Bahá’í News/Issue 397/Text
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| No. 397 | BAHA’I YEAR 121 | APRIL, 1964 |
Hands Call Baha’i World to New Laurels[edit]
Beloved Friends:
A year ago, with infinite joy, the Bahá’ís all over the world were looking forward to the crowning days of our beloved Guardian’s Crusade. It had been the expectation of every believer that when the glorious Centenary of the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh dawned our beloved Guardian would be watching over us, giving us new inspiration, praising us for the great exploits we had carried out during his Ten Year Plan, and rewarding us for the innumerable victories won in the name of Bahá’u’lláh. Unexpectedly, through the inscrutable decrees of providence, our beloved Shoghi Effendi was removed from our midst in the middle of his great Crusade.
No one dreamed in those dark days of 1957 that with such distinction, such steadfastness, such utter consecration of heart the believers in the East and in the West would be able to bring his work to such glorious fruition in 1963. We knew that we would be given the strength to cling to the hem of Bahá’u’lláh’s robe, to follow in His path and believe in His Name, but we did not anticipate that we would be able to consummate the Plan given us by Shoghi Effendi and carry forward the grand design of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to such a victory as the Bahá’ís of the world witnessed during the Riḍván period of last year.
In addition to all the other blessings showered upon the people of Bahá we were graced, through the mercy of God, by being able to bring into being that Supreme Body of the Bahá’í world, the Universal House of Justice, promised in the Holy Texts to be infallibly guided by the Twin Manifestations of God. We all remember, with feelings of the deepest emotion, how last April that august Body was elected by the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’í world.
Now we stand on the threshold of another epoch in the unfoldment of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s design for carrying the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh to all the peoples of the world and establishing His Order throughout the entire planet, an epoch during which, in the words of the beloved Guardian, the Universal House of Justice will “launch enterprises embracing the whole Bahá’í world.” The hearts of the believers are turned eagerly towards this coming Riḍván period, waiting to hear the details of the great Nine Year Teaching and Consolidation Plan which will be announced at the Annual Conventions by that supreme and infallibly guided body.
As we turn our faces towards the future, let us remember that this new Plan, like all previous Plans, is essentially the Plan of Bahá’u’lláh Himself. He is the victorious King, Who has come to the world to establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. It was from His Teachings that the Master gleaned the principles and inspiration for His Tablets of the Divine Plan, which He revealed to the Bahá’ís of North America during some of the darkest days of His life at the end of the first World War. It was these Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that stimulated and inspired our beloved Guardian to give to that privileged Community — the champion builders of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order — two Seven Year Plans, and also other similar Plans to various National Communities. These were followed by the first great global Crusade aimed at the spiritual conquest of the planet by the entire army of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh.
During the course of these Plans the banner of the Faith was planted in the vast majority of the sovereign states, territories, islands and dependencies of the globe. So great were our victories that by Riḍván 1963 the Bahá’ís of the world were able to establish no less than fifty-six independent National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies; and to create so mighty an impetus in the growth of the Administrative Order that thirteen new National Assemblies can come into existence this April as a major reinforcement of the new Plan to be launched at that time. We conquered in the Name of Bahá’u’lláh the whole of Latin America, the countries of Western Europe, the vast reaches of Africa, the remotest regions of the Pacific, new lands in the heart of Asia. When we look back and see what was done from 1937, when the beloved Guardian released his first major
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Plan, until April 1963, when his World Crusade
ended, we are overcome with wonder and astonishment!
There can be no doubt that the believers of the world, through the victories they have won, have gained immensely in spiritual stature; they have gained in confidence, in understanding, in learning to rely on the bounties of Bahá’u’lláh, which are vouchsafed to all those who arise in His Name.
How often both the Master and the Guardian called upon the friends to arise and win new laurels as they vied with each other in the field of service. Victors’ crowns are still to be won in the vast field of pioneering, whether it be in the fruitful and promising countries of Africa, in the remote islands that dot the Pacific and cling to the fringes of the great continents of the globe, in the increasingly disturbed and coveted jungle regions of South East Asia, in the heart of the immense Indian sub-continent, in the sweltering tropics and forbidding ranges of Latin America, in the desolate interior of Australia or the fastnesses of Asia, an army of consecrated souls is needed to go forth immediately, upon the announcement of the new Plan, to carry the sacred fire of Bahá’u’lláh’s love, the healing light of His Message to innumerable lands.
