Transcript:Hushmand Fatheazam/Speaking at World Congress 1963
| Transcript of: Speaking at the Bahá’í World Congress in London (1963) by |
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[0:00] It is indeed so great a favor, so magnificent The bounty, to be present in this memorable gathering, this historic location. This is the day, says Bahá’u’lláh, in which God's most excellent favors have been poured out upon man. How can be adequately offer our gratitude? Our Thanksgiving to Bahá’u’lláh, who had enabled us to recognize him, the beloved of prophets of the past. In an age when majority of people denied him or ignored him. When a tree receives the life giving embrace of sunshine and blessings from outpouring clouds, it tries its best to grow. And it grows not only as a matter of fact, but as a matter of duty. Therefore, it opens wide its arm in prayer towards heaven. It blossoms forth in joy and bows down in gratitude with its load of fruit. Are we going to be fruitless trees? When Bahá’u’lláh has called us ye are the trees in my garden, you must bring forth goodly and wondrous fruit. Are we going to be fruitless trees when He says that fruitless trees are good only to be burned in fire?
[2:11] The greatest fruit in the tree of our existence would be our submission to the call of God. And our surrender to his cause. Our translating in action what we are reading in our daily prayers. I have desired only what though didst desire. And loved only what though dost love. In fact the history of spiritual civilization, history of religions is written by those who have entirely given up themselves to the call of God. History of Christianity for example it started from the day when Peter threw away his nets to become the fisher of man. The expression of our submission to the cause of God has taken the various shapes, in different epoch of our glorious history. Dawn breakers could prove their loyalty to the cause of God by performing heroic acts, and giving their life blood for the cause. Later putting swords in sheath and singing and dancing in the part of martyrdom registered our loyalty to the cause of God. Sometimes our firmness to the Covenant was a manifestation of our loyalty to the Cause of God, sometimes a crushing our ego and giving up our opinions in favor of the opinion of majority in the spiritual assemblies and elsewhere was a sign of our obedience, our surrender, our submission to the Cause of God.
[4:43] And in the immediate past, the 10 year spiritual crusade provided a rich field for us to prove our loyalty to the Cause and our love for Bahá’u’lláh. But this spiritual quest crusade which is ended, is the first spiritual crusade that is ended. Our job is not finished. We will value this cruising more when we remember the stages we had to pass til we reached the 1953 in the actual first international campaign for the conquest of the world, the spiritual conquest I mean. The first stage was the stage of enlisting the avowed supporter of the cause. The second stage was a stage of, you can say mobilization when beloved Guardian raised the institutions, administrative order of the Cause. When everything was prepared in 1953 the general of the army of life, our beloved Guardian commanded us to start a campaign. And it is through his guidance and the efforts of his loved ones that now we can see the banner of Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá at every corner of the world. We can see them waving to us, welcoming us to the peak of glory, and calling us for further achievements.
[7:02] When the breeze of mercy coming from the realm of unseen making these stand out of Greatest Name to wave. They also bring us a message saying, Oh army of life, do not withdraw. Oh people of Bahá, do not abandon the post which so laboriously have taken. Sometimes when we are conscious of our limitations, our lack of resources and the mighty task before us, we feel it is a very difficult job. It is almost an impossible task to attempt to conquer the world. We know that Bahá’u’lláh says that he has established an unerring balance by which everything that man processes must be weighed. I remember in India when recently they changed over the metric system in weights and measurements, there was more or less a commotion throughout the country because the people did not want to change. If such a simple thing creates so great a resistance, just imagine what we have, what is in store for us when we want to change the all-existing standard in all fields, socially, economy, political, religious beliefs. What we have done so many thing which was seemingly impossible. There is no reason for us to waver in our task, in our efforts.
