page. Click the edit button at the top of this page (notepad and pencil icon) or press Alt+Shift+E to begin making changes. When you are done press "Save changes" at the bottom of the page. |
IV.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GUARDIANSHIP
1.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF THE GUARDIANSHIP
By RÚHÍYYIH KHÁNUM
TWENTY-FIVE years ago the Bahá’í world was shaken by a great earthquake, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of the Covenant, the greatest Mystery of God, had suddenly passed away, with no premonitory illness to prepare his friends and followers for this tragic shock. Stunned, the Bahá’ís of East and West tried to rally their faculties. We knew great tasks lay ahead of us; we believed in this new Faith and in its Manifestation and in the World Order that He had come to establish, but we felt terribly alone and the responsibility for the future lay heavily upon our already grief-filled hearts. Where was the shepherd? The familiar voice, that had spoken with an authority vested in it by the Prophet of God Himself, was stilled. We had the teachings; like a wonderful laboratory, equipped for every purpose, they were therc—our priceless treasure. But where was the alchemist who transmuted base metals into gold? Where was the listener who answered our questions and guided us in the use of all that great laboratory possessed?
Then came the reading of the Master’s Will, and with an infinite sense of relief we realized that, though the seas of tribulation and separation had risen about us, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had not left us alone. He had given us the mighty Ark of His own Covenant which we could enter into in peace secure. With what grateful hearts we turned to the youthful figure that had suddenly been revealed to us in that Will as our priceless legacy, described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the fruit of the Twin Lote Trees, the pearl of the Twin Surging Seas, this new creation, vested with a unique function, the hereditary office of Interpreter and Protector of the Faith and life-head of the International House of Justice. In many ways the Will of the Master completes and supplements the Aqdas; in it ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lays down in considerable detail the manner of election and function of the International House of Justice, its powers and jurisdiction; He also fills in a remarkable gap in that mighty book of laws and one which any intelligent commentator on that document must be immediately struck by. Bahá’u’lláh established in His Most Holy Book a very unique voluntary form of tax, a source of revenue, the great importance of which He adequately defines by giving it the exalted title of “The Right of God” (Huququ’lláh) but He never states to whom this revenue is payable, and in view of the fact that the revenues of the International House of Justice are clearly stipulated and this Huququ’lláh is not included among them, the question naturally occurs—what person or institution is to receive it? ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will
elucidates this riddle and fills in the conspicuous blank left by Bahá’u’lláh.
It is also interesting to realize that the provisions of the Will and Testament were not only contemplated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá long prior to His ascension, but also carried out. The Will is comprised of three separate documents, written at different times and all sealed and signed by the Master. In perhaps the most dangerous and difficult years of His ministry in ‘Akká, when Shoghi Effendi was only a young boy, he was already appointed as the Successor of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the first Will. This decision was later reaffirmed in the third Will, or part of the Will, whichever we choose to call it, and in even stronger terms if possible than before. It was also during practically the babyhood of our first Guardian that the Master revealed that highly significant Tablet about a child having been born who would do great things in the future. When asked by his secretary, Dr. Yunis Khan, whether by this was meant a living child or if it was a symbolical expression, the Master explained a real child was meant and that it would raise the Cause of God to great heights. So we see, that when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left us a quarter of a century ago we were not unprovided for. His plans for the Guardianship — the fruition of Bahá’u’lláh’s own scheme—had been made at a very early date, but from the depths of His bitter experience over a period of sixty years, He kept His precious secret carefully guarded, even from His intended successor, and it was not until after His ascension that we began to appreciate the perfection of the system God has, in this most great cycle, given to mankind; a system which has the hand of God constantly laid on it from above in the form of a divinely-guarded Guardianship directly descended from and related to the two Founders of the Faith and, at the same time, exalts the role of Man to a new height in that the freely-elected members of the International House of Justice are, when functioning as a body, promised the inspiration and protection of God upon their deliberations and decisions.
Let us go back for a moment and recall what we were and what Shoghi Effendi was when he first assumed his function as Guardian. Those who remember the passing of the Master and the terrible blow it was to them, the intense unbearable grief it caused them, can best grasp what his feelings were. At that time he was twenty-four years of age, studying at Oxford University in England in order to better prepare himself to serve ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as an interpreter, and to translate some of the Bahá’í literature into English, when news of the ascension reached him. Broken-hearted, so weak from suffering he had to be practically lifted from the train, he returned to Haifa. Then the second blow, as unexpected and in many ways more cruel than the first, fell upon him. The Will and Testament of His Grandfather was read to him and for the first time in his life he became apprized of the Master’s great and well—guarded secret: That he, Shoghi Effendi, the beloved eldest grandson, was His successor and First Guardian of the Cause of God. Saddled with this great weight, crushed by this great blow, he turned his eyes to the Bahá’í world. He beheld a widely diversified, loosely organized community, scattered in various parts of the globe, and with members in about twenty countries. These people, loyal, devoted and sincere though they were, were still, to a great extent, living in their parent religion’s house, so to speak; there were Christian Bahá’ís, Jewish Bahá’ís, Muḥammadan Bahá’ís and so on. They believed in the Bahá’í Faith but were intimately connected with their former churches. Like fruit on a tree, they were a new crop but still stuck to the old branch. This was true East and West alike. That was the point to which the Faith had evolved at the time of the Master’s ascension.
We, on our part, beheld a young man of only twenty-four standing at the helm of the Cause and some of the friends felt impelled to advise him about what it would be wise for him to do next. It was then that we began to know not only the nature of our first Guardian but the nature of the entire Institution of Guardianship, for
Progress Report: This picture gives a clear idea of the first stages of interior construction. If you will look particularly at the columns at the right, you will see how it has been necessary to cut away part of the concrete in order to apply the cast stone mosaics. More than 75 percent of the isolated round columns were finished by the middle of October. The re-circulating ventilation ducts have been installed in the dome, and ducts are being installed on the ceiling below the first gallery. Conduit, wiring, etc., is being installed as the work progresses.
we quickly discovered that Shoghi Effendi was “unreachable." Neither relatives, old Bahá’ís or new Bahá’ís, well-wishers or ill-wishers could sway his judgment or influence his decisions. We quickly came to realize that he was not only divinely guided but had been endowed by God with just those characteristics needed to build up the Administrative Order, unite the believers in common endeavor, and coordinate their world-wide activities. Shoghi Effendi immediately began to display a genius for organization, for the analysis of problems, for reducing a situation to its component parts and then giving a just and wise solution. He acted vigorously, with unflinching determination and unbounded zeal. Those who were privileged to meet him were immediately captivated by his eager, frank and cordial attitude, by his consideration, his innate modesty, his spontaneous kindness and charm. The wheels of the Cause which had momentarily stood still at the Master’s passing, began to revolve again and at a higher tempo than ever before. Our Father, so patient, so constantly forgiving, whom we had tired and perhaps worried far more than we dreamed of, was gone, and in His stead stood our “true brother,” young, determined to see we at last got down'to accomplishing the tasks set us by Bahá’u’lláh and the Master, and not willing to lose any time at all.
