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No. 49 |
BAHA'I! YEAR 128 JANUARY 1972
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA'IS OF THE UNITED STATES
FOR BAHA'IS ONLY
112 Linden Av., Wilmette, III. 60091 Second-class postage paid at Wilmette, Illinois
Strengthening the Administrative Institutions of the Faith in the United States
(Excerpts from a talk given by Hand of the Cause of God Horace Holley at the Fiftieth Annual Convention of the Bahd’is of the United States at Wilmette,
Illinois, April 29, 1958)
Y= The Bab declared His mission,
there was temporarily only one true believer in the world. The significance of the Faith to that believer was an overwhelming joy, a passion of selfsacrifice, and an intense yearning to share his experiences with his fellow men. No question or principle of adminis tration was involved at that point. Now we have seen this condition repeated many times during the World Crusade, where a gallant pioneer has gone forth to some country or some island and been the solitary Baha’i in that area. Again, it is a question of joy and faith, of self-sacrifice, of devotion, of intense yearning to share the experience with others. And until others are gathered together, the administration does not apply.
Now we begin and we see the teacher confirming or enrolling new Baha’is, one by one, and let us say we have a group of eight gradually evolve. The whole mystery of the world or of Baha*uwllah is contained within the experience of those eight souls, because that is the interval of time allotted to us to enter so deeply into the spirit of the Faith that we have true relationship
_with other Baha’is and with our fellow
-wouldn’t be alive. If we attain faith, our
men.
If we do not employ rightly that infinitely precious interval of time, we become part of a community with a Spiritual Assembly not qualified to deal with that new element possessed by the Assembly. That is authority.
Where does the group of nine, or the body of nine, acquire authority? It does not come by its own volition; it is not conferred by the National Spiritual Assembly; it is not a form of legal charter; it is a divine creation; and that which is given as a blessing to the people of pure souls becomes a torment to the people of divided minds and undeveloped personalities. Wherever we find suffering in local communities, that is, suffering through the relationships of the Baha’is, it is because we have turned the divine creation against ourselves instead of using it as a fulfillment of our love, our aspirations, and our union. ‘
We come into the Cause as a physical being, capable of a certain amount of aspiration and idealism; a certain amount of it, not too much, or we
‘universe is transformed. For example, if nine people enter a room which has seating accommodations for only seven or eight, one or two are obliged to stand because, physically, nine persons cannot occupy seven physical chairs, and the people who perhaps knew in advance there were only seven chairs hurried in so they wouldn’t be the one or two left standing. That again, is human nature. But in the spiritual world, these distinctions do not exist, and the spiritual world is here and not some mysterious place we find after death. The Spiritual Kingdom
The Greeks and the Romans placed their Golden Age in the past, the Christians place it on the other side of the grave, and Baha’u’llah places it here. The spiritual Kingdom exists here or it exists nowhere. So the fundamental emphasis we must acquire for strengthening the Baha’i institutions is not to enroll people but to confirm them. Anybody can memorize a few essential teachings and say, ‘“‘Yes, I accept The Bab; I accept Baha’u’llah; I accept the Will and+Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Baha in its entirety. I will cooperate wholeheartedly with the Administrative Order?
That is the catechism. Enrollment is not the significant step. It is sharing the experience of those Baha’is who love Baha’u’llah, who know that sacrifice is the keenest form of joy and who wish to share their experience. We have too many enrollments — you know who they are—and not enough confirmations. If we assure the quality of the enrollment, plus confirmation, it follows through the experience of the group; the people who tend to be too proud are brought low, because the others have the courage; and the people who are too humble are raised, because the
other people have mercy and insight.’
The people who wish to dominate are thwarted until they have learned their
JANUARY 1972
lesson, and the people who wish to lean and cling to someone else to be dragged forward by them learn to walk by their own efforts. So this infinitely solemn element of authority is given us by Baha’u’llah in the institution first ‘of the Local Spiritual Assembly. It is an authority which is not vested in any of the individuals, although it has to express itself through them. It is a leverage given us to establish justice and peace upon the earth and not to make minute hairsplitting decisions about abstract or artificial situations inflicted upon the Assemblies by an enrolled but unconfirmed community.
