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Bahá’í News

August 1975

Bahá’í Year 132

The Mountain of God
and the Tablet of Carmel

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Contents

The Mountain of God and the Tablet of Carmel	1
By the Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem
A turning point in North America	13
Members of senior institutions of Faith meet at historic continental conference
Around the world	15
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Ghana, Hawaiian Islands, Iceland, Liberia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, North West Pacific Ocean, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Spain, United States, Venezuela

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page 13

page 17

Cover photo: The majestic Shrine of the Báb, in the heart of Mount Carmel which in turn is in the heart of the Most Holy Land. The Shrine fulfills the promises of many prophets.

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 $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.

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Carmel

The Mountain of God and the Tablet of Carmel

By the Hand of the Cause of God Dhikru’lláh Khádem

THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD The beloved Shoghi Effendi, in referring to the Tablet of Carmel, designated it as the “Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centers of the Faith on that mountain.”1 Many prophecies had been made by the prophets about Mount Carmel. The mountain was called after the name of God: Carm (the Vineyard) and el (God).* Bahá’u’lláh Himself, in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, testified that “Carmel, in the Book of God, hath been designated as the Hill of God, and His Vineyard.”2 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His prayer during the war, wrote: “Thou seest me, O God, in this lofty mountain, ... the abode of the prophets, the home of His Holiness Elijah, the mountain where Isaiah took refuge, through which the Spirit of God, Jesus Christ, upon Him be greeting and Praise, passed, and where the footsteps of the Lord of Hosts (Bahá’u’lláh) trod ... Lord, this is the mountain Thou hast named Carmel in the Torah, and related to Thyself in the very texts of Thy holy Books and Tablets. Lord, I pray to Thee in this lofty Shrine (the Shrine of the Báb) in the middle of the dark nights.”3 The Master also told pilgrims around the end of 1907: “This mountain (Carmel) is where Israel’s prophets passed their nights in prayers. Every step of it has been blessed by the footsteps of the prophets ... This land will be the envy of the world, the center of arts and sciences. ‘Akká and Haifa will be connected, and all the vacant lands will be cultivated. All these caves** that you see have been the abode of the prophets, step by step. Every atom of this soil is holy. All the prophets, while praying, longed to reach this day and give the glad tidings of the coming of the Lord. They prophesied that the Lord of Hosts would come, and the tent of the Lord would be pitched on Mount Carmel.... in all these mountains and caves, the prophets of God prayed at night, shed tears, and longed to be with us in these days of the _______ *—In fact, all the words ending in “el” have their significances, such as Israel (hasten to God), Ishma’el (listen to God), etc. **—Including reference to the Cave of Elijah, known also as Maqám-i-Khiḍr, blessed by the footsteps of Bahá’u’lláh for three days (according to Memoirs of Dr. Mu’ayyad, Vol. II, p. 258) and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for about two months (as per an unpublished manuscript).

[Page 2] The Greatest Holy Leaf, Bahíyyih Khánum, and her monument, symbolic of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. At top is her Tablet of Visitation (see page 10).

[Page 3] The Purest Branch, Mirzá Mihdí, the martyred son of Bahá’u’lláh. The door of pilgrimage was opened. At top is his Tablet of Visitation (see page 10).

[Page 4]

Blessed Beauty. Since I am a prisoner and cannot move, you make a pilgrimage on My behalf. My utmost desire is to go and visit in freedom, but I cannot. You go on behalf of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and make a pilgrimage to all of the Holy Places ... and beseech God’s bounty. I cannot go. I am a prisoner. I am reincarcerated, and I have no permission to go out. The government prohibits me.”⁴

He also said in 1914:

“Many Israelitish prophets either lived here or passed a portion of their lives or sojourned for a while or spent the last days of their existence on this mountain ... Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, David, Solomon, Moses, Isaiah, Zachariah and, last of all, Christ. Elijah lived on Mount Carmel.... His holiness Christ came to this mountain many times.”⁵ “Even Zoroaster came to this land (Holy Land). That lofty figure also made a trip to this region and met some of the Israeli prophets....”⁶

The clump of trees on Mount Carmel where Bahá’u’lláh revealed the Tablet of Carmel and where He pointed out the site for the entombment of the remains of the Báb.

For thousands of years man read prophecies and ardently prayed for their realization:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

“And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths ...

“And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

“O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”⁷

With great sorrow Carmel was being consumed in separation from her Lord, impatiently awaiting the fulfillment of these prophecies.

The Templars had already immigrated from Stuttgart, Germany, in anticipation of the coming of the Father and Son and had built their houses at the foot of Mount Carmel. The inscription over the window of a Templar house, “Der Herr ist nahe” (the Lord is nigh) on Hafagen Street (known as a German street) is still in existence.

When the promised hour did strike in 1890, Bahá’u’lláh, accompanied by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, came to the mountain and sat under a circle of planted cypress trees. His blessed eyes gazed upon the German street and upon the view of the sea. He pointed with His blessed finger to the site where the Shrine of the Báb is now located and uttered that, indeed, that spot was best and proper for the resting place of the Throne of the Exalted Báb. He instructed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that it should be purchased for that purpose. After two or three days, the Tablet of Carmel was also revealed.⁸ An eyewitness⁹ had mentioned to the beloved Guardian the details of that historic day, and was ordered by him to record it for posterity. His account said that Bahá’u’lláh sat on a chair in the middle of the round of trees with but little shade (it consisted of 15 trees each as thick as a finger), facing East, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was seated on another chair one meter away, facing West. The cypress trees still exist above the Shrine of the Báb.

The beloved Guardian also told the writer on April 7, 1937, that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself said that the Blessed Beauty with His own blessed hand pointed out the location for the Shrine of the Báb and directed Him that the pure remains of the Báb should be entombed there, in a structure with nine rooms, additional stories, and a dome.

The entombment of the remains of the Báb was, indeed, in accordance with the will of Bahá’u’lláh.

The beloved Guardian told the pilgrims that the Blessed Beauty had said that Palestine, now called Israel, is the Qiblih of the nations and the heart of the world. Geographically, it is in Asia, adjacent to Europe and Africa. The enemies of the Faith, the Persian and Turkish governments, had united for the banishment of Bahá’u’lláh and were the cause of His immigration. It was called the Holy Land and now has become the Most Holy Land. In the heart of this Most Holy Land is situated the Mountain of the Lord and in its heart, the Shrine of the Báb.

He has also noted the great significance of that holy place, now the Queen of Carmel, in these words:

“Her face (the Queen of Carmel) is toward the Greatest Abhá Prison, called by the Supreme Pen (Bahá’u’lláh) the Heaven of Heavens, as well as toward the Qiblih of the people of Baha, the center of circumambulation of the Concourse on High in the Holy Valley, the plain of ‘Akká. On her right are the hills of Galilee, the Cradle of the beautiful Messiah (Jesus), the place of proclamation of His Holiness the Spirit (Christ), situated close to the shore of the Jordan River; on her left at the top of Carmel, the Cave of Elijah and the exalted site blessed and honored by the footsteps of the Blessed Abhá Beauty, where the Tablet of Carmel was revealed from the Treasure of the Supreme Pen; at their back, the two hills of Zion and Ziyta and Old Jerusalem; behind her, Biyt’ul-Muqqaddas (Holy House), the site of martyrdom and grave of His Holiness Jesus Christ, and the place of the throne of David, as well as the Great Temple of Solomon, also the Aqṣá Mosque, the third Shrine (after Mecca and Medina) of the Muslim world; and farther back, the Mountain of Sinai, the Cradle of the Jewish (Moses) Faith of Túr, ... the Holy Land where Moses heard the voice from the Burning Bush; and still farther back on the Arabian Peninsula, the land of Ḥijáz, the Cradle of the Muslim Faith and the city of Yathrib and Baṭḥa, the glorious Mecca and the luminous city of Medina, the Qiblih of Islám and the resting place of the Siyyid (Master) of the world

[Page 5] (Muḥammad), upon Him rest thousands of Greetings and Praise:

Blessed, Blessed is this lofty, glorious and high,

The most exalted shrine,

Blessed, Blessed is this blessed resting place,

The fragrant, the pure, the luminous, and lofty.”¹⁰

The beloved Guardian told the pilgrims that, upon hearing of Bahá’u’lláh’s instructions to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to acquire the site on Mount Carmel for the resting place of the Báb, the Covenant-breakers attempted to win the glory. Mírzá Badí’u’lláh started negotiations and worked hard to buy that land. He had intended to acquire the land and report the good news to Bahá’u’lláh. But he did not succeed. Bahá’u’lláh told him, “This is none of your business, it is for Ágá (the Master) to accomplish.”

