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Bahá’í News

April 1975

Bahá’í Year 132

The dedication of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West

[Page 0] Universal House of Justice Message

Call for traveling teachers to arise in support of teaching plan

To All National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

As we approach the threshold of the second year of the Five Year Plan, it is evident that the need for traveling teachers as indicated in the message launching that Plan is acquiring greater urgency and importance.

During the past year, steps have been taken to revise the functions, broaden the base, and strengthen the work of the Continental Pioneer Committees and to bring them into much closer collaboration with the Continental Boards of Counsellors. Already, with their assistance, an army of pioneers has moved and is moving towards its objectives, and a general readiness has been evinced by the friends, particularly the youth, to serve as itinerant teachers.

The strenuous efforts being made to fill the pioneer goals by the mid-way point of the Plan must now be paralleled by well-considered and determined efforts to swell to a mighty river the stream of those friends who will travel to foreign lands to reinforce the efforts of those who are laboring so valiantly to expand and consolidate the widely scattered Bahá’í communities and to proclaim the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to every stratum of society.

At our request, the International Teaching Center has evolved a plan, which we have warmly approved, comprising specific goals of international collaboration in the field of traveling teaching. This plan is now being sent to the Continental Boards of Counsellors who will, in turn, present it to the National Spiritual Assemblies, whose task it will be to implement it. In consultation with Counsellors, each National Spiritual Assembly is to work out specific proposals which it should then present to the other National Assemblies with whom it is to collaborate so that, as soon as possible, actual projects can be worked out and set in motion, thus inaugurating a process which should rapidly gather momentum and be prosecuted with undiminished vigor in the years ahead.

The Continental Pioneer Committees should be kept closely informed of all projects so that they may know how best to reinforce the flow with those many volunteers who will undoubtedly arise outside the framework of the specific projects now to be conceived. It is our hope that, as far as possible, travel teaching projects will be self-supporting or can be assisted by the National Funds involved, but where necessary, the International Deputization Fund is available to assist. Whenever assistance from the Deputization Fund is required, the request should be made to the Continental Pioneer Committee, giving details of the project. If the sum required is small, the Committee may be able to help immediately; otherwise, it will pass the request, together with its recommendation, to the Universal House of Justice for consideration.

We sincerely hope that in the forefront of the volunteers, the Bahá’í youth will arise for the sake of God and, through their driving force, their ability to endure inhospitable and arduous conditions, and their contentment with the bare necessities of life, they will offer an inspiring example to the peoples and communities they set out to serve, will exert an abiding influence on their personal lives, and will promote with distinction the vital interests of God’s Cause at this crucial stage in the fortunes of the Plan.

We shall offer our ardent prayers at the Holy Shrines for the confirmation of the efforts of all those who will heroically respond to this call.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

March 25, 1975

[Page 1]

Contents

Universal House of Justice Message	Inside Cover
Call for traveling teachers to arise in support of teaching plan
Around the World	2
International Bahá’í Community, Central African Republic, Chile, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Rhodesia, Solomon Islands, United States
The dedication of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West	12
India: an historical overview, part II	18

page 5

page 12

page 18

Cover photo: A view of the concrete ribs of the dome which meet to form the pinnacle of the House of Worship.

Bahá’í News is published monthly for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A.

Change of address should be reported directly to Office of Membership and Records, National Bahá’í Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A.

Subscription rates: one year, US $6.00; two years, US $12.00. Effective May 1, 1975, one year, US $8; two years, US $15.

Second class postage paid at Wilmette, Illinois 60091.

Copyright ® 1975, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

[Page 2]

Around the World

Bahá’í representatives will attend Mexico conference

The Bahá’í International Community announced it will send two delegates to the International Women’s Year World Conference in Mexico City June 19-July 2.

Wilma Brady, the UN representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, said the delegate selection will be made by The Universal House of Justice. Details for their participation in the conference will be handled by the Mexican National Assembly, she said.

The Bahá’í International Community, as the UN representative of Bahá’í communities throughout the world, was invited to send two delegates by the Economic and Social Council, with which it enjoys consultative status at the United Nations.

National Assemblies, as national nongovernmental organizations at the UN, will not send representatives to the Mexico conference, Dr. Brady said. They will be represented by the Bahá’í International Community.

A second gathering for nongovernmental organizations, (NGO) will run concurrently with the large official conference, she explained. This second session, called an NGO Tribune, will provide a forum for discussion to a greater range of organizations than will be represented at the Women’s Year Conference.

The Tribune will be held at the National Medical Center in Mexico City, and will include plenary meetings, exhibits, films, and group discussions on the subject of improving the status of women in world society.

The Bahá’í International Community will send an official delegation to the Tribune as well as to the Women’s Conference, Dr. Brady said. This delegation will also be selected by The Universal House of Justice.

This special Tribune will be opened to individual participants, Dr. Brady explained. Individual Bahá’ís may attend this Tribune as non-delegates if they desire, she said. Bahá’ís who attend independently, however, will not represent the Bahá’í community or any Bahá’í agency, she noted. Tribune participants must make travel and housing arrangements.

Bahá’ís from the Central African Republic participating in the national independence day parade on December 1, 1974.

Central African Republic:

Example of unity favorably impresses head of government

A few weeks before the December 1 national parade marking the anniversary of the establishment of the Central African Republic, the Bahá’ís were astonished to hear announced on the government radio station that the Bahá’í Faith and other major religious groups would be represented in this important annual event, the National Assembly reported. “As no preparations had been made and as we had never before participated, we considered asking to be excused, but after consultation and encouragement from the visiting Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga, it was decided that we should do our best to respond positively to this expectation of the government even if our participation would, perforce, be rather modest.”

An ingenious and inexpensive solution was adopted. The Bahá’í delegation was led by two men who carried a large placard reading “La Foi Bahá’íe”. Following were nine ladies marching three by three and nine men marching in a similar formation. The women wore traditional African dresses made from the same material which all had contributed to buy. The men wore dark trousers and light-colored shirts. Each wore a diagonal red band across the chest as a unifying element of design.

As the Bahá’í delegation progressed through the streets, it attracted a good deal of attention. Many spectators called out “La Foi Bahá’íe” or “Bahá’u’lláh” or sang snatches of the theme song from the Bahá’í radio program.

Observers noted that the black and white believers marching together caused the greatest comment among the spectators; some cheered seeing three white pioneer women dressed in traditional costume marching with their African sisters. A white male pioneer marched among the men. This demonstration of the unity of mankind was commented upon by the radio announcer who gave a live broadcast. As the delegation passed before the dias on which the president was seated, he rose, accompanied by all his ministers and distinguished guests, and applauded.

Two days later the pioneers who had participated in the parade were summoned to the presidential palace where they were received by the director-general of the presidential security forces who said that the head of state had asked him to convey to the Bahá’ís his personal appreciation for their participation in the parade. He stated that the president had been deeply moved to see such a tangible expression of solidarity. The friends explained that there had been no design to attract attention, and that their participation was a natural expression of the Bahá’í belief in the oneness of humanity. It was explained that Bahá’í pioneers live in unity with their fellow

[Page 3] believers because they are not paid missionaries but must work in their adopted society and earn a living and participate in the work of the Faith on a voluntary basis like everyone else. The director seemed most interested and assured the Bahá’ís that he would include these facts in his report to the president. In closing the interview, he again thanked and congratulated the Bahá’ís most warmly.

Teaching conference brings believers to capital city

The first national teaching conference of the Five Year Plan was recently held in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic. More than 50 believers representing 13 communities attended, many through sacrificial effort. Local pioneers and Bahá’í visitors from France and the United States were present, and “a wonderful spirit of fellowship, unity, and brotherhood prevailed,” one observer reported.

Each participant was given a file containing deepening material on basic subjects, among them: living the life, prayer, the life of Bahá’u’lláh, the 19-day Feast, the Bahá’í calendar, and some practical guidelines on Bahá’í marriage and burial. Workshops were held daily during the conference, and the friends explored means of using the deepening material in various situations, including in communities where illiteracy presents a problem.

Chile:

Week of teaching accompanies purchase Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds

In conjunction with the purchase of the first local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of the Five Year Plan in Chile, the Local Spiritual Assembly of Punta Arenas launched a week-long proclamation program. The opening event was a formal tea to which 50 invitations were printed and directed to civic and ecclesiastic leaders of the city. The mayor and government administrator granted interviews to the Bahá’ís and accepted gift literature. Three civic leaders, including the manager of a local newspaper, attended one event, the latter being eager to learn more about the Faith and expressing himself as impressed with what he heard.

An exhibition of panels proclaiming the Faith was displayed in the public plaza. Inquirers were invited to attend public meetings and scores of brochures were distributed. Each evening for nine days, a planned program was executed including a reception for the public, slide shows, music, panel discussions, and prepared talks. The film of the Panama Temple Dedication, “El Alba,” was shown twice at the Bahá’í center and on one occasion was viewed by 20 children from a local orphanage. In a letter directed to all of the local schools, the film was offered for viewing. One of the two local high schools showed the film several times to various classes and also to more than 50 adult night-class students.

