Bahá’í News/Issue 21/Text
THE BULLETIN OF THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE BAHA’IS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Office of the Secretary
129 EAST 10th STREET, NEW YORK CITY“As to the words ‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days’: this signifies the time when the people become afflicted with hardship and distress. This is when the traces of the Sun of Truth and the fruits of the tree of knowledge and wisdom disappear from among mankind and the reins of the people fall into the hands of the ignorant; when the doors of unity and knowledge—the essential purpose of the creation of man—are closed; when knowledge is changed into superstition and guidance into adversity, just as it is witnessed in this day that the reins of every party are in the hands of an ignorant one who leads them in whatever way he desires. Among them nothing remains of the Adored One but a name and of the Desired One but a letter . . . . Therefore, when these Suns arise, the world is renewed, the rivers of life flow, the seas of beneficence move, the clouds of grace gather and the breezes of bounty blows upon the temples of beings. Through the heat of these Divine Suns and Ideal Fires the heat of the love of God is produced in the pillars of the world; and through the favor of these abstracted Spirits the immortal spirit of life is conferred upon the bodies of the mortal dead.”—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.
STATEMENT BY THE TREASURER ABOUT THE PLAN OF UNIFIED ACTION[edit]
A little analysis of the accompanying financial statement will bring to light a number of interesting facts. First and most important is that no perceptible progress is being made toward its real purpose, that is, the accumulation of for the Temple structure.
One does not have to figure very much to see that at the present rate of income it would take about nine years to accumulate the amount aimed at by the Plan, even provided every activity of the Cause that involved an expenditure were stopped.
The Temple property as it stands would have to do without a caretaker, no moneys could be spent for maintenance. The teachers could not travel to present the Cause to new souls or to stimulate the life of the older groups. The Green Acre properties could not be maintained. The fact is very likely they would net come into possession of the Cause at all, for unless we could administer them the Green Acre trustees would not be justified in making the transfer. The Star of the West would have to be discontinued, nor could any money be sent to the International Fund. In short, even where every activity of the Cause cut off and all income from every source devoted to the Temple, it would take more than nine years to accumulate the amount necessary to begin construction on the Temple again.
Is it not reasonable, however, to assume that if the National Spiritual Assembly did adopt such an attitude and definitely cut off all of these expenditures, and so deprive the Cause in America of these activities that the income too would definitely drop off, for it will be seen that quite a large proportion of the contributions come to the treasurer designated for a particular purpose. May it not be reasonable to assume that those who are interested in a particular activity will contribute toward it. The National Spiritual Assembly is bound to accept whatever service anyone wishes to render to the Cause, therefore, when one who has previously richly given toward the Plan of Unified Action and offers a specific contribution to an activity that is a part of the program of the Plan, the treasurer must of necessity accept such contributions.
It has happened too, that friends have offered sums for purposes that were not in the Plan of Unified Action and there too, the National Spiritual Assembly has felt very much inclined to accept and to work with these interested ones as far as possible. For is it not all directed toward the great end in view, the spread of the heavenly teachings. The Guardian, however, has repeatedly reminded the friends to hold to the Plan and not to inaugurate new activities, and it is thought now that fortified by these instructions the National Spiritual Assembly will be able to point out to everyone the need of concentration during this period of the Plan.
We must not lose sight of the fact that our financial report reveals an active Cause in America. The various headings under which we account for moneys received or expended show that these various departments are active, an ever-increasing number of believers are engaged directly in the service of one or more of them. We have these living departments that need the support of the believers; that is the meaning of organization.
Many of the friends throughout the country lament because they feel themselves unfitted to spread the Cause as they would wish to do. There are a number of communities that have for years been unable he grow and have not been able to add to their numbers. It is the purpose of the Plan of Unified Action to actively assist such communities, but it needs the support of these friends to enable it to increase the circuits of teachers and to make effective the organized effort in every community. Should we not all welcome a stronger organization and make the necessary sacrifice to assist?
The Plan of Unified Action, it must
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of the Bahá’is of the United States and Canada
129 EAST 10th Street, New York City Office of the Treasurer 1821 Lincoln Street Evanston, Ill.
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be understood, is not only to enable
us to build the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, but
to enable all unitedly to do what is
necessary to keep the light of Bahá in
this land and to enable all to unite in
the spread of the Message, so that in
the end it my be found that we,
through combined effort, were able to
do what we as individuals found impossible.
There is no question that the Plan of Unified Action requires us to make sacrifices. It is not a question of being really able to afford to give, it is rather a question of the measure of our devotion to the Cause; nor is it a question of policy for the Bahá’is to consider but rather a question of loyalty to the very foundation of the Cause itself.
The responsibility of the administration of the Cause was placed upon the members of the National Spiritual Assembly. These were chosen by the people and naturally they are entitled to their support. The Plan of Unified Action was conceived by that body and the Guardian has himself given to it his approval and support. Of this there can be no doubt as will be seen by the quotations from letters that he has written to the treasurer (printed under a separate heading) when each month he makes his personal remittance to the Plan.