At left is the cave on Mount Carmel in which Elijah lived. At right is a house near the cave in which Bahá’u’lláh spent some time. The Cave of Elijah was blessed by the footsteps of Bahá’u’lláh for three days and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for about two months.

After the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, the first thing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did, in spite of the mountains of difficulties constantly created by the Covenant-breakers, was to purchase the site of the Shrine of the Báb. This was followed by construction of a water reservoir, preparation of the land for building the road, and finally, commencement of the construction of the Shrine itself. In the meantime, He issued instructions for the transfer of the remains of the Báb from Persia, which arrived in the Holy Land on January 31, 1899. Shortly thereafter, He was re-incarcerated. He was in ‘Akká while construction of the Shrine was in progress on Mount Carmel according to His instructions.

The Covenant-breakers started great intrigues and machinations that led to the arrival of the Sultan’s Commission of Investigators. They approached the Commission and offered their cooperation. The Commission also started its own investigation and made trips from ‘Akká to Haifa for this purpose. One of the members of the Commission touched the wall of the Shrine and said in Turkish, “Chukh matín dur” (It is very strong). They thought that the building was going to be used to fight the Ottoman government. ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd, the Sulṭán, became worried and fearful. The Commission was busy with its investigation when suddenly a bomb exploded in Istanbul. The Sulṭán changed his mind. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “God’s bomb exploded.” ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd was imprisoned while ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gained His freedom.

In the following year, 1908, a constitutional government was announced. A year later, ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd was dethroned. The same year ‘Abdu’l-Bahá transferred His residence from ‘Akká to Haifa, where He ceremoniously deposited, on Naw-Rúz 1909, the holy, the luminous remains of the Báb (which had been transferred from one place to another for sixty years) in the sacred sarcophagus ordered from Burma, within the exalted Shrine on Mount Carmel.

The remains of the Báb had been hidden first for ten years in ‘Akká in the room of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, were then transferred to Mount Carmel in Haifa before construction of the Shrine, and were finally deposited on that day of Naw-Rúz in the sarcophagus.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave the glad tiding to the friends in America. The same day, the American Convention met and decided to initiate the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár project. The beloved Guardian said that Naw-Rúz 1909 was an historical date.

Although ‘Abdu’l-Bahá started construction of the Shrine and even completed six of its rooms, He still did not consider it built. The Guardian relates that as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was “sitting, facing the holy Shrine and gazing upon that holy structure, a phrase issued from His pure tongue: ‘It did not come to pass that the Shrine of the Báb be completed. God willing, it will be done. We have brought it thus far.’ ”¹¹ It is apparent that this was left for the Sign of God, the beloved Guardian, to perform.

With an unfading zeal and resolution, the beloved Shoghi Effendi took it upon himself to comply with the wishes of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and complete this important assignment. He enlarged the property by acquiring vast areas of land for the gardens, added three more rooms in the same architectural style as the original six built by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and commenced the construction of the Shrine on Naw-Rúz, 1949. The arcade and the

[Page 6] parapet (the first crown of that great Edifice) were completed for the commemoration of the centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb on July 9, 1950. The beloved Guardian placed a fragment of plaster from the Báb’s prison cell in Máh-Kú in the golden dome of the Shrine on April 29, 1953 (to contrast the Báb’s suffering, when He had not even a candle at night, to the glories and victories won for the Faith when the exalted name of the Báb and His fame reached to approximately 128 countries and territories of the globe.) Finally, in October 1953, the beloved Shoghi Effendi completed that glorious Shrine, the spiritual world center of the Faith, as designated by Bahá’u’lláh in the Tablet of Carmel. He had not only gladdened the heart of the Prophet-Martyr of the Faith and performed the desire of the Author of the Cause and the Center of the Covenant, but he had also fulfilled the promises of God from ancient scriptures as well as from the Qur’án.

Immigrants from Stuttgart, Germany, settled at the foot of Mount Carmel in the late 1800s, impatiently awaiting the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies. The Templar House at right still stands on Hagefen Street. The inscription above the window at left is “Der Herr ist nahe” (the Lord is nigh).

The Guardian created a new style, new in the heavens and the earth. Prophecies such as “Terraces of light, light over light” (Qur’án), which refer to the terraces of the Shrine, were fulfilled. “The Throne of Thy Lord will be carried by eight” (Qur’án) is evident in the arcades, the octagon, the eight-cornered stars in the gardens, etc. The small minarets over the eight corners of the octagon not only carry the temple of the Lord already referred to in the Qur’án, but also guard it. In fact, the beloved Guardian, while preparing the plan, advised Mr. Sutherland Maxwell, the dear Hand of the Cause of God and the architect of that glorious Edifice, to consider the significance of eight in the Qur’án and quadruple it by placing eight columns for each of the four arcades. He also advised him to plan 18 lancet windows around the clerestory (representing the 18 Letters of the Living).

The beloved Guardian must have been so pleased and thrilled with his marvelous and majestic work, as he was moved to send these greetings and record them for posterity:

“O Queen of Carmel, upon Thee rest purest and finest greetings, and most beautiful and most glorious salutations! Praise be to Him who had blessed Thy place with His footsteps and determined Thy place and mentioned Thee in His Tablet and Book. Thy dignity has astonished the souls of the loved ones of God and His Messengers. It is as if I see Thee in my dreams sitting on Thy glorious Throne, dressed in Thy white dress, crowned with Thy golden crown. Lights are shining in Thee and around Thee, calling with the loudest Call, speaking between earth and heaven. I see Thee as if the spirits of the saints and cherubs were hastening to Thee with utmost eagerness, joy, and enthusiasm, pointing to Thee with their fingers, circumambulating around Thee, inhaling the fragrance of Thy flowers and roses, seeking the blessing of Thy Dust, covering their faces in dust before Thy Face, praising and glorifying the Sakíneh (Ark) of God in Thee, and the hidden pearl in Thy bosom. Blessed, a thousand times blessed, is he who visits Thee, ‎circumabulates circumambulates‎ Thee, serves Thee, waters Thy flowers, smells the fragrances of Thy roses, praises Thee, glorifies Thee because of his love for God, Thy Creator in this luminous, holy, great and dignified new dispensation.”¹²

Thanks, a thousand thanks to Bahá’u’lláh who constantly assisted His beloved Guardian from on High in accomplishing all these victories. We are so inadequate to express our humble gratitude to the beloved Shoghi Effendi for his miraculous achievements. We are extremely grateful to observe that he, in this mortal world, witnessed, with his own blessed eyes, the beauty and glory of his work and undoubtedly, in the Abhá Kingdom, enjoys the eternal expressions of tender love from the Bahá’ís of all countries, cities, mountains, caves, valleys, lands, seas and islands, repeating the greeting addressed by him to the Queen of Carmel.

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THE TABLET OF CARMEL

Earlier in these pages reference was made to the Tablet of Carmel as the “Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centers of the Faith on that mountain.” With completion of the Shrine of the Báb, the establishment of the Queen of Carmel on Her glorious throne, the glad tidings of Bahá’u’lláh concerning the world spiritual center of the Faith were realized.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá recounts some of the incidents when the tent of Bahá’u’lláh was pitched on Mount Carmel:

“ ‘He (Bahá’u’lláh) proclaimed His Cause in prison and hoisted His standard under the menace of the sword. He was a person against whom two reigning monarchs arose in enmity and were bent upon His extermination. These two sovereigns gave orders that the Blessed Beauty should be imprisoned in one room and be excluded from all outside intercourse. They prevented me from attaining His presence. Notwithstanding this strict prohibition, His pavilion was raised here on this lofty spot of Carmel.’ ”¹³

Mount Carmel in the early 1900s. It was on this Mountain of God where the Promised One pitched His tent, pointed out the site for the Shrine of the Báb, and revealed the Tablet of Carmel. The prophecies of old were fulfilled, and a New Day had come to mankind with the Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centers of the Faith.