A total of 40 minutes of free radio time was obtained and throughout the proclamation week, all local radio stations broadcast details of the events and the theme. A total of sixteen column inches of newspaper publicity was obtained in two local newspapers. Particular assistance was lent by Auxiliary Board member Katherine Meyer, and Ana María Chandler who came from Temuco to help.

As a result of the proclamation, many people have become attracted to the Faith and the Bahá’í community itself, encouraged by the success of the program, has doubled its efforts. Nine new believers have enrolled since the proclamation effort.

Bahá’í song received with enthusiasm

The Faith has been proclaimed in Puerto Aisén, Chile, a virgin goal of the Five Year Plan. A song with a Bahá’í theme “Caminando Juntos” (Walking Together) composed by two pioneers, was selected for performance at a song festival in Puerto Aisén where ten finalists were to compete.

The team, Robert Siegel and Reed Chandler, met in Puerto Aisén, rehearsed for a few hours, and then performed their selection for audiences of more than 3,000 on three successive evenings. The song was received with great enthusiasm and the artists were several times called on stage for encores. The song tells of the Faith in simple and direct language. Many teaching opportunities arose during the three-day festival.

Mapuche believers attend summer school

Thirty believers, twenty of whom are Mapuche Indians, attended the summer school at Nueva Imperial, Chile, from November 21-24, 1974. The active participation of the Mapuche friends, who walked long distances to attend, contributed greatly to the success of the sessions. Public talks were given in the evenings, and the film “El Alba,” about the dedication of the Panama House of Worship, was shown.

As a result of teaching activities the week following the summer school, 76 new believers enrolled in the Faith.

Ethiopia:

Eager students enrolling in Faith

A high degree of receptivity to the Faith is now apparent in the Arussi province of Ethiopia, and particularly in the community of Assela where students are reported to be enrolling in the Faith in considerable numbers. “All we do is relay the message and the students, beaming with exceeding joy and happiness, express their allegiance,” one observer commented. “No longer does it appear necessary to present lengthy proofs from the Bible and the Qur’án because the students go directly to the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh by which they are strongly affected and enchanted. This is also true of Nazareth where, as of now, there are 42 Bahá’ís. The believers of these two communities are in the process of opening approximately 40 new centers.

[Page 4] Participants at the first National Bahá’í Children’s Conference in Langenhain, Germany, pose outside the House of Worship. Continental Counsellor Erik Blumenthal was one of the teachers at the conference, held October 5 and 6, 1974.

Germany:

Children’s conference held in Langenhain

Parents and children gathered in Langenhain, Germany, October 5-6, 1974, to participate in the country’s first National Bahá’í Children’s Conference.

Classes for adults, youth, and children on Bahá’í education, the lives of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í history and administration, and arts and crafts were organized by the National Children’s Committee and held in the new national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.

Two of the older children who participated wrote that they were especially impressed by stories from the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “after Bahá’u’lláh was thrown into the “black pit” (the Síyáh-Chál) and the family was plundered of all possessions, they had nothing to eat... except a little bit of raw flour. We children were able to taste some raw flour from a sack and could well imagine how difficult ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had it as an eight-year-old boy. With the story from America, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá compared black children with candies, we also could taste how good these sweets are.”

Children’s groups from Frankfurt and Weisbaden organized the program for Saturday evening. Events in the life of Ṭáhirih were reenacted in pantomime accompanied by a tape recording with music and texts; a slide program and games were enjoyed later in the evening.

On Sunday morning the children arranged the devotional service in the House of Worship.

All children present at the conference received a small prayer book with a stamp of the House of Worship as a memento.

India:

Non-Bahá’í editor aids proclamation

The Local Spiritual Assembly of Mysore, India, recently sent a teaching team to Hassan, a nearby locality, to support the efforts of the lone pioneer there.

The nine friends divided themselves into teams of three. One team visited the colleges, the second team visited various offices, and the third team taught people in the streets who expressed interest in the Faith.

All those who were contacted willingly cooperated with the Bahá’ís. A leading editor and writer was so interested that he summoned notaries and assisted the Bahá’ís in explaining the Faith. He also published a newspaper article about the Cause.

During the two-day visit, six talks were delivered in all the local colleges. An excellent response came from the respective principals. A Muslim teacher at an Urdu school served as a translator and repeatedly extolled the Station of Bahá’u’lláh.

Three theaters of the town exhibited Bahá’í slides, and a prominent hotel owner accepted a Bahá’í poster for permanent display. Twenty posters in all were posted at strategic locations in the town. The local library and some townspeople purchased Bahá’í books, and nine people enrolled in the Faith.

Week-long exhibit attracts large crowds

Several thousand people learned about the Faith during a recent week-long exhibition held in the city of Indore, in Central India. Posters inscribed with passages from Bahá’í Writings, literature, photographs, charts depicting Bahá’í history, and printed and illustrated displays explaining the Teachings attracted large crowds to the exhibition where local Bahá’ís greeted them, escorted them through the displays, answered questions, and invited them to participate in ongoing informal discussion groups which the guests could intelligently join, having just received a brief but very complete introduction to the Cause.

“Through this media,” one observer commented, “many came to know about the Faith ... it is one of the best methods of expansion and consolidation.”

Each evening during the exhibition slide programs were offered. A midweek press conference was adjudged successful, and a public lecture held the last day of the exhibition brought a good turnout. Five local newspapers carried lengthy articles which, it was said, “beautifully explained the aims and objectives of the Faith.”

Italy:

First Bahá’í women’s seminar attracts educators

“Today’s Woman and the Woman of the New Era” was the title for a panel discussion presented by the Bologna Bahá’í community on March 23. The program was the first of its kind to be presented by an Italian Bahá’í community.

Women panelists from Italy, Persia, and the United States discussed the role and condition of women in their respective countries. Magda Gallenga, of Florence,

[Page 5] concluded the discussion by describing the role of women in education, work, and the family as envisioned in the Bahá’í writings.

The discussion prompted numerous questions from the many educators, students, and professional people attending. “The Bahá’í round-table discussion was noteworthy if only for the reason that it demonstrated to the public that Bahá’í women perform a role in advancing women’s rights that is moderate yet progressive,” said the report.

Kenya:

Nakuru Bahá’ís dedicate new center

The Bahá’ís of Nakuru, Kenya, have joyfully announced the completion of their new center where approximately 40 believers gathered to observe the Feast of Sovereignty on January 19, 1975.

A week later, at the request of the Local Spiritual Assembly, the Nakuru friends gathered at the center equipped with gardening tools and spent several hours clearing the land surrounding the center. They then entered the structure for prayers and enjoyed a program of songs, following which they reverently placed the Greatest Name in a commanding position and erected a dignified sign identifying the center. After breaking for lunch, the friends planted trees bordering the garden of the center.

One of the friends who participated reported: “Our center is on one of the busiest streets, facing the main police station. As we worked, literally hundreds of persons walking by stopped and watched our activities, and people in passing cars paused to watch. It was a most successful proclamation!”

Panama:

Guaymi believers win goals promptly

During late December 1974, the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama presented pioneer Robert Little of Panama City a challenging assignment, which included the following goals: to visit the Guaymi believers in the Chiriqui mountains of northern Panama to assist the

Bologna conference on “Today’s Woman and the Woman of the New Era”. From left to right: Homa Youssefian, chairman; Linda Marshall, speaker (U.S.A.); Haideh Vahdat, speaker (Persia); Magda Gallenga, speaker (Italy).

Italy: Singing group receives warm welcome The Italian Bahá’í youth shown above are members of the singing group “New Era,” which has toured the northern area of the country proclaiming the Bahá’í Faith. Here, for the second time in as many months, they perform in the ancient city of Mantua, approximately 80 miles from Venice. Both times they received a warm welcome from the townspeople and the press. Articles in the local newspapers explained the principles of the Faith, described the group’s enthusiasm, and invited them to return again to the city to present their beliefs.

[Page 6] Around the World

Left: The Hands of the Cause Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir and Adelbert Mühlschlegel were among the distinguished visitors to the institute. Here Dr. Mühlschlegel illustrates a point for students during a class. Above: Counsellors Alfred Osborne (second from left) and Rowland Estall (second from right) were also guest instructors at the institute. Below: One of the excursion trips away from the school was to the Panama Canal Locks, where students paused for this photograph.

Spiritual Assemblies of Cerro Tigre and Quebrada Nigua to incorporate; to obtain a list of delegates elected in pre-Convention meetings; to record five Bahá’í prayers recently translated into Guaymi; to report on the efforts of Assemblies selected to assist neighboring non-functioning Assemblies, and to visit as many of them as possible; to meet with the Regional Teaching Committee; and to arrange transportation for three couples to attend the institute in Villa Virginia.