Is it not therefore meet that we should, while there is still time, devise some way in which we may still do our part to carry the Plan through to success. Much precious time is lost, but the members of the National Spiritual Assembly have received a number of intimations and suggestions that there are those who would make an extreme effort to make up the deficit in the Budget Fund, so that the National Spiritual Assembly could place these moneys in the permanent building fund for the Temple.
Recently also word has come through a group of returning pilgrims that the Guardian wishes the community in Chicago to undertake fitting the Temple foundation structure so that same may become available for meetings. This will, of course, involve a considerable expense and it may well mean that the National Fund will be called upon to help to defray the sum in part, at least. The Chicago community is eager to undertake the work. The National Spiritual Assembly stands ready to assist in every possible way, but the larger National issue that is before all of the believers is the actual carrying through to the success of the Plan of Unified Action.
Perhaps all these things are new guidance toward the ultimate success of the Plan. Would it not be well for us all to accept this as so and carry forward together. Those who have large amounts that they could give should do so with every confidence in the National Spiritual Assembly that it will be placed in the Temple Building Fund when the immediate need of the Budget Plan has been met. Those who can give but little do so, so that the end of the three year period of the Budget Plan may still see it win and thereby gladden the heart of our beloved Guardian and inspire the world with the demonstration of faith in Bahá’u’lláh that may well be the means of the world’s salvation.
- CARL SCHEFFLER, Treasurer.
Extracts of Letters Written by the Guardian to the Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly About the Plan of Unified Action[edit]
My dear co-worker:
I am glad to hear from a recent letter of the increasing interest and support of the friends to the Plan. We must continually repeat, appeal and urge them to realize afresh the vital urgency of the task before them. I am herewith enclosing the sum of $95 as my October contribution towards the Plan for Unified Action. Please assure the friends of my continued prayers for the success of their persistent efforts and devoted labors for the spread of the Cause.
- Your true brother,
My dear co-worker:
I am anxious to learn of the response of the friends to the Plan for Unified Action since June 30th. I attach extreme importance to it and I wish you to concentrate your splendid efforts on this so as to insure its success. So much that is vital depends upon this Plan. We must at all costs make it a success, for its failure would be a reflection on the Cause and would delay indefinitely and lamentably the construction of the Temple. Exert every effort along this line and rest assured of my constant prayers for the success of your efforts.
- Your true brother,
My dear and valued co-worker:
It is my earnest hope and prayer
that the friends will more universally,
substantially and regularly contribute
to this Plan. They should be strenuously
and continually urged to do so.[Page 3]
The National Assembly must be on
their guard and watch carefully the
developments of the activities of the
friends, lest any new issue should arise
that would tend to obscure the most
vital issue which is of paramount importance,
lest it should dissipate the
energies of the friends and cause this
Plan to fall into the background. I
will continue to supplicate the blessings
of Bahá’u’lláh upon your highly
valued efforts.
- Your true brother,
My dear and valued co-worker:
I am enclosing my April contribution to the National Fund. It is a matter of deep concern to me that the response of the believers to the call embodied in the Plan of Unified Action has been so feeble and uncertain. The National Assembly, while not justified to oppose specific contributions for newly originated activities, should by every means in its power impress upon the friends the paramount necessity of unlabelled contributions to the National Fund. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár undoubtedly constitutes the most important item in the activities provided by the Plan, but these must not be unduly restricted or neglected in order to further the interests of the Temple. I would be grieved to learn that any believer would ever attempt to support an activity that lies outside the province of the Plan and would neglect thereby his sacred obligation towards the Budget. May the believers, one and all, arise to support the Plan as they have never done before and With all the resources at their disposal secure its triumph.
My dear Bahá’i brother:
I am instructed by my beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, to forward to you the enclosed cheque of $95 as his contribution to the Budget for the month of June. He earnestly hopes that the friends have by now realized the supreme necessity of contributing regularly and unlabeled towards the Plan of Unified Action which is the cornerstone of Bahá’i administration for this coming year.
Wishing you success in your unsparing efforts to promote the Plan, I am,
- Yours sincerely,
Dear and valued co-worker:
I know full well how exacting your task is and I fully appreciate your difficult position. Perseverance will alone ensure the success of the work to which we are so closely attached and I trust that you will continue to acquaint the friends with every development of your work that confidence may grow deeper and result in a wider and more substantial response. Do not lose heart and remember always the eventual success of God’s Divine Plan.
- Your true brother,
My dear co-worker:
It is my earnest hope that the Cause will not incur further liabilities this year and I want you to urge the National Assembly to be exceedingly careful in voting appropriations that are not strictly urgent and necessary at present. We must concentrate on what is specified and stressed in the Budget for the coming year.
- With best wishes,
Letter from Business Manager of Bahá’i Magazine[edit]
Dear co-worker:
A very recent letter from our Guardian encourages us to believe that the Star of the West is shining more brightly and radiating its effulgent rays more widely throughout the world. This message stimulates us to bring to your attention a plan for cooperation in securing the more effective use of our magazine as a method of teaching the Cause.
Our plan is a very simple one and we know that you will be glad to cooperate with this office in carrying out the following recent wishes of our Guardian: “. . . there should be no difficulties concerning it, since every assembly and every individual will support it.” We take pleasure in offering you the opportunity of securing 10 or more copies of the Bahá’i magazine of any one issue at the rate of 15 cents per copy. We suggest that each believer, as far as practicable, buy 10 or more copies of some recent issue and give them to friends and acquaintances. If you will send us the names and addresses of the people to whom you wish the magazine sent, we will mail them out with attractive greeting card.
We hope that each and every believer that reads this letter will make it a matter of personal service, and rise to cooperate with us in bringing this most effective teaching medium to the attention of the people of this country and Canada. Through such service, you will not only be doing direct teaching, but assisting the National Spiritual Assembly to carry out the Guardian’s wishes with relation to the consummation of the Plan for Unified Action.
In the November issue just published appears the beginning of two most interesting series of articles; one by an English believer that was brought to the attention of the editors by our Guardian and the other a thrilling recital of the recent experiences of one of our Canadian believers. All of your friends will find these articles, as well as the other material in each issue, of deep and timely interest.
We are counting on you for your earnest cooperation in helping us carry out this plan.
- Your humble co-worker,
- A. B. McDANIEL,
- Business Manager,
- The Bahá’i Magazine.
- A. B. McDANIEL,
- Your humble co-worker,
Recent Teaching Work of Mr. Albert R. Vail[edit]
During the autumn Mr. Vail has been teaching in Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Peoria and Urbana, and spent two weeks in Washington at the time of the Amity Convention in that city. He has also spoken often in Chicago and suburbs, giving many addresses to the inter-racial gatherings which the Chicago committee has so splendidly arranged in forums, churches, clubs, collegiate groups, and special classes on the south side of Chicago. The Amity Convention in Washington and the many meetings following its revealed also in new brilliance the spiritual outpourings which descend upon those gatherings where the colored and white races come together. These meetings demonstrate to our strife threatened world the power of Bahá’u’lláh to establish the oneness of mankind. Mr. Vail has also spoken to various college gatherings and groups of students and educators who respond immediately to the Bahá’i program for universal, technical, scientific and spiritual education.
There is arising a remarkable group of new believers who have set themselves the glorious task of living the Bahá’i life. Some of them have had a marvelous vision of the spiritual reality of the Cause. Some have been quite reborn. They are adding new enthusiasm and spiritual effectiveness of the teaching campaign.
Change of Address[edit]
Secretaries are requested to note the following change in the directory issued to national committees and local Spiritual Assemblies last summer: Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Miss Anne M. Savage, secretary, Montreal Bahá’i Center, 1456 Union Avenue.
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA’IS OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Statement of Cash Receipts and Disbursements for Period July 1, to October 31, 1927
| Northern Trust Co. | $3,466.47 | ||
| Northern Trust Co. Savings | 400.00 | ||
| Liberty Bonds | 50.00 | $3,906.47 |
| CASH RECEIPTS | |||
| For Temple | $819.53 | ||
| For Budget | 9,386.09 | ||
| For Teaching | 200.00 | ||
| For Greenacre | 4,178.83 | ||
| For Publicity | 500.00 | ||
| For Publishing | 500.00 | ||
| Special contribution for Int’l Fund | 100.00 | ||
| Interest earned | 13.04 | $15,697.49 | |
| $19,603.96 |
| DISBURSEMENTS | |||
| Temple | $976.28 | ||
| Teaching | 1,825.00 | ||
| Green Acre | 3,840.84 | ||
| Star of the West | 1,531.50 | ||
| International | 1,409.82 | ||
| World Unity Conferences | none | ||
| Publishing | 54.25 | ||
| General Publicity | 1,000.00 | ||
| Amity | 297.00 | ||
| Administration | 3,540.33 | $14,475.02 | |
| $5,128.94 |
| Loan—Ed. Struven | $307.50 | ||
| Art Crafts Shop—Green Acre | 250.00 | ||
| Green Acre—chairs | 35.28 | ||
| Green Acre Bonds—Retired | 220.00 | $812.78 |
| Northern Trust Co. | $3,866.16 | ||
| Northern Trust Co. Savings | 400.00 | ||
| Liberty Bonds | 50.00 | $4,316.16 |
Analysis of Disbursements of Period July 1, to October 31, 1927
| TEMPLE EXPENSES | |||
| Taxes | $238.95 | ||
| Work on Grounds | 74.00 | ||
| Water | 11.31 | ||
| Caretaker’s salary | 580.00 | ||
| Light | 22.18 | ||
| Repairs to Temple | 49.80 | $976.28 |
| TEACHING | |||
| Teacher’s Expenses | $1,325.00 | ||
| Special Traveling Teacher’s Expenses | 500.00 | $1,825.00 |
| GREEN ACRE | |||