He tells us in the Memorials of the Faithful:

“Although the policy of Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamid was harsher than ever; although he constantly insisted on his Captive’s strict confinement—still, the Blessed Beauty now lived, as everyone knows, with all power and glory. Some of the time Bahá’u’lláh would spend at the Mansion, and again, at the farm village of Mazra’ih; for a while He would sojourn in Haifa, and occasionally His tent would be pitched on the heights of Mount Carmel. Friends from everywhere presented themselves and gained an audience. The people and the government authorities witnessed it all, yet no one so much as breathed a word. And this is one of Bahá’u’lláh’s greatest miracles: that He, a captive, surrounded Himself with panoply and He wielded power. The prison changed into a palace, the jail itself became a Garden of Eden. Such a thing has not occurred in history before; no former age has seen its like: that a man confined to a prison should move about with authority and might; that one in chains should carry the fame of the Cause of God to the high heavens, should win splendid victories in both East and West, and should, by His almighty Pen, subdue the world. Such is the distinguishing feature of this supreme Theophany.”¹⁴

The beloved Guardian shares with us in God Passes By:

“Bahá’u’lláh’s tent, the ‘Tabernacle of Glory,’ was raised on Mount Carmel, ‘the Hill of God and His Vineyard,’ the home of Elijah extolled by Isaiah as the ‘mountain of the Lord to which all nations shall flow.’ Four times He visited Haifa ... In the course of one of these visits, when His tent was pitched in the vicinity of the Carmelite Monastery, He, the Lord of the Vineyard, revealed the Tablet of Carmel, remarkable for its allusions and prophecies.”¹⁵

In that Day when “the hour at which” the “resistless Faith was to be made manifest did strike”¹⁶ and nearing the evening of His life, “the fragrances of mercy have been wafted over all created things,” Bahá’u’lláh addressed Carmel:

“Render thanks unto Thy Lord, O Carmel. The fire of Thy separation from Me was fast consuming thee when the ocean of My presence surged before Thy face, ... Rejoice, for God hath in This Day established upon thee His Throne, hath made Thee the dawning-place of His Signs ... He, verily, loveth the spot which hath been made the seat of His Throne.

“The Tongue of Grandeur (Bahá’u’lláh) hath been moved to disclose that which had been wrapped in His knowledge and lay concealed within the treasury of His might.”¹⁷

[Page 8] *“Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendor is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that hath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled in adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart, and the company of the most exalted angels...

“Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee, and will manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the Book of Names.

“Sanctified be the Lord of mankind, at the mention of Whose name all the atoms of the earth have been made to vibrate, and the Tongue of Grandeur hath been moved to disclose that which had been wrapped in His knowledge and lay concealed within the treasury of His might. He, verily, through the potency of His name, the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the Most High, is the ruler of all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth.”¹⁸

No wonder He had not disclosed the hidden glad tidings earlier, waiting until the evening of His life to do so. Man was not ready nor did he deserve it.

GLAD TIDINGS FORETOLD BY THE PROPHETS

When “by the grace of the Lord of Revelation, the Tabernacle of Glory hath been raised”¹⁹ on Mount Carmel, all the promises Bahá’u’lláh deemed advisable were revealed. The Kingdom of the Father on earth long prophesied by Jesus Christ was initiated, and the truth of the revelation of St. John became manifest: Malakút-i-Pidar mubárak bád (blessed by the kingdom of the Father)!²⁰

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away: and there was no more sea....

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God...

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”²¹

The Pársís were long awaiting the fulfillment of their prophecies that, “After the victory of the Arabs and the decline of the Zoroastrians I (God) will raise a great man in Iran from the dynasty of the Kings, who will gather the people of the world from the east and the west to the worship of God.”²² “He (the Promised One), then (at that time) will make the whole universe anew.”²³

Isaiah, the greatest prophet of Israel, again referred to Bahá’u’lláh and His Kingdom:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The earth was indeed filled with ‘the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.”²⁴

“And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”²⁵

In further reference to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and The Universal House of Justice, the beloved Guardian said:

“The Muslims have recited the first chapter of the Qur’án in their daily obligatory prayers (five times), praying for the coming of the ‘King of the day of judgment.’ In reference to the ‘King,’ the exalted Báb said, ‘The King of the day of judgment will appear in the year 80** (1280 AH, Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation in the Riḍván Gardens).

The Prophet-Herald martyr of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, in His Mother Book, the Bayán, revealed in explicit language: “Well is it with him, who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Bahá’u’lláh.”²⁷

All these predictions were, in a sense, realized with the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, with His proclamation to the kings and leaders of the world, with His Messages and Tablets to the whole of mankind, and with the revelation of the Book of His Laws, the Most Holy Book, the Aqdas. The earth was indeed filled with “the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”²⁸ However, because of the inadequacy of man, Bahá’u’lláh did not reveal the mysteries which were still hidden in the Tablet of Carmel.

FORMATIVE AGE

With the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Formative Age started. The beloved Guardian nurtured and consolidated the Administrative Order, the foundation of which was laid by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He strengthened the Local Spiritual Assemblies, the bedrock of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. He trained the Bahá’ís, constantly urged them to promote the Cause, guided them in electing National Spiritual Assemblies, and encouraged them to collaborate with him until the final crown, The Universal House of Justice, was won.

His deeply inspiring messages, as bountiful rains of divine blessings, showered upon all communities without interruption, causing them to arise and respond befittingly to his heavenly calls.

In his moving message of August 1927, addressed to the long-suffering Bahá’ís in the East, he announced the glad tidings that, “the spring season of the Faith has passed and the summer, with choice fruits and harvest, has come.”

Later, in November 1927, he shared the great triumph of the members of the Central American Bahá’í Assembly and highly praised them for enacting their constitution and by-laws, and for presenting this document to the official authorities of their government—an act that led to the recognition of the Cause in that continent. In that same message, the beloved Shoghi Effendi was moved to offer his thanks to Bahá’u’lláh and to quote some of the preceding passages from the Tablet of Carmel. He ended his 32-page message with a very moving and heart-rending prayer. He continued to quote some of the passages.

_______
*—These passages were quoted by the beloved Guardian in his message to the East in August 1927.

**—One vahíd (19 years) after the Revelation of the Báb and beginning of the year 1280 AH.

[Page 9] the Tablet of Carmel, in his further messages, such as one in a 24-page message of November 27, 1929:

“O Carmel .... Well is it with him that circleth around thee, that proclaimeth the revelation of thy glory, and recounteth that which the bounty of the Lord thy God hath showered upon thee.”

I had the great privilege and honor to listen with gratitude to the revelation of the glory of Carmel proclaimed by the beloved Shoghi Effendi on April 3, 1937, in the vicinity of the Master’s House. Oh, that I could have been able to grasp and recall all the gems and interpretations recounted by him on that great day! How sweet, very sweet, was the melody of his voice!

“Have you read the Tablet of Carmel?” was his query. “The Tablet is there in the Pilgrim House.* The Blessed Beauty revealed this Tablet when His tent was first raised on Mount Carmel near the Deyr (Carmelite Monastery)**. The Tablet was not completed. It contains the divine mysteries of God. Bahá’u’lláh said, ‘Call out to Zion, O Carmel,’ which means, O Carmel, address Jerusalem, ‘and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come!.... Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God.’ The City of God refers to the establishment of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel. The City of God in this Tablet is Bahá’u’lláh’s promise to entomb the sacred body of the Báb. A ‘celestial Kaaba’ is a mystery” (which he did not disclose, nor did I dare to ask). “These are mysteries. Bahá’u’lláh proceeds in this Tablet, ‘Ere long will God sail His ark upon thee,’ a further mystery which means The Universal House of Justice will be established here on Mount Carmel under the shadow of the Shrine of the Báb. The Ark, in this Tablet, is the Ark of God’s civilization. And ‘the people of Bahá,’ the occupants of the Ark, are members of the House.”

These were some of the explanations (already confirmed in his messages) which I heard on that historic day in my life from the blessed lips of the beloved Guardian. As I took my leave from him I found myself incapable of recalling any of his further statements, so powerful were his words, words of the Sign of God on earth.

Later the beloved Guardian explained that the Tablet of Carmel was revealed from the Holy lips of Bahá’u’lláh in a loud voice and recorded by His amanuensis, whom Bahá’u’lláh called to take dictation. The power and melody of His voice deeply impressed the monks of the monastery who were standing in reverence and listening.

A year later, the beloved Guardian bade me to memorize the Tablet of Carmel, visit Shiráz and Yazd, and chant it for the Afnán (kindred of the Báb).

MONUMENT GARDENS

Bahá’u’lláh offered up His dear son, the Purest Branch, “ ‘created of the light of Bahá’, the ‘trust of God’ and His ‘Treasure’ in the Holy Land” ... “as a ‘ransom’²⁹ for the regeneration of the World and the unification of its peoples.”³⁰

The Beloved Shoghi Effendi explains some of the mysteries of the Tablet of Carmel.

In a highly significant prayer in memory of the Purest Branch Bahá’u’lláh revealed: “I have, O my Lord, offered up that which Thou hast given Me, that Thy servants may be quickened, and all that dwell on earth be united.”³¹ A “death to the rank of those great acts of atonement associated with Abraham’s intended sacrifice of His son, with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the martyrdom of the Imám Ḥusayn.”³²

The beloved Shoghi Effendi, on Christmas Eve, 1939, transferred the remains of the brother and mother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Mount Carmel and announced the glad tidings:

“Blessed remains Purest Branch and Master’s Mother safely transferred to hallowed precincts shrines Mount Carmel ... Cherished work Greatest Holy Leaf fulfilled. Sister, Brother, Mother wife ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reunited one spot designed constitute focal center Bahá’í Administrative Institutions at Faith’s World Center ... Shoghi Rabbani,”³³

He had already erected the Monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf and designated it as symbolic of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, The Universal House of Justice. He had explained both in his messages and his talks to the pilgrims that the three steps of the monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf are symbolic of the three steps of the election of The Universal House: first, the election of the delegates of the believers to the National Conventions; second, the election of the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies by the delegates; and third, the election of The Universal House of Justice by the members of the National Assemblies. The nine pillars of the monument symbolize the National Assemblies, and the dome, The Universal House of Justice.

He also explained that when the nine pillars on the monument were being constructed, he called the engineer and directed him to place the head pillar so that it precisely faces the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, and not ‘Akká.

The beloved Guardian emphasized in his writings as well as in his talks to pilgrims that in the Tablet of Carmel Bahá’u’lláh established and gave the glad tidings for two institutions, the world spiritual and the world administrative centers of His Faith on Mount Carmel. The world spiritual center is the Shrine of the Báb; the world administrative center is The Universal House of Justice. These two, according to his message on the occasion of the transfer of these two blessed souls, are inseparable—a fact that is significant and unique.

The spiritual and administrative centers of the Muslim faith which, in the beginning of Islám, were together in the Arabian Peninsula, became separated from each other. Mecca and Medina remained as the spiritual centers, but the administrative center moved to Damascus, ‘Iráq, and eventually to Turkey, where it collapsed (the Caliphate). The same thing happened in Christianity. After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ was crucified and buried, was considered the spiritual center of Christianity.

______
*—It is written with excellent penmanship, enclosed in a big frame, and hung in the middle of the wall in the upper hall of the Pilgrim House. The beloved Guardian used to sit facing the Tablet of Carmel in a wicker chair two chairs from the window (which naturally remained unoccupied).

**—Very close to the site of the present obelisk that the beloved Guardian had designated for the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.

[Page 10] The first Christian church under the leadership of one of Christ’s brothers was also located in Jerusalem. However, because of the teaching activities and dispersal of His disciples, the administrative center moved to Rome where the Pope resides.

DEDICATION OF THE TWIN MONUMENTS

The writer had the bounty to be present at the dedication of the monuments of the brother and mother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, which took place on February 9, 1940 (first Muḥarram 1359, birthday anniversary of the Báb according to the lunar calendar).

After a large meeting in the Pilgrim House and en route to visiting the Shrines of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Guardian bade me to chant two prayers, one in each Shrine. At the time I was unaware of the purpose of these prayers, but upon leaving the Shrines learned from the beloved Guardian that one was for reducing the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran and the other for opening the door of pilgrimage. He stated further that as a result of these prayers, the door of pilgrimage would indeed open, and all the Bahá’ís who had been permitted to go on pilgrimage but were deprived because of the strict passport restrictions would come, openly proclaiming their purpose. It is interesting to note that 70 years earlier the Purest Branch, on his deathbed, entreated Bahá’u’lláh to accept him as a ransom so that the door of pilgrimage be opened for those of His loved ones who yearned but were unable to come; again on this day of the dedication of the twin monuments, the beloved Shoghi Effendi gave the joyous tidings of the opening of the door of pilgrimage. Indeed, the Guardian’s prediction came to pass. Over 120 pilgrims attained their hearts’ desire, openly proclaiming that they were proceeding on pilgrimage to the Bahá’í holy Shrines in ‘Akká and Haifa. So many came that the Guardian finally temporarily discontinued the pilgrimages.

On that historic day of the dedication, the beloved Guardian gathered all the petals from the Shrines of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and spread them in two big white sheets. These were then taken to the monuments, where an entire sheet with the rose petals was spread over each monument, following which the beloved Guardian added a rose to each with such care that it seemed as if he were searching for the exact and proper spot to adorn their holy and blessed hearts, an act, the tenderness of which deeply moved all who were present at the dedication. He then chanted their Tablets of Visitation:

“Upon thee, O Branch of God! be the remembrance of God and His praise, and the praise of all that dwell in the Realm of Immortality, and of all the denizens of the Kingdom of Names. Happy art thou in that thou hast been faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament, until thou didst sacrifice thyself before the face of thy Lord, the Almighty, the Unconstrained. Thou, in truth, hast been wronged, and to this testifieth the Beauty of Him, the Self-Subsisting. Thou didst, in the first days of thy life, bear that which hath caused all things to groan, and made every pillar tremble. Happy is the one that remembereth thee, and draweth nigh, through thee, unto God, the Creator of the Morn.

“Blessed art thou, and blessed he that turneth unto thee, and visiteth thy grave, and draweth nigh, through thee, unto God, the Lord of all that was and shall be .... I testify that thou didst return in meekness unto thine abode. Great is thy blessedness and the blessedness of them that hold fast unto the hem of thy outspread robe ....³⁴

“O Navváb! O Leaf that hath sprung from My Tree, and been My companion! My glory be upon thee, and My loving kindness, and My mercy that hath surpassed all beings. We announce unto thee that which will gladden thine eye, and assure thy soul, and rejoice thine heart. Verily, thy Lord is the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful. God hath been and will be pleased with thee and hath singled thee out for His own Self, and to serve Him, and hath made thee the companion of His Person in the daytime and in the night-season.

“Hear thou Me once again, God is well-pleased with thee, as a token of His grace and a sign of His mercy. He hath made thee to be His companion in every one of His worlds and hath nourished thee with His meeting and presence, so long as His Name, and His Remembrance, and His Kingdom, and His Empire shall endure. Happy is the handmaid that hath mentioned thee, and sought thy good-pleasure, and humbled herself before thee, and held fast unto the cord of thy love. Woe betide him that denieth thy exalted station, and the things ordained for thee from God, the Lord of all names, and him that hath turned away from thee and rejected thy station before God, the Lord of the mighty throne.”³⁵

Then the beloved Guardian proceeded to the monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf, where he chanted with a melodious and sweet voice a prayer, walked to the two foot columns of her monument, and said the Tablet revealed in her honor, engraved with pure gold on the crown of the monument. This, according to him, is the highest tribute to her revealed by Bahá’u’lláh:

“He is the Eternal! This is My testimony for her who hath heard My voice and drawn nigh unto Me. Verily, she is a leaf that hath sprung from this preexistent Root. She hath revealed herself in My name and tasted of the sweet savors of My holy, My wondrous pleasure. At one time we gave her to drink from My honeyed Mouth, at another caused her to partake of My mighty, my luminous Kawthar. Upon her rest the glory of My name and the fragrance of My shining robe.”³⁶

After reciting this Tablet, the beloved Guardian turned to the right and shared certain verses of the 54th chapter of Isaiah. He said the Master had explained that the whole chapter was addressed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mother.

“Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For

[Page 11] thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame.... For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called.... For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee....”

Then the beloved Guardian said that God promised to build her monument with most precious stones.

“... behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.”

The beloved Shoghi Effendi said for thousands of years the people read this chapter ignorant of its significance. Even the Bahá’í teachers did not know its true meaning. How explicitly it is said that:

“Thy maker is thine husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name.” It could not be said more explicitly than this: “Thy maker (Bahá’u’lláh) is thy husband.”

The beloved Shoghi Effendi then in a very moving way expressed his thanks:

“Thanks to God, now their holy, blessed remains have been placed in pure, shining marble, and the promises of God have been fulfilled. The result of these prophecies will become manifest in the second Bahá’í century.”

THE ARK AROUND THE ARC

During my last pilgrimage on the second fortnight in March, 1952, the beloved Shoghi Effendi was busy preparing the dome over the octagon in order that gilded tiles could be placed on the third crown of the Shrine of the Báb and completed for the Riḍván Centenary of the Holy Year Nine (1953). In his presence, I watched as he pointed with his right hand to the Shrine of the Báb and thanked Bahá’u’lláh that the spiritual center of the Faith on Mount Carmel was almost complete. Then he waved his left hand, pointing to the lands of the Monument Gardens, and said, “From now on we must exert our efforts to build the Administrative World Center there.”

He often remarked that the believers must be waiting anxiously for the realization of the promises of God uttered in the Tablet of Carmel:

“Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee.”

While walking in the mountains, waving his hand, he said that it means, “The Laws of God will flow from Thee, O Mount Carmel, to the world and its inhabitants.”

This reminds us that the phrase, “the Laws flowing from the mountains,” has been a common phrase in all religions. Please see prophecies of the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 33, when Moses, for the last time in His life, blessed the children of Israel. He referred to the mountains of Sinai (Moses), Sair (Jesus) and His (God’s) shining forth from Mount Paran (Muḥammad).

We can now go to Carmel and say, ‘Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.’

Thereafter the beloved Guardian started to build an Arc around the monuments in the Monument Gardens, along which would be erected the international institutions of the Faith. The first of these was, according to him, the Archives, majestically built and prepared for the sacred relics and Writings of the Faith. For its furniture, he visited England. It was there that he passed away, but he completed his plan. The beloved Shoghi Effendi predicted that the Ark of God (The Universal House of Justice) will be built around the Arc.

The beloved Guardian referred to these institutions in two beautifully different ways. In the first way, he used the original Arabic word Daru’l (House of, Center) for all the institutions: Dar’l-Áthár (Archives), Daru’l-Tablígh or Daru’l-Tarvíj (Teaching or Propagation Center, for the Hands), Daru’l-Tashrí (House of Legislation, Universal House of Justice). He also referred to these by using the prefix letter M, which in Arabic means “place of,” and in a very joyful manner said the members of The Universal House of Justice will first go to the Maṭla’-i-Anvár (the Dawning Place of Light, the Shrine of the Báb), to seek blessings, then to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár (the House of Worship, which is to be built near the obelisk at the top of Mount Carmel), then they will come to Markaz-i-Áthár (the center of relics, the Archives) for reference to the Holy Texts, and will gather in the Majma’-i-Abrár (the gathering place of the righteous, the House of Justice) for deliberation.

Thanks to Bahá’u’lláh, the beloved Shoghi Effendi, through his self-sacrifice and his untiring 36 years of work, day and night of work with no rest, brought that body, The Universal House of Justice, “the source of all good and freed from all errors” into its embryonic form as he promised in his first message to the Bahá’ís of the East. He did not leave us before he completed his ministry.

Again thanks to the Blessed Beauty that the Supreme Body, The Universal House of Justice, the last refuge for mankind as predicted by all the Prophets, is now formed. The eyes of creation are illumined, the Ark of God is sailing, and His Laws are flowing from Mount Carmel.

The beloved Guardian said the Shrine of the Báb, in spite of all its beauty and marvelous attraction, is under the shadow of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, even as the number eight, symbolic of the octagon and columns in the arcade, is under the shadow of nine (numerical value of Bahá). The beloved Guardian had named the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb Daryáy-i-Núr (the Ocean of Light) and Kúh-i-Núr (the Mountain of Light) (also the titles of the two biggest diamonds in the world), the second one being under the shadow of the first.

Thanks, a thousand thanks that now, as a result of the abundant bounties of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, the miracles of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the untiring, strenuous efforts of the beloved Shoghi Effendi, we can go to the Mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob, and say, “Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”³⁸

Praise be unto Him (God) that now we can see with our own eyes, in the circuits of Jerusalem (‘Akká and Haifa), blessed by God, the signs of God shown to Muḥammad, Apostle of God, almost 1400 years ago in His one-night journey.

[Page 12] The Archives Building on Mount Carmel.

“Praise be unto him who transported his servant (Muḥammad) by night from the sacred temple of Mecca to the farther temple of Jerusalem, the circuit of which we have blessed, that we might show him some of our signs.”³⁹

Let us examine closely these passages from the recent inspiring and moving message of the House of God, The Universal House of Justice:

“As the Five Year Plan gathers momentum in all parts of the world, with the followers of the Blessed Perfection firmly embarked on the course that will lead to victory, the time has come for us to contemplate, in preparation for its imminent initiation, the project which will rank as the greatest single undertaking of that Plan, the construction of a befitting seat for the Universal House of Justice in the heart of God’s Holy Mountain.

“Nearly thirty-six years ago, after overcoming a multitude of difficulties, the beloved Guardian succeeded in transferring to Mount Carmel the sacred remains of the Purest Branch and Navváb, interring them in the immediate neighborhood of the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf, and alluded, in these words, to the ‘capital institutional significance’ that these events constituted in the unfoldment of the World Center of the Faith:

‘For it must be clearly understood, nor can it be sufficiently emphasized, that the conjunction of the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf with those of her brother and mother incalculably reinforces the spiritual potencies of that consecrated Spot which, under the wings of the Báb’s overshadowing Sepulcher, and in the vicinity of the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, which will be reared on its flank, is destined to evolve into the focal center of those world-shaking, world-embracing, world-directing administrative institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice. Then, and then are to function in consonance with the principles that govern the twin institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice. Then, and then only, will this momentous prophecy which illuminates the concluding passages of the Tablet of Carmel be fulfilled: ‘Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee (Carmel), and will manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the Book of Names.’

“... The first of the majestic edifices constituting this mighty Center was the building for the International Archives of the Faith, which was completed in the summer of 1957 as one of the last major achievements of Shoghi Effendi’s Guardianship ....

“.... It is now both necessary and possible to initiate construction of a building that will not only serve the practical needs of a steadily consolidating administrative center but will, for centuries to come, stand as a visible expression of the majesty of the divinely ordained institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh.”⁴⁰

What a glory for each one of us in this perishing world, where “Nothing but the Face of God remains,” (Qur’án) to respond befittingly to the call of the Supreme Body of the Faith by presenting to the altar of the Blessed Beauty our humble means, energies, and resources and to arise unitedly, as never before, to bring into being the Kingdom of the Father, Bahá’u’lláh’s Commonwealth.

PLEASE GOD WE MAY ACHIEVE IT!

References

1. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá’í World, 1950-57, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. p 63.
2. Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. p 145.
3. Published at the time in Persia in Arabic.
4. Memoirs of Dr. Habib Mu’ayyad. pp 19, 21, 22, 53.
5. Star of the West, Vol. 14, No. 5.
6. Shoghi Effendi, Tablet of Twin Monuments, p 14.
7. Isiah, 2:2-5.
8. Unpublished memoirs.
9. Jinábi Ḥusayn Iqbál, letter to the beloved Guardian and letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Persia.
10. Shoghi Effendi, Message to the East, Naw-Ruz 1955.
11. Shoghi Effendi, Message to the East, Naw-Ruz 1952.
12. Shoghi Effendi, Message to the East, Naw-Ruz 1955.
13. Shoghi Effendi, a daily memoranda conveying a talk by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on August 3, 1919, unpublished.
14. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Memorials to the Faithful, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. p 27.
15. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. p 194.
16. Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. p 15.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid, pp 16, 17
19. Bahá’u’lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. p 145.
20. Na’ím, well-known Bahá’í poet.
21. Revelation, 21:1, 3, 5.
22. Dabistánu’l-Madháhib, Munaẓirát-i-Díniyyih, p 37.
23. Guldash-i-Chaman-á’ín of Zoroaster, p 71; Munaẓirát-i-Díniyyih, p 38.
24. Isiah, 9:6, 7.
25. Ibid, 11:5.
26. Al Koran, translation of George Sale, chapter 1, p 1.
27. Shoghi Effendi, Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. pp 54, 55. 28.
28. Isiah, 11:9.
29. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill. p 348.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid, p 188.
32. Ibid.
33. Bahá’í World, Vol. VIII, p 245.
34. Ibid, pp 249, 251.
35. Ibid, p 251.
36. Bahá’í World, Vol. V, p 171.
37. Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p 14.
38. Isiah, 2:5.
39. Al Koran translation of George Sale, chapter XVII, verse 1.
40. The Universal House of Justice, message dated June 5, 1975.

[Page 13]

A turning point in North America

Members of the senior institutions of the Faith meet in Wilmette at historic continental conference

The three Hands of the Cause of God who attended the historic July conference in Wilmette were, from left, William Sears, John Robarts, and Zikrullah Khadem. At right is Counsellor ‘Azíz Yazdí of the International Teaching Center in Haifa.

Scarcely three months after the Riḍván 1975 message of The Universal House of Justice which called the attention of the Bahá’í world to the evidences of “gathering clouds widespread opposition Divine Message,” a conference unique in the annals of the Faith in North America was called. Initiated on behalf of The Universal House of Justice by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, the conference brought members of the senior institutions of the Faith from every corner of North America to Wilmette, on the weekend of July 4.

As a constant stream of visitors eddied about the House of Worship on the sunny holiday weekend, few could guess the significance of the gathering that took place quietly and unobtrusively in Foundation Hall. It was a “historic, energizing” gathering, unprecedented in its scope and in the ramifications of its deliberations.

Although many Bahá’í conferences of a national or international nature have been held in the past, this was the first continental conference for North America. It represented not only a new level of gathering but a new awareness of a “continental oneness.”

Three Hands of the Cause, Zikrullah Khadem, John Robarts, and William Sears; Counsellor ‘Azíz Yazdí of the International Teaching Center in Haifa; all the members of the Continental Board of Counsellors for North America, the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada, and the United States; and the members of the Auxiliary Boards met at the House of Worship Saturday and Sunday, July 5 and 6.

A warm welcome from all the conference participants was extended to their distinguished visitor from the World Center, Counsellor Yazdí, in Wilmette to discuss matters of common interests and to attend the consultation.

At the end of the conference, Mr. Yazdí explained that he had the blessing of the International Teaching Center to meet with the Counsellors and Board members to get to know them better, and to be present at the conference sessions. He warmly expressed praise for the entire program, arranged in detail by the Hands of the Cause.

A number of events of great significance took place during the weekend. Three National Spiritual Assemblies consulted on Friday; the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States met with

[Page 14] the Counsellors, including the representative from the World Center; and separate meetings took place in the Temple areas of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Canada and Alaska. Tracy Hamilton, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands, was also present for the inter-Assembly consultations.

“Something new has happened in North America,” said one conference participant. “There has been a turning point.” Many felt that a milestone in Bahá’í history had been reached as a result of the gathering. Counsellor Edna True pointed out that only as time went on would we realize more fully the influence of the gathering.

Hands of the Cause of God, Counsellors, Auxiliary Board members, members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the United States, of Canada, and of Alaska appear on the steps of the House of Worship during a series of unprecedented conferences.

Serious deliberation on matters connected with the protection of the Faith could not quench the enthusiasm and excitement generated by the scope of the gathering.

“As the Cause expands and its institutions become more consolidated,” commented one of the participants, “we may expect the opposition to grow also. It is inevitable.” He went on to explain that the conference was called to assist Bahá’ís to understand the nature of this kind of opposition, in view of the fact that the Faith is growing in prestige.

At each successive stage in the development of the Faith, as it grows from strength to strength, opposition has arisen to “extinguish its light and discredit its name.” At each step, guidance is given as to the appropriate response of the believers. The Guardian wrote in God Passes By:

“The tribulations attending the progressive unfoldment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have indeed been such as to exceed in gravity those from which the religions of the past have suffered. Unlike those religions, however, these tribulations have failed utterly to impair its unity or to create, even temporarily, a breach in the ranks of its adherents. It has not only survived these ordeals but has emerged, purified and inviolate, endowed with greater capacity to face and surmount any crisis which its resistless march may engender in the future.”

Although primarily concerned with the issue of protecting the Faith from opposition, the conference also provided an opportunity for members of the three National Spiritual Assemblies and the Auxiliary Boards to share teaching ideas and learn of goals achieved in other areas.

One National Assembly member commented: “It was especially useful and strengthened our long held view that we should collaborate more specifically on a variety of things with nearby National Spiritual Assemblies.”

Another member said, “We are learning firsthand the approach to the Five-Year Plan goals of fellow Bahá’ís in the other institutions, and it is like looking through an open window on great beauty ... The effect of this conference will be felt for a long time.”

Throughout the conference, the Hands of the Cause and the visiting member of the International Teaching Center offered guidance and warm words of encouragement.

At a meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors with its Auxiliary Boards that took place in nearby Evanston immediately before and after the Wilmette conference, the participants consulted upon methods of carrying out their work and upon ways to release the power for that “vast and widespread expansion of the Bahá’í community,” a prime goal of the Five-Year Plan.

“We all have the qualities to rise to achieve great victories,” said Mr. Sears, “if we but know who we are and the Day in which we live!”

In addition to the universally felt concern to augment the teaching efforts to achieve the goals of the Five-Year Plan, some topics of special consideration were: the appointment of assistants to Auxiliary Board members and the best utilization of their services; ways to increase awareness within the Bahá’í community of the spiritual and practical value inherent in the collaboration of Assemblies and Board members, and the especially vital matter of protection of the Faith.

Commenting on the need for greater awareness within the Bahá’í community of the nature and purpose of the work of Auxiliary Board members, Mr. Yazdí explained that this also existed many years ago when the Guardian first appointed Hands of the Cause.

“It will take time and patience,” he said, “but in the long run, it will be victorious.”

Speaking at a regular monthly staff meeting at the National Bahá’í Center following the weekend conference, Mr. Yazdí also had words of encouragement for “those Bahá’ís whose sacrificial efforts in inconspicuous but vital areas of the work of the Faith,” who help “to prepare the way for the army of Bahá’u’lláh to win still greater victories, saying that working without expectation of reward or even acknowledgment is in itself the greatest reward.”

[Page 15]

Around the World

Bolivia

Rúḥíyyih Khánum completes journey

The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum completed her arduous five-month journey to the Amazonas by paying a courtesy call on President Hugo Banzer Suárez.

She presented Bahá’í literature in Spanish and English. The newspaper El Diario published a photograph and a sympathetic and accurate account of the interview.

Prior to the interview, Rúḥíyyih Khánum participated in a conference in the village of Sacaca in which 300 persons attended. Increased teaching activity was pledged by the Indian believers.

Colombia

Teachers prepared at 3-day Institute

Counsellor Donald Witzel huddles with the friends at Puerto Tejada at a three-day Regional Teaching Institute. Purpose of the Institute was to prepare teachers for Bahá’í children’s classes.

The Institute was one of several events in July.

A Regional Teaching Conference was held July 18-20 at Monterria, Cordoba. Mr. Witzel discussed the distinctive characteristics of Bahá’í life, the Bahá’í community, and the members of the Local Spiritual Assembly; Auxiliary Board member Maxine Roth spoke on the function of the Local Spiritual Assembly; Alan Fryback, a National Spiritual Assembly member, talked about recent messages from The Universal House of Justice; and Dr. Farzam Arbab of the National Teaching Committee spoke about regional and national teaching goals and plans.

Among other stops on Mr. Witzel’s

---

Brazil

Tribute to Greatest Holy Leaf highlights first Bahá’í Winter School

About 75 Bahá’ís attended the First National Bahá’í Winter School of Brazil July 27-Aug. 2 at Vitoria, Espirito Santo.

Highlight of the exciting school was a touching tribute to the Greatest Holy Leaf by Counsellor Leonora Armstrong. The talk was taped and the National Spiritual Assembly plans to preserve it.