No one can ever describe the role of the Bahá’ís in the immediate future better than our beloved Guardian himself. We are now in the tenth part of a process which, he informed us in 1953, began with the dawn of the Adamic Cycle; the tenth part of this mighty process must be the penetration of the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation “in the course of numerous crusades and of successive epochs in both the Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith, into all the remaining territories of the globe through the erection of the entire machinery of Bahá’u’lláh’s Administrative Order in all territories, both East and West, the stage at which the light of God’s triumphant Faith shining in all its power and glory will have suffused and enveloped the entire planet.”
With joyful and grateful hearts we prepare ourselves to seize upon this new, Nine Year Crusade and, perusing its provisions, seek each one to take for himself a portion of its bounties, to find, at home or abroad, a field of service for himself where he can labor for the glorification of Bahá’u’lláh’s Name and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth.
| Haifa, Israel | —HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND |
| February 1964 |
Hands of the Cause Announce New Assignment[edit]
The following cable has been received from the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land:
(ON) BEHALF (OF) ENTIRE BODY (OF THE) HANDS (OF THE CAUSE) HAPPY (TO) ANNOUNCE ASSIGNMENT (OF) BELOVED HAND (OF THE CAUSE) UGO GIACHERY (TO THE) WESTERN HEMISPHERE (THUS) FURTHER REINFORCING (THE) PROTECTION (AND) PROPAGATION (OF THE) FAITH (IN) THAT VAST TERRITORY (WHICH HAS BEEN THE) RECIPIENT (OF) SO MANY BOUNTIES (AND) PROMISES (OF THE) FUTURE FROM BOTH ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ (AND) SHOGHI EFFENDI. AIR MAIL MESSAGE (TO) ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
| Haifa, Israel, | (signed) HANDSFAITH |
| February 2, 1964 |
Facade of Austrian Bahá’í-Haus Is Beautifully Restored[edit]
Looking back over the events of this Holy Year, Austria will always remember her National Assembly’s journey to Haifa, to take part in electing the first Universal House of Justice, and its being joined by her community at the World Jubilee Congress in London. Besides these great events which she shared with the Bahá’í world, three romantic and historic happenings found their place in this country’s annals of 1963: First, Austria celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s coming, and the fact that He Himself founded the Faith here and in Hungary in 1913. Second, a young Persian business man who, with his wife, visited the Vienna Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, noted that while the interior was in excellent shape the facade was badly in need of restoration. Thereupon, as a gift to the Cause in Austria, this believer underwrote the not inconsiderable cost of rehabilitating our public image. The result is that the whole street, in a quiet quarter with lingering touches of “Alt Wien,” now looks much improved, and our “Bahá’í-Haus” is the most attractive structure in the neighborhood. Bahá’í youth of Vienna and Graz offered valuable assistance to the professionals in this connection.
Last but not least, the first Ethiopian-Persian Bahá’í marriage took place at the Ḥaẓíra July 22. The groom, Abraham Medhane, a protege of Emperor Haile Selassie, speaks five languages fluently and is the official representative of all Ethiopian students in Europe. He is vice chairman of the Vienna Local Spiritual Assembly. The Persian bride, Fataneh Khánum, attends the University in Vienna. Their historic marriage is yet another harbinger of many new ties uniting peoples and nations as the world speeds onward toward unity.
Bahá’í-Haus in Vienna, Austria during and after restoration of the facade.
Turkish Bahá’ís Commemorate Bahá’u’lláh’s Arrival in Adrianople 100 Years Ago[edit]
On a cold December morning one hundred years ago a group of exiles were sent en route from the capital of the Sultanate and the Caliphate for their twelve day journey to a remote city of the Ottoman empire. None in the group were prepared for such a journey and none had done anything against the law or state to deserve such a cruel punishment. This was the third exile of Bahá’u’lláh and His family after His release from the dungeon of the Síyáh-Chál in Tehrán. Bahá’u’lláh Himself testifies to the great sufferings of this journey, “We were sent from the city (Constantinople) with an abasement with which no abasement on earth can compare.... Neither My family nor those who accompanied Me had the necessary raiment to protect them from the cold in that freezing weather.” Again He states, “The eyes of Our enemies wept over Us.” Such was the painful journey of the group, including women and children, who accompanied Bahá’u’lláh.