With the reading of the Will and the
[Page 116]
establishment of the Guardianship,
came quite naturally and organically
a new phase in the development of the
Faith. This was typified by one of the
first acts of the Guardian: Shoghi
Effendi never set foot in the Mosque,
whereas ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had attended it
until the last Friday of His life. What
local people had suspected—that the
Bahá’í Cause was really something
quite different—became blatantly clear;
that which it would have been almost
impossible for the Master to do,
namely, to sever the intimate bonds
which had bound him for so long to
the Arab community, particularly the
Muḥammadan community, of Palestine
during many years when it was forbidden
to even mention the name
Bahá’í, the Guardian now did overnight
and began to encourage the Bahá’ís to
likewise do in different parts of the
world.
There were two major tasks that the Guardian set himself to accomplish immediately after the Master’s passing: One was to steer the believers all over the world into working through properly organized administrative channels, as indicated by Bahá’u’lláh and defined by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the other was to see that year by year they became more emancipated from the bonds of the past, whether those bonds were close identification with their former religious doctrines and organizations, or the following of the outworn and corrupt patterns of conduct current in the society of their various nations and alien to the new standards of conduct laid down by the Manifestation of God for the world in this new age.
Between 1923 and 1934, the Guardiand, aided by the devoted response of the various Bahá’í communities, succeeded in establishing six new National Spiritual Assemblies with all their attendant funds, committees and institutions. Whereas, in the lifetime of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, only Persia and America had possessed such bodies and these had, for the most part, functioned more as central Committees, coordinating somewhat the national affairs of the Cause and, in the United States, convening the annual Convention and taking preliminary steps for the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, these new National Assemblies, one for the British Isles, one for Germany and ‘Iráq respectively, one for Egypt and the Sudan, and one for Australia and New Zealand, now emerged on a sound footing and began, under the constant and direct tutelage of the Guardian, to vigorously administer the affairs of their ever-growing communities.
What the Guardian possesses to an outstanding degree (and no doubt is divinely endowed with) is the vision of the Cause. That which might seem essential to us he would see as a purely secondary issue and what might appear in our eyes as a trivial matter might to him be the pivot of far greater decisions. He is the balance of the Cause; he weighs and classifies the problems, the requirements, the tasks of the hour, and keeps the entire Faith in every part of the world functioning as efficiently and as satisfactorily as our individual frailties and deficiencies will permit.
From the very beginning of his Ministry
the Guardian began to correspond
at length with the American National
Spiritual Assembly as regards the
handling of the affairs of the Cause of
God in that country. These highly instructive
letters were later published
under the title of “Bahá’í Administration”
and formed the directive for all
bodies administering the work of the
Cause, whether in the East or in the
West. He, in conjunction with this process
of training us in how to function
as a group and as individuals in a
coordinated Bahá’í Society, also educated
us in a concept of the Faith which was
the logical conclusion to be drawn from
not only statements made by the Báb
and Bahá’u’lláh, but from the Tablets
of the Divine Plan revealed for the
American Bahá’ís by the Master;
namely, that whereas Persia cradled
this new world religion in the 19th
Century, North America was to cradle the
Administrative Order which in turn
would be the precursor of the new
World Commonwealth. Patiently, untiringly,
year after year, Shoghi Effendi
[Page 117]
has labored on the rearing of the
Administrative Order, using the American
Bahá’í Community as the arch—pattern to
be followed by all other Bahá’í
Communities. While the American believers
struggled to learn What it really
means to function as a member of an
Order that has rules to be lived up to
and not merely read about; while they
tried to really submit their Wills and
conduct to the guidance of bodies conducting
their affairs according to the
will of the majority, the Guardian never for
a moment lost sight of the purpose of
his endless insistence on our
following the Administrative Principles
of our Faith; namely, to produce
an instrument strong enough to enable
us to fulfill one of the primary
obligations of every believer—to teach the
cause of God.
For sixteen years Shoghi Effendi never ceased to broaden our horizons and train us in Bahá’í Administration, whether local or National. After that, he suddenly opened a new door. He told us, so to speak, that we were now trained enough to use our laboriously erected Administrative System for a great joint effort, an effort to carry into effect the first stages of the Divine Plan. Prior to 1937 he had already been trying our metal to some extent, and disciplining us as good soldiers, through his repeated insistent appeals for the work of constructing our first Bahá’í Temple. This great enterprise we had ourselves inaugurated, encouraged by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who by His own hand, laid its dedication stone in 1912. But in spite of our good intentions, we had by 1921, only succeeded in producing something that resembled a subdued black oil tank, one story high, on the Temple grounds, and which looked so unprepossessing that the town authorities protested against it. Through the repeated appeals, the stimulation and encouragement of the Guardian and the sacrifice of the Bahá’ís, and after ten years during which we had been soundly berated for its appearance, we at last completed its superstructure and succeeded in silencing our critics. When the first Seven-Year Plan was given us in 1937 by the Guardian, in it was included, as one of our major tasks, the completing of the exterior ornamentation of the building which comprised the main story and steps, the rest having been laboriously carried out from 1931 to 1935.
In 1919, at the Annual Bahá’í Convention
in New York, the Tablets revealed by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá at a time when
He was in great danger during the First
World War and which have come to be
known as the “Vehicles of the Divine
Plan” and the “Spiritual Mandate,”
conferred by Him on the North American
Community of Believers, were unveiled.
We American Bahá’ís are all
familiar with their remarkable and stirring
contents. We were all immensely
proud to receive them. No one, however,
except Martha Root and a few
other venturesome souls, felt moved to
do anything drastic about carrying out
the instructions contained in them prior
to 1936-37, It was then that Shoghi
Effendi’s teaching inspiration and advice
began to pour into the minds and
hearts of the American Bahá’ís like an
incoming tide. He called us to action.
For eighteen years, we had basked happily
and complacently in the praises
and promises ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had showered
upon us in those Tablets, and in
many other writings and statements.