Mr. Little submitted the following report on his activities: “All goals were successfully completed, and some exceeded. This was accomplished in two weeks, not one month. And all credit belongs to the Guaymis themselves. These people have taken the Teachings into their hearts with such faith that, for example, two new Local Spiritual Assemblies were elected despite fierce opposition by an antagonistic evangelical group in one area and by their own corregidor (mayor or elected leader) in the other.

“The nine delegates represented eight different communities, and their official report is practically the model of the right way to conduct a convention—and they did it all themselves.

“The one sad part about the trip is that we brought back the name of one new Bahá’í. The only excuse we can offer is that he was almost the only non-Bahá’í we met in two weeks of traveling.”

Deepening institute trains assistants to Auxiliary Board

A three-month-long deepening institute instigated by Auxiliary Board member Ruth Pringle and financed by the National Assembly was recently held in Villa Virginia, Panama, at the Bahá’í summer school there. The institute, which was unique in terms of purpose, duration, and diversity of activity, was considered an experimental project. A primary goal was to train and inspire Bahá’í teachers to become Auxiliary Board assistants capable of assisting the deepening and development of their own and neighboring communities.

Other goals included improving literacy, study of agriculture and hygiene, child education, and the development of Bahá’í family life.

[Page 7] Five families—15 adults and 6 children—participated in the program which began in January and ended in March. Several distinguished instructors taught classes, among them the Hands of the Cause Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir and Adelbert Mühlschlegel, Counsellors Rowland Estall, and Alfred Osborne, and Auxiliary Board members Fred Berest, Ursula Mühlschlegel, and Ruth Pringle.

Adults, representing three distinct culture and language groups, learned how to better communicate in Spanish, how to cultivate vegetables according to the conditions in their communities, and how to teach reading and writing. Two students were subsequently appointed assistants to the Auxiliary Board.

Children learned a variety of skills and to accept and mingle with other children of various tribes represented at the institute. On one occasion, the oldest boy, who was 8, unaware that he was being observed, led the younger children in a round of prayers.

Activities away from the summer school included visits to the House of Worship, a tour of Panama City and of the Canals and intercalary day and Naw-Rúz parties in the city.

Papua New Guinea:

Over 300 enroll in remote community

A total of 386 new believers recently embraced the Cause in the Mt. Brown region of Papua New Guinea. Canadian pioneers Linda and Milton McMahon in a recent report described teaching opportunities in their chosen goal:

“Linda and I were invited to attend the opening of the newly constructed [meeting place] at Aireauka village in the Mt. Brown area. The building is meant to be a place for Bahá’ís to come together and worship rather than an office or administrative center.

The Mt. Brown area is remote. We drove as far as a car could go, then waited two-and-a-half days for a passenger truck that would take us to the end of the road. From there we walked for three days up and down mountains and across six rivers until we reached Aireauka, where we received a welcome fit for royalty.

Aireauka is one of eight villages which are nearly all Bahá’í. No outside Bahá’ís

During the 1974 National Convention delegate Silipo from the village of Arufa in the Eastern Highlands cast her vote.

have taken the message to these people, but some of the men who have traveled outside the area heard of the Faith and went back and told their people.

“One of the most important things for people here is education for the children. They go to great efforts to get their children into one of the few schools. The mission that used to be very strong provides a school, but when the people became Bahá’ís their children were expelled. Yet they have remained steadfast in the face of this, and other persecution.

“These people are very poor. The business of making a living requires great effort, but still they found the time and resources to build a beautiful round [meeting place] after postcard pictures of the Temples.

The trip to Mt. Brown has taught me much. Most of the people are unable to read or write—their factual knowledge of the Faith is little, but their understanding seems so great. Most teach the Faith at every opportunity; local Assemblies are functioning. The Regional Teaching Committee recently organized a teaching project in the adjacent regions, with follow-up deepening teams, which resulted in 386 new believers. This was in response to their particular goals for the Five Year Plan!

Rhodesia:

Conference on Plan held in Mrewa

The first national conference of the Five Year Plan in Rhodesia was held in late 1974 at the Mudarikwa kraal in Mrewa, some 50 miles northeast of Salisbury. A series of talks and slide programs stimulated the friends to win the goals of the Plan.

At the end of the day’s sessions, pioneers from Salisbury were unable to obtain permission from the district commissioner to spend the night at the kraal and so had to return to the capital. The program continued, however, under the direction of Amos Zauyamakando, who addressed a public meeting attended by nearly 300 people, many of whom asked a number of questions. The meeting was closed with a round of Bahá’í songs.

[Page 8] Solomon Islands:

Conference inspires large-scale enrollments

All Bahá’ís who felt able to contribute two uninterrupted months to teach the Faith in the Solomon Islands were called together to a “Hero’s Conference” March 13-15 by the National Spiritual Assembly. More than 50 people attended, and nearly 30 offered to teach throughout the islands in the subsequent two months.

The meeting was opened with a unity feast, and for two days, talks on subjects such as living the Bahá’í life, the obligation to teach the Faith, and the Five Year Plan were presented.

The National Assembly reports that news of teaching activities began to be collected shortly after the conference. New areas were opened to the Faith, and hundreds of people were enrolled. Two friends, who could neither read nor write, were said to have established the Faith in nine new districts, helping to elect local Assemblies in each one before moving on.

Volunteers who planned circuit teaching trips to last two months. Third from the left on the first row, seated, is Auxiliary Board member Gertrude Blum.

A. Fassey from Auki teaches a class on the life of Bahá’u’lláh.

United States:

Teaching program launched in nation’s capital

More than 100 believers who attended the launching of the teaching program for Washington, D.C. were urged by the Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly to demonstrate the triumph of Bahá’í attitudes, through the loving and united existence of all races and people under the shadow of the protective law of Bahá’u’lláh.

The launching ceremony on March 2, the first day of the Fast, was held in the house once owned by Agnes Parsons, a pioneer Bahá’í worker in the cause of racial unity. Mrs. Parsons, at the behest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, organized the first Race Unity Conference in Washington, in 1921. The friends gathered in the same room in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met with the Bahá’ís during His visit to America.

Representing the National Assembly at the ceremony were its Chairman, Firuz Kazemzadeh, and its Vice-Chairman, Daniel Jordan. The Continental Board of Counsellors was represented by Counsellor Sarah Pereira, who lives in Washington. Auxiliary Board member Albert James, whose territory includes the city, was also present.

Dr. Kazemzadeh said the city was chosen for special attention during the Five Year Plan because of its importance as one of the major world capitals and because of its significance in Bahá’í history.

Some of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s greatest pronouncements during His visit here were made in the capital—particularly pronouncements on the subject of race unity, Dr. Kazemzadeh said.

“It was in Washington, D.C. that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá began to teach the American Bahá’í community about the meaning of

[Page 9] the unity of mankind—the unity of the races,” he said. “Mrs. Parsons became the instrument for the furtherance of the Bahá’í principle of the unity of mankind.”

Only after the Master had departed from America, and two subsequent world wars had ravaged the world, did the racial composition of the nation’s capital change dramatically, Dr. Kazemzadeh observed.

“It became a city which presents to the country today a very serious problem in the mutual existence in brotherhood and friendship of the two major races inhabiting the United States,” he said.

“Isn’t it interesting,” he asked, “that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá should have chosen this city before problems arose, to teach the Bahá’í community of the meaning of the unity of mankind?”

“Indeed, the Bahá’í community of Washington is called upon to demonstrate the triumph of Bahá’í attitudes through the loving and united existence of all races and people under the shadow of the protective law of Bahá’u’lláh.

Among the goals given to Washington in its special plan are these:

• to take steps to establish a full-time secretariat for the Spiritual Assembly to increase its executive ability;
• to send at least 9 pioneers to foreign posts during the remainder of the Plan;
• to publish a regular newsletter;
• to develop regular, graded classes for Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í children;
• to triple the number of believers in Washington;
• to increase the use of radio and television for Bahá’í broadcasts aimed at proclamation of the Faith to greater numbers of people;
• to use the press more widely, and to publicize events in neighborhood, minority, college, and foreign-language newspapers in the city.

Conference held on Indian teaching

A special conference on Indian teaching was conducted by the National Teaching Committee at the House of Worship in Wilmette between March 28-30.

Participants included Bahá’ís from the Ute, Choctaw, Navajo, Sioux, and Oneida tribes, members of the American Indian Committee, members of the Navajo-Hopi Indian Committee, and Auxiliary Board member Nancy Phillips.

The consultation focused on ways to expand the teaching work in Indian areas and to win the goal of the Five Year Plan calling for the election of 25 Spiritual Assemblies on Indian reservations.