Alí Pasha and Fuat Pasha, the most powerful vizíers of the Sultán, and Mushiru’d-Dawleh Mírzá Ḥusayn Khán, the Persian ambassador, finally united to attempt to strike the Cause of God and its recognized Leader. This was a coalition of the Ottoman and Persian imperial governments to extinguish the light which shone forth from the horizon of Shíráz and whose destiny was to embrace and illumine the whole of mankind.
Message to Persian Ambassador[edit]
Before His departure from Constantinople (now Istanbul) Bahá’u’lláh sent the following message to the Persian ambassador through Hájí Mírzá Hasan-i Safa, a member of the Persian embassy: “What did it profit thee, and such as are like thee, to slay, year after year, so many of the oppressed, and to inflict upon them manifold afflictions, when they have increased a hundredfold, and ye find yourselves in complete bewilderment, knowing not how to relieve your minds of this oppressive thought.... His Cause transcends any and every plan ye devise. Know this much: Were all the governments of the earth to unite and take My life and the lives of all who bear his name, this Divine Fire would never be quenched. His Cause will rather encompass all the kings of the earth, nay all that hath been created from water and clay.... Whatever may yet befall Us, great shall be our gain, and manifest the loss wherewith they shall be afflicted.”
First Stop Now Has LSA[edit]
The first stop was Küchik-Chakmajeh, which is only twenty kilometers from the city. At that time it was only a fishing village but today it is one of the finest summer resorts of Istanbul and it has a local spiritual assembly and a plot of land for a future Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.
After a hundred years, on that same day and on that same spot, the followers of Bahá’u’lláh gathered, chanted their prayers, read the Tablets revealed for this occasion and witnessed the realization of the divine words proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh just a century ago. The tragic downfall of the Qájár dynasty, the Sultanate and the Caliphate are all now facts of history. Alí Pasha and Fuat Pasha also received their share of punishment not long after the Tongue of Power had proclaimed their shameful ending.
The National Spiritual Assembly decided to celebrate the centenary with two different meetings, one at Küchik-Chakmajeh on December 1 (the first day of the journey) and the second at Edirne (Adrianople) on December 12, the day of Bahá’u’lláh’s arrival in the country. Over seventy friends and delegates from all the Bahá’í communities in the country participated in the December 12 meeting. On December 11 the friends arrived in private buses. Since such large groups of visitors are not very usual for this town a great deal of suspicion was aroused. Therefore the National Spiritual Assembly, informed of the situation beforehand, sent several of its members to the governor of the city to
Centennary commemoration of Bahá’u’lláh’s journey from Istanbul (Constantinople) to Edirne (Adrianople), December 1-12, 1863. LEFT: December 1 finds the friends at Küchik-Chakmachik for the first day of the commemoration. RIGHT: Group on the way to Edirne on December 12.
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ask his permission for a Bahá’í meeting and to invite
him to attend. The governor was afraid to give his
permission for a large meeting however he did allow
the believers to visit the House of Bahá’u’lláh in small
groups. By two in the afternoon all visits were completed.
By 3:30 P.M. the bus had left Edirne to begin a six hour journey along almost the same route Bahá’u’lláh had travelled one hundred years ago.
Joyous Spirit Permeates Colombian School[edit]
A Summer School was held November 9 through 11 at the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Bogota, Colombia. Although it was the rainy season and the weather was poor and conditions primitive a joyous feeling was shared by all those present. Classes centered around The Dawn-Breakers, which has now been translated into Spanish. Additional subjects covered were, The Bahá’í Life, The Bahá’í and His Faith, Administration, How to Teach the Faith to Children and an outline of the book The Thief in the Night.
On the last evening the birth of Bahá’u’lláh was celebrated. Cities represented besides Bogota were Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cali, Manizales, Medellín and Santa Marta.