| Improvements to Land | $643.50 | ||
| Insurance | 215.12 | ||
| Repairs to Buildings | 481.58 | ||
| Light | 39.63 | ||
| Auto Repairs and Expenses | 31.70 | ||
| Taxes | 501.81 | ||
| Caretaker’s Expense | 87.75 | ||
| Caretaker’s Salary | 630.00 | ||
| Hired Help | 48.00 | ||
| Road Expense | 81.25 | ||
| Printing | 55.50 | ||
| Traveling | 25.00 | $3,840.84 |
| STAR OF THE WEST | |||
| Publishing costs not met by subscriptions | $1,500.00 | ||
| Storage—Back numbers | 31.50 | $1,531.50 |
| INTERNATIONAL | |||
| Regular contribution | $670.00 | ||
| Relief to Martyr’s families | 250.00 | ||
| Jerusalem earthquake relief | 489.82 | $1,409.82 |
| PUBLICATION | |||
| Year Book | $54.25 |
| GENERAL PUBLICITY | $1,000.00 |
| AMITY WORK | $297.00 | ||
| Carried Forward | $10,934.69 |
| ADMINISTRATIVE | |||
| Secretary Salary | $1,200.00 | ||
| Secretary Office Expense | 588.80 | ||
| News Letter | 358.11 | ||
| Traveling | 340.00 | ||
| Treasurer’s Office Expense | 204.15 | ||
| Exchange | 9.11 | ||
| Convention Expenses | 41.71 | ||
| Legal | 250.00 | ||
| National Office Rent | 435.00 | ||
| Hotel Expense—N.S.A. meetings | 13.05 | ||
| Donations, flowers, etc. | 10.00 | $3,540.33 | |
| Sundry | 120.00 | ||
| Total Expenses | $14,475.02 |
Meeting with Delegates of 1927 Convention
A joint meeting of the National Assembly and delegates of the last Convention will be held in New Masonic Temple, 32 West Randolph Street, Chicago, on Saturday, January 21, seven P. M. A public Inter-Racial Amity Convention will be held by the Inter-Racial Amity Committee of the Chicago Spiritual Assembly at the same address on Sunday the twenty-second at 2:30 P.M. It is hoped that believers throughout the Middle West will attend. These sessions will be reported fully in the next News Letter.
New Bahá’i Publications
With the approval of Shoghi Effendi, the National Assembly has prepared a volume containing all the letters written by the Guardian to December 1, 1927, addressed to the National Spiritual Assembly or to the entire body of the American believers. The book is to be called “Bahá’i Administration”. The reproduction of the text of the Guardian’s letters will be preceded by excerpts from the Will and Testament of ’Abdu’l-Bahá and followed by the text of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws adopted by the National Assembly. This volume will thus contain all the sources available for the understanding of the nature and development of the activities of the Cause during this period pending the establishment of the International House of Justice. Both spiritually and materially, the power of Bahá’i service depends upon the existence of a body of believers each of whom has fully and accurately informed himself in the principles and institutes of the Cause. The rise of privileged classes both among religious and civil societies in the past has been made inevitable by reason of widespread indifference or ignorance of the fundamental principles involved. In this new day, all excuse for ignorance has been removed. Copies of “Bahá’i Administration” may be purchased through the Publications Committee in the usual way. Price, $1.50.
The inter-racial amity compilation prepared by a special committee consisting of Mrs. Mariam Haney and Mr. Louis Gregory at the request of the National Assembly is now available. Its title is “The Oneness of Mankind.” Consisting of sixty-four pages of text embodying the creative word and spirit of Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá on this most important subject, and attractively bound in strong paper covers, this compilation fills a great need especially in America, and will surely be widely used by the friends both for study and forgiving to interested souls. The price per is 25 cents.
With the Guardian’s approval, a map drawn by Mr. J. F. Clevenger of the Bahá’i community of Washington, D. C., to show the journeys of the Bab and Bahá’u’lláh during their period of exile and oppression have been reproduced in the size of ten by twelve and one-half inches, suitable for framing. This is a valuable contribution to the documents of the Cause. Copies can be obtained at 10 cents each.
Local secretaries and believers desiring to preserve their Bahá’i papers may obtain leather hinders stamped with the Greatest Name in gold. This binder holds paper size 8 by 11½ inches. The price is $1.50 each.
The Publishing Committee needs copies of Seven Valleys, London Talks, and the Tablets of ’Abdu’l-Bahá volumes one, two and three. Where local consignments of books will allow the return of copies of these books, full credit will be allowed the Assemblies. Copies sent should be in good condition.
New Assembly Headquarters[edit]
In addition to the new home occupied by the Bahá’is of Honolulu already mentioned, the believers of Boston have recently taken rooms at 12 Huntington Avenue and the New York friends moved shortly after October first to 119 West 57th Street. This meeting place has a lecture hall accommodating over two hundred people, a charming library, also used for committee meetings, and a large kitchen.
Program of Detroit Assembly
A beautifully printed program of sixteen pages has been issued by the Detroit believers. This contains all meetings and feasts, with subjects and names of speakers, from September 7, 1927, to June 27, 1928. A vast amount of labor is implied by these comprehensive arrangements, and the new program will undoubtedly result in extending the teaching to many new people.
A Radio Address
On July 7, Mrs. Stuart W. French of Pasadena, delivered a talk on the Principles at Station KFI. This important accomplishment suggests the possibility of a few talented friends, making a special effort to study the art of broadcasting and concentrating an the ideal of securing a regular place on some radio program. Short talks on current events, from the point of view of world unity, would if well prepared command the attention directors awake to the new possibilities of this day.
International Meetings in Seattle
The Spiritual Assembly of Seattle has begun a series of public meetings which are bringing great numbers of people to their hall. These meetings are in the nature of international evenings. People of all races and nationalities are invited, and the program includes brief statements on amity and cooperation by a few leading citizens of the city. The first meeting was followed by a supper conference attended by representatives of various religions and races to plan further effort along cooperative lines. The good news also comes from Seattle that a Children’s Bahá’i Garden Feast brought out thirty-five children, who responded delightfully to the message of inter-racial friendliness given by Mrs. Finch. The combined effort of Mrs. Finch and Mrs. Lorrol Luther has developed a study group at Monroe, a town some fifty miles from Seattle, by which four confirmed believers have already been added to the Cause.
LETTERS FROM SHOGHI EFFENDI[edit]
To the Honored Members of the Bahá’i National Spiritual Assemblies Throughout the West
My dear fellow-workers:
With feelings of burning indignation I find myself impelled to acquaint you with various events that have recently transpired in Persia. Though in their immediate effect these happenings may prove gravely disquieting to the followers of the Faith in Persia and elsewhere, yet they cannot but eventually contribute to the strengthening and purification of the Cause we steadfastly love and serve.
I refer to the treacherous conduct of a professed adherent of the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh, by the name of ’Abdu’l-Husayn Avarih, hitherto regarded as a respected teacher of the Cause, and not unknown by a few of its followers in Europe. Of a nature and character whom those who have learned to know him well have never ceased to despise, even in the brightest days of his public career in the Cause, he has of late been driven by the force of circumstances which his short-sightedness has gravely miscalculated to throw off the mask which for so many years hid his hideous self.
The sudden removal of the commanding
personality of our beloved
’Abdu’l-Bahá; the confused consternation
that seized His followers in the
years immediately succeeding His
passing; the reputation which to superficial
eyes, he had acquired by his
travels in Europe; the success attending
his voluminous compilation of the
history of the Cause—these and other
circumstances emboldened him to
launch a campaign of insinuation and
fraud aiming at the eventual overthrow
of the institutions expressly
provided by Bahá’u’lláh. He saw[Page 6]
clearly his chance in the complete disruption
of the Cause to capture the
allegiance if not of the whole worldwide
Bahá’i community of at least a
considerable section of its followers
in the East.
No sooner had his evil whisperings reached the ears of the loyal and vigilant followers of Bahá’u’lláh, than they arose with overwhelming force and unhesitating determination to denounce him as a dangerous enemy seeking to undermine the faith and sap the loyalty of the adherents of the Cause of God. Shunned by the entire body of the believers, abandoned by his life-long and most ultimate friends, deserted by his wife, separated from his only child, refused admittance into even his own home, denied of the profit he hoped to derive from the sale and circulation of his book, he found to his utter amazement and remorse his best hopes irretrievably shattered.
Forsaken and bankrupt, and a in desperate rage, he now with startling audacity sought to expose to friend and foe, the futility and hollowness which he attributed to the Cause, thereby revealing the depths of his own degradation and folly. He has with bitter hatred conspired with the fanatical clergy and the orthodox members of foreign Missions in Tihran, allied himself with every hostile element in the Capital, directed with fiendish subtlety, his appeal to the highest dignitaries of the State and sought by every method to secure financial assistance for the furtherance of his aim.
Not content with an infamous denunciation of the originality and efficacy of the teachings and principles of the Cause, not satisfied with a rejection of the authenticity of the Will and Testament of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, he has dared to attack the exalted person of the Author and Founder of the Faith, and to impute to its Forerunner and true Exemplar the vilest motives and most incredible intentions.
He has most malignantly striven to revive the not unfamiliar accusation of representing the true lovers of Persia as the sworn enemies of every form of established authority in that land, the unrelenting disturbers of its peace, the chief obstacles to its unity and the determined wreckers of the venerated faith of Islam. By every artifice which a sordid and treacherous mind can devise he has sought in the pages of his book to strike terror in the heart of the confident believer, to sow the seeds of doubt in the mind of the well-disposed and friendly, to poison the thoughts of the indifferent and to reinforce the power of the assaulting weapon of the adversary.
But, alas! He has labored in vain, oblivious of the fact that all the pomp and powers of royalty, all the concerted efforts of the mightiest potentates of Islam, all the ingenious devices to which the cruellest torture-mongers of a cruel race have for well-nigh a century resorted, have proved one and all impotent to stem the tide of the beloved Faith or to extinguish its flame. Surely, if we read the history of this Cause aright, we cannot fail to observe that the East has already witnessed not a few of its sons, of wider experience, of a higher standing, of a greater influence, apostatize their faith, find themselves to their utter consternation lose whatsoever talent possessed, recede swiftly into the shadows of oblivion and be heard of no more.
Should ever his book secure widespread circulation in the West, should it ever confuse the mind of the misinformed and stranger, I have no doubt that the various Bahá’i National Spiritual Assemblies, throughout the Western world, will with the whole-hearted and sustained support of local Assemblies and individual believers arise with heart and soul for the defense of the impregnable stronghold of the Cause of God, for the vindication of the sacredness and sublimity of the Bahá’i Teachings, and for the condemnation, in the eyes of those who are in authority, of one who has so basely dared to assail, not only the tenets, but the holy person of the recognized Founder of an established and world-wide Faith.
- Your true brother,
Haifa, Palestine; October l7th, 1927.
To the Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’is of the United States and Canada[edit]
Dearly-beloved co-workers:
I have already expressed indirectly my views with regard to various secondary issues raised in your latest communications to me dated May 23, June 10, 21, July 11, 14, 15 and 25 August 7 and September 28; and I wish in this letter to deal more particularly with such matters of primary importance as the conduct and the growth of Bahá’i administration. The perusal of these communications replete with the news of steadily multiplying activities and newly conceived plans, all of which I as heretofore appreciate and welcome, has made me feel however that the time seems now opportune to utter a word of caution and warning to those who with unceasing zest labor to give befitting embodiment to those latent energies released by the Message of Bahá’u’lláh.
Much as I rejoice in witnessing the
abundant signs of unfaltering energy
that characterize in various fields and
distant lands the mission of the valiant
warriors of the Cause, I cannot help
observing that, driven by their impetuous
eagerness to establish the undisputed
reign of Bahá’u’lláh on this
earth, they may by an undue multiplication
of their activities, and the consequent
dissipation of their forces, defeat
the very purpose which animates
them in the pursuit of their glorious
task. Particularly do I feel that this
necessity for a careful estimation of
the present resources at our disposal
and of cautious restrain in handling
them applies in a peculiar manner to
the swiftly expanding activities of the
American believers, whose mission increasingly
appears to be to give the
lead and set the example to their
brethren across the seas in laying a
secure foundation for the permanent
institutions of the Bahá’i Faith. That
I feel is chiefly the reason why such
stress has been laid in the past upon
the necessity for consultation on the
part of individual believers with their
elected national representatives in the
matter of initiating plans of action
above and beyond the plans which the
deliberations of the National Spiritual
Assembly have already evolved.
In the matter of affiliation with bodies
and organizations that advocate ideals
and principles that are in sympathy
with the Bahá’i Revelation; in establishing
magazines beyond those that
already are designed to advance openly
and indirectly the interests of the
Bahá’i Teachings; in the financial support
we may sooner or later be called
upon to extend to philanthropic institutions
and the like; in advancing
the cause of any particular activity to
which we may feel sentimentally
inclined;—these, as well as all similar
undertakings, we should only approach
after having definitely ascertained,
through careful deliberation with
those who are in a responsible position,
that the institutions representing
the paramount interests of the Cause
are already assured of adequate and
continuous assistance. Nothing short[Page 7]
of the spirit of earnest and sustained
consultation with those whom we have
prayerfully and of our own accord
placed in the forefront of those who
are the custodians of the priceless heritage
bequeathed by Bahá’u’lláh; nothing
less than persistent and strenuous
warfare against our own instincts and
natural inclinations, and heroic self-sacrifice
in subordinating our own likings
to the imperative requirements of
the Cause of God, can ensure our undivided
loyalty to so sacred a principle—
a principle that will for all time safeguard
our beloved Cause from the allurements
and the trivialities of the
world without, and of the pitfalls of
the self within. I entreat you, well-beloved
brethren, to resolve as you
have never resolved before to pledge
undying loyalty and sleepless vigilance
in upholding so essential a principle in
the course of your manifold activities,
that yours may be the abiding satisfaction
of having done nothing that
may tend in the least to impede the
flow or obscure the radiance of the
rejuvenating spirit of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh.
Touching the recent decision of the National Spiritual Assembly to place as much as possible of the current details of the work in the hands of its national committees, I feel I should point out that this raises a fundamental issue of paramount importance, as it involves a unique principle in the administration of the Cause, governing the relations that should be maintained between the central administrative body and its assisting organs of executive and legislative action. As it has been observed already, the role of these committees set up by the National Spiritual Assembly, the renewal, the membership and functions of which should be reconsidered separately each year by the incoming National Assembly, is chiefly to make thorough and expert study of the issue entrusted to their charge, advise by their reports, and assist in the execution of the decisions which in vital matters are to be exclusively and directly rendered by the National Assembly. The utmost vigilance, the most strenuous exertion is required of them if they wish to fulfill as befits their high and responsible calling, the functions which it is theirs to discharge. They should, within the limits imposed upon them by present-day circumstances, endeavor to maintain the balance in such a manner that the evils of over-centralization which clog, confuse and in the long run depreciate the value of the Bahá’i services rendered shall on one hand be entirely avoided, and on the other the perils of utter decentralization with the consequent lapse of governing authority from the hands of the national representatives of the believers definitely averted. The absorption of the petty details of Bahá’i administration by the personnel of the National Spiritual Assembly is manifestly injurious to efficiency and an expert discharge of Bahá’i duties, whilst the granting of undue discretion, to bodies that should be regarded in no other light than that of expert advisers and executive assistants would jeopardize the very vital and pervading powers that are the sacred prerogatives of bodies that in time will evolve into Bahá’i National Houses of Justice. I am fully aware of the strain and sacrifice which a loyal adherence to such an essential principle of Bahá’i administration— a principle that will at once ennoble and distinguish the Bahá’i method of administration of the prevailing systems of the world—demands from the national representatives of the believers at this early stage of our evolution. Yet I feel I cannot refrain from stressing the broad lines along which the affairs of the Cause should be increasingly conducted, the knowledge of which is so essential at this formative period of Bahá’i administrative institutions.
As already intimated, I have read and re-read most carefully the final draft of the By-Laws drawn up by that highly–talented, much–loved servant of Bahá’u’lláh, Mountfort Mills, and feel I have nothing substantial to add to this first and very creditable attempt at codifying the principles of general Bahá’i administration. I heartily and unhesitatingly commend it to the earnest perusal of, and its loyal adoption by, every National Spiritual Assembly, whether constituted in the East or in the West. I would ask you particularly to send copies of the text of this document of fundamental importance accompanied by copies of Declaration of Trust and the text of the Indenture of Trust, to every existing National Spiritual Assembly, with my insistent request to study the provisions, comprehend its implications, and endeavor to incorporate it, to the extent that their own circumstances permit, within the framework of their own national activities. You can but faintly imagine how comforting a stimulant and how helpful a guide its publication and circulation will be to those patient and toiling workers in Eastern lands, and particularly Persia, who in the midst of uncertainties and almost insuperable obstacles are straining every nerve in order to establish the world order ushered in by Bahá’u’lláh. You can hardly realize how substantial it will contribute to pave the way for the elaboration of the beginnings of the constitution of the world-wide Bahá’i Community that will form the permanent basis upon which the blest and sanctified edifice of the first International House Justice will securely rest and flourish.
I would specifically remind you that in the text of the said By-Laws which to the outside world represents the expression of the aspirations, the motives and objects that animate the collective responsibilities of Bahá’i Fellowship, due emphasis should not be placed only on the concentrated authority, the rights, the privileges and prerogatives enjoyed by the elected national representatives of the believers, but that special stress be laid also on their responsibilities as willing ministers, faithful stewards and loyal trustees to those who have chosen them. Let it be made clear to every inquiring reader that among the most outstanding and sacred duties incumbent upon those who have been called upon to initiate, direct and coordinate the affairs of the Cause, are those that require them to win by every means in their power the confidence and affection of those whom it is their privilege to serve. Theirs is the duty to investigate and acquaint themselves with the considered views, the prevailing sentiments, the personal convictions of those whose welfare it is their solemn obligation to promote. Theirs is the duty to purge once for all their deliberations and the general conduct of their affairs from that air of self-contained aloofness, from the suspicion of secrecy, the stifling atmosphere of dictatorial assertiveness, in short, from every word and deed that might savor of partiality, self-centeredness and prejudice. Theirs is the duty, while retaining the sacred and exclusive right of final decision in their hands, to invite discussion, provide information, ventilate grievances, welcome advice from even the most humble and insignificant members of the Bahá’i Family, expose their motives, set forth their plans, justify their actions, revise if necessary their verdict, foster the sense of inter-dependence and co-partnership, of understanding and mutual confidence between them on one hand and all local Assemblies and individual believers on the other.
As to the state of in Persia,[Page 8]
where the circumstances related in a
previous circular letter have had their
share in intensifying the chronic state
of instability and insecurity that prevail,
grave concern has been felt lest
the support, both moral and financial,
anticipated from the bigoted elements
of foreign Missions in the Capital
should lead to an extension of its circulation
in the West, and thus inflict,
however slight, a damage on the prestige
and fair name of our beloved
Cause. These internal agitations,
however, coinciding as they have done
with outbursts of sectarian fanaticism
from without, accompanied by isolating
the cause of fresh persecution in Kirman
and elsewhere, have failed to exasperate
and exhaust the heroic patience of
the steadfast lovers of the Cause.