The Guardian, however, his fingers on
our pulse, knew that we were now able
to arise for pioneer work, and, through
the instruments of the Administration
he had so carefully assisted us in evolving,
carry forward the frontiers of our
achievements. He was, thank God, not
mistaken in the confidence and trust he
reposed in us. He called and America
responded. People from every walk of
life, business men, stenographers, old
ladies, young ladies, people with families,
people often frail in health but
iron in spirit, began to arise, and what
may in future well be viewed as one
of the greatest spiritual sagas of the
American nation, began to take place.
They were called pioneers, and into
new cities, into the virgin States of
the United States and the virgin Provinces
of Canada — virgin as yet to
Bahá’u’lláh’s light—these people began
to move, at the cost of great personal
sacrifice and inconvenience, inspired
by nothing but faith and devotion and
[Page 118]
love for their fellowmen, they started
to lay the foundations for new Bahá’í
communities by establishing new Spiritual
Assemblies as a result of their
teaching activities.
Perhaps one of the most wonderful aspects of this first Seven-Year Plan was the way the Bahá’ís responded to the Guardian’s hope that centers would be established, ’ere its termination, in every single Latin-American Republic. The Guardian, always walking on before a few steps and then calling us over his shoulder to hurry up and follow, led us Seven Years down that mighty pioneer trail which wound over North America, into Alaska, down to Panama, all over Central and South America, across the Andes, and into the West Indies. And wherever his voice called, the Bahá’ís followed. This first Seven-Year Plan is a very wonderful thing to contemplate. It was the first joint activity on a large scale, nationally organized and flowing into an international field, that the followers of Bahá’u’lláh had ever undertaken anywhere in the world. Truly formidable obstacles were overcome—obstacles of relatively small numbers of believers to draw upon; a community of very restricted financial means to back such activities (more especially so as the expensive work of completing the Temple ornamentation was steadily going on at the same time); a terrible, unprecedented World War, suddenly engulfing humanity with all its dangers, obligations and restrictions after only two and a half years of the Seven—Year Plan had run their course. But all these barriers were hurdled or thrown down, for we had a prize dear to our hearts just in view, and we were determined to win it. The prize was to succeed in accomplishing all that the Guardian asked of us by May 23, 1944, at which time we were to celebrate our first Bahá’í Centennial.
At the Centenary Convention the Bahá’ís met, radiant with such victories as these: having completed the contracts for the exterior ornamentation of the Temple eighteen months ahead of time; having established Spiritual Assemblies in every single state and province of North America—thus doubling the number in seven years and bringing it up to 136; having not only brought into being a nucleus of the Faith in every Latin American Republic but of having established already in most of them flourishing Spiritual Assemblies and of having the joy of seeing many delegates from these Central and South American countries present at this first great All—America Convention. Beneath the dome of their great Mother Temple of the West, now complete except for its interior ornamentation, they tasted the sweetness of the good pleasure of God, for priceless gifts were given them on that occasion by the Guardian: a beautifully framed copy of the portrait of the Báb and a lock of His hair. So precious and well guarded is this likeness of Him that even the House in Shíráz, one of the two centers of pilgrimage established by Bahá’u’lláh, does not possess a copy.
Nor should we forget for a moment, in counting our achievements and our blessings, the recent inauguration of the second Seven-Year Plan which has already been enthusiastically embarked upon by the American Bahá’ís and which, in addition to increasing the number of National Spiritual Assemblies by three—one to be formed in Canada in 1948, and one for Central and one for South America in 1950—is aimed at carrying the Faith to the European Continent, as part of an organized activity, for the first time. The vision of the future which Shoghi Effendi has revealed to us in his recent communications, is simply stupendous. Beyond each goal stretches another goal, tapering off into an era when we know the Faith will be emancipated and come into its own in the eyes of the whole world. Not only do our teaching activities during the next seven years carry us all over Northern, Western and Southern Europe, but we are given the challenging task of completing, at long last, the interior of our Temple, and of thus setting it before the eyes of men as the first and greatest Bahá’í House of Worhsip in the West.
While the American Bahá’ís have been absorbed in the two-fold task of
Temple Interior Progress.
learning to understand the purpose of the Bahá’í administration, the way it functions and the uses to which it could be put, and in embarking on the first stages of the Divine Plan, their co-workers in other parts of the world were not idle. The progress achieved in the United States was outstanding, but not unique. The work of the Cause went ahead at a rapid pace in other countries in which the Bahá’ís labored, but under far greater handicaps; in Persia, where the government is the traditional enemy of the Faith; in Egypt, where the Sunni religious doctors have consistently opposed us, cast us out of their ranks and incited the populace against us; in ‘Iráq where the Bahá’í Community was small and the native people fanatical and reactionary; in Germany, where the Nazi regime consistently frowned upon us from the hour of its rise to power until it finally officially banned the Faith in 1937, confiscated its literature and archives and in a number of cases tried or persecuted its followers; in England, where the believers were few and scattered in an intensely conservative land of strong traditions; in India, where the relatively large Bahá’í community struggled against the multiplicity of prejudices and creeds—in all these lands where National Assemblies, firmly founded and buttressed by active committees and national funds, watched over the interests of the believers and worked under the constant guidance of the Guardian, the affairs of the Cause, far from declining, prospered as never before. This was also true of Australasia, which in its freedom from traditional forms and its tolerance, most closely resembles conditions found in North America.
