Bahá’í World/Volume 18/Pedro Vargas
PEDRO VARGAS
1940—1980
Pedro Vargas, a Toba Indian, born on 7 August 1940 in Argentina, was among the first of his tribe to embrace the Bahá’í Faith and is to date the most distinguished of its followers among his people to have passed to the worlds beyond.
The first efforts to enrol the Tobas of the
Chaco province of Argentina were undertaken
immediately following the Continental
Conference held in La Paz, Bolivia, in August
1970. In three successive projects more than
one thousand people entered the Cause. The
records of the first believers to accept the
Faith in the locality of Makalle bear the name
of Pedro’s father, Vicente Vargas, who was
well—known as a former tribal leader or cacique
and as a pastor of a local evangelical church.
Pedro was respected by his people as one of
the ‘learned’. Like his father, he had served as
pastor of an Indian church and was well versed
in Christian scriptures. He was also knowledgeable
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Pedro Vargas
about the medicinal properties of the plants and herbs native to the Chaco and their application to various human ailments.
From the moment of his acceptance of the call of the New Day Pedro arose, first, to deepen his knowledge of the fundamental verities of the Bahá’í Faith, and then to travel and share it with his Toba brethren. Later, in response to the goals of the Nine Year Plan, he made the first translations of the Bahá’í Sacred Writings into the Toba language. Though the written form of Toba is still in its early stages of development and few members of the tribe are familiar with its use, Pedro could both read and write his native tongue. His translations include a selection of prayers, selections from The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Unity in Diversity’, one of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s discourses from Paris Talks.
Among Pedro’s accomplishments was his continual participation in teaching projects which were to raise the standard of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the Chaco area and bring His light to thousands of new souls. In 1972 he took part in the opening of the Miraflores reservation and continued until his death to nurture that community as a travelling teacher. In 1975 he joined the team that opened to the
Faith the Bartholome de las Casas reservation in the province of Formosa. In 1977, at the invitation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Paraguay, he assisted in the enrolment of the first Toba believers in the locality of Cerrito near Asunción. The following year, accompanied by Francisco Gómez, he made an historic fifteen-day journey on foot into an area of the Chaco now known as ‘the impenetrable’ because of its thick thorn forests, wandering riverbeds, bothersome mosquitoes and poisonous snakes. Pedro and his companion left Bahá’í literature along the way with those in the Toba settlements and with the white criollos who offered them water and kindness during their tortuous and wearisome journey.
Pedro served for a number of years as chairman of the Regional Teaching Committee and attended many Bahá’í conferences including the International Music Festival held in Rosario del Tala, Entre Rios, Argentina, in 1973 where he presented his Toba rendition of the Spanish hymn El es el Rey de los Reyes. He is also the author of a rendering, in the musical style and language of his people, of a portion of the Tablet of Aḥmad as well as chants of the Greatest Name in Arabic, Spanish and Toba. He loved singing devotional music and possessed a rich musical voice, a recording of which is still in existence. He was a commanding speaker and often conducted study classes. I remember well an address that he gave in Makalle, his home town, on the subject ‘The Kingdom of God on Earth’ which he based on the eleven principles enunciated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Paris Talks. I was deeply impressed by his grasp of the true significance of the Bahá’í Revelation in relation to the establishment of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
Suffering was one of Pedro’s constant companions
throughout his years as a Bahá’í.
Shortly after he accepted the Faith he lost his
only infant daughter in an accident. Later on
he suffered a paralysis of his lower extremities
which he overcame after a long period of
convalescence. At times, because of the harsh
conditions encountered while travelling to
deliver the message, he would experience
great pain; nevertheless, he would only comment
that whatever befell him was according
to the wisdom of God. In the last year of his
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life Pedro and his family moved to the capital
of Resistencia province where he hoped to
find work that would allow him to travel
regularly to surrounding areas on weekends.
A local Centre had recently been constructed
there and Pedro consented to live in it and
extend hospitality to the Bahá’í visitors who
arrived from time to time. He also contributed
to the completion of the building. He had just
finished repairing the windows and was about
to begin constructing a porch when he passed
away on 15 December 1980. The municipal
employees who attended to the legal formalities
asked who was this man—apparently
poor and bereft of worldly goods—that so
many people should have come to attend his
funeral, a Bahá’í service. His fellow believers
and Toba brethren wept tears of great sadness
at the news of his passing.
One day when Pedro and I were discussing the difficulties some pioneers were having in adapting to their new post, Pedro remarked: ‘A pioneer is like a tree which has been transplanted to a new spot in the garden. Before the tree can take root again it must first shed all its old leaves. Only then will the new sprouts be forthcoming. You who are pioneers must pass through the same process. These friends are only shedding their old leaves.’
Now that Pedro himself has shed his earthly form, may God grant that the tree of his eternal being be adorned with fragrant leaves and blossoms in the Kingdom of Abhá. His Bahá’í life was one of truly fruitful service and exemplary steadfastness in the early years of the Cause among the Toba people.