Among the subjects discussed at the school were teaching requirements, marriage and morals, the distinctive character of the Bahá’í community and talks about the early history of the Faith.

The National Assembly reported that one of the outstanding characteristics of the school was the active participation of the youth.

Meanwhile, institutes were held about the same time in Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte, and Ceará.

Persons attending the Winter School at Vitoria visited the nearby community of Jardim Colorado where almost 100 friends packed the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds there. A public meeting followed in the Vitoria Bahá’í Salao in which two adults and four youth presented a program on the Faith. One declaration followed.

[Page 16] Around the World

schedule was Kilometer 18 in the Colombian Guajira. Mr. Witzel, Auxiliary Board member Cecilia Yguaran, and Mr. and Mrs. Fryback participated in a two-day course on teaching. More than 50 Bahá’ís from seven communities attended.

One lady offered a portion of her land on which to build a local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds.

El Salvador

Mr. Lamb conducts a special institute

About 50 youth and young adults attended a teaching institute on courtship, marriage, the family, and the education of children held in July and conducted by Counsellor Artemus Lamb and his wife, Dee.

The institute was held at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds and was one in a series given by Mr. Lamb.

The Counsellor reported that the seven-hour institutes have been well received by both Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís.

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Ghana

121 accept the call to action at International Youth Conference

A total of 121 youth volunteered for pioneering and traveling teaching assignments following a stirring message from the Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga at the historic International Bahá’í Youth Conference.

Mr. Olinga represented The Universal House of Justice at the July 10-13 Conference in Accra.

An estimated 400 persons from 25 countries on four continents attended the Conference.

Mr. Olinga read a message from The Universal House of Justice which expressed the hope that the Conference would strengthen, inspire, increase the spirit of devotion, and demonstrate to Assemblies the value and services of the youth toward the achievement of the goals of the Five Year Plan.

Counsellors Zekrollah Kazemi, Friday Ekpe, and Mihdí Samadarí of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Western Africa also spoke at the conference.

Other speakers included Ben Asare, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ghana; Nathaniel Quao, chairman of the Ghana Teaching Service; Akouete Akakpo of Togo; Ranzie Mensah of Ghana; Mrs. Lea Nys of Belgium; Mrs. Effiong Ekpe; and Shoghi Ghadimi.

The Conference was co-sponsored by the National Assemblies of Ghana and Togo.

[Page 17] Hawaiian Islands

Judge is honored at International Women’s Year Banquet

More than 150 persons attended an International Women’s Year Banquet sponsored by the Hawaiian Bahá’í community in Honolulu on July 20.

Highlight of the banquet was the presentation of the Agnes Baldwin Alexander Award for Service to Humanity to Judge Betty M. Vitousek of the Family Court of Hawaii.

The award was presented by the National Assembly of Hawaiian Bahá’ís Office for Human Rights (NAHBORH) on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Hand of the Cause of God Agnes B. Alexander.

The citation for the award read in part: “Judge Betty M. Vitousek has distinguished herself by her outstanding service to the legal profession and the judiciary, and by her outstanding community service ... She was a leader in establishing the Family Court and the Legal Aid Society in Hawaii. As a Judge in the Family Court since 1970, and presently the only woman judge in Hawaii, she has shown herself to be sensitive, able, compassionate, progressive, and an independent thinker. Judge Vitousek’s concern for children and family is attested to by her personal life and by her community work ... The Bahá’í Community of Hawaii through its Office for Human Rights delights in presenting The Agnes Baldwin Alexander Award for Service to Humanity for 1975 to Judge Vitousek for her civicmindedness, her deep concern for children and family, and for the quality of her service to her profession and the community, and as a token of the Community’s inexpressible appreciation.”

The award piece was carved in wood by Louis LeClaire of Haiku, Maui.

In her response, Judge Vitousek surprised the Bahá’ís present by revealing that she had visited the grave of Miss Alexander after she learned she was to receive the award. She also talked to relatives of Miss Alexander to learn more about her life. Judge Vitousek stated she was overwhelmed on learning she was to receive the award and felt she should accept it on behalf of all women in Hawaii who serve the community. She praised the Bahá’ís for their work for human rights and stated she was deeply impressed with the banquet and the award.

Principal speaker at the banquet was Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh of New York, who spoke on “Woman As An Integrated Human Being.” Mrs. Mottahedeh was a United Nations Observer for the Bahá’í International Community for about 20 years.

In her talk, Mrs. Mottaheded pointed out the plight of women who live in underdeveloped countries, the advances being made in women’s rights, and the leadership given by the Bahá’í Faith.

Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh of New York, above, speaks at an International Women’s Year Banquet in Honolulu. Highlight was the presentation, below, of the Agnes Baldwin Alexander Award for Service to Humanity to Judge Betty M. Vitousek, at left, who received the award from Mrs. Gladys Johnson, NAHBOHR director. Tracy Hamilton, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, looks on. In the bottom picture, William P. Alexander Jr., grand-nephew of the Hand of the Cause of God ‎Anges Agnes‎ B. Alexander, admires a painting of Miss Alexander done by Leonard Herbert of Honolulu, left.

Counsellor Elena Marsella of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Northeast Asia spoke on Miss Alexander’s life, the example she set, and the legacy she left to the Bahá’ís of the Pacific area.

Tracy Hamilton, Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands, welcomed those attending and gave a brief summary of the Faith and the work that is being done in the field of human rights.

Several messages were received at the banquet. William P. Alexander, nephew of Miss Alexander who could not attend because of age and illness, sent a message expressing appreciation for the award.

Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink of Hawaii sent a message of congratulations to the banquet and to Judge Vitousek. Congressman Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii stated of the Bahá’ís: “Yours is an organization that continues to contribute unselfishly to the welfare of the people of Hawaii.”

U.S. Senator Hiram L. Fong of Hawaii praised Judge Vitousek.

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii stated: “... It is fitting that the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands—observing decades of devoted efforts that led to the introduction and growth of the Bahá’í religion throughout the world—should bend itself now to another crusade of world dimensions, that of women’s advancement. I hope that your activities, beginning with the tribute which you are tonight paying to Judge Vitousek, will contribute as much to this cause as Agnes Baldwin Alexander’s tireless crusades contributed to the Bahá’í Faith ... I think the confluence of three great causes in your program tonight—the Bahá’í belief, the international women’s movement, and the humanitarian ideal—speaks well for all three, and you have sincere wishes that this continuing affinity will promote the advancement of all of them. I know the work of NAHBOHR will continue in all of these areas and you have my abiding support for this.”

[Page 18] Around the World

Iceland

Mr. Sears visits temple site and Youth Conference

A dream long cherished by the Bahá’í community of Iceland, where the Icelandic translation of Thief in the Night has attracted many believers, was realized in July when the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, together with Mrs. Sears and a party of four other Bahá’ís, took part in the Nardvik Youth Conference, concluding a two-year plan by the Icelandic Bahá’í youth.

One of the first countries in the world to achieve total literacy, Iceland has a tradition of keen interest in books and newspapers. The arrival of Mr. Sears, whose books on the Bahá’í Faith have been translated into many languages, was deeply appreciated by the Bahá’í community, and a full schedule occupied his five-day visit.

Arriving earlier than anticipated, Mr. Sears and his party met, by chance, two of the Icelandic community when they went to a late-night cafeteria in Reykjavik after their long flight from Frobisher Bay, in the Canadian north. Their airplane, owned by David Hadden, a Canadian Bahá’í living at Port Hope, Ontario, made an overnight stop at Frobisher Bay on the way to Iceland and in a small village of Newfoundland on the return trip. At a refueling stop on the Greenland coast. Mr. Sears and his party were greeted by a colorful Bahá’í poster on the wall of the air terminal.

The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears joins a circle of Bahá’ís (below) at a commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Báb held at the temple site near ‎Reykjavid Reykjavik‎. Above, Mr. Sears is pictured with the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iceland and Auxiliary Board member Svana Einarsdottir. From left are Edvard Johsson, Barbra Thinat, Erla Gudmundsdottir, Miss Einarsdottir, Liesel Becker, John Spencer, Mr. Sears, Olafur Haroldsoon, Harper Pettypiece, John Feltham, and Roger Lutley. At left, Mr. Sears chats with Bahá’ís of Frobisher Bay during an overnight stop. At far left is Mr. Sears’ wife, Marguerite.