It is hard to know what achievements to
cite, so many spring to mind
as one casts one’s eye over the scene:
the emancipation of the Cause from
Islam in Egypt, formally and forcibly
pronounced a non—Muḥammadan independent
faith by the ecclesiastical authorities
there, which in its turn greatly
strengthened the Bahá’í claim to official
[Page 120]
recognition as a new and independent
world religion in other lands, including
the United States; the tremendous increase
of Bahá’í properties the world
over, including not only six National
Headquarters but innumerable local
headquarters, meeting halls, guest
houses and even burial grounds,
stretching from Persia through India,
‘Iráq, the Holy Land, Egypt, across the
seas to North and South America, and
back across the Pacific to Australia,
but also including the purchase, in the
land of Bahá’u’lláh’s birth, of most of
the sacred and historic sites associated
with the rise of the Faith there, as
well as an extensive and beautiful
property destined to be the site of the
future Bahá’í Temple in that country;
the increase in the number of Bahá’í
summer schools, well organized and
operating in Germany, India, Persia,
England, Egypt, Argentina, New Zealand,
Australia and four states of North
America — namely, Maine, Michigan,
Colorado and California; the rise of
Bahá’í young people the world over to
positions of importance in the Cause,
as teachers, writers, administrators
and pioneers with well organized activities
which include the training of children
and adolescents; the truly remarkable
output of Bahá’í literature with titles
published in the United States alone
running well over fifty, with a Publishing
Trust established in England
which gets out many volumes not only
for use in the British Isles but also for
export to other Bahá’í communities;
the pre-war publishing activities of the
German believers who were very active in
translating literature from the
English, and also in issuing works written
by Bahá’í authors in their own language;
the role which India—mother
land of so many hundreds of tongues
and dialects—has played in this field
and which has obliged her to already
print editions in about fourteen native
languages; the issuance of Bahá’í
literature in many other countries such
as Switzerland, Argentina, Egypt, and
so on; and the important fact that our
Bahá’í text book “Bahá’u’lláh and The
New Era” has now been printed in
about forty-five languages; the legal
incorporation of over sixty-five national
and local Bahá’í Assemblies in countries
all over the world; and, first and
foremost, the most impressive and significant
accomplishment of all, that
whereas in the days of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
the Faith had only spread to about 20
countries, its message has now been
taken to over 70, and in the majority
of these an administrative foundation
of the Cause has already been firmly
laid.
No appraisal of the wonderful work
achieved by the Bahá’ís the world over
during this period would be complete
without mention of what the Guardian
himself, singlehanded, has done at the
world center of the Faith in Palestine.
Aside from his constant and very heavy
correspondence, with not only national
and local Assemblies but with groups
and individuals as well, aside from his
cables and directives addressed to the
Bahá’ís in different parts of the world,
aside from the books he writes and the
Bahá’í literature he translates so painstakingly
and beautifully, he has aided
the believers financially in all of their
major undertakings, in the East or the
West. Whether it was to assist the
Bahá’í refugees from Russia, or those
who had suffered local persecution in
Persia, or to help build the various
national Administrative Headquarters, or
to finance the publication of many editions
of the Esslemont book in foreign
languages, or to contribute generously
to the Temple construction work in
America and to the support of pioneers
active in the seven—year plans, or
whether it was to build the graves of
notable servants of the Cause, his hand
has usually been the first one outstretched
to give valuable aid. In Haifa
and ‘Akká, he has not only succeeded
in having all the Bahá’í Shrines, Pilgrim
Houses and lands pertaining to them
exempted from both government and
municipal taxes, but has also vastly
increased the area of these endowments
Which now are valued at more than two
and a half million dollars, and include
properties in the Jordan Valley. He has
added, year by year, to the beautiful
gardens surrounding the tomb of the
Bab on Mount Carmel, and also succeeded
in burying The Greatest Holy
Leaf in one of the most exclusive residential
[Page 121]
areas of Haifa, and later in
transferring the remains of her mother
and brother to the same spot—where
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s wife is now also entombed—and
making of it a unique and exquisite
garden surrounding the four
White marble temples that mark the
resting places of these members of the
Master’s family. These two gardens, on
opposite sides of one of Haifa’s main
roads, and open to the public, are now
mentioned in all up-to-date Palestine
guides as sights not to be missed by
visitors to the Holy Land. The purchase
of Bahá’u’lláh’s mansion at Bahjí, the
defeat of the constant machinations of
the Covenant—breakers, the establishment
of two archives filled with material of
great sacred and historic importance,
collected, verified and labelled by him,
the building up of the great
reservoir of Bahá’í literature of well
over 5,000 volumes in libraries in Haifa
and ‘Akká, are but the highlights of his
accomplishments at this world center
of our Faith, to which flow pilgrims and
guests from every land.
When we consider such facts as these, we begin to appreciate the nature and magnitude of the work which has been accomplished since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away, under the direct aegis of Shoghi Effendit To his inspiration and perseverance we owe it that our Faith—once so obscure, so unknown except to a few students of modern Persia—has already boasted a Queen as ardent convert, and moreover a Queen of the ability and fame possessed by Marie of Roumania; that the appreciations, by non-Bahá’ís of outstanding position and ability, of the founders of our Faith, their teachings and the work accomplished by their followers, has already run into a small volume; that the Faith has exhibited its persistent vitality during these twenty-five years by producing Saints, Martyrs, great administrators and even Hands of the Cause; that it has become sufficiently strong and well known in the Western world for the government of a great nation like pre-war Germany, to ban it, and persecute its followers for their beliefs; that the case the Bahá’ís had against the Shí’ih clergy of Baghdád for the possession of The Most Great
Plaster Model of section of ornamental panel between main interior columns.
House, went before the permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations, and was not only decided in favor of the Bahá’ís but was the subject of much discussion and unfulfilled assurances on the part of King Faisal of ‘Iráq and his Ministers.
All these things, and many other points far too numerous to be mentioned here, indicate that the Cause, far from sustaining a paralyzing blow through the death of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, went ahead in channels prepared for its development by Him in His Will, and
prospered and grew as it never had before. How immature and naive was our conception of the World Order at the time of the Master's passing! With what paternal complacency some of the old and devoted Bahá’ís informed the Guardian that his next and wisest step would be to establish the International House of Justice! On what? He knew so well the long and thorough measures that must first be taken: Here was this great edifice, this world order, reared in the laws of Bahá’u’lláh, and its dome, the apogee, the crown, the uniting element, was the International House of Justice. Could it be hung on air? First must come the foundation, and that must be composed of not only the smallest units, the local Assemblies, but these units themselves must be made of educated material; the little cells, the individual Bahá’ís had first to understand their task and build themselves into a strong cohesive mass, capable of forming, as local Assemblies, the broad national foundation upon which the mighty pillars in turn could be reared, becoming the bones of the structure holding up the dome.
A stranger might be tempted to ask: granted these organized activities of the Bahá’ís had expanded and multiplied, covered new territory, and entered new fields, what had happened to the Cause’s inner life? Had outward progress and accomplishment weakened the internal spiritual solidarity of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh? We can, after a quarter of a century’s experience, answer that question with a sincere and hearty No! The institution of Guardianship—tied into the fabric of the Faith by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. through his Will in a knot no amount of perseverance and ingenuity can undo—has, as it was destined to do, effectively prevented any division or schism in the Bahá’í ranks. We can now state this, not only with the assurance born of faith, but with experience, for it has been tried and failed. Envy, jealousy, hatred, ambition—all the demoniacal forces which the ego of man can give rise to and which have so unrelentingly been ranged throughout history, against every reformer, every Prophet, and enlightened leader—have raised, in the hearts of more than one person, their ugly heads. Both Shoghi Effendi, as Guardian, and the Faith as such, have been violently attacked.