Colombia Holds First Children’s Camp[edit]
Colombia held the first Bahá’í Children’s Camp at the home of Mrs. Kit Goldstein in Bucaramanga December 16 through 22. Eleven children, nine Bahá’ís and two non-Bahá’ís, were present. The days were divided into outings, Bahá’í study, art, music and play with devotions held morning, noon and night. Memorable events were a picnic and swim at a nearby lake, a visit to a big market, a puppet show at the Centro Colombo-Americano and a taffy pull at the home of one of the Bahá’ís. In addition, the children studied subjects designed to make them aware of the universality of the Faith and to give them an introductory understanding of the Bahá’í life. On the last morning a letter of greetings was sent to the Hands of the Cause and a report of the camp to the National Assembly.
Some of those attending the Costa Rica Bahá’í Summer School held December 28-31, 1963.
Mrs. Shirin Fozdar chants Bahá’í prayers at the funeral service for the late Prime Minister of Thailand. Services were held in a Buddhist temple in Bangkok January 19, 1964.
Bahá’í Prayers Read for Thai Prime Minister[edit]
Over a thousand people attended the World Religion Day observance in Bangkok, Thailand. The foreign Minister of Thailand Thanat Khoman inaugurated the program. Thai TV covered the entire program and all newspapers and radio stations gave extensive coverage.
Later the same evening the Bahá’ís participated in the funeral services of the late Prime Minister Marshall Sarit Thanarat. The Bahá’í prayers were read in the Buddhist temple where the ceremony was held. This is the first time authorities have allowed reading of the prayers of another religion in a Buddhist temple. The late Prime Minister had been extremely courteous to the Bahá’ís. His widow expressed her gratitude for the prayers.
Part of the audience attending the World Religion Day program held in Bangkok, Thailand. The Thai Foreign Minister opened the program.
THE DECLARATION OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH[edit]
As the celebration of the Most Great Jubilee approached, the followers of the Greatest Name in every part of the world must have all turned their hearts and minds a hundred years back to the most momentous and glorious event in the history of mankind — the declaration of Bahá’u’lláh in the Garden of Riḍván.
With the approaching of the year “eighty” (1863) the signs of the declaration of Bahá’u’lláh became increasingly manifest to His companions. Many festive odes and Tablets streamed from His pen, which, by virtue of their unique style and wording as well as their soul-entrancing power, may well prove impossible to translate. Nabil in his as yet unpublished narratives describes how Bahá’u’lláh’s companions would get together at night to chant these Tablets. Oblivious of this world and wholly immersed in the realms of the spirit, they would suddenly discover that night had become day.
The same chronicler has recorded that one night ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, then eighteen years of age, was the host at a similar gathering. A new Tablet, Az-Bágh-i-Iláhi, replete with clear indications of the approaching hour of Bahá’u’lláh’s assumption of His prophetic office was chanted.
Ecstasy, joy and rapture filled their hearts.
Siyyid Muhammad Isfaháni, described by the Guardian as the antichrist of the Bahá’í Revelation and the embodiment of wickedness, whose opposition to Bahá’u’lláh at that stage was not openly declared, was present. In the course of chanting the Tablet, when a reference in which Bahá’u’lláh admonishes His enemies was heard, all turned to look at Siyyid Muhammad. Feeling embarrassed, he got up and performed a dance of rapture in an attempt to dismiss their suspicion.
Then suddenly and unexpectedly Bahá’u’lláh walked in; He loudly greeted them with the words “Alláh’u’-Akbar,” and ordered them not to arise, anointed each one with rose-water and then left the room. This was a mighty climax; now they had become truly intoxicated with the wine of His presence. “The like of that night,” Nabil writes, “the eye of creation had not seen.”
The fifth of Naw-Rúz 1863 was a fateful day. The joy of these companions was turned to grief as the Tablet of the Holy Mariner, foreshadowing the appearance of gloomy days, was revealed and read out on that day.
The following day Bahá’u’lláh received a communication from the Ottoman Government telling Him that He was to leave Baghdád.
The news created such a commotion in the hearts of His lovers, that some decided to take their own lives should they be separated from Him.