They have even failed to becloud the
serenity of their faith in the inevitable
approach of the breaking of a brighter
dawn for their afflicted country. Undeterred
and undismayed, they have
replied to the defiance of the traitor
within, and the assaults of the enemy
without by a striking re-affirmation of
thief unbroken solidarity and inflexible
resolve to build with infinite patience
and toil on the sure foundations
laid for them by Bahá’u’lláh. With
their traditional fidelity and characteristic
vigor, notwithstanding the unimaginable
hindrances they have to face,
they have convened their first historic
representative conference of various
delegates from the nine leading provinces
of Persia, have evolved plans for
holding every year as fully representative
a convention of Bahá’i delegates
in Persia as circumstances permit, and
modelled after the method pursued by
their brethren in the United States and
Canada. They have reconstituted and
defined limits of the hitherto confused
Bahá’i administrative divisions
throughout the length and breadth of
their land. They have adopted various
resolutions of vital importance, the
chief ones among them aiming at the
reorganization of the institution of the
National Fund, the consolidation and
extension of their national campaign
of Teaching, the strengthening of the
bonds that unite them with the local
and national Assemblies at home and
abroad, the establishment of Bahá’i
primary educational institutions in
towns and villages, the raising of the
social and educational standard of
women, irrespective of sect and cast,
and the reinforcement of those forces
that tend to raise the moral, cultural
and material standard of their fellow-countrymen.
Surely, to an unbiased
observer of the present state of affairs
in Persia, these resolutions, backed by
the creative energy inherent in the
power of the Word of God, mark not
only a milestone on the road of the
progress of the Persian believers, but
constitute as well a notable landmark
in the chequered history of their own
country.
The warm hospitality accorded by the National Spiritual Assembly and the American believers to my dear cousin and co-laboratory, Ruhi Effendi, has deeply touched me, particularly as I realize from the appreciative reports I have recently received that by his radiant and earnest spirit of service he has deserved well of his dear fellow-workers in that continent, and contributed substantially to their better appreciation of the Teachings of the Cause. Much as I desire him to work by my side here in the Holy Land, I very gladly concur with your wish to further extend his sojourns with you, trusting that he will prove of great assistance to you all in the discharge of your noble task.
And now in conclusion, may I be permitted to direct your attention to the lesson which the trend of world events brings home to us, the little band of His chosen workers who, according to the intelligent efforts, we exert, can prove ourselves the determining factor in the immediate fortunes of the society we live in. As we witness on all sides the growing restlessness of a restless age, we are filled with mixed feelings of fear and hope —fear, at the prospect of yet another deadly encounter, the inevitability of which is alas! Becoming increasingly manifest; hope, in the serene assurance that whatever cataclysm may yet, visit humanity, it cannot but hasten the approaching era of universal and lasting peace so emphatically proclaimed by the Pen of Bahá’u’lláh. In the political domain, where we have lately witnessed, in the council of the leading nations of the world, the surrender of humanity’s noblest conception to what may be regarded only as a transient phase in the life of peoples and nations; in the industrial world, where the representatives of the wage-earning classes, either through violence or persuasion, are capturing the seats of authority and wielding the scepter of power; in the field of religion, where we have lately witnessed widespread and organized attempts to broaden and simplify the basis of man’s faith, to achieve unity in Christendom and restore the regenerating vigor of Islam; in the heart of society itself, where the ominous signs of increasing extravagance and profligacy are but lending fresh impetus to the forces of revolt and reaction that are growing more distinct every day—in these as in many others, we have much cause for alarm, but much to be hopeful and thankful for also. To take but one instance more fully: Observe the fierce and as yet unsilenced dispute which the proposal for the introduction of a binding and universal pact of non-aggression among the nations of Europe has aroused among the avowed supporters of the of Nations—a League so auspiciously welcomed for the ideal that prompted its birth, yet now so utterly inadequate in the actual principles that underlie its present–day structure and working. And yet, in the great outcry raised by post-war nationalism in blindly defending and upholding the unfettered supremacy of its own sovereignty, and in repudiating unreservedly the conception of a world super-state, can we not discern the re-enactment only on a larger scale of the dramatic struggles that heralded the birth of the reconstructed and unified nations of the West? Has not authentic history clearly revealed in the case of these nations the painful, yet inevitable merging of rival, particularistic and independent cities and principalities into the unified national entity, the evolving of a crude and narrow creed into a nobler and wider conception? Is not a parallel struggle being now manifested on the world stage of ever-advancing humanity? Can it lead to any other result than that which shall reaffirm the truth of humanity’s onward march towards an ever-widening conception, and the ever-brightening glory of its destiny? Reverses and setbacks, such as we have already witnessed, no doubt will retard the ripening of the choicest fruit on the tree of human development. Yet the fierceness of controversy, the weight of argument advanced in its disfavor, cannot but contribute to the broadening of the basis and the consolidation of the foundations upon which the stately edifice of a unified mankind must ultimately rest. Let us take heart therefore, and labor with renewed vigor and deepened understanding to contribute our share to those forces which, whether or not cognizant of the regenerating Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in this age, are operating, each in its respective sphere and under His all-encompassing guidance, for the uplift and the salvation of humanity.
- Your true brother,
Haifa, Palestine, October 18, 1927.