And then, one stage higher, we have the National Spiritual Assembly, and there you have the authority and the responsibility to recognize the existence of every Local Spiritual Assembly. If that authority did not exist, nine enemies in a given town could say ‘‘We are a Spiritual Assembly,’’ and announce it to the press and announce it to the people, and then the Cause ‘would be judged by their actions. But they can’t get by the National Spiritual Assembly, and that is why it is so important, when the Local Assembly incorporates, that in their statement of purpose they function in accordance with the principles and under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly, so that they tie in to the larger body and they are not an isolated legal organism, selfsufficient in the eyes of the courts. The National Assembly Is a Channel
The National Spiritual Assembly itself has a responsibility infinitely transcending its authority. The National Spiritual Assembly has only gradually acquired a little authority and a little influence through obedience to a higher power all these years, the person and the writings of the beloved Guardian. And. so your National Spiritual Assembly is the channel through which international plans and objectives are
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transmitted to the local communities, the groups, and the individual Baha’is.
The Guardian accepted the form of Constitution and Bylaws developed by the American’ believers and made it uniform for all national and local bodies throughout the world, naturally with some deviations here and there because of the local conditions; but fundamentally, if you are a member of a local community in San Francisco, Chicago, or New York, and you go to any city in Europe, Asia, or Africa where there is a Baha’i community, your status is unchanged. The conditions, the prin ciples, are unchanged.
- * Rk OX
You see what a foundation is being laid for The Universal House of Justice, which will not only rest upon the existing National Spiritual Assembly as Baha’is but as entities. . . . It is impregnable, but it is only impregnable
if we stop being enrolled and start being confirmed. That is the strengthening of all the Baha’is. When a commit-: tee or an Assembly, Local or National, is operated by people who love the Cause, who have no personal interest about someone else having a brighter idea, or someone being sent on a mission that they wanted to undertake, when they see the Cause from the point of view of the Kingdom, everything is perfect.
Wasn’t it ‘Abdu’l-Baha who quoted Muhammad and said, ‘“‘Cast thine eye and see if thou canst see anything that is not perfect?’’ He didn’t mean the physical world. He meant the world of the Kingdom. And there, friends, if we wish to strengthen our administrative institutions so that they can be the fulcrum upon which the door of justice is opened to the human race, let us find within ourselves the birth of the spirit.
Baha'i Standard in
Matters of Teaching
The Revelation of Baha’u’llah is the spiritual world of light, of truth, of justice and of love. Therein exists no shadow of doubt, no ambiguity, no furtive gloom beneath which superstition can flourish and scatter its evil seeds to the wind. Therein exists no love which is not just, and no justice which is not loving. Man’s assurance, his security and his life and welfare stand upon the foundation laid in that heavenly world.
In these days of strife and confusion, the loyalty of every Baha’i is directed to the realities found in the Revelation. The virtue of tolerance is not a license for be lievers to mingle error with truth, but
rather the confidence that the erring soul can eventually abandon whatever is not confirmed by the Manifestation of God. The world at the time of the renewal of religion is full of pseudo-mystical and pseudo-scientific practices. These are not merely fallacoious and impotent to do good — they are harmful in that they foster the taste for adulteration and introduce into
the Baha’i community elements making for disunity, since they enter not by Revelation but by human insistence.
Consider such practices as spiritualism, palm-reading, numerology, dietary fadism, astrology and the substitution of “‘direct guidance’”’ for the collective consciousness of an authoritative Baha’i Institution and for the authenticity of the Baha’i Teachings. We must be clear about these matters. Nothing which cannot be authenticated in the Teachings should be incorporated as Baha’i teaching in public, fireside or other presentations of the Faith. They have no claim to philosophy or science of social value unless they are confirmed in the Sacred Writings. Community consultation will enable us to discriminate and protect the precincts of truth from sacrilege.
The Local Assembly is responsible for upholding the Baha’i standard in matters of teaching and practice claiming to represent the Faith.
— NaTIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
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W. JEFFERSON ENGLAND, JR.
DEPRIVED OF ADMINISTRATIVE RIGHTS
The National Spiritual Assembly has
found it necessary to deprive Mr. W. Jefferson England, Jr., of Lincoln, Nebraska, of his Baha’i administrative rights and privileges because of his repeated flagrant violation of Baha’i Laws on morality.