The visit began with a commemoration of the Martyrdom of His Holiness the Exalted Báb, held at noon, July 9, at the temple site near Reykjavik. The services included all of the Bahá’ís present joining hands in prayer at this historic gathering.

The following day, those gathering for the Youth Conference at Nardvik were greeted by unusually festive decorations in the hall at the naval base where the conference was held. Auxiliary Board member Svana Einarsdottir participated in the program, as well as many of the Icelandic youth.

In 1973, following a visit by the Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir, the youth of Iceland adopted a two-year plan, with main objectives including a large contribution to the national Fund, deepening, and expansion of the Faith among the youth of Iceland. Although severe inflation has adversely affected the economy, making contributions more difficult, much of the fund goal was realized through large donations made during the conference.

[Page 19] Theme of the conference was: “Man hath been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.”

There were many sessions of open consultation, with a full opportunity to visit with Mr. Sears and ask questions.

Greetings cabled to The Universal House of Justice said, in part: “Greetings first International Youth Conference Iceland overjoyed blessed presence Hand Cause William Sears youth present nine countries. Beseech prayers Holy Shrines teaching work this month...”

At the end of the conference, the adults in Mr. Sears’ party made a one-day trip to Thorshavn, in the Faeroe Islands, where the local community enjoyed meeting their distinguished visitor and received his encouragement and prayers for their isolated community.

A trip to the Shetland and Orkney Islands was planned for the next day, but extreme fog made that impossible, so the plane returned to Reykjavik. After a final farewell from the Icelandic Bahá’ís, Mr. and Mrs. Sears and their fellow passengers made the long flight back to Port Hope, Ontario.

Liberia

President honored by presentation

President Tolbert of Liberia receives a copy of Bahá’í World, Vol. XIV, from William Enoanyi, right, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Liberia and Guinea. The presentation was made at Monrovia, Liberia, on July 25.

President Tolbert said he felt honored to receive the book. He expressed appreciation to the Bahá’ís and wished them success in teaching the Faith in Liberia and Guinea.

Netherlands

Six nationalities at Summer School

Bahá’ís from six nationalities attended the Dutch Summer School and Youth Camp in July.

The Hand of the Cause of God Abu’l-Qásim Faizí and Counsellor Dorothy Ferrabay of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Europe were among the speakers.

Northwest Pacific Ocean

Shopping plaza proclamation success

A proclamation and public service event were held recently at a shopping plaza in Dededo, Guam, which attracted a large attendance of island children and their parents.

As the children arrived, they were encouraged to participate in such creative activities as finger painting, clay modeling, collage, bead stringing, and making soap bubbles. A particularly popular activity was a puppet-making table where throngs of boys and girls of all ages gathered to create their own puppets from scraps of colorful cloth.

Bahá’í pamphlets were available, and many were accepted and read by non-Bahá’í parents whose children were participating in the fun-filled activities.

Encouraged by the success of this venture, the Bahá’ís of Guam plan another at Inarajan on the southern end of the island.

Pakistan

First Summer School

About 80 persons attended the first Summer School at Quetta, July 21-27.

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Nicaragua

Teachers travel to four Central America countries

Participants in a Central America traveling teaching project, plus representatives from the National Spiritual Assemblies of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras, get together for a recent briefing in Managua, Nicaragua. After the briefing, the teachers broke into four teams of three persons each and traveled in the four countries for about a month.

[Page 20] Papua New Guinea

House of Justice praises award winner

Elti Kunak, the first woman elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Papua New Guinea, has been awarded the British Empire medal for her work in women’s rights.

The Universal House of Justice sent this cable concerning the award:

“Delighted news award British Empire medal Elti Kunak. Please convey warm greetings commendation this recognition her distinguished service. Assure prayers Holy Shrines divine blessings confirmations may crown her efforts.”

Spain

Mr. Giachery speaks at Summer School

The Hand of the Cause of God Ugo Giachery spoke at the National Summer School of Spain in July which was attended by believers from Spain, Germany, France, and Morocco.

United States

Council fire held at Chinle, Ariz.

An Indian Council Fire was held July 11-13 at Chinle, Ariz., in which Indians and non-Indians attended from the Dakotas, the Mexican border, Arizona, New Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and California.

There were beautiful meetings; love expressed by a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, Franklin Kahn, himself a member of the Navajo Tribe; a fireside by Auxiliary Board member Nancy Phillips; and talks by Indians and whites.

Youth participate in 9 special projects

Many youth participated this summer in nine special teaching projects in seven states.

The events ranged from county fair booths to large proclamations. The projects were sponsored and coordinated by Local Spiritual Assemblies, District Teaching Committees, and the National Youth Committee.

The projects were held in Illinois, California, South Carolina, New York, Colorado, Minnesota, and Michigan.

In Chicago, a storefront center was used in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood. In Los Angeles, a coffee house was set up in the Bahá’í Center to reach Armenians.

Other teaching projects were held at the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute at Hemingway, S.C.; in South Carolina District No. 2 North; at the county fair in Holyoke, Colo.; at fairs, conferences, and meetings in Olmstead County, N.Y.; at a fair in Hamburg, N. Y.; and at Carbondale, Ill., and Sault Sainte Marie, Mich.

50th anniversary for Berkeley Bahá’ís

The Bahá’ís of Berkeley, Calif., are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Local Spiritual Assembly.

As part of the celebration, a “Tea and Reminiscences” event was held June 15 in which Mr. and Mrs. Ali Yazdí shared with the friends their experiences in the early days of the Faith in Berkeley. The highlight was recollections of a talk given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Berkeley High School on Oct. 9, 1912.

Venezuela

Three village chiefs attend institute

A group of 38 Motilon-Yukpá Indians, including the chiefs of three villages, attended the first institute course held June 28-29 in Toroma, a village in the Perijá mountains.

Counsellor Donald Witzel of the Continental Board of Counsellors for South America was among the teachers at the institute which was planned by the Regional Teaching Committee for the state of Zulia.

The village chiefs received from the National Spiritual Assembly pictures of the Shrine of the Báb for placement in local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds which will be constructed in their villages.

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Mr. Yazdí meets with Bahá’ís in Los Angeles

Counsellor ‘Azíz Yazdí of the International Teaching Center chats with some of the 200 Bahá’ís who met on July 26 at the Los Angeles (Calif.) Bahá’í Center.

Mr. Yazdí spoke about Bahá’í activity all over the world, including news from the World Center.

[Page 21]

Illuminated (decorated) Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh for teaching and deepening make welcome gifts, provide inspiring wall decoration, and aid in memorization. Illuminated Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh Preservation and consolidation of the victories won: This is one of the three major objectives of the Five Year Plan as the Cause of God goes “from strength to strength” throughout the worldwide Bahá’í community. We can do this even in the face of rising global chaos if we use the strengthening serenity of our Sacred Texts, the Creative Word of God, to deepen and consolidate Bahá’ís. For this purpose, several short, simple, powerful quotations of Bahá’u’lláh have been chosen and are now available in large type, illuminated by dignified artwork. These attractive, brief prayers and meditations are suitable for framing or other kinds of display. Ten different quotations have been printed on 8.5 by 11-inch paper — large enough for wall or window display, yet small enough to be carried in a notebook. Members of teaching, proclamation, conference, and consolidation committees might want to pay particular attention to this set for possible use at summer schools, institutes, and children’s classes. They are excellent for complementing normal teaching materials or for gifts to participating individuals at Bahá’í gatherings. The large type and easy-to-handle pages also make the material useful for persons with poor eyesight or for beginning readers, either children or adults, who are not yet accustomed to Bahá’í literature. In addition, these passages are generally brief enough so that students can memorize them without difficulty. The entire set of ten can be bound into a new believers’ booklet either as they are or mounted artistically on colorful heavy paper. Further decorative illumination can then be added, limited only by the artist’s imagination. In this way, homemade albums can be tailored to a variety of indigenous cultures. Other possible uses include mementos for friends on special Bahá’í occasions or gifts for the sick or shut-in. These ten quotations by Bahá’u’lláh are available either in complete sets or as individual prayers and meditations in multiples of ten. How to Get the Illuminated Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh Your local Bahá’í librarian or authorized Bahá’í distributor may have them in stock or may be able to supply you with prices and ordering information. If, however, you cannot find them in 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.

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