[9:39] Remember the story of David and Goliath. That army of Israel were confronting with the giant killer all hills[?], all generals were shivering at the thought to engage in battle with him. He had already slain so many of them. When there was not the slightest hope anywhere, there came a young man, a shepherd boy, David. He had no spear to pierce into the shield of the giant. He had no sward to cut through. He came in the field with bare hands. Everybody laughed at him. But he remembered the name of God. In the name of God he took a stone and in the name of God hurled it at the giant and that was the end of the giant. We are confronting with giants, giants of materialism, giants of time honored traditions, and so many -isms. There are so many well equipped organizations in the world having the backing of the government. Trying their best to confront these giants, but they failed. What we seemingly few people, with not so great resources, we are going to the field on and we will be victorious because the Cause of God is victorious upon everything. [Applause]
[11:55] It is true that this civilization of today is deprived of its spirit and it is at that the verge of its collapse. We know that this disintegration, the forces of disintegration are at work to finish out this giant. Sometimes we say that there is a calamity, or there is a catastrophe, something. When this calamity comes and how it comes, if at all it comes, we are not directly concerned with it. It is something between the giant and God. Our approach towards reconstruction of the world should not be based on these negative aspect. We are not a lazy spectator, to sit in a corner, to wait and see. Our approach is quite different. We should try our best to prevent the world from the impending calamity, and potentially we are empowered to do so. Bahá’u’lláh in perhaps 60 years ago, in many of His tablets revealed that if Bahá’ís of the world were up to the mark, and they were doing what they were expected to do, now the whole world would have been Bahá’ís. And this now means 60 years ago, 80 years ago, when the tablets were revealed.
[13:56] If the situation of the world is as bad as it is today, at least 50% we are responsible. Moreover we need not to reason that we are successful. Bahá’u’lláh has promised that His words have got a creative power in them, which influenced the world. It is through the power of His words that we are going to conquer the world, not through our limited efforts. And also I would like to recall a verse from the Most Holy Book, Kitab-i-Aqdas when Bahá’u’lláh has assured us that this is the Cause, that in which only heroes, only braves can enter. No weak hearted person, no coward can enter in this Cause. And if we remain Bahá’ís, and if are able to face in our daily lives challenges after challenges, we would have the courage to face every difficulty and to conquer the world. And 10 year plan have given us an indication that it is possible.
[15:27] It was rightly said yesterday by our beloved Hand of the Cause Dr. Muhájir, that there were very few people in various countries engaged in actual service, and they produced so great victories. How many of Bahá’ís of the world are directly associate it with the execution of the 10 year plan? Count them, you will be surprised. A couple of 100, or a few hundreds. These few hundreds only have brought us to this stage that we can feel the glory of God in this hall. In India... of course I do not want to underestimated the generous contributions, prayers, which occasionally the people used to offer for the execution of the plan. If we are successful because entire Bahá’í world have helped us to do. But what I mean is the actual job was done by comparatively very few persons. In India there are 10 to 20 persons who are going day and night in the fields, and crying out the glad tidings of God. There are people who go out weekend. There are so many people who are going in various times. But those who are really infusing gain strength and conquering the hearts are very few. We are 6,000 people in this hall. My God, we are really 6,000 it horrifies me, we can be very dangerous. We are six thousand. If we do not rise to give the message to a world which is waiting for us, we have not performed our duty. It is said yesterday again that many people, not one time, two time hundreds time, they tell us, blame us, and if we leave them alone, they will curse us. They say you have 100 years this message with you and you are bringing it only now to us. Why you have brought this message so late? They say. When we go in presence of Bahá’u’lláh, he will put the same question to us, saying that my faith was my trust with you for the whole world. What have you done with my trust? What would be our answer then?
[18:52] Friends, when we go to the masses, we are not making them Bahá’ís, we are discovering Bahá’ís. They are all ready. There is a young Raja of a small state [applause]. There is a young Raja of India who became a Bahá’í, he said that he and his estate manager for many years they were thinking if there is a God, he has to do something for his religion. He should not leave us his children alone. He said we were waiting, we were searching, we are going here on there, but we failed to find anything. And we made a convention between ourselves that up to a certain time, if we did not hear anything about a new religion which suits of mankind, we will start the religion ourselves. It shows how the people are expecting us to go and give them the message. The greatest achievement in the 10 year plan to me, was the upliftment of a veil separated us from the masses of the world. We have recognized now the importance of the masses for the world. These are the people who have started civilization. Among the whole people of the world, a fisherman was chosen by Jesus Christ to be the foundation of his church. He said to the Peter that you are the rock upon which I will build my church. What is the characteristic of a rock? It is certainly different with a very elaborate carved marble. It is unshaped, it is humble, but it is firm. The masses of the world are, they are humble, loving, but very fair. If you put them in the edifice of the religion they will establish this building, the spiritual refuge of mankind. They will take it forever.