The conference prepared a series of recommendations on Indian teaching for the National Assembly and the National Teaching Committee. The group met briefly with the National Spiritual Assembly on Sunday, March 30.

Their recommendations will be studied closely by the National Assembly in future meetings, the Secretary of the National Assembly said.

In opening the conference, Firuz Kazemzadeh, Chairman of the National Assembly, described how mankind had at first lived in isolation, showing hostility to strangers. “Then in the nineteenth century, Bahá’u’lláh came, saying that separation and division were to end,” he said. “He told us to live like members of one family.

“Unfortunately, we must look at what mankind has done to itself. Look at what people have done to one another all through history. We are all so different, yet, if you could go into the mountains and see all the different streams, you would realize that they are all flowing into one ocean.

“In the same way,” Dr. Kazemzadeh continued, “we are now leaving that age of separation and entering the age of unity.... Our task as Bahá’ís is to spread out across this country and be the shock troops working in this front-line area of establishing unity. In your work with the North American Indians, a way must be found to convey the teachings of

Ben Kahn, John Cook, and Wayne Steffes follow the discussion intently.

Discussing ways to reach Indians, both on Indian reservations and in urban settlements, filled most of the time for delegates and committee members, shown here at the recent symposium on Indian teaching, sponsored at the House of Worship by the National Teaching Committee.

[Page 10] Many children were in the group of pioneers (shown above) attending the Pioneer Training Institute the weekend of April 4 at the House of Worship, Wilmette.

Bahá’u’lláh so that they know that this religion belongs to them and that their own future in it has been predicted.

A general over-view of Indian teaching in this country was given by Mrs. Phillips, who shared stories of the difficulties faced by the first believers involved in Indian teaching.

“The Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins and Ethel Murray are among those who have set us an example to follow,” she said. “Their work was historic, helping to bring into being the first all-Indian Local Spiritual Assembly and, in the case of Mrs. Murray, living on a reservation and serving in every way she could the needs of the Indians around her.”

A tape recording of a talk given by the Hand of the Cause Dorothy Baker, made at Riḍván, 1953, was played for the symposium. In the recording, Mrs. Baker refers to the great emphasis the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, placed upon teaching American Indians, and urged the believers to become involved more directly with Indians and attract them to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

“At the age of 11 years, it was my privilege to recognize Bahá’u’lláh,” said Benjamin Kahn, the chairman of the Navajo-Hopi Teaching Committee. He then described what stimulated him to accept the teachings for this New Day and his hope for the knowledge of this to reach all Indians.

During the last session Sunday morning, the National Spiritual Assembly joined the symposium and listened quietly as recommendations were made. At the closing of the session, participants affirmed their agreement with the suggestion of National Spiritual Assembly member Franklin Kahn, that we teach Indians, as well as all people, by “sharing our love and being Bahá’í.”

Pioneer institute held during snowstorm

In spite of a sudden blizzard which brought Chicago traffic to a halt and closed O’Hare airport for twenty-four hours, forty-two prospective pioneers arrived at the appointed time to attend a Pioneer Training Institute at the House of Worship in Wilmette, beginning Thursday evening, April 3, and concluding Sunday afternoon, April 6. The Hand of the Cause Dhikru’lláh Khádem, National Assembly members Daniel Jordan and Charlotte Linfoot, together with members of the National Center staff and Bahá’ís from the Wilmette area, served as teachers at the institute.

Among those attending were two citizens of foreign countries who are now returning to their native lands as pioneers: Gunnar Sveindal Jr., of Moss, Norway, and Heriberto Moncada, of Siquatepeque, Honduras, and now returning to the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

According to Janet Rubenstein, secretary of the International Goals Committee, this fortunate occurrence has filled two goals otherwise difficult to win, due to increasing restrictions on working permits for foreigners in overseas countries.

Comments of those attending, as the Institute drew to a close, indicated the importance of the carefully-planned agenda.

One pioneer who had had to leave a post but is now returning to the pioneering field said the meetings were so valuable that, had they been held before his first pioneering venture, he might not have had to leave his post. Another pioneer said:

“I know when I am in my new country and faced with difficulties that I can’t predict, hearing this week-end stories of the earlier pioneers, like Ella Bailey, will help me to stay at my post.”

Still another exultant Bahá’í, emerging from a particularly long session, said: “All the little points that are being covered here, like the question of whether to stand or sit at a public meeting where you are the speaker, is helping us to think about the customs of our goal countries and to try to find out what is appropriate behavior there.”

Gunnar Sveindal, who came to this country to study chiropractic, always intended to return home with a service he felt was needed in Norway. In Davenport, Iowa, he roomed with a Bahá’í who invited him last summer to go on an eight-thousand mile teaching trip with him and meet the Bahá’ís of America.

“I could never tell you what that trip meant to me,” said Mr. Sveindal when interviewed between sessions of the institute. “We stayed in many different places, met Bahá’ís of all different races, and I learned something of what oneness means. There is something the same in all Bahá’ís, the same spirit. When we came to the House of Worship at the end of the trip, I knew I had to be a Bahá’í!”

What Mr. Sveindal did not know was that the International Goals Committee was searching for a pioneer who could support himself in Norway. When news came to the Committee that Mr. Sveindal had completed his studies and was preparing to go back, he was invited to the institute.

The youngest of four children, Mr.

[Page 11] Sveindal looks forward to discussing the Faith with his parents, brothers, and sisters, as well as becoming acquainted with the Bahá’ís of Norway. “I look forward especially to meeting Amelia Bowman in Stavanger,” he added, referring to a pioneer who has been at her European post since early in the second Seven Year Plan.

For Heriberto Moncada, concern about general conditions within his own country, Honduras, led him to do volunteer work for several years for the Red Cross before coming to America. In Chicago, through a friend, he learned of a beautiful building on the North shore and went to see it for himself.

“From that day, when I walked through the House of Worship,” he recalls, “I began studying the Writings. I knew this was true. For eleven months, I attended the Sunday services. One day the speaker told about having been to Central America. Afterwards, she spoke with me and asked if I were a Bahá’í. When I said no one had invited me, she did so, and that day I enrolled.”

Now, all the experiences in Mr. Moncada’s life in Honduras before coming to America have a new meaning.

“There are many people I want to see again and tell about this beautiful Faith,” he said. “My people have suffered a great deal and I want them to be happy, as I have been made happy by the coming of Bahá’u’lláh.”

With almost one year of the Five Year Plan completed, this institute demonstrated the vitality of the American community in responding to fill the goals set by The Universal House of Justice and described to them by many statements of their own National Spiritual Assembly. Many left saying, “I wouldn’t have missed it!” One pioneer telephoned from the airport, the day after the institute, to report as he left the country that his sister and brother-in-law had entered the Faith the previous evening. “I was so happy about the institute and I told them all about it. Now they are Bahá’ís!”

Those leaving for their posts include: Reuben and Bea Busby, Violet Clark, Dale and Nahid Eng, Ronald and Giel Goldman, Francis and Norma Jordan, Emily Kramer, John and Patricia Lang, Michael and Kay Maloney, Dale and Jeanne Morrow, Terry and Liz McAtee, Mary Jane Nelson, Robert and Gwen Palmer, Marilyn Smith, Gunnar Sveindal, Jr., Donald Thompson, Daniel and Pam Wegener, Joseph and Heather Wissler, Clark and Betty Cooper, Lori Reida Doss, Penny Walker, Beth Dickey Maglothin, Gary and Elaine Hogenson, James and Christine Wonders, Jean Harris, Steve and Sherman Waite, Heriberto Moncada, and Susan Isaacs.

Youth project volunteers enjoy afternoon tea with the National Spiritual Assembly. Shown here, from left to right are Cynthia Barnes, of San Francisco, National Assembly members Magdalene Carney and Dorothy Nelson, and Mary Ellen Pastor of South Hadley, Massachusetts.

Youth project held at national center

Twelve Bahá’í youth participated in the second work/study project in recent months at the National Bahá’í Center in Wilmette, Illinois, March 24-April 14.

The volunteers, from as far away as Massachusetts and California, and from as near as Chicago, spent part of their time working in the offices at the National Center, and part studying Bahá’í administration.

The Hand of the Cause Dhikr’ulláh Khádem spent an afternoon with the volunteers. His presentation centered on the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet of Carmel and the formation of The Universal House of Justice.

Among the classroom instructors were the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the National Assembly, Glenford Mitchell and Charlotte Linfoot, and Gary Worth, chairman of the National Youth Committee, the sponsor of the program.

The youth received a special guided tour of the House of Worship. They attended a Naw-Rúz party in Wilmette, and participated in firesides and other teaching events.

Bahá’í musicians to meet in Utah

A meeting of Bahá’í musicians will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 8-15.

The meeting, sponsored by the Utah District Teaching Committee, will give Bahá’í musicians an opportunity to become acquainted with one another and to exchange information and resources.