ON SMOKING ©
From time to time the National Spiritual Assembly has been asked to take steps to forbid smoking by the believers at Baha’i gatherings on the grounds that it is out of keeping with the atmosphere that should prevail at these meetings and that it is offensive and discomforting to non-smokers. Since there is no Baha’i law forbidding the use of tobacco, the National Spir
itual Assembly in 1965 asked The Univer- '
sal House of Justice for permission to publish the following letter to a believer who asked The Universal House of Justice for advice and guidance on this subject:
‘‘As you have rightly noted. . . ‘Abdu’lBaha advised against the smoking of tobacco. While the Teachings strongly condemn its use, they do not forbid it. To letters inquiring about this subject, the beloved Guardian replied through his secretary that we had no right to prevent anyone from smoking; that Baha’is were free to smoke but it was preferable for them not to do so; and, that this question should not be made an issue.
“The use of tobacco, in common with other personal practices, should be subject to considerations of courtesy. The Baha’i in his daily life, whether smoker or non-smoker, should always be conscious of the rights of those about him and avoid doing anything which would give offense.
‘With reference to smoking during the various types of Baha’i meetings you mention, it is the responsibility of the Assembly, Local or National, to decide on the matter for meetings under its direct control.”’
The types of meetings referred to and which are under the direct control of the Local and National Spiritual Assemblies are Assembly meetings, Nineteen Day Feasts, conferences and conventions. Therefore, where this subject has become an issue in a community the Local Spir
JANUARY 1972
itual Assembly should act in accordance with the foregoing instructions.
For further information on the subject of smoking as taught by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, at tention is called to the following excerpts
from His Tablet on purity published in full in Bahd’t World Faith, pages 333-335.
“Cleanliness nd sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure beings and necessities of free souls. The first perfection consists in cleanliness and sanctity and in purity from every defect. When man in all conditions is pure and immaculate, he will become the center of the reflection of the manifest Light. In all his actions and conduct there must first be purity, then beauty and independence. The channel must be cleansed before it is filled with sweet water. The pure eye comprehendeth the sight and the meeting of God; the pure nostril inhaleth the perfumes of the rose-garden of bounty; the pure heart becometh the mirror of the beauty of truth. This is why, in the heavenly Books, the divine counsels and commands have been compared to water. So, in the Qur’an it is said, ‘‘and we have caused a pure water to descend from heaven;’’ and in the Gospel, “Except a man hath received the baptism of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.’’ Then it is evident that the' divine Teachings are the heavenly grace and the showers of the mercy of
‘God, which purify the hearts of men.
“The meaning is, in all conditions, cleanliness and sanctity, purity and delicacy exalt humanity and make the contingent beings progress. Even when applied to physical things, delicacy causeth the attainment of spirituality, as it is established in the Holy Scriptures.
“External cleanliness, although it is but
a physical thing, hath a great influence
upon spirituality. For example, although
sound is but the vibrations of the air
which affect the tympanum of the ear,
and vibrations of the air are but an accident among the accidents which depend
upon the air, consider how much marvelous notes or a charming song influence
the spirits! A wonderful song giveth wings
to the spirit and filleth the heart with exaltation. To return to the subject, the fact
of having a pure and spotless body likewise exerciseth an influence upon the spirit of man.
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‘‘Now, see how much purity is approved in the Court of God, that it should be especially mentioned in the Holy Books of the Prophets. So the Holy Books forbid the eating of any unclean thing, or the use of anything which is not pure. Certain prohibitions are absolute and imperative for all: he who commits that which is forbidden is detested by God and excluded from the number of the elect. This applieth to the things forbidden by an absolute prohibition and of which the perpetration is a grave sin; they are so vile that even to mention them is shameful. There are other forbidden things which do not cause an immediate evil and of which the pernicious effect is only gradually produced. They are also abhorred, blamed and rejected by God, but their prohibition is not recorded in an absolute way, although cleanliness and sanctity, spotlessness and purity, the preservation of health and independence are required by these interdictions.
- “One of these last prohibitions is the
5
smoking of tobacco, which is unclean, malodorous, disagreeable and vulgar and of which the gradual harmfulness is universally recognized. All clever physicians have judged, and have also shown by experiment, that one of the constituents of tobacco is a mortal poison and that smokers are exposed to different indispositions and maladies. That is why cleanly people have a marked aversion for its use.