[22:10] On the shore of Lake Michigan, there stands the Temple of Light. It is a beautiful building. It is just like a pearl, glittering pearl emerged out of the sea. The importance of this building is not only because of its majestic structure, or its beauty, or elaborate decoration. The significance of the building, of our temple in Wilmette, its importance which will ever remain in the world, is due to a small, unshaped stone, a rock which blessed by the hand of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the cornerstone of that building. It is that stone, that unpolished stone which made this building important and sacred [Applause]. And this is a symbol for all of us who are working with the masses. It is upon them that we are going to build the temple of mankind, the temple of unity. It is upon them that we are going to bring about Bahá’í civilization. Already, in the few years that we have our experience with them, we have seen that they have already taken upon[?] of victory from us all, all the believers.
[24:15] We should acknowledge that whatever victories is achieved in Africa, in Asia or in America is due to the services, to the devotion, to sincerity of the people themselves who first accepted the Cause. We were only an instrument to give the faith to one or two persons. The rest, the job is being carried out by themselves because they can value the faith more than us, because they were people who were athirst, and now they have got the water of life. I wish I had time to give some instances. I recall at this moment a beautiful soul, an old man belonging to a community which once upon a time[?], called untouchables in India, though the caste system is abolished by law, it is not abolished in practice. But this old man, after becoming a Bahá’í, perhaps for a week or so, decided spontaneously to go to a village occupied by Brahmin community who despised his people, to teach the Cause. He went. It was very, it was too much for the Brahmins to listen to a man who could not even touch them. His shadows also were not accepted in that village. So in the first day, they geared at him, cursed him and actually he was beaten by them very horribly. But he said to them, I have made a vow, a convention with myself that I will not go from this village til at least one Bahá’í is there [Applause]. He sat under a tree, and waited, preached the Cause. Second day they came they gave him some more beatings, some more curses, they spat at him. Third day, fourth day, sixth day, but he did not move. After the sixth day the people at last came to see what on earth is wrong with him. And now half of this village are Bahá’ís [Applause].
[27:28] If we were not going to them, there are so many untold stories. The stories we are coming across accidentally, they do not write to us. They do not take any assumption on themselves. They are so since their humble, even they do not notice that they should report these things which are really gladdening our hearts. We have teachers who cannot walk. They're limping, they are lame. What they say in conferences that will go on foot. Which foot? The foot which is really is not foot, it is half foot, they are going on the toe. But he says that I will go on food from village to village and give the message of God. These are the people who are coming to us, we should value them. We should pray God that we may learn sincerity from them. We have seen yesterday some of the fruits of mass conversion here, from various nations. I think this is the most colorful, most beautiful bouquet we can offer to the memory of our beloved Guardian. [Applause]
[29:04] And now, I think every sacrifice on our part would be worthwhile when we consider the glorious results. It is not difficult for us now after seeing so many victories, to sacrifice ourselves. It was more difficult for those dawn-breakers to give their lives for the cause because actually they had no vision, they didn't know what they are doing. They didn't know anything about the world order of Bahá’u’lláh, the unity of mankind. Many of them they have never read anything of the teachings. Many of them they have never seen Bahá’u’lláh or the Báb, but they believed in Him, and willingly sacrificed themselves. Now it is so difficult for us because now we can see what we are doing. We can read the result of our activities almost instantaneously.