This conference of musicians will end with two public concerts in Salt Lake City. The local Assembly has scheduled a musical proclamation in the downtown area on the evening of June 13. On June 14, Saturday, the Bahá’í Club at the University of Utah will sponsor a proclamation concert on campus.

During the week seminars and workshops on music and related subjects will be conducted. Each attending musician will have an opportunity to perform at a local fireside or teaching event in the area.

[Page 12]

The dedication of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West

By Bruce Whitmore

The first rays of morning light penetrated the majestic, lacy dome and poured down through the vast spaces of the auditorium, creating a scene of unsurpassed beauty. Everything was in readiness. The fifty years of toil were ended. Gone were the workmen, the scaffolding and concrete forms, the ladders, hammers, and other tools that had given birth to a brilliant architectural gem. Outside, rows of newly planted Chinese Junipers, lining the just completed walkways and gardens, swayed gently in the breeze.

The midpoint in the second of three Holy Years (1944, 1953, and 1963) had passed and the first Bahá’í House of Worship of the West was about to be dedicated. For months Shoghi Effendi had been preparing the Bahá’ís for this Holy Year—the Centenary Celebration of the commencement of Bahá’u’lláh’s Prophetic Mission—about which he had written:

The beginning of the year Nine occurred about two months after His imprisonment in that dungeon. We do not know the exact time He received this first intimation.... We therefore regard the entire year Nine as a Holy Year.... This means our Centenary Year of Celebration will be from October, 1952 to October, 1953.¹

This unique event, the centenary of which is to be befittingly celebrated, ... throughout the Bahá’í world, is none other than the “Year Nine”, anticipated 2,000 years ago as the ‘third woe’ by St. John the Divine ... specifically mentioned and extolled by the Herald of the Bahá’í Dispensation in His Writings, and eulogized by both the Founder of our Faith and the Center of His Covenant.... In that year, while the Blessed Beauty lay in chains and fetters, in that dark and pestilential Pit, ‘the breezes of the All-Glorious’, as He Himself described it, ‘were wafted’ over Him. There, whilst His neck was weighted down by the Qará-Guhar, His feet in stocks, breathing the fetid air of the Síyáh-Chál, He dreamed His dream and heard ‘on every side’, ‘exalted words’, and His ‘tongue recited’ words that ‘no man could bear to hear’.²

The months preceding the start of the

[Page 13] centenary year were marked by renewed activity amongst the Covenant-breakers in the Holy Land; activity that resulted in the absolute defeat of their painstaking efforts and demonstrated once again, at the opening hour of this hundredth year, the unchallengeable power of God’s Covenant.

From the moment of the Blessed Beauty’s Ascension, the Mansion and Shrine at Bahjí had been in the possession of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s half-brother, Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí, even though Baha’u’llah’s will gave the greater share of ownership to the Master. Most of the members of Bahá’u’lláh’s family, filled with jealousy, animosity, and an unquenchable desire for power, had joined Muḥammad-‘Alí in opposing the Master.

Isolated in ‘Akká with His sister, His wife, His four daughters, and an old uncle, He was even prevented from entering the Shrine of His Father. There were times when He stood on the plain and performed the devotionals of visitation from a distance. Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí and his associates ... thronged the upper veranda of the Mansion and hurled insults at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and those faithful to Him whenever they came to pray at the spot where the human temple of Bahá’u’lláh had been laid to rest.³

The Covenant-breakers lived in the Mansion for forty years, until the Guardian in 1932, troubled greatly by the vast disrepair of the buildings, convinced Muḥammad-‘Alí to vacate the Mansion and allow the Bahá’ís to restore it. When the work was completed, the Guardian invited the British District Commissioner to visit the Mansion. As a result of this visit, the building was designated a Bahá’í Holy Place, and the Guardian was named its custodian, thus preventing the Covenant-breakers from re-establishing residency.

During the next several years, other buildings, including a ruined blacksmith’s shop and an old stable, were removed and the area beautified. In December 1951, the Guardian directed that a small, dilapidated, one-story building be demolished to enhance the beauty of the sacred surroundings. The Covenant-breakers, owning one-sixth of this building, chose again to create mischief by unjustly accusing Shoghi Effendi of denying them their rights. For nearly six months, they pursued every legal recourse in an attempt to discredit the Guardian.

Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum represented the Guardian at the dedication ceremony and presented his message to the historic gathering.

Twelve Hands of the Cause of God attended the dedication ceremony, including five from the cradle of the Faith. Among them was the Hand of the Cause Taraẓu‘lláh Samandarí, who had been in the presence of Bahá’u’lláh as a young man.

The International Bahá’í Council, established by the Guardian in January 1951 as the forerunner of The Universal House of Justice, later summarized the tense series of events:

It would be no exaggeration to say that the entire course of the case was providential; and indeed, all those here had the feeling that from beginning to end, it was pursuing a plan which no one could check or interfere with. Over and over again, when it seemed that the case would be dropped or settled out of Court or brought before the Judge and speedily dismissed, or the demolition Stay removed pending a hearing, or that the ruins would be torn down because the

One view of the completely filled auditorium.

[Page 14] Crowds stream from the House of Worship. The public dedication ceremony was held three times on May 2, 1953, during which the auditorium was filled to capacity. Hundreds of people had to be turned away.

The dedication stimulated an unprecedented interest in the Faith among the media. Here television cameras focus on a small group of believers entering the House of Worship. Among them are the Hand of the Cause Dorothy Baker and National Assembly member Matthew Bullock.

proper Civil authority had issued a demolition order; at the last moment, everything would go awry and the case would continue, growing and growing in importance, and going to ever higher official levels until it reached the Prime Minister himself. In fact, it gathered itself up like a big summer thunder cloud, and when it burst, crashed with full force on the heads of those who have disputed Bahá’u’lláh’s instructions, the Successorship of His beloved Son, the Will and Testament, and the Guardianship, for sixty years.⁴

Seven days after the case was settled, all traces of the building were gone. It was replaced by a beautiful garden with marble vases and ornamental eagles, cypress trees and flowers, lamp posts, and pebbled walks. The garden’s gate, forming the new entryway to the Holy Court and the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, seemed to symbolize the Faith’s victory over a hundred years of oppression, and its entrance into a new stage of development.

Early in 1952 Shoghi Effendi had announced that four intercontinental teaching conferences—the first ever held—would be staged on the continents of Africa, America, Europe, and Asia during the Holy Year to inaugurate the “long-anticipated intercontinental stage in administrative evolution Faith ...”⁵ The second of these, involving all republics of North and South America, was scheduled to coincide with the Temple dedication.

On the opening day of the week-long American Jubilee Celebration, April 29, 1953, a special bond between East and West, which had developed for many years through a unique relationship between the Mother Temple and the Shrine of the Báb, was further strengthened. The Guardian cabled participants in that celebration that the final phase of construction had been initiated that very day by the erection of the scaffolding for tiling the dome. The first 44 of the 12,000 gilded tiles that would be used to cover the dome had been placed in a permanent position. During a moving ceremony, the cablegram said, he had reverently placed a “fragment plaster ceiling Báb’s prison cell castle Máh-Kú beneath gilded tiles ...”⁶

That bond had been formed as early as 1909 when the election of the first Bahá’í Temple Unity Executive Board providentially coincided with the Master’s laying of the precious remains of the Báb in His Shrine. It had been strengthened during the 1944 Holy Year when the Guardian announced to the Centennial Convention, gathered to celebrate the conclusion of the first Bahá’í century and the completion of the Temple’s exterior ornamentation, that the Báb’s sepulcher would be finally completed through the erection of an arcade and superstructure of great beauty.⁷

Although the time for the dedication ceremonies in Wilmette had been chosen far in advance, the Guardian had not initially intended that the work on the Shrine of the Báb should have progressed as far as it had; but, in August 1951, he had cabled that the deteriorating international situation at that time impelled him to immediately contract for the cutting of the stone for the octagon and dome sections.⁸

The Jubilee week, the pinnacle of the year-long festivities, included not only the teaching conference and dedication ceremonies but also the Forty-Fifth National

[Page 15]

A further demonstration of the interesting relationship between the Shrine of the Báb and the Mother Temple of the West can be seen in these two photographs of architectural drawings made by the Hand of the Cause William Sutherland Maxwell. Mr. Maxwell submitted the drawing on the left to the competition for Temple designs held in New York City in 1919. The design on the right is for the completion of the Shrine of the Báb. The Guardian notified the Bahá’í world of the completion of this enterprise in October 1953.

Convention. The Convention, held at Chicago’s Medinah Temple, occupied the first two-and-one-half days of the proceedings. On the afternoon of the third day, the believers traveled to the Temple site for a private dedication and simple service commemorating the Master’s visit in 1912 and His laying of the cornerstone.