As was to be expected, the very first charge came from the Covenant-breakers: Muḥammad-‘Alí. who had tried in vain to discredit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, disaffect the believers, corrupt certain writings of Bahá’u’lláh, and even had on more than one occasion sought to have the Master’s life taken, revived his faded hopes when he beheld such a (as he thought) defenseless youth placed at the helm. His attack was disturbing, if somewhat ludicrous, for he chose to have one of his henchmen seize the sacred shrine of his father, Bahá’u’lláh, and rob the Bahá’í Keeper of the keys. Distressing though the incident was, the case of the successor of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was so clear in the eyes of the British authorities, that in a short time he was obliged to return the keys to Shoghi Effendi’s representative. This was the first, so to speak, crossing of swords with our appointed Guardian, and both the Bahá’ís and local observers, friend and foe alike, learned through it that we had an active and skilled Defender of the Faith!
In Egypt, a proud Armenian, blinded by vanity and ambition, waved his own little flag of rebellion and succeeded in drawing away from the Bahá’í community (at that time in the early stages of its own development) a number of his compatriots and other misguided souls. But the hand that waved the flag soon got tired as it became aware of the futility of trying to coax people out of such a water—tight ark as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Covenant has proven itself to be. Gradually, over the years, those who after such a disillusioning and spiritually unhealthy experience, still possessed any vital spark of faith, returned to knock on the door they had left and were, whenever the sincerity of their intentions was proven, welcomed back into the now actively working and expanding Egyptian Bahá’í community.
An American woman, Mrs. Ruth White, suffering from a truly remarkable form of delusion—namely, that the Will and Testament of the Master is a
Progress photograph showing construction of interior decoration of the Bahá’í Temple, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
forgery—expended a great deal of time, money and energy on expounding her views. The document in question, its handwriting, text and style, seals and history is so obviously protected from this accusation that her violent agitation had no effect on the body of the Bahá’ís, with the exception of a few simple souls in Germany. Most of these (who remained devoted to the Faith but confused on this point) have now expressed their deep remorse over these deluded and wasted years they spent outside the Bahá’í community, and have re-entered it in Germany and are among its most active workers.
In Persia Avarih, at one time a very active Bahá’í teacher, developed what must seem to any sane person, a sort of spiritual hydrophobia. He not only attacked the Guardian exhaustively and fantastically in about ten volumes, but turned against both Bahá’u’lláh and the Master as well. His statements, unbalanced, compounded of such a high percentage of lies that even an intelligent and sincere enemy of the Faith would recognize them as such, have poured forth in the cheap press of Persia for practically decades. But the results have been very disheartening from his standpoint, for he neither gathered unto himself a following, nor has he been able to disrupt the affairs of the large, devoted and loyal community of believers in Bahá’u’lláh’s native land.
Aḥmad Sohrab, a former secretary
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, largely thanks to the
generous support given him by a deluded
woman, has been able to expend
all his gifts of perversion on his
favorite theme—a prolonged and windy
attack on the Administrative Order of the
Faith as it exists at present, with
Shoghi Effendi at its head, and soundly
organized Assemblies cooperating with
him throughout the world in spreading
Bahá’u’lláh’s message and building
[Page 124]
up His divinely ordained institutions.
He holds the honor of being undoubtedly
the most mischievous of the trouble
makers that the Cause has raised up
during this quarter of a century. Yes,
the Cause of God has raised him up!
For what beauty does not produce
envy, and what purity does not produce
slander, and what goodness does not
challenge the evil hidden in an envious
heart? This man, who received as charity—as
we all do—some drops of God’s
overflowing bounty, could have done
much to assist the Bahá’ís in carrying
out the wishes of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the
plans of Bahá’u’lláh. But ambition
proved too strong. In our Faith we must
submit to having our personal desires
and plans integrated into the plans for
the whole, for unity is our watchword
and we are not only propagating a new
Faith with its new principles, but are
building a divinely laid down system
into society, and this requires the
discipline of the personal ego to some
extent, and the integration of all members
of the community into a coherent pattern.
To this Aḥmad Sohrab would not
submit, for it did not allow him the
personal prominence he craved. The
hot wind of his slander has blown upon
us for some time now, and though it
troubled and disaffected a few hearts,
to the vast majority of believers it
proved an irritating stimulant, which
not only made them cherish more dearly
the Master’s Will and its provisions,
but spurred them on to greater endeavor.
We Bahá’ís are neither afraid to, nor ashamed of, mentioning the names of these prominent backsliders. On the contrary, they represent to us what a soldier’s ribbons do to him: they are the campaigns we have successfully fought and every one of them is dear to our hearts. The storms they have loosed upon us have not only driven the roots of our Faith in Bahá’u’lláh’s system deeper, but have demonstrated to us that, for the first time in history, a religion has been given to men which cannot be split up into sects, for the two Wills—those Of Bahá’u’lláh and the Master — are so strongly constructed and so authentic beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is impossible to divorce the body of the teachings from their provisions. The principle of successorship, endowed with the right of Divine interpretation, is the very hub of the Cause into which its Doctrines and Laws fit like the spokes of a wheel—tear out the hub and you have to throw away the whole thing. This is why our enemies have, for a hundred years, failed to establish anything outside the Faith which could thrive or prosper.
As we look back over these twenty-five years, it is with feelings of profound contentment. We Bahá’ís have matured greatly. The little tragedies, the hot discussions, the rocking of the boat by various enemies, seem all far behind us now. We have grown up in the Will. We have stood close to that tree which overshadowed all mankind and come to realize how live and great it is, how dense its foliage, how heavy its yield of fruits—the tree of our first Guardian, our Shoghi Effendi. Where first we looked to him with affection and much pity for his youthfulness and the greatness of the task laid upon him, now we look to him eagerly, waiting each fresh counsel of his wise, and so well proven, leadership. With deep love and pride the Bahá’ís labor under his guidance, thanking God not only for this wonderful Divinely inspired institution of Guardianship, but also for this particular Guardian, who has steered the ship of the Cause through so many shoals and whose sure and patient hand is guiding it on to the great victories promised by Bahá’u’lláh for his Faith in this Century.