Thirty-one days after Naw-Rúz, on a Wednesday afternoon, 22* April, 1863, wearing a new type of headdress known as the Táj, amidst the heart-rending lamentations of His loving followers, Bahá’u’lláh left Baghdád. He walked out towards the gate of the house designated by Him as the Most Great House. No sooner had He reached that gate than many of His lovers prostrated themselves at His feet; among them a certain Bábi child of tender years who clung to His robes, weeping aloud and begging Him not to leave.
Multitudes of people of all walks of life had thronged the gate of the house; many had lined the streets or stood on roof-tops. Tearful and heartbroken, they watched him go to the bank of the river in the neighborhood of Takeih-i-Baktásh. From there He was ferried across to the opposite shore together with His sons and amanuensis. He thus arrived in the Garden of Najíbiyyih known to Bahá’ís as the Garden of Riḍván, which was placed at His service by Najíb-Pashá, while preparations were being made for the long journey to Constantinople.
The call to afternoon prayer was raised from the mosque and the words “God is Great” reverberated through the Garden as the King of Glory entered it. This is the day we now keep as the first Day of Riḍván.
This Garden-Park with its four avenues lined with roses and trees, its vast and open scenery contrasted completely with His extremely modest house in Baghdád. His tent was pitched and He remained there for twelve days and eleven nights. His family joined Him on the ninth day.
On the first day of His arrival, the Suriy-i-Sabr, one of Bahá’u’lláh’s works, extolling Vahíd and the martyrs of Nayríz, was revealed.
In the same Garden the declaration of His Mission took place; but the exact manner of it is not clearly known to us. Nabil related that every morning a number of His companions were summoned to His presence and dismissed in the same evening. Only those with no family ties were allowed to remain the night. Unable to sleep, these devoted lovers would keep vigil around His blessed tent.
On May 3, at noon, amidst spectacular scenes of weeping and wailing by multitudes of people, believers and unbelievers, rich and poor, high and low, Bahá’u’lláh left the Garden of Riḍván.
The significance of this declaration, the greatness of the Cause He revealed, the exalted and unapproachably glorious station He occupied; all these stagger our imagination.
To-day, we cannot do better than turn to His writings and those of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, in order to receive even an infinitesimal glimmer of that light which He who was the King of Glory shed on His God-intoxicated companions a century ago, and which must have so dazzled their eyes; a light which is destined to illumine the whole of mankind.
*—The first day of Riḍván usually falls on 21 April. In 1863 it fell on 22 April, because Naw-Rúz on that year was 22 March, as the vernal equinox took place after sunset.
Reprinted from June 1963 issue of Bahá’í Journal, publication of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the British Isles.
Faith Spreads Among Indians Of Venezuela[edit]
351 Enrolled in Two Months[edit]
The Indians of America, so often lauded by the beloved Guardian for their spiritual capacity, are continuing to enter the Faith in large numbers in various regions of Venezuela. During teaching trips made in December and January by several pioneers, 351 new Indian believers enrolled in the Faith in three widely separated areas of the country. Whether in the sweltering plains of Bolívar State, the precarious trails of the Perijá Mountain Range, or the semi-desert landscape of the Guajira Peninsula, the pioneers were joyfully welcomed by the Indian believers in each village they visited. In many of these villages the new Bahá’ís showed an enthusiastic desire to spread the Message of the new Prophet to others, and in several cases these recently enrolled believers voluntarily guided the pioneers to new villages in order that the people there could also learn about the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Venezuelan National Assembly has published a short pamphlet on the Faith, designed to be used especially among the Indians, and other pamphlets are being prepared. Also, it is hoped that it will soon be possible to publish some short pamphlets translated into the Indian languages, since many of the indigenous peoples do not speak Spanish.