Later that evening, the Bahá’ís as well as several hundred residents of Chicago’s northern suburbs gathered at a nearby high school auditorium to hear of the history, architecture, and purpose of the Temple. This was one of four public meetings held during the week at which lectures were delivered not only by well-known Bahá’ís but by noted non-Bahá’ís as well, including Paul Hutchinson, editor of the Christian Century, an influential Protestant periodical, and Norman Cousins, editor of The Saturday Review, America’s oldest literary magazine.

The public dedication was held the following afternoon, May 2. The sky was overcast, though it was hardly noticed by the great number of people who stood waiting, filling the Temple steps and entrance walkway as well as the sidewalk beyond. The morning had witnessed great activity in the auditorium as the Northwestern A Cappella Choir and the readers had endured a lengthy rehearsal so that cameras and recording equipment could capture perfectly this historic event.

As the doors were opened and people quietly filed in, reporters made their way to the gallery where they stood on wooden chairs to peer over the edge at the crowd below. Microphones were placed in front of the lectern while beside it stood huge bouquets of red roses. In the front rows sat twelve of the Hands of the Cause of God: ‘Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Shu’á’u’lláh ‘Alá’í, Dorothy Baker, Músá Banání, Amelia Collins, ‘Alí Akbar Furútan, Horace Holley, Dhikru’lláh Khádem, Ṭaráẓu’lláh Samandarí, Siegfried Schopflocher, Corinne True, and Valíyúlláh Varqá.

Others were present who would later be appointed to serve as Hands of the Cause. One was Paul Haney, then Chairman of the National Assembly of the United States; another, William Sears, who wrote a moving account of that day’s events:

Across the aisle could be seen the glowing and triumphant faces of those apostles of Bahá’u’lláh who had stood upon this same plot of ground with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on that cold, windy May day forty-one years ago. They had watched their beloved Master dedicate this spot, then an empty, open field, to the welfare of all humanity. The real Temple, He had told them, was the Word of God; for to it all humanity must turn. Then He looked up, smiled, and assured them that “in the unseen world, the Temple is already built....

Every moment inside that dome of exquisite beauty and majesty, on the day of its dedication, was enriched by memories of the love and sacrifice that had raised this precious jewel of God....

From a lofty gallery, the unseen choir filled the Temple with ... music and words....

The music soared up to the dome of the Temple and departed. Then were heard the first spoken words, delivered by Rúḥíyyih Khánum, the representative of the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith.

[Page 16] “On behalf of the Guardian of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, I have the great honor of dedicating this first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Western World to public worship....

I greet and welcome you on behalf of the Guardian of our Faith within these walls, and invite you to share with us the words recorded in the Sacred Scriptures which we believe to be the repositories of the eternal and fundamental truths revealed by God in various ages, for the guidance and salvation of all mankind.

As the address of Dedication ended, a quiet settled over the assembled throng. Through the doorway to the East could be seen the blue waters of Lake Michigan rushing toward the Temple in great white waves, bowing and prostrating themselves upon the sand. Through the doors to the South were visible the throngs of people streaming toward the Temple. The clouds, which had threatened to shut out the sun, parted and down through the glass dome came the flooding sunlight as the first of the Holy Books was opened.⁹

The service was conducted three times, each filling the auditorium to its 1200 capacity. Many hundreds more had to be turned away. Although it is not possible to obtain an accurate count of the general public who attended, particularly since many Bahá’ís came who were not registered at the Medinah Temple, a reasonable estimate places the non-Bahá’í attendance at slightly more than 2000 people.

Messages of greeting poured in, including many from prominent public leaders:

The Bahá’í House of Worship ... is a structure of great beauty, as millions who had seen it know. But perhaps not so many realize its symbolic significance. It teaches the essential unity of mankind under one God, irrespective of the various sects and creeds that give expression to the various faiths. There is a basic wholeness among people the world around. There are spiritual ties that unite them in the brotherhood of man.... The important thing is recognition of the essential unity of mankind under one God. That is a force that cuts across politics, trade routes, racial groupings the world around. It can be made a powerful moral force in the practical affairs of the world if there is a dedication to the cause—the kind of dedication that went into the long and difficult task of constructing the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette.¹⁰

(signed) Justice William O. Douglas
Supreme Court of the United States.

On occasion of dedication of Bahá’í House of Worship I wish to convey to you sincere greetings and congratulations of State of Israel. Israel people and government, harboring in their country the Bahá’í spiritual Center, have always cherished cordial, friendly relations with Guardian of that Center and all Bahá’ís. Ideals of peace and brotherliness underlying Bahá’í Faith are dear and sacred to Israel, ancient and revived alike. Wish you every success.¹¹

(signed) Abba Eban
Ambassador of Israel
in the United States

The jubilee week included not only the International Teaching Conference and the dedication ceremonies, but also the 45th National Bahá’í Convention. The Conference marked the launching of the Ten Year Global Crusade as well. It was held in the Medinah Temple in Chicago.

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, then director and counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, praised the Bahá’ís for offering “full religious fellowship to all without distinctions based upon race and color”, while Mr. Roy Wilkins, administrator for the NAACP, wrote that “Our poor world is in great need of the deep faith and sincere and unostentatious practices of the Bahá’ís.”¹²

Clergymen and educators also sent moving messages, and Ruth Bryan Rhode, former United States Ambassador to Denmark, wrote, “I join in spirit with the Assembly whose aspiration is the unification of mankind. May the beauty of the edifice and its symbolism carry inspiration in wider and wider circles around our troubled earth.’¹³

The Faith gained significant prestige through unprecedented interest shown by the media. Five-hundred-seventy-five newspapers in 397 cities carried articles on the dedication and Centenary celebration, including the Washington Post, Seattle Times, Boston Advertiser, Cincinnati Enquirer, Minneapolis Star, Los Angeles Times, and the Detroit News.

Universal International covered the dedication in its Universal Newsreel, released

[Page 17] through film exchanges in 31 cities and 38 foreign countries, a series of 13 radio programs were broadcast in many cities and were also beamed by World Wide Broadcasting Corporation to Europe, the Near East, and Latin America. A film short was broadcast on 50 television stations while three major railroads serving Chicago—the Rock Island, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, and the Santa Fe—distributed booklets to all passengers throughout the centenary, which pictured the Temple on the cover and carried a major article about it inside.

The day after the dedication, May 3, marked the beginning of “the most distinguished of the four Intercontinental Teaching Conferences,”¹⁴ the “most momentous gathering held since the close of the Heroic Age of the Faith.”¹⁵

In referring to communities of the Western Hemisphere, and in particular to the United States community, the Guardian declared: “Standing on the threshold of a ten-year-long, world-embracing spiritual crusade, these Communities are now being called upon by virtue of the weighty pronouncement recorded in the Most Holy Book, and in direct consequence of the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, to play a preponderating role in the systematic propagation of the Faith, in the course of the coming decade, which will, God willing, culminate in the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.”¹⁶

That afternoon, more than 2300 Bahá’ís from 33 countries traveled for the third time to the Temple to view a sacred gift sent by the Guardian. It was again cold and windy, and people huddled together on the steps for warmth. As each person entered through the glass doors, Rúḥíyyih Khánum anointed their hands with fragrant rose oil, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had done in 1912.

At the opposite side of the auditorium, the friends slowly and quietly passed by two tables. On the first rested a portrait of the Báb, a gift from the Guardian to the House of Worship in 1944. On the second was a colored photographically reproduced portrait of Bahá’u’lláh when He was a young man. The original portrait, a likeness of which had never before left the Holy Land, was painted by a Christian artist in Baghdad when He was in His late thirties or early forties.

There were many other events during the remaining days of the conference which made lasting impressions on the Bahá’ís—such as the unveiling of the design for the future House of Worship to be built on Mount Carmel, the pledges of 150 believers to forsake their homes to pioneer, and the unprecedented joint meeting of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the United States, Canada, Central America, and South America at which plans for cooperation during the Ten Year Crusade were developed.

One of the greatest hours in the history of the Temple and the Faith had passed, but the events and the significance of that hour will be extolled for years to come.

1. Shoghi Effendi, as quoted in “The Year Nine”, Bahá’í News, no. 252, February 1952, p. 2.
2. Shoghi Effendi, as quoted in “The Last and Irretrievable Chance of Setting the Seal of Triumph Upon a Momentous Undertaking”, Bahá’í News, no. 252, February 1952, Insert.
3. H.M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh (London: George Ronald, 1971), p. 58.
4. The International Bahá’í Council, as quoted in “Progress at the World Center”, Bahá’í News, no. 258, August 1952, p. 4.
5. Shoghi Effendi, as quoted in “The Guardian’s Momentous Announcement of the Jubilee Centenary”, Bahá’í News, no. 251, January 1952, Insert.
6. Shoghi Effendi, as quoted in “Final Phase of Construction of the Báb’s Sepulchre”, Jubilee Celebration (Wilmette: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 1953), p. 8.
7. Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’í News, no. 169, July 1944, p. 3.
8. Shoghi Effendi, as quoted in “Invite Valiant Co-Sharers in Holy Enterprise Join Me in Prayers”, Bahá’í News, no. 248, October 1951, p. 1.
9. William B. Sears, “The Public Dedication of the Bahá’í House of Worship”, The Bahá’í World, vol. XII, 1950-1954 (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1956), pp. 155-56.
10. William O. Douglas, Jubilee Celebration, p. 12.
11. Abba Eban, Jubilee Celebration, p. 12.
12. Thurgood Marshall and Roy Wilkins, Jubilee Celebration, p. 13.
13. Ruth Bryan Rhode, Jubilee Celebration, p. 12.
14. Shoghi Effendi, Jubilee Celebration, p. 25.
15. Shoghi Effendi, Jubilee Celebration, p. 25.
16. Shoghi Effendi, Jubilee Celebration, p. 27.

[Page 18] The Hand of the Cause Rúḥíyyih Khánum visits with President V. V. Giri, of India, in the presidential offices in New Delhi on June 14, 1974. Amatu’l-Bahá was in New Delhi to represent The Universal House of Justice at the National Bahá’í Convention.

Part II

An historical overview of the progress of the Faith from the time of the Báb to the present day

by William Garlington

In Part I of this article, published in the March 1975 edition of Bahá’í News, Mr. Garlington sketched the early history of the Faith in India beginning in the time of the Báb with the Persian pioneers to the subcontinent. He tells of the travels of such distinguished teachers as Jamál Effendi, Siyyid Muṣṭafá Rúmí, Lua Getsinger, and Martha Root, of the birth of the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma in 1923, and of the teaching plans carried out under the guidance of the Guardian in subsequent years.

Part II begins in 1938 with the launching of the Six Year Plan, outlines the process which led to the tremendous upsurge of enrollments in the sixties, and concludes with the present day.

When Shoghi Effendi initiated the Seven Year Plan in the United States in 1937, the Indian community, meeting in convention in Karachi, suggested to the National Spiritual Assembly that a similar project be started in India and Burma. The National Spiritual Assembly resolved to undertake a Six Year Plan which would commence in 1938. However, it was not until 1940 that any real action was taken, and this was largely due to a lack of funds. It was the Guardian who finally set the project in motion by earmarking money for the creation of a special teaching fund to help finance the plan. He encouraged the Indian and Burmese friends to contribute generously to this Fund also.³⁰

The Six Year Plan contained several distinguishing characteristics which were not found in previous teaching plans. As we have seen, until this time, most of the teaching activities had involved lecture tours in coordination with various reform movements such as the Arya Samaj, the Brahmo Samaj, and the Theosophical Society. In the past, there had been very little contact with sections of society outside the intellectual circles. The new Plan attempted to change these policies. No longer were only the large cities visited; efforts were also made to hold meetings independent of other groups in smaller cities and towns. More importantly, the emphasis was shifted from teaching tours to having Bahá’ís establish residence throughout the country. Individual Bahá’ís now left their homes and moved to areas where they could address a larger segment of the population. Hence, a conscious effort was made to introduce the movement into new localities and to direct its teaching activities towards different social strata.

Once underway, the new Plan produced immediate results. By 1941, three new local Assemblies had been formed: one in Hyderabad, one in Kotah, and one in Bangalore. Shoghi Effendi, as was his custom, wired the Indian community congratulating them on their achievements and urging them to continue their efforts.³¹ The next year saw three more local Assemblies established, and Bahá’í groups were formed in Secunderabad, Belgaum, and Ujjain. Thus, by the time of the fourteenth annual Bahá’í Convention held in Poona in 1943, eight new Assemblies had been formed. The rigorous teaching efforts of the Indian Bahá’ís continued during the final year of the Plan, so that by the conclusion of the Plan in 1944, sixteen new assemblies had been established in the subcontinent.³²

The achievements of the Six Year Plan encouraged the Indian Bahá’í community

[Page 19] to launch another teaching campaign in April of 1946. A month before the new Plan’s inception Shoghi Effendi, writing to the National Spiritual Assembly of India from Haifa, remarked,

The believers in India have set an inspiring example to their fellow believers throughout the East, and even to the great mass of their coreligionists in Bahá’u’lláh’s native land, and have abundantly demonstrated to them all, what organized activity, boldly conceived and soundly and energetically conducted can achieve when directed and animated by the ennobling influences and the generative spirit of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.³³

Although marred by the disruptive events brought upon the subcontinent by the partition of Pakistan and India in July of 1947, the Four Year Plan met with much the same success as had the previous Six Year Plan. By April of 1947 another eight Local Spiritual Assemblies had been founded and the same number of groups had been established. In addition, each summer, Bahá’í schools for both adults and children were organized. Due to these encouraging figures, the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma received nearly 600 pounds sterling from National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the Bahá’í world to finance yet another teaching project. Thus, in the year 1950 Indian embarked on its third successive teaching plan.

One of the major accomplishments of India’s third teaching project occurred in the area of translation and publications. The language problem had always been a major roadblock for Bahá’í teachers in India. At this time, the majority of Bahá’í teachers in the country came from Persian backgrounds or, in the case of overseas teachers, from English-speaking backgrounds, which prevented their direct contact with the masses of Indians who were neither literate nor conversant in either of these two languages. During the third plan, a determined effort was made to bridge the communication gap by translating publications into as many as fifteen different languages. As a result, over 40,000 books and pamphlets were sold and distributed.³⁴ Also, between the years 1951 and 1953 eight new local Assemblies were established. Thus, by the end of 1953, there were approximately 700 Bahá’ís in India.

In October of 1953, the fourth and final Intercontinental Teaching Conference, which had been designed to inaugurate the Ten Year Crusade, was convened in New Delhi. The National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pakistan, and Burma³⁵ hosted the gathering. Other participating National Spiritual Assemblies included the United States, Canada, Central and South America, Persia, Iraq, and Australia and New Zealand. Mason Remey, the Guardian’s representative at the conference, delivered Shoghi Effendi’s message which enumerated 41 new territories and islands within the Asia Teaching Mission to be opened to the Faith during the Crusade. In this message the Guardian said of the Asiatic Continent,

“The Asiatic continent, the cradle of the principal religions of mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest civilizations which have flourished on this planet; the crossways of so many kindreds and races; ... such a continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet so long and so sadly tormented, now stands at the hour of the launching of a world-encompassing Crusade, on the threshold of an era that may recall, in its glory and ultimate repercussions, the great periods of spiritual revival which, from the dawn of recorded history, have, at various stages in the revelation of God’s purpose for mankind, illuminated the path of the human race.³⁶

The 450 Bahá’ís present at this conference not only outlined strategies for the upcoming crusade, they also engaged in a program of public relations. A public reception was held in one of Delhi’s large hotels and was attended by over 1000 people. Delegates were also sent to meet with government leaders including the president and vice-president of India as well as the prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. When the closing prayer of the final session had been chanted on October 15, 1953, the Indian community once again found itself embarking on another teaching project; one, which, by the time of its completion in 1963, would have completely transformed both in numbers and religious background of its adherents, the composition of the Indian Bahá’í community.

The fifties, while not seeing any outstanding numerical increase for the Bahá’í community in India, contained two important events of which we should take note. One was the separation, in 1957 and 1959 of the India, Pakistan, and Burmese National Spiritual Assembly into three distinct bodies; Pakistan received an independent National Spiritual Assembly in

[Page 20] The fourth Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in New Delhi in October 1953. Several Hands of the Cause are included in this photo, Shu’á’u’lláh ‘Alá’i and John Robarts (who was appointed a Hand of the Cause four years later) are fourth and fifth from the left, Dhikru’lláh Khádem, third row, center, and Horace Holley, right foreground.

1957, and Burma became separate in 1959. The other, although a rather minor occurrence at the time, proved to be an omen concerning the future direction the Faith would take in India. It involved a teaching conference held in the village of Rampur, near Benares, where several villagers had earlier declared. This was the first village conference to be held in India. Several recommendations came from this conference which were important in terms of their future implications. First, it was requested that the National Spiritual Assembly print up simple leaflets in Hindi to be distributed in villages near Rampur. Second, it was suggested that study classes in Hindi be established in the village of Rampur, and, finally, it was recommended that city Bahá’ís interact with Rampur village Bahá’ís in such a way that “they may participate in their religious festivals and thus create an atmosphere of friendliness.”³⁷

The modern period of Bahá’í history in India began in the year 1961. In that year, the Hand of the Cause Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir, while making one of his frequent trips to the subcontinent, decided that a village conference, similar to the one that took place in Rampur, should be held in Central India. As a result, in January of that year, a conference was held in the village of Samgimanda³⁸ located in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh in the region traditionally known as Malwa. At the conclusion of the conference, a great many villagers enrolled in the Faith, and word of this occurrence spread to nearby villages. Within the next few years, a great tide of villagers declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh. In other areas of India, the Bahá’í communities, having taken note of the occurrence in Malwa, began directing their teaching activities towards village communities. As a result, in the following years, the numbers of believers and Local Spiritual Assemblies in India mushroomed. A message from the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land to the National Conventions of the Bahá’í World in April of 1962 reflected this increase. “India, one of the first countries in the world to receive the light of a newly-born Revelation has, during the past year, witnessed a tide of mass conversion not only wholly unprecedented in that country but without parallel anywhere in the entire world during the last one hundred years of Bahá’í history.”³⁹

In 1961 there were 270 local assemblies in India; by 1973 the number had increased to 4369.

The natural question which arises when one examines these figures is, “what was the cause of this sudden upsurge?” In many instances, the question is not an easy one to answer. Many of the Indian Bahá’ís claim that the recent growth was a sprouting of seeds that had been planted by earlier teachers. While this answer may contain some grain of truth, it seems evident, however, that there were certain new approaches and concepts introduced into teaching activities during these years that set them apart from earlier programs.

The most obvious change was that after 1961, teaching activities were for the most part directed towards the village population of the subcontinent. The Rampur conference in the fifties had been the forerunner of this shift in emphasis and direction. With the Samgimanda conference, the Bahá’í teaching mission in India was converted from primarily an urban movement to a rurally-oriented crusade. As a result, the Indian Bahá’í community became known throughout the Bahá’í world as a “mass teaching” community, that is, a community whose resources were directed towards teaching the Bahá’í Faith to the rural unschooled masses of humanity. In fact, India was the first country in the world since the time of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh to orient itself towards the masses.

In conjunction with this shift in goal direction, the community, out of necessity, began to revise its teaching methods. In the past, there had been little attempt to relate the Bahá’í Faith to the Hindu tradition. By and large, before the mass teaching era, Bahá’í contact in India was more closely allied with Islam than with Hinduism. This development was only natural. The early pioneers to India had come from Persian backgrounds and were more apt to communicate with individuals who shared in a similar cultural heritage. Thus, in terms of language, theology, and cultural symbols, the Bahá’í Faith had much more in common with Indian Islam than it did with Hinduism. In the sixties, a conscious effort was made to relate the Bahá’í message to the Hindu tradition and if the Bahá’í Faith was to speak to these people it would have to do so in concepts and symbols which they could understand. For example, in Sunní Islamic theology, it is the Mihdí whose return will mark the coming of the Day of Judgement. The Bahá’í Faith had always identified the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh with this cultural-religious symbol. Needless to say, in Hinduism, this symbol had no meaning. However, in Hindu cosmology, there is a concept of the sacred manifesting itself into the world in order to destroy evildoers and

[Page 21] In 1973 Bahá’ís of the Surat district in Western India gathered at Broach for the election of a delegate to the National Convention.

to re-establish righteousness. This is the concept of the Avatar, most succinctly elaborated in the Bhagavad Gita. In order to more adequately communicate their message, Bahá’í teachers now began to speak of Baha’u’llah in terms of the Avatar. He was identified with that One whom as Krishna explains to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, “Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata, and there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I myself come forth; for the protection of the good, for the destruction of evildoers, for the sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age.”⁴⁰

Another innovation which was introduced during this period, and one which may have been partly responsible for the increase of believers in the sixties, was the opening of three teaching institutes in Indore, Mysore, and Gwalior. The main function of the institutes was to familiarize new converts with all aspects of the Faith and also to train circuit teachers. In regard to the latter, courses were given in techniques of village teaching whereby trainees were instructed in methods of explaining both the basic teaching and institutional structure of the Faith to unschooled rural villagers. For added incentive, examinations were given at the end of the training period. As a result of this new training program, Bahá’í teachers were better equipped to relate the Bahá’í message to the Hindu tradition.

Of course, the efforts of individual Bahá’í teachers during these years cannot be underestimated. The upsurge in enthusiasm which became evident after the first signs of mass conversion in Malwa in 1961 and which became a great flood by the time of the second Intercontinental Conference held in New Delhi in October of 1967, where the assemblage of nearly 3,000 Bahá’ís from throughout the world, a great number of these being new believers from Indian villages in Madhya Pradesh, seemed to boost the confidence of the Indian Bahá’í community and was a main factor in the sudden spread of the movement. Men and women who were before hesitant to move in rural areas now began to actively teach this segment of society. The National Spiritual Assembly of India in a newsletter dispatched in April 1963 spoke of this new dedication:

There is a young man who is going to many parts of the country with his car, leaving behind his young wife and children and aunt to look after his business, just to serve the Cause of God for the love of the beloved Guardian. There are many like him who have left their jobs — whether in business or the medical profession to move among the people. There are a few young men who have given up their college studies for one year to teach the Faith, saying that the studies could wait but the Crusade of the beloved Guardian would not last forever. These are a few examples of the upsurge of enthusiasm which have made our previous exploits pale.⁴¹

Today there are 4,412 Local Spiritual Assemblies in India, and The Universal House of Justice has set a goal of doubling this figure within the next five years. The Bahá’í community is no longer unknown in Indian society. Since the time of its inception in India, it has increased from a handful of believers to an ever-growing national community. It has passed through several stages of development during the course of its history in the subcontinent. Originally, it was composed of a small band of Persian immigrants; it subsequently developed into a small yet internationally linked group of educated elite, and finally into a community characterized by its large number of unschooled rural constituents. Today the Bahá’í Administrative Order in India is involved in a dual process of both educating new declarants in the various aspects of Bahá’í life and continuing to spread the message of Bahá’u’lláh. The process is slow and often arduous, but the Bahá’í teachers are dedicated, for they believe in their hearts that in India “not hundreds, not thousands, but literally millions are ready to accept Bahá’u’lláh if you will only tell them He has come to them, for them, in this glorious new age in which we are living.⁴²

30. Bahá’í Newsletter of India, no. 31, May 1944, p. 2.
31. The Bahá’í World, vol. IX, 1940-44 (Wilmette, Ill; Bahá’í Publishing Committee: 1945), p. 60.
32. Bahá’í World, vol. IX, p. 63.
33. Shoghi Effendi, Dawn of a New Day, p. 113.
34. The Bahá’í World, vol. XI, 1946-50, (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Publishing Committee, 1952), p. 33.
35. With the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma became the National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pakistan and Burma.
36. The Bahá’í World, vol. XII, 1950-54, (Wilmette, Ill.; Bahá’í Publishing Committee, 1956), p. 31.
37. Bahá’í Newsletter of India, no. 93, March 1958, p. 3.
38. The Bahá’í World, vol. XIII, 1954-63, (Haifa: The Universal House of Justice, 1970), p. 299.
39. The Bahá’í World, vol. XIII, p. 298.
40. The Bhagavad Gita, IV, pp. 7-8.
41. Bahá’í News, no. 361, April 1963, p. 9.
42. Violette Nakhjavani, Amatu’l Bahá Visits India, (New Delhi: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, no date given), p. 13.

[Page 22] Don Rufino Fuentes, a Mayan Bahá’í, at the ruins of Uxmal.

Bahá’í Proclamation and Deepening Film

Step by Step

An artist, a mechanic, a field laborer, an accounting manager, a policeman, a hospital administrator — what have these people in common? They’re Bahá’ís and they appear in a new Bahá’í film, Paso a Paso, produced by Kiva Films.

The film, which is titled Step by Step in English, depicts the growth of the Bahá’í Faith among Indians, blacks, and Latins in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Panama. Unified by their common belief in Bahá’u’lláh and His Message, these persons comment on their faith and what it means to them.

These native teachers share their views on such widely varying topics as prophecy, the unity of mankind, world peace, universal governing institutions, and a divine civilization. Simply, clearly, and directly they discuss how the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is unifying all mankind, step by step, through the infusion of Divine Love.

Feasts, the local Spiritual Assembly, elections, and other aspects of Bahá’í administration are explained.

In addition, the 29-minute, color-and-sound film mentions ancient Mayan prophecies concerning world peace, the Return, and a spiritual revival, and relates these to the newest Bahá’í House of Worship in Panama. It complements two earlier films, El Alba and The Dedication. Designed for television use, this new film is also suited to public meetings and other proclamation events. The film is also universally suitable for teaching and deepening.

How to Get the Film

To obtain rental information and purchase prices, write to your publishing trust or national Bahá’í distributor. If you do not know the name and address of the one serving your area, you may send your inquiry to the International Bahá’í Audio-Visual Centre, 1640 Holcomb Road, Victor, N.Y. 14564, U.S.A. for forwarding to the proper organization.

Specify Step by Step, Product Number 20672, for the English edition, or Paso a Paso, Product Number 20671, for the Spanish version.