“‘. .. I wish to say that, in the sight of God, the smoking of tobacco is a thing which is blamed and condemned, very unclean, and of which the result is by degrees injurious. Besides it is a cause of expense and of loss of time and it is a harmful habit. So, for those who are firm in the Covenant, it is a thing reprobated by the reason and by tradition, the renouncement of which giveth gradual repose and tranquility, permitteth one to have stainless hands and a clean mouth, and hair which is not pervaded by a bad odor.”’
‘On Gossip, Slander and Backbiting
One of the most important of all divine commandments, specially stressed in the Baha'i Teachings, is: ‘‘Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner. Shouldst thou transgress this command, accursed wouldst thou be, and to this I-bear witness.’’ (Hidden Words, 27.) Baha’u’llah further warns that: “Backbiting quencheth the light of the heart, and extinguisheth the life of the soul.”’? (Gleanings, p. 265.) In His Will and Testament, ‘Abdu’l-Baha adds: ‘‘According to the direct command of God, we are forbidden to utter slander.”’
In August, 1913 ‘Abdu’l-Baha wrote an American believer as follows: “. . . the worst human quality and the most great sin is backbiting, more especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of God. If some means were devised so that the doors of backbiting could be shut eternally and each one of the believers of God unsealed his tongue in the praise of the other, then the Teachings of His Holiness Baha’u’llah would be spread, the hearts illumined, the spirits glorified and the human world would attain to everlasting felicity.
“TI hope that the believers of God will
shun. completely backbiting, each one praising the other cordially and believe that backbiting is the cause of the Divine wrath, to such an extent that if a person backbites to the extent of one word, he may become dishonored among all the people, because the most hateful characteristic of man is faultfinding. One must expose the praiseworthy qualities of the souls and not their evil attributes. The friends must overlook their shortcomings and faults and speak only of their virtues and not their defects.”
In order to distinguish between legitimate reports to a Baha’i administrative body which may affect the welfare of a Baha’i community or an individual member thereof and unwarranted rumors, negative and hearsay gossip, slander and backbiting, intentionally or thoughtlessly circulated, the National Spiritual Assembly offers the following rule of action for the guidance of the Baha’i Assemblies and communities under its jurisdiction.
1. In no case should the friends speak to
their fellow-believers in the community of
any matter involving personal delinquencies, alleged or actual, of another mem[Page 6]
6
JANUARY 1972
ber of the community, nor permit believers to speak to them of such matters. If a complaint is warranted, it should be brought directly to the Local Assembly for consideration.
2. A Local Assembly should assume jurisdiction only when the acts or words of a member of the Baha’i community are such as to threaten the integrity of the Cause itself, or to undermine the good name and reputation of a believer.
3. This rule of action also applies for the protection of believers, from any discussion of their alleged personal shortcomings in Baha’i communities other than that in which such believers reside.
4. All such personal matters are strictly barred from discussion at the Nineteen Day Feasts.
5. In applying the Law of ‘Baha'u'llah relative to the bringing of complaints and information to a Local Assembly concerning the alleged or actual shortcomings of individual believers, the Assembly should not entertain or listen to any complaint based upon hearsay or rumor, but should, in all cases, insist that the complainant or witness speak only of such matters and present such evidence as he or she knows to be true, of his or her own knowledge.
6. In the event that a Local Assembly is unable to stop or prevent the continued discussion or circulation of criticisms and unfounded rumors after it has taken jurisdiction of the matter, it is to report such cases immediately to the National Spiritual Assembly. The National Spiritual Assembly, after careful investigation, will take vigorous action to remove the misunderstandings and misrepresentations that have arisen and render full justice to
the individual believer or believers concerned.
If any gossip or ae is initiated by an isolated believer, the matter should be brought immediately to the attention of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The new World Order is and must be held sacred and free from this grave defect in human relationships which not only often inflicts unmerited injury upon the individual but, more important, destroys the solidarity of the Baha’i community. Whispering and backbiting is equivalent to. separation among the friends of God, and, in the final analysis, is the will to harm and to alienate the hearts.
The National Spiritual Assembly feels assured and confident that all the friends will make every effort to realize in their individual and community lives a greater love and unity of purpose, and be ever mindful of Baha’u’llah’s injunction: ‘‘Attribute not to any soul: that which thou wouldst not have attributed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is My Command to thee, do thou observe it.”’ (Hidden Words, 29.)