[30:21] Talking about sacrifice, we have seen so many example of sacrifice from these new friends who have come to us. They haven't got anything. But when they come to the Cause, they are able to give up their lands, which is the source of the living so that Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, the Bahá’í center maybe build for them. It was only few months ago in February, that four person of our heroes while going to the actual service met with an accident in a Jeep, and died. One one of them was a man called Rajaram Bahrumdail Sharma[?]. He was the head of a village, and also in a council of heads he was again head, and 300 village loved him. He was from the highest caste, the Brahmin caste in India. And when he became Bahá’í, he used to associate himself with everybody, just like a true brother. That was fulfillment of vision of beloved Guardian who actually told us that in this 10 year plan the caste, the prejudices, existing prejudices in India, is one of the message mentioned in India, will be abolished on. And this was a manifestation of that. When this man died, we were rather perturbed that the enemies of the Cause were going to organize themselves, will play upon this superstition of the people saying that this was the wrath of God because the man has changed his religion. Recently because he was very much popular in loved by the people they offered his post as the headman of the village to his younger brother, and if you consider the state of poverty in the Indian village you will imagine this post, how is valuable for them. What the man says I do not want to accept because I have to finish the unfinished work of my brother who has just died for the Cause. [Applause]
[33:43] When we were disposing of the body of the other hero in the same jeep to his aged father, he used to console us. We could not control ourselves, but he was consoling us that he has given his life, his only son, given his life for the Cause of God. And he beseeched Bahá’ís now my son has gone but you do not forget us, come again to my village. And now when we wanted to go to same village to build a monument for him, they say why you are wasting your money on monument? You spend this money on Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds so that we can gather and pray for the departed soul. [Applause] These are the type of sacrifice when the new friends in the Cause among the beloved masses of the world accept.
[35:06] There was a youth in the same jeep, 21 years old named Matthew Ganaughey[?]. This boy was a brilliant boy. He was offered a scholarship to one of the important colleges of agriculture. He was chosen by the fellow student as the secretary of the student's union. Then he suddenly decided that this is the last year, last months of the beloved Guardians crusade. I have to give up everything and go for the teaching work. And he went like a hero and give his life for the Cause. After 10 days, we had a teaching, it only was 10 days, not more than that, after this accident. We have a teaching conference in Misu[?]. Her mother, the Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Mrs. Fírúzih Yigánigí who is present in this meeting talked in a memorial gathering there to the believers who did not know. Her talk was all of encouragement, the necessity of sacrifice. She spoke for about an half an hour and nobody in the audience knew that it was her son that has given his life. And then, in a meeting with the NSA, she said that my two other sons are quarreling among themselves because both want to go and take the place of the departed brother. [Applause] This is the spirit which have inflamed India. This is the spirit which has inflamed the world. I need not to talk about the fourth important hero of the mass conversion in India, Mr. Boman Mehrabbani[s]?, the husband of our dear Shirin Mehrabbani[?] who spoke with you there. But these departed souls brilliant really sacrificed themselves for the Cause which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá fortold will take over all India. This is the way these new believers on old believers in the field of mass conversion work for the Cause.
[38:47] I don't want to take much of your time, but I have heard a number of complaints from our beloved friends in Arabia, in Europe, in America that unfortunately the people are not coming to us as they are coming in various parts of the world. I say to them that we have waited 80 long years in India, and what we are achieving today it is not the production of one generation or two generations. One thing is certain that whatever we do in the path of God will not go waste. When Bahá’u’lláh says that in the privacy of your chamber you pray on the scattering angels will take these prayers and everlasting plea, these prayers will have influence in the hearts. How can then we conclude that our sincere efforts and sincere services in the path of God will ever go waste?
[40:11] The Cause of God, like God himself is beyond the fetters of time and space. Whatever we do, it will remain. We through seeds somewhere, we made transfer from that place, we cannot see what would happen. Apparently that seeds is a weigh stage for us. But the seeds will grow. And when we also are free from the fetter of time and space and we will go presence Bahá’u’lláh, we will enjoy every minute of what we have done in the path. Our job is to give the message, our responsibility remains there. As soon as we give the message, the people are responsible to accept it or rejected it. It was really quite an experience that we have come to know that how important is our continuous service to the cause of God, regardless of the apparent result or apparent immediate result.
[41:40] Now friends. It makes all the difference for the world the way we are going to step out of this hall today. When these gates are open, they take us to the first days of the second century of declaration of Bahá’u’lláh. A century's culmination whose climax was the 10 year plan. A plan which has established a base for us in a higher level. They say when they want to conquer the moon, a platform obeys in the higher space. When we reach to that platform and look back we will see beautiful horizons blazing with color, violets, pink, orange and black. But that platform out there is not for us to go and enjoy the view, it is for our further flight. Such a platform has been established by beloved Guardian in the 10 year plan. When we look back, we will see colorful, beautiful history. We will enjoy every minute of it. But this is not the place for enjoyment only. We have to take our flight further. We have the power to take our flight. We have the courage to take our flight on. And we will take our flight. The moon of destiny is shining before us with all its splendor, all its glory. [Applause]