Shoghi Effendi’s services to the
Cause of God are not yet known. How
can they be? There is not yet the
required perspective. Only gradually
have we been grasping just Who and
What the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh were;
out of the mists of contemporary events
they are now rising like giants on the
horizon of Their Own Revelation. “God
Passes By” has been the greatest
single factor in our beginning to truly
appreciate Their significance and station.
But it is too early, and he is too
close, for us to begin to properly evaluate
our first Guardian. We can, however,—always
remembering as he in
his great modesty would wish us to—
[Page 125]
Bahá’í Temple, Wilmette, Illinois, USA. Interior cast decoration is applied, to complete this unique building.
that he is guided by God, weigh up a
little of what he has done. Let us begin
with his presents to us, the dearest
gifts he could make us, the translations:
The Íqán, the Epistle to The
Son of The Wolf, The Prayers and Meditations,
The Gleanings, The Hidden
Words, The Dawn-Breakers, and innumerable
gems quoted in his own writings. What would
our understanding of
and love for the Cause be today without
these glorious books? Then let us
take his own works: The Bahá’í Administration,
The wonderful World Order Letters, The
Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, The Advent of
Divine Justice, The Promised Day Is Come, the
ten volumes of The Bahá’í World—child
of his vision of the Cause and untiring
perseverance and most valuable of all,
God Passes By, that unique, exhaustive
and marvelous review of the highlights
of 100 years of Bahá’í history, in
which every factor receives its due importance
[Page 126]
in relation to every other, a
labor no one but the Guardian could
ever be qualified to do. To the above
must of course be added many important
communications addressed to
the Persian Bahá’ís in their own
tongue.
Not one of our achievements during this quarter of a Century and briefly touched upon here, could have been made were it not for the untiring labor and patience of Shoghi Effendi. He has encouraged us when we were downhearted, spurred us on when we decided to take a little inopportune rest, foreseen our needs and supplied us with the plans, the counsel, the passages from the writings, the answers to the questions, which we needed. How well we realize today What a sad state our Cause would have been in without him! So often we have seen his healing touch laid on dissensions, on hurt feelings or wounded pride, always fertile sources of trouble in any community. So often his explanation and interpretation has made the way clear and once again gathered us in deep unity to serve our beloved Faith.
But we can be sure of one thing—all these services rendered us by the first Guardian have not been without cost. A loving and sensitive nature, openhearted and filled with a wonderful eagerness in his desire to serve the Master, and carry out his wishes, he has been assailed most viciously, most unjustly, most pitilessly by enemies both within and without. From the world, any righteous man expects little understanding and acclaim during his lifetime, but from those near in ties of friendship or of blood, he hopes for and expects to receive more. We might have thought that the great tidal waves of distress and calumny, the violent attacks, had subsided with the end of the Heroic Age of our Faith. But this evidently has not been the plan of God. Now we see our Guardian strong, wise, mature, stretching about us his iron arms to protect us in the sanctuary of the Divine Cause, but he himself is much scarred by the blows he has received these twenty-five years, more scarred than the Master surely ever dreamed he could be when he wrote “that no dust of despondency may stain his radiant nature,” indeed, snowed under sometimes with the problems this ever-expanding world Faith engenders in its forward march, and with the many cares and blows that have been his portion.
That which sustains the Guardian, now left so alone amidst his great responsibilities, is the work of the Cause. Good news is like the breath of life to him, and whenever some new goal is achieved, some problem solved, some new enterprise undertaken, his spirit is lightened, his mind freed for some new creative effort, his heart gladdened. So we see that just as we Bahá’ís the world over are his responsibility, given him by Almighty God, so is he our responsibility, likewise given us by Almighty God. Let us not take it lightly! In gratitude for both this mighty institution of Guardianship in which mankind has found a sure refuge in this new age, and in gratitude for this particular first Guardian, this Shoghi Effendi, let us resolve to rise to a truly higher plane of endeavor, and above all a higher plane of spiritual awareness, during these coming years. We must always remember that the only real limitations we suffer, are those within ourselves. Rallied closely about the center of the Cause, loving him and, in him, each other, we can, during the next quarter of a century double our record of achievement.
Every truth, every fact, has so many meanings and aspects. It may take a thousand years to correctly appraise the implications of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, but we—the first recipients of it—can, if we will, leave behind us the record of being the generation who made the greatest advances in understanding it and first helped release its wonderful powers upon the world, in history’s darkest years.
Haifa, Palestine
November, 1946
2.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GUARDIANSHIP
JANUARY 6,1947
THE UNFOLDMENT OF THE GUARDIANSHIP
In His Will and Testament the Master wrote: “After the passing of this wronged one, it is incumbent . . . to turn unto Shoghi Effendi—the youthful branch branched from the two hallowed and sacred Lote-trees . . . as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom all . . . must turn. He is the expounder of the words of God. . . .” And so ‘Abdu’l-Bahá projected into the future the care and protection which He had always shown to the believers. The loving command had been spoken; the way of unity was plain; the Faith of God was protected and its progress assured.
* * *
1922
In the early letters from Shoghi Effendi we sense the struggle and sacrifice he faced in assuming the unprecedented responsibilities of the Guardianship.
“At this early hour when the morning light is just breaking over the holy Land, whilst the gloom of the dear Master’s bereavement is still hanging thick upon our hearts, I feel as if my soul turns in yearning love and full of hope to that great company of His loved ones across the seas, who now share with us all the agonies of His Separation.”
“May I also express my heartfelt desire that the friends of God in every land regard me in no other light but that of a true brother, united with them in our common servitude. . . .”
“Now that my long hours of rest and meditation are happily at an end, I turn my face with renewed hope and vigor to that vast continent the soil of which is pregnant with those seeds that our beloved Master has so tenderly and so profusely scattered in the past. Prolonged though this period has been, yet I have strongly felt ever since the New Day has dawned upon me that such a needed retirement, despite the temporary dislocations it might entail, would far outweigh in its results any immediate service I could have humbly tendered at the Threshold of Bahá’u’lláh."
* * *
1923
“And, now, that this all-important Work may suffer no neglect, but rather function vigorously and continuously, in every part of the Bahá’í world; that the unity of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh may remain secure and inviolate, it is of the utmost importance that in accordance with the explicit text of the Kitáb—i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book, in every locality, be it city or hamlet, where the number of adult (21 years and above) declared believers exceeds nine, a local ‘Spiritual Assembly’ be forthwith established. To it all local matters pertaining to the Cause must be directly and immediately referred for full consultation and decision.”
* * *
1924
“Let us also bear in mind that the keynote of the Cause of God is not dictatorial authority but humble fellowship, not arbitrary power, but the spirit of frank and loving consultation. Nothing short of the spirit of a true Bahá’í can hope to reconcile the principles of mercy and justice, of freedom and submission, of the sanctity of the right of the individual and of self-surrender, of vigilance, discretion and prudence on the one hand, and fellowship, candor, and courage on the other.”
“Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and noble principles, not by an organized campaign of teaching—no matter how worldwide and elaborate in its character—not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and sceptical age the supreme claim of the Abhá Revelation. One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh.”
* * *
1926
“I feel . . . that in view of the expansion
and the growing importance of the
administrative sphere of the Cause, the
general sentiments and tendencies
prevailing among the friends, and the
signs of increasing interdependence
among the National Spiritual Assemblies
throughout the world, the assembled
accredited representatives of the
American believers should exercise not
only the vital and responsible right of
electing the National Assembly, but
should also fulfill the functions of an
enlightened, consultative and cooperative
body that will enrich the experience,
enhance the prestige, and assist
the deliberations of the National
Spiritual Assembly.”
“The administrative machinery of the Cause having now sufficiently evolved, its aim and object fairly well grasped and understood, and its method and working made more familiar to every believer, I feel the time is ripe when it should be fully and consciously utilized to further the purpose for which it has been created. It should . . . be made to serve a twofold purpose. On one hand, it should aim at a steady and gradual expansion of the Movement along lines that are at once broad, sound and universal; and on the other it should insure the internal consolidation of the work already achieved. It should both provide the impulse whereby the dynamic forces latent in the Faith can unfold, crystalize, and shape the lives and conduct of men, and serve as a medium for the interchange of thought and the coordination of activities among the divers elements that constitute the Bahá’í community.”
* * *
1929
“The Declaration of Trust, the provisions of which you have so splendidly conceived, and formulated with such assiduous care, marks yet another milestone on the road of progress along which you are patiently and determinedly advancing. Clear and concise in its wording, sound in principle, and complete in its affirmations of the fundamentals of Bahá’í administration, it stands in its final form as a worthy and faithful exposition of the constitutional basis of Bahá’í communities in every land, foreshadowing the final emergence of the world Bahá’í Commonwealth of the future.”
In Shoghi Effendi’s first letters to us as Guardian he enclosed translations of prayers, and through these years he has continually widened our spiritual horizons by translations of superlative beauty. A mere listing gives some indication of the loving labor involved:
- 1925—Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh
- 1931—Kitáb-i-Íqán
- 1932—The Dawn-Breakers
- 1935—Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
- 1938—Prayers and Meditations of Bahá’u’lláh
- 1941—Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
* * *
1931
“For Bahá’u’lláh . . . has not only imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him, have, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth.”
* * *
1932
“That the Cause associated with the name of Bahá’u’lláh feeds itself upon those hidden springs of celestial strength which no force of human personality, whatever its glamour, can replace; that its reliance is solely upon that mystic Source with which no worldly advantage, be it wealth, fame, or learning can compare; that it propagates itself by ways mysterious and utterly at variance with the standards accepted by the generality of mankind, will, if not already apparent, become increasingly manifest as it forges ahead towards fresh conquests in its struggle for the spiritual regeneration of mankind.”
“Let them refrain from associating themselves, whether by word or by deed, With the political pursuits of their respective nations, with the policies of their governments and the schemes and programs of parties and factions.”
* * *
1934
And then came that tremendous message published under the title The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh. In its four major parts we have a summary of the “fundamental verities,” the “root principles” of the Faith.
“To obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s stupendous Revelation must . . . remain the first obligation and the object of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents.”
“The Faith of Bahá’u’lláh should indeed be regarded, if we wish to be faithful to the tremendous implications of its message, as the culmination of a cycle, the final stage in a series of successive or preliminary and progressive revelations.”
“ . . . it emphatically repudiates the claim to be regarded as the final revelation of God’s will and purpose for mankind . . . the fundamental principle which constitutes the bedrock of Bahá’í belief, the principle that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is orderly, continuous and progressive and not spasmodic or final.”
“ . . . the twin pillars that support this mighty Administrative Structure—the institutions of the Guardianship and of the Universal House of Justice . . . should be regarded as divine in origin, essential in their functions and complementary in their aim and purpose. Their common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of that divinely-appointed authority which flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. Acting in conjunction with each other these two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions. Severally, each operates within a clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped with its own attendant institutions—institutions designed for the effective discharge of its particular responsibilities and duties. Each exercises, within the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the US. and Canada at the 1946 Annual Bahá’í Convention, Wilmette, Illinois.
limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its authority, its rights and prerogatives. These are neither contradictory, nor detract in the slightest degree from the position which each of these institutions occupies. Far from being incompatible or mutually destructive, they supplement each other’s authority and functions, and are permanently and fundamentally united in their aims.”
“No Guardian of the Faith . . . can ever claim to be the perfect exemplar of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh or the stainless mirror that reflects His light. Though overshadowed by the unfailing, the unerring protection of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, and however much he may share with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the right and obligation to interpret the Bahá’í teachings, he remains essentially human and cannot, if he wishes to remain faithful to his trust, arrogate to himself, under any pretence whatsoever, the privileges and prerogatives which Bahá’u’lláh has chosen to confer upon His Son."
* * *
1936
“Into such a period (of intense turmoil) we are now steadily and irresistibly moving. Amidst the shadows which are increasingly gathering about us we can faintly discern the glimmerings of Bahá’u’lláh’s unearthly sovereignty appearing fitfully on the horizon of history. To us, the ‘generation of the half-light,’ living at a time which may be designated as the period of the incubation of the World Commonwealth envisaged by Bahá’u’lláh, has been assigned a task whose high privilege we can never sufficiently appreciate, and the arduousness of which we can as yet but dimly recognize. . . . We stand on the threshold of an age whose convulsions proclaim alike the death-pangs of the old order and the birthpangs of the new.”
“Ceasing to call itself a movement, a fellowship and the like—designations that did grave injustice to its ever-unfolding system—dissociating itself from
such appelations as Bábí sect, Asiatic cult, and offshoot of Shí‘ih Islám, with which the ignorant and the malicious were wont to describe it, refusing to be labeled as a mere philosophy of life, or as an eclectic code of ethical conduct, or even as a new religion, the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is now visibly succeeding in demonstrating its claim and title to be regarded as a World Religion . . .”
“Their Faith, Bahá’ís firmly believe, is moreover undenominational, non-sectarian, and wholly divorced from every ecclesiastical system, whatever its form, origin, or activities. No ecclesiastical organization, with its creeds, its traditions, its limitations, and exclusive outlook, can be said (as is the case with all existing political factions, parties, systems and programs) to conform, in all its aspects, to the cardinal tenets of Bahá’í belief. To some of the principles and ideals animating political and ecclesiastical institutions every conscientious follower of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh can, no doubt, readily subscribe. With none of these institutions, however, can he identify himself, nor can he unreservedly endorse the creeds, the principles and programs on which they are based.”
To the Convention in 1936 came the historic cable which started the First Seven Year Plan—“Convey to American believers abiding gratitude efforts unitedly exerted in teaching field. Inaugurated campaign should be vigorously pursued, systematically extended. Appeal to assembled delegates ponder historic appeal voiced by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Tablets of the Divine Plan. Urge earnest deliberation with incoming National Assembly to insure its complete fulfillment. First century of Bahá’í era drawing to a close. Humanity entering outer fringes most perilous stage its existence. Opportunities of present hour unimaginably precious. Would to God every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination of this glorious century embrace the light of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order.”
* * *
1937
When in 1937 the Guardian married Rúḥíyyih Khánum (Mary Maxwell) the National Assembly cabled the joy and loving greetings of the believers. Shoghi Effendi’s response was expressed in the cable—“Deeply moved your message. Institution of Guardianship, head cornerstone of the Administrative Order of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, already ennobled through its organic connection with the Persons of Twin Founders of the Bahá’í Faith, is now further enforced through direct association with the West and particularly with the American believers, whose spiritual destiny is to usher in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.”
* * *
1939
“The community of the organized promoters of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the American continent—the spiritual descendants of the dawn-breakers of an heroic Age who by their death proclaimed the birth of that Faith—must, in turn, usher in, not by their death but through living sacrifice that promised World Order . . .”
“What the American believers have, within the space of almost fifty years, achieved, is almost infinitesimal when compared to the magnitude of the tasks ahead of them. The rumblings of the catastrophic upheaval, which is to proclaim, at one and the same time, the death-pangs of the old order and the birth-pangs of the new, indicate both the steady approach, as well as the awe-inspiring character, of those tasks.”
“Of these spiritual prerequisites of
success . . . the following stand out as
preeminent and vital . . . Upon the
extent to which these basic requirements
are met, and the manner in
which the American believers fulfill
them in their individual lives, administrative
activities, and social relationships,
must depend the measure of the
[Page 132]
manifold blessings which the All—Bountiful
Possessor can vouchsafe to them
all. These requirements are none other
than a high sense of moral rectitude
in their social and administrative
activities, absolute chastity in their
individual lives, and complete freedom
from prejudice in their dealings with
peoples of a different race, class,
creed, or color.”
* * *
1941
In the midst of the recent War we received The Promised Day Is Come.
“A tempest, unprecedented in its violence, unpredictable in its course, catastrophic in its immediate effects, unimaginably glorious in its ultimate consequences, is at present sweeping the face of the earth . . .”
“This judgment of God . . . is both a retributory calamity and an act of holy and supreme discipline.”
* * *
1943
The year before the Centenary our hearts were thrilled by the cable— “I desire to announce to the elected representatives of the valiant, blessed, triumphant American Bahá’í Community . . . the momentous decision to convene, in May, 1944, an All-American Centennial Convention comprising delegates to be separately elected by each State and Province in the North American Continent, and to Which each Republic of Latin America may send one representative. All groups, all isolated believers, as well as all local communities already possessing Assemblies, will henceforth share in the election of Convention delegates. The multiplication of Bahá’í centers and the remarkable increase in the number of groups and isolated believers, prompt my decision. . . . I hope to forward, in time for the solemn thanksgiving service to be held in the auditorium of the Temple on the evening of May twenty-second, at the hour of His epoch-making Declaration, a sacred portrait of the Báb, the only copy ever sent out from the Holy Land . . .”
* * *
1944
Then to the Centenary Convention came his greeting:
“Hail with glad, grateful heart the historic Assembly of the elected representatives of the followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the Western Hemisphere participating in the first All-America Convention . . . I recall with profound emotion on this solemn, auspicious occasion the milestones in the progress of the community whose rise constitutes one of the noblest episodes in the history of the First Bahá’í Century . . . I am moved to pay a well deserved tribute . . . to the gallant band of its apostolic founders . . . to its intrepid pioneers . . . to its indefatigable administrators . . . to its heroic martyrs . . . to its itinerant teachers . . . to its munificent supporters . . . last but not least to the mass of its stout-hearted, self—denying members whose strenuous, ceaseless, concerted efforts so decisively contributed to the consolidation and broadening of its foundations. . . . ”
In this same year we received Shoghi Effendi’s survey of the first hundred years of the Faith—God Passes By.
* * *
1946
Then, as we met in our first peacetime Convention, we received the call to greater service in further unfoldment of the Divine Plan.
“A twofold responsibility urgently calls the vanguard of the dawn-breakers of the West, champion—builders of Bahá’u’lláh’s Order, torch—bearers of world civilization, executors of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mandate, to arise and simultaneously bring to fruition the tasks already undertaken and launch fresh enterprises beyond the borders of the Western Hemisphere.”
“The first objective of the new Plan is consolidation of victories already won throughout the Americas, involving multiplication of Bahá’í centers, bolder proclamation of the Faith to the masses.”
“The second objective is completion of interior ornamentation of the holiest
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Persia, 1946-47.
House of Worship in the Bahá’í world designed to coincide with the Fiftieth Anniversary of the inception of this historic enterprise.”
“The third objective is the formation of three National Assemblies, pillars of the Universal House of Justice, in the Dominion of Canada, Central and South America.”
“The fourth objective is the initiation of systematic teaching activity in war-torn, spiritually famished European continent . . . ”
“Upon the success of the second Seven Year Plan depends the launching after a respite of three brief years, of a yet more momentous third Seven Year Plan which, when consummated through the establishment of the structure of the administrative order in the remaining Sovereign States and chief dependencies of the entire globe must culminate in and be befittingly commemorated through world-wide celebrations marking the Centennial Of the formal Assumption by Bahá’u’lláh of the Prophetic Office associated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with Daniel’s prophecy and the World Triumph of the Bahá’í Revelation and signalizing the termination of the initial Epoch in the evolution of the Plan whose mysterious, resistless processes must continue to shed ever-increasing lustre on succeeding generations of both the Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ’Í OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