“O my servants! Deprive not yourselves of the unfading and resplendent Light that shineth within the Lamp of Divine Glory. Let the flame of the love of God burn brightly within your radiant hearts. Feed it with the oil of Divine guidance, and protect it within the shelter of your constancy. Guard it within the globe of trust and detachment from all else but God, so that the whisperings of the ungodly may not extinguish its light.’’ (Gleanings, pp. 3256.)
— NaTIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
Stewart McLeod Smyrna, Georgia October 26, 1971 Miss Doreen Manthey Denver, Colorado
Mrs. Amalia Freiburger Wauwatosa, Wisconsin October 27, 1971’ Mrs. Margaret R. Harper Strafford, Missouri Ocotber 31, 1971 February 1971 Daniel Hopkins Miss Patricia Moore Jamestown, North Dakota Cotonou, Dahomey October 1971 November 24, 1971 Lewis Jackson Mrs. Grace Moul Princeton, West Virginia Renton, Washington Unknown Unknown Laurence LaRocque Mrs. Althea Penzotti Oak Park, Illinois Healdsburg, California November 22, 1971 October 30, 1971
>
In Memoriam
Roosevelt Smith Lumberton, N.C. September 1971 Mrs. Dorsey Tufts Milledgeville, Georgia November 3, 1971 Ben Wickliffe Chouteau, Oklahoma November 2, 1971 Joseph H. Williams Los Angeles, California September 9, 1971 ~ Mrs. Helena Williamson LaGrande, Oregon July 15, 1971
Miss Ella C. Quant Lockport, New York November 13, 1971 Prudencio Resurloso San Jaciento, California November 1, 1971 Lothar Schurgast Cincinnati, Ohio October 19, 1969 Osborne T. Shelton Lima, Indiana November 1971 Elton M. Smith Canandaigua, N.Y. November 9, 1971
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Bahai Directory Changes
ASSEMBLY SECRETARIES
Arizona Douglas: Miss Ruby Sandoval, P. O. Box 1085, 85607 Northern California Sacramento: Miss Janet Cockcroft, Apt. 9, 95816 San Anselmo: Mrs. Martha Rowland, _ 94960 Washington J.D.: Mrs. Doris Bosserman, P. 0, Box 208; West Sacramento 95691 Central California Dist. +1 ‘San Francisco: Mrs. Olive Lopez, . , 94114 Central California Dist. +2. Stockton: Miss Valerie Wilson, ° P, O. Box 427, 95201 Southern California Dist. +2 Desert J.D.: Mrs. Merle A. Cates, Palm Desert 92260 San Diego: Mrs. Doris Rodgers, , 92127 Connecticut Mansfield: Miss Alma Warner, P. O. Box 189, Storrs 06268 Norwalk: Miss Esther Bentley, . , 06851 Florida Broward County: Mrs. Laurie James, P. O. Box 23364, Oakland 33307 Tampa: Mrs. Barbara Miller, P.O. Box 3077, 33601 Georgia Burke County: Mrs. Bulah Hannah, Rt. 3, Box 132, Hephzibah 30815 “Crawford County Dist. #1543: Mrs. Annie Lois Respress, P.O. Box 248, Roberta 31078 Reynolds: Mr. Joseph Lockhart, Rt. 1, Box 208-A, 31076 “Unadilla: Mrs. Marietta Paul, Kinchen St., 31091
Indiana South Bend: Miss Druzella Brenneman, pro-tem, , 46613 Kansas
Emporia: New secretary to be reported Topeka: Mrs. Nancy Larson, _ , 66604 Kentucky Louisville: Mrs, Hilda Robinson, P. O. Box 418, 40201
Massachusetts
Greenfield: Mrs. Mary Suchaneck,
- , 01301 Holyoke: Miss Virginia McElroy, , 01040
Michigan
Ypsilanti: Mrs. Bonita Panahi,
, 48197
‘Missouri
Affton: New secretary to be reported
Nebraska
Lincoln: New secretary to be reported
Nevada
Carson City: Mrs. Beatrice Tuttle,
P.O. Box 1029
Las Vegas: Miss Ann Pugh, 6109 Empire Circle, 89107
North Carolina
Charlotte: New secretary to be reported
Greensboro: New secretary to be
reported }
Plymouth: Mrs. Coralee B. McDonald,
P. O. Box 844, 27962
South Carolina
Bamberg: New secretary to be reported
Berkeley County: Mrs. Donna Reddick,
. , Charleston Heights
29405
Hartsville: New secretary to be
reported
Richland County: New secretary
to be reported
St. Matthews: New secretary
to be reported
Summerton: New secretary
to be reported
Lancaster: Miss Sadie Stevens,
, 29720
Eastern Texas
Denton: Mrs. Linda T. Milne,
Denton Estates, Rt. 1, Box 41, 76201
Garland: Mr. Meredith Dawes, pro-tem,
I oo 75040
Utah
Ogden: Mrs. Martha Curtiss,
P. O. Box 585, 84402
Vermont
Burlington: Mrs. Nancy Rogers,
, 05401
Western Washington
King County Councilman’s Dist. #8:
new secretary to be reported
Kitsap County Commissioners Dist. #1:
Mrs. Carol Kimber, Rt. 4, Box 4467,
Bainbridge Island, 98110
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Tacoma: Mrs. Sue Myatt,
- #303, 98402
Olympia: Correct Box number to read: P. ©. Box-1122 Vashon & Murray Island: Correct city name to read: Burton 98013 West Virginia Charleston: Miss Adah Schott, , Lot 4, 25304 Wisconsin Milwaukee: Mr. Penge G. West, , 53205
- Newly formed Assembly
DISTRICT TEACHING COMMITTEE SECRETARIES Georgia South: Miss Anne Kavanaugh, , Albany 31705 North Carolina East: Mrs. Coralee McDonald, P. O. Box 844, Plymouth 27962 Oklahoma: Miss Carolyn Maly, Tulsa 74104 wasnsne East: Mrs. Jeanne Dammarell, P. O. Box 7285, Spokane 99207
Calendar
January 19 Sultan (Sovereignty ) February 7 Mulk (Dominion) March 2 ‘Ala’ (Loftiness) March 21 Baha (Splendor)
Special Days February 26 to March 1 Ayyam-i-Ha (Intercalary Days) — March 2— Beginning of Fast, which continues for nineteen days Baha’i Holy Day March 21 Naw-Ruz (Baha’i New Year) A day on which work should be suspended National Spiritual Assembly Meetings January 7-9 February 18-20
Special Events January 16 — World Religion Day Topic suggested: World Religion — Basis for Universal and Lasting Peace
National Convention April 21-23, 1972, beginning Friday morning and ending Sunday at noon Panama Temple Dedication April 29-May 2, 1972
NOTICE: Naw Ruz, a feast of hospitality and rejoicing is separate from the Nineteen Day Feast of the same date, according to the Guardian. See U.S. SuppLeEMENT No. 108, March 1967.
JANUARY 1972
. aie National Baha’i Fund z 1971-1972 200,000 150,000 } Monthly Goal 100,000 F 50,000 + < RD mk ora a gg 8 > ST Qudrat Qawl Fiscal Year (Power) (Speech) to Date INCOME: Regular Contributions $ 90,713.50 $ 83,993.17 $ 901,874.95 Special Contributions 1,000.00 22,543.15 Total Contributions $ 91,713.50 $ 83,993.17 $ 924,418.10 Estates 1,024.99 400.00 48,140.86 Other Income 1,166.13 15,653.99 27,002.29 TotalIncome $93,904.62 $100,047.16 $ 999,561.25 Budget $120,000.00 $120,000.00 $1,440,000.00
“With hearts cleansed from the least trace of suspicion and filled with hope and faith in what the spirit of love can achieve, we must one and all endeavor at this moment to forget past impressions, and with absolute good-will and genuine cooperation unite in deepening and diffusing the spirit of love and service that the Cause has thus far so remarkably shown to the world.’ * oe Ook
“Does not ‘Abdu’l-Baha wish us, as He looks down upon us with loving expectation from His glorious Station, to obliterate as much as possible all traces of censure, of conflicting discussions, of cooling remarks, of petty unnecessary observations that impede the onward march of
the Cause, that damp the zeal of the firm believer and detract from the sublimity of the Baha’i Cause in the eyes of the inquiver? .. Shoghi Effendi, Bahd’t Administration, pp. 18 and 19, 1960 edition. �
