Ministry of the Custodians:
An Account of the Stewardship of the Hands of the Cause 1957-1963
by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice and Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum
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chapter 5 | start page | single page | chapter 7 |  |
Chapter 6
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MINISTRY OF THE CUSTODIANS
1962
1962
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THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK
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BAHA'I WILMETTE
JANUARY 1, 1962
WITH DEEPEST REGRET SHARE NEWS BAHA'I WORLD PASSING DEARLY LOVED HAND CAUSE OUTSTANDING BENEFACTRESS FAITH AMELIA COLLINS STOP UNFAILING SUPPORT LOVE DEVOTION BELOVED GUARDIAN DARKEST PERIOD HIS LIFE BROUGHT HER UNIQUE BOUNTY HIS DEEP AFFECTION ESTEEM CONFIDENCE AND HONOUR DIRECT ASSOCIATION WORK WORLD CENTRE STOP SIGNAL SERVICES EVERY FIELD BAHAI ACTIVITY UNFORGET-TABLE STOP PURCHASE SITE FUTURE MASHRIQU'L-ADHKAR MOUNT CARMEL GENEROUS GIFTS HASTENING CONSTRUCTION MOTHER TEMPLES FOUR CONTINENTS ACQUISITION NATIONAL HAZIRATU'L-QUDS ENDOWMENTS CONSTANT SUPPORT HOMEFRONTS WORLDWIDE TEACHING ENTERPRISES AMONG HER MUNIFICENT DONATIONS STOP URGE NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES HOLD MEMO-RIAL GATHERINGS PARTICULARLY TEMPLES COMMEMORATE HER SHINING EXAMPLE CEASELESS SERVICES MAINTAINED UNTIL LAST BREATH STOP AIRMAIL MESSAGE HANDS NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
To All Hands of the Cause and National Spiritual Assemblies
February 22, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
We feel that the
friends would like to know who is eligible to attend the
International Convention for the election of the Universal House
of Justice to be held in Haifa on April 21-23, 1963. Only the Hands
as Conveners of the Convention and the delegates, that is, the
members of the National Assemblies, will be permitted to visit the
Holy Land at this time. It should be particularly noted that
members of National Assemblies will not be entitled to bring their
wives and families to the Convention.
Pilgrimages will be suspended
from March 15, 1963 for the rest of the pilgrim season to enable
those residing at the World Centre to make the necessary
preparations for the World Congress and the International
Convention. The list of pilgrims who can be accommodated before
that date is almost complete; those applying for pilgrimage after
completion of the list will be put on a waiting list and notified
later when they may come.
We are confident that the friends
everywhere will appreciate that the pressure of work upon those
resident in the Holy Land makes these limitations necessary.
With
warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of
the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF
THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
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To All National Spiritual Assemblies
February 22, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
As you know, each National and Regional Assembly is
responsible for providing semi-annual reports to the World Centre
on the progress of the Ten Year Plan in their respective
territories. These reports must reach the Holy Land not later than
March 15 and September 15. The facts you provide each year in the
March 15 report are of vital importance in preparing our Annual
Ridvan Message.
In this crucial year preceding the great Jubilee,
it is essential that the Bahá'ís of the world know exactly what
remains to be accomplished to bring the World Crusade of our
beloved Guardian to a triumphant conclu-sion in 1963. Our Message
to the Annual Conventions this year will give the friends this
information. We therefore urge you to mail your reports in time to
reach Haifa not later than March 15.
As a general guide to assist
you in preparing these reports, we attach an outline of the basic
facts needed. If some of the details are not immedi-ately
available, please do not, h,old up the mailing of the report. Any
such additional statistical information can be sent later, perhaps
by cable. We would appreciate it if you would also include in your
report any particularly noteworthy or interesting achievements
during the past year, even though they may not be related directly
to specific Crusade objectives or the goals of supplementary Plans.
This category would include, for example, a listing of the
Teaching Conferences and Week-end Schools held throughout your
area.
We send you our deepest love and the assurance of our ardent
prayers for the success of your devoted labours.
In the service of
the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
[The
outline is not included here.]To the Representatives of the Sponsoring Regional Assemblies at each Convention of the Goal Countries of Europe
April 12, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
Enclosed
is the Ridvan Message of the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land
to the Annual Conventions of the Bahá'í world [see p. 340]. The
special message to the Conventions of the European goal countries
[see p. 352] has already been sent to you. Both of these messages
should be
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presented by the Hand of the Cause attending each Convention, though not necessarily read by him because of the language problem.
We wish to inform the Conventions and the new National Assemblies
that the Hands of the Cause are making a contribution of one
thousand dollars to each of these eleven new Administrative Bodies,
to inaugurate their National Funds. The announcement of this gift
should be made by the Hand present at the Convention.
The late
beloved Hand of the Cause Amelia Collins, before her death,
arranged to make a separate contribution of one thousand dollars
to each of the new National Funds, in loving appreciation of the
great spiritual victory which has been won.
To facilitate transfer
of these gifts, and in order to establish contact with the World
Centre as quickly as possible, we request each new National
Assembly to forward to Haifa the name and postal address of its
Secretary and Treasurer, as well as the cable address of its
National Office.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
Election of
the Independent National Spiritual Assembly of Ceylon
Ridvan 1962
Ridvan 1962
To the Representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of India at the first Annual Convention of Ceylon
April 13, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friend:
Enclosed is the Ridvin Message of the Hands of the
Cause in the Holy Land to the Annual Conventions of the Bahá'í
world. The special message to your Convention is also enclosed.
Both of these messages should be presented by the Hand of the Cause
attending the Convention, though not necessarily read by him
because of the language problem.
We wish to inform the Convention
and the new National Assembly that the Hands of the Cause are
making a contribution of one thousand dollars to inaugurate the
National Fund. The announcement of this gift should be made by the
Hand present at the Convention.
A gift of one thousand dollars is
being made also, on behalf of the late beloved Hand of the Cause
Amelia Collins, who had such keen interest in the development of
the Faith in Ceylon.
To facilitate transfer of these gifts, and in
order to establish contact with the World Centre as quickly as
possible, we request your new National
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Assembly to forward to Haifa the name and postal address of its Secretary and Treasurer, as well as the cable address of its National Office as soon as possible.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
Enclosure
To the Hands of the Cause, Auxiliary Board Members, Representatives of National Assemblies, Delegates and Believers Gathered at the First Annual Convention of the Bahá'ís of Ceylon.
Beloved Friends:
With hearts filled with gratitude and joy the
Bahá'ís of both East and West contemplate the great victories won
by our glorious Faith in the island of Ceylon, and congratulate the
Community of the followers of the Most Great Name on the occasion
of the election of their first National Spiritual Assembly, an
event which consummates the formation of no less than forty-four
of these important administrative institutions in the nine years
of the World Crusade which have passed since its inauguration by
our beloved Guardian in 1953, and which raises the number of the
sus-taining pillars of the Universal House of Justice to fifty-six.
The immensely fruitful period of world-wide expansion which has
taken place between the twin Centenaries of the Cause of God has
wit-nessed not only the rise of its Administrative Order in Ceylon
but the beginning of that rapid expansion in the field of teaching
which our beloved Guardian so ardently hoped would characterize the
latter half of his world-encircling Ten Year Plan. From the moment
when travelling teachers and dedicated pioneers, in response to the
appeal of Shoghi Effendi, travelled to that distant island in the
Indian Ocean, the progress of the Faith in that country has been
constant and assured. Gradually the hearts of the people were won
over, the first Assembly established, what was to become the future
National Haziratu'l-Quds purchased, new groups and Local Assemblies
formed and the roots of the community strengthened. That the Hand
of the Almighty is overshadowing this prom-ising community and
blessing its endeavours is evident through the devel-opment, in
recent months, of a powerful movement towards mass conversion, a
movement which, in less than a year, has witnessed a fivefold
increase in the number of those enlisted in the ranks of the Faith.
Such extraordinary progress in a field which we have every reason
to believe is that in which our greatest victories must be won in
the months and years that lie immediately ahead, cannot but uplift
the hearts of the
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Ceylonese Bahá'ís, whether veterans or those recently enrolled, and fire them with determination to compete in this arena with their brethren on the Indian mainland, who, in the course of a single year, have welcomed into the world-wide community of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh no less than thirteen thousand new souls.
The
responsibility of the new National Assembly, now taking its place
as an independent national body beside such venerable Oriental
Assemblies as those of Persia, 'Iráq and India, and joining the
ranks of the thirty-one other great administrative institutions
raised up throughout the Eastern Hemisphere of the globe, is very
great. At this auspicious moment we do well to recall the words
of our beloved Guardian, addressed to other administrative bodies
on other occasions, but providing for all that illumination in the
conduct of Bahá'í affairs so essential if success is to be achieved
in all fields, and the rapid expansion of the Faith assured.
The
election of a national body, he stated in one of his letters to a
newly formed Assembly, constitutes a "memorable milestone in the
evo-lution of the institutions of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic Order."
It is a "great turning-point in the rising fortunes of the
institutions of this irresistibly advancing Order." It opens a "new
phase in the unfoldment" of our beloved Faith. It must be
"signalized by an upsurge of activity, a demonstration of Bahá'í
solidarity, of devotion and of self-sacrifice unparalleled in the
annals of the Faith in those regions ... ... The efforts, so nobly
exerted in the past by the band of pioneers, resident believers and
itinerant teachers ... must, in consequence of the auspicious
opening of a new phase in the establishment of this Divine Order,
be multiplied a hundred-fold, and the standard of consecration and
of service to His Cause must be raised to still greater heights.
No obstacle, however formidable, no test or trial, however severe,
should deflect them for a moment from the task they have pledged
themselves to fulfil." In weighty words he pointed out to us the
great truth that "the administration of the Cause is to be
conceived as an instrument and not a substitute for the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh ... it should guard against such rigidity as would clog
and fetter the liberating forces released by His Revelation."
The
truly phenomenal victories being won in the area of Southern Asia
at the present time must challenge the new National Assembly of
Ceylon, and the body of the faithful whom it represents and serves,
to arise and accomplish feats, during the remaining year of our
beloved Guardian's Crusade, such as will astound the entire Bahá'í
world. That long-awaited movement which has now commenced and which
marks the entry of the people into the Cause of God by troops, must
be accelerated and the great opportunities it offers be exploited
to the full; the new national body must aid and assist the rapidly
expanding Bahá'í community of Ceylon to
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consolidate the existing Local Assemblies, to transform existing groups into Assemblies in anticipation of next Ridvan, and to increase the num-ber of centres throughout the island; it must seek to obtain its own national incorporation, as well as that of all firmly grounded Local Assemblies, and endeavour to register the National Headquarters in the name of the new national body; it must encourage the holding of a summer school, teaching conferences, and deepening classes for the be-lievers. Not a moment must be lost, during the twelve remaining precious months of our dearly-loved Guardian's Crusade, in furthering the ad-vancement of the Cause of God in that country and in winning over, in the heart of this Buddhist stronghold, an ever-increasing number of its adher-ents to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
As the Ceylonese believers labour to
fulfil the high hopes their Guard-ian cherished for them, to
accomplish his wishes and shed lustre on his glorious World Crusade
during its closing year, they cannot do better than hold before
them the lofty truths embodied in these words of his: "Not by the
force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of -a set of new and
noble principles, not by an organized campaign of teaching-no
matter how world-wide and elaborate in its character-not even by
the staunch-ness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm,
can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and
sceptical age the supreme claim of the Abha Revelation. One thing
and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted
triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own
inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold
aspects the splendour of those eternal prin-ciples proclaimed by
Bahá'u'lláh."
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
EUROPEAN TEACHING COMMITTEE CARE BAHA'I WILMETTE
APRIL 20,1962
OCCASION WONDERFUL VICTORY EUROPE FULFILMENT BELOVED GUARDIANS HOPES CONGRATULATE COMMITTEE SIXTEEN YEAR LONG HISTORIC SERVICES MEMORA13LE CHAPTER ANNALS FAITH AMERICAN BELIEVERS.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
To the Hands of the Cause of God
April 20, 1962
Beloved Co-workers:
By the time
this reaches you, you will have seen the Ridvan Message
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with all the wonderful news it contains of the phenomenal progress our beloved Guardian's Plan has made during the past year. Truly stiffing days are ahead, days of great challenge to every single one of us to further this wave of teaching which is now sweeping over so many countries, and which seems little short of a miraculous re-sponse to the wish expressed by Shoghi Effendi during the last months of his life.
You will note that we have
informed the Bahg'i world that Local Assemblies can be constituted
any time between this Ridvan and next. We felt that this action was
imperative in order to assist the home fronts, and we urge the
Hands travelling everywhere to do all they can to encour-age the
believers to take advantage of this opportunity and redouble their
efforts to increase the Assemblies, particularly of course on the
home fronts, but everywhere else as well.
We have been very
short-handed here in Haifa, many times having only a quorum, due
to the trips being made by different Hands of the Faith in the Holy
Land. At the present moment Paul and John are away attending the
European Conventions; Furutan returned some time ago from his
fruitful trip to various centres in Europe, and MAI has just come
back and brought us wonderful first-hand news of the extraordinary
wave of mass conversion in India. Dear Samandarf has just left for
Turkey to visit and encourage the friends. He has been working
steadily on the Tablets ever since our meeting in Bahjí....
Our
thoughts are with you all at the time of this great Ridvan Feast.
We pray for you and ask you to pray for us who find ourselves with
so much work at the World Centre, and less strength to carry it on
than before.
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE
CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
CONVENTION CARE BAHA'I WILMETTE, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.
RIDVAN 1962
PRAYING SHRINES CONTINUOUS DIVINE OUTPOURINGS MAY ENABLE MUCH LOVED AMERICAN COMMUNITY VANGUARD HOST BAHA'U'LLAHS EVER AD-VANCING ARMY LAST YEAR BELOVED GUARDIANS CRUSADE ADD NEW VICTORIES BEFITTINGLY CROWN HISTORIC UNIQUE LABOURS STOP APPEAL ALL FRIENDS ARISE ENSURE PRECIOUS HARD WON GOALS HOMEFRONT ABROAD MAINTAINED POUR FORTH SUBSTANCE ASSIST MASS TEACHING ERECTION EUROPEAN TEMPLE FINAL YEAR GLOBE ENCIRCLING CRUSADE.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
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RIDVAN MESSAGE 1962
To Annual Bahá'í Conventions
Beloved Friends:
As we stand on the threshold of that year which must culminate in
the celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of
Bahá'u'lláh, the termination of the mightiest Spiritual Crusade in
the history of mankind, the election of the Supreme Legislative
Body of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, and the convocation of the
first World Congress to be held by the followers of the Most Great
Name, it behoves us, while there is yet time, to not only take
stock of our precious and numerous victories but also to correctly
assess the work still to be accomplished if we are to prove
faithful to the priceless trust left in our hands by our beloved
Guardian. The sands of time are swiftly running out; days and weeks
will soon have slipped from our grasp forever; days in which we
might have added one more victory to those already adorning the
pages of the nine most momentous years in the Formative Age of our
glorious Faith. Before the last lap of our race against time is run
we may well pause for a moment of prayerfui consideration, each one
questioning himself as to where his duty lies, communing in his
heart with the spirit of Shoghi Effendi, asking "Is there some
special thing I can do?" before it is too late and the opportunity
of a lifetime passes by forever.
The initial stage of that great
victory, characterized by Shoghi Effendi as the "Spiritual Conquest
of the Old World under a divinely conceived Plan", is taking place
through the election this Ridvan of national bodies in the ten
original goal countries of the second Seven Year Plan, as well as
in Finland, which was added to their number, at the opening of the
World Crusade, by the Guardian himself. The little short of
miraculous achievement last year, on the part of the followers of
Bahá'u'lláh throughout Latin America, which enabled them to erect
no less than twenty-one independent pillars of the Univcrsal House
of Justice on the firm foundation of the number of Local Assemblies
Shoghi Effendi speci-fied as necessary prerequisites for the
accomplishment, of that historic act, has been duplicated one year
later by their brethren in Europe, where the steadfast and
unremitting labours of the European Bahá'ís, coupled with the
self-sacrificing and consecrated activity of a host of pioneers
from both the Cradle of the Administrative Order and the land of
Bahá'u'lláh's birth, have yielded an infinitely rich and promising
harvest. The lamps of these great administrative institutions,
which are destined in the course of time to become secondary Houses
of Justices, are being lighted by the
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power released through die operation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan, in land after land. In the Indian Ocean the latest of these mighty beacons is now being kindled through the forination of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Ceylon, swelling the ranks of those regional and national bodies girdling the entire world to no less than fifty-six, twenty-four in the Western Hemisphere and thirty-two in the Eastern Hemisphere. When we remember that in Ridvan, 1953 the tally of National Assemblies was twelve, and contemplate the fact that in exactly nine years forty-four of these autonomous institutions have been added, we are staggered by the magnitude of the task accomplished by the little band of Bahá'u'lláh's followers. How well we know who led us and who inspired us to such deeds! How well we know whose promises and whose praises rallied our often failing strength, kept our feet in the