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PHOTOS
Far Left: Newly established Bahá’í community of La Huerta composed of members of the Guajiro tribe. Left from top: New Bahá’ís in the Guajiro village of Canito with pioneer Peter McLaren. First believers enrolled in Guajiro village of Laguna de Pajaros shown with pioneer Alberto Tejada. Guajiro children do typical dance during social part of Bahá’í meeting in Aceitunito. Below from top: Bahá’ís recently enrolled in Motilón-Yukpa village of Sunido-Pinto. New Bahá’í community of Aceitunito in the Guajiro Peninsula. Right from top: Members of the Motilón-Yukpa tribe who recently enrolled in the village of Carmera. New Bahá’ís in the Guajiro village of La Punta. Novito, one of the largest Bahá’í villages in the Perijá Mountain Range. |
World Religion Day Observances Bring Principles of Bahá’u’lláh to Public[edit]
Bahá’í communities all over the country celebrated World Religion Day with public meetings, firesides and special displays. All events were well publicized and well attended testifying to the growing recognition of the Faith by the general public.
The four following events typify the ingenuity and imagination of the American Bahá’í community.
The Bahá’ís of Pasadena, California celebrated World Religion Day by presenting a program of readings taken from the scriptures of the World’s Great Religions. Nine readers, four of whom were non-Bahá’ís, presented the program and they were accompanied by background music. At the close of the program a reader read from the Bahá’í Sacred Writings while seven little girls wearing white costumes carried in seven white candles representing the seven candles of unity. The children represented the Negro, Caucasian and Indian races. After the program, which was attended by forty-nine people, refreshments were served and an informal fireside discussion was held.
The North Hempstead Township Community, New York held a buffet supper in the home of one of the believers.
Mayor Douglas Badger of Healdsburg with members of the Healdsburg Bahá’í community as he signs World Religion Day proclamation.
350 Bahá’ís and guests gathered in Foundation Hall of
the Wilmette Temple to hear Mrs. Florence Mayberry,
Auxiliary Board member, speak on “Unity in Religion.”
Hands of the Cause Leroy C. Ioas and Zikru’lláh
Khádem were honored guests. Left to right in photo
are Mr. Ioas, Mrs. Mayberry, David Ruhe, Secretary of
the National Spiritual Assembly and Mr. Khádem.
A Duluth, Minnesota public meeting was attended by fifty non-Bahá’ís. The panel included representatives of various world faiths.
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Part of a “Oneness of Religion” display in the library at the University of Oregon. The entire display included eight large windows and six display cases. World Religion Day was listed in the library bulletin for January.
This display and additional World Religion Day publicity resulted in all the Bahá’í books in the library being checked out at Huntsville, Alabama. A week later the librarian placed “Release the Sun” on public display on her own volition.
Sixteen Bahá’ís and twelve non-Bahá’ís were
present including Persians, Negroes, various denominations of Christians and a Zoroastrian. After dinner a
talk was given followed by informal discussion.
The Bahá’ís of Duluth, Minnesota presented a panel consisting of Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís representing the various Faiths. Each speaker presented the historical background of his Faith and read from its Holy Scriptures. The teaching of progressive revelation was emphasized and the program culminated with the proclamation that Bahá’u’lláh was the One promised in all the Holy Books of the past. In addition, an explanation of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings on the unity of religion was given. Ten Bahá’ís and fifty non-Bahá’ís attended and the event received extensive newspaper coverage.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hennen, two newly enrolled Bahá’ís of Renton, Washington, presented a World Religion Day program with the assistance of the Issaquah, Washington Local Spiritual Assembly. The program
Program in Renton, Washington included Japanese, Negro and southern white speakers. Forty-eight people, mostly contacts, attended including many Japanese and Negroes.
entitled, “Unity in Religion” featured three Bahá’ís: a
Caucasian chairman from the South, and Japanese and
Negro speakers. Attendance totaled forty-eight, a large
number of whom were contacts. Publicity was excellent and the manager of the local radio station was so
impressed by the Faith that he promised to do whatever he could to promote it.
In addition to these events and the many public meetings there were also many special displays and several articles. Newspaper coverage was especially fine all over the country.
Cameroons Ambassador Attends Belgian World Religion Day Commemoration[edit]
The largest public meeting ever held in Belgium, with nearly 200 present to celebrate World Religion Day, took place at the Hotel Atlanta in Brussels. Mr. V. P. Ahanda, Ambassador to Belgium from the Republic of Cameroons, was a distinguished guest. In addition to the usual invitations a number of personal letters were sent to journalists, ambassadors, mayors and educators. Mrs. Guyonne Erseen, Mrs. Lea Nys and Louis Henuzet appeared on the program.
During the winter months, the Bahá’ís of Belgium have initiated a number of activities designed to consolidate the community and to favorably implant knowledge of the Faith in the public mind. A plan has been developed to establish and maintain contact with leading personalities through the work of a Public Relations Committee.
A national teaching conference held on December 15 in Brussels viewed current progress and discussed preparations for the opening of the new nine-year plan to be delineated by the Universal House of Justice this Riḍván.
New Guinea Citizen Defends Faith[edit]
Sometime ago the South Pacific Post, published in Port Moresby, New Guinea, ran a short article to the affect that “... a new cargo cult is expected to bloom in New Britain as a result of a Rabaul business man opening a trade store to help spread the Bahá’í philosophy/religion. ” Now in a letter to the Editor of that newspaper a local non-Bahá’í defends the Faith.
“... This religion (it is a religion, not just a sect of any religion, and certainly not a mere philosophy) is perhaps new to the South Pacific Post, but it has a history of more than a hundred years with several million believers from practically every part of the world, with its own temples and shrines established in more than a few places.
“Any visitor to Sydney of recent years who has seen the magnificent Bahá’í Temple at Mona Vale, or anyone who has seen the Bahá’í Gardens at Haifa and the beautiful golden-domed Shrine of the Báb there, or any of the other major Bahá’í establishments in the lands of Europe, America, Africa or Asia can verify that this is not some quaint sect that has developed overnight.
“I am not qualified to speak with authority about either the Bahá’í Faith or cargo cults, but from what little I do know of them it would be most amusing to think that one could emerge from the other if it were not for the tragic fact that an unfortunate and ill-informed paragraph of this nature can precipitate a lot of completely unfounded prejudice. It cannot pass unchallenged.
“Cargo cult, as I understand it, originates from a misunderstanding by the less sophisticated people of
Group of Bahá’ís and friends at the February Weekend
School held at Vapnagaard, Elsinore, Denmark. These
schools are held at regular intervals and are very
well attended by non-Bahá’ís. Several declarations have
resulted.
this and other countries, of certain ecclesiastical promises promulgated by well-meaning but misguided missionaries, about the sweet by-and-by.
“So instead of whiling away the intervening years
with such energy-consuming pastimes as honest labor
to lay the foundations for the modern civilization which
they see emerging all around them, these people come
to believe that all they have to do is plant themselves
firmly on their indigenous posteriors and wait for that
great new day to dawn when their very own Messiah
will appear with plane-load upon plane-load of cameras,
watches, motor-cars, cigarettes and beer and all the
other amenities which the European’s God has apparently bestowed on His followers.
“One very important and strongly emphasized tenet of the Bahá’í Faith is that work, no matter how menial, performed to the best of one’s ability is one of the sincerest forms of worship.
“A very interesting form of cargo cult may arise from that.
“The teachings of the Bahá’í Faith offer no tempting rewards for its adherents, not in this temporal world.
“In fact its believers have suffered more than their fair share of persecution at the hands of fanatical religious leaders in some countries, with more than twenty thousand of them mercilessly butchered to death in the latter part of the last century because of their beliefs.
“Even today during purges in some of the Muslim-ruled countries, the blood of Bahá’í believers is shed in the streets. How many cargo-culters would a Faith such as that enlist?
“Today, in the south of the United States we have the unbelievable spectacle of white Christian denying his colored Christian brother even the most elementary of human rights; in South Africa the white Christian is following a rigid apartheid policy which excludes his colored Christian brother.
“On the other hand acclamation for the laudable efforts of the lovable late Pope John echoes throughout the civilized world. And he wanted to bring about closer unity among the Christian churches.
“How much more commendable then are the efforts of the Bahá’í believers, whose only desire is rather not to destroy any man’s religion, but to establish that all religions, Judean or Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu emanate from the one source — God — and that all mankind are as one, irrespective of color, class, race or creed.
“Is this the sort of material from which a cargo cult can emerge?
“The teachings of the Bahá’í Faith are so beautiful in their simplicity and yet so embracing in their scope that it would be utterly impossible for anyone the least bit familiar with them to believe that anything remotely like a cargo cult could arise, no matter how they may be misinterpreted by even the least sophisticated people.
“At least your columnist and his correspondent can be assured that the customers at the Rabaul businessman’s trade store will not, if he is sincere in his beliefs, be exploited, as unfortunately so many trade store customers have been in the past.
“His motives are much higher and much more praiseworthy. He has my best wishes for success.
[Page 11]
Some of the believers of Irian Barat, Indoneisa. LEFT: Celebration of the Birthday of the Báb. Pioneer Imran Irsjad (center holding Master’s picture) had himself transferred to a difficult post in order to teach the Faith in Irian Barat. RIGHT: Bahá’ís gather to celebrate the Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh.
First Spiritual Assembly of Gawler, South Australia,
formed April 1963. Left to right, seated: Mrs. Silver
Jackman, Mrs. Brenda Rawlings (treasurer), Mrs.
Margot Klinkoski (secretary), Lester Rigney. Standing:
William Hewson (vice-chairman), Mrs. Ellen Rigney,
Mrs. Mary Williams, Mrs. Thelma Hewson, Mrs. Mabel
Johnson (chairman).
Spiritual Assembly of Kokomo, Indiana incorporated October 15, 1963. Left to right, standing: Steve McDonald, Hassell W. Berry (chairman), Eve Erikson (corresponding secretary), Charles Lane, Dale Keirn (recording secretary). Sitting: Carl Smallwood, Lou Kinsey, Cotrea Smallwood, Harry Eriksen (treasurer).
Friends of the Miami Beach, Florida area gathered to hear Hand of the Cause LeRoy Ioas, center seated, February 9, 1964.
[Page 12]
Some of over one hundred Bahá’ís and guests attending the Frogmore Winter School December 28-January 1.
In Appreciation[edit]
The Universal House of Justice has requested that we convey to everyone who contributed time and effort to the campaign for the liberation of the Moroccan Bahá’ís its grateful appreciation.
This committee is happy to add its own expression of gratitude and greetings.
New Braille Book Again Available[edit]
Bahá’í Service for the Blind announces the second printing in Braille of World Order Through World Faith. This edition is limited to forty copies. Price per copy is $1.70. Local assemblies who have the list of Braille books available should change the price from $1.25 to $1.70 and inform blind members of the community of the change. This book may be ordered from either of the two offices: 842 N. Hayworth Av., Los Angeles, California 90046 or 3110 E. Lester St., Tucson, Arizona 85716.
Calendar of Events[edit]
- FEASTS
- April 9 — Jalál (Glory)
- April 28 —Jamál (Beauty)
- HOLY DAYS
- Feast of Riḍván — April 21-May 2
- (Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh)
- Feast of Riḍván — April 21-May 2
- ANNUAL CONVENTION
- Bahá’í House of Worship
- April 23, 24, 25, 26
Baha’i Publishing Trust[edit]
Above All Barriers. By Elsie Austin. This pamphlet is a reprint of “The Story of Louis Gregory” in a completely revised format and with an introductory statement that also gives interesting data on the background of the author. References to the Faith by noted world leaders appear on the back cover. A handsome new cover design by Wm. Musler makes this one of our best looking small pamphlets.
With these changes and additions, this story of the life of a man who was the first Negro Hand of the Cause should find its way into the hands of many people today who are seeking answers to the dilemma in human relations as well as for those who want to emulate a high standard of service in the Cause of God.
10 copies | $1.00 |
50 copies | $4.50 |
Baha’i House of Worship[edit]
- Weekdays
- 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Auditorium only)
- Sundays and Holidays
- 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Entire building)
- Sundays
- 3:30 to 4:10 p.m.
- Sunday, April 19
- 4:15 p.m.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is published for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community.
BAHÁ’Í NEWS is edited by an annually appointed Editorial Committee: James Cloonan, Managing Editor; Mrs. Lilian Cloonan, Assistant Editor; Mrs. Eunice Braun, International Editor; Miss Charlotte Linfoot, National Spiritual Assembly Representative.
Material must be received by the twentieth of the second month preceding date of issue. Address: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
Change of address should be reported directly to National Bahá’í Office. 112 Linden Avenue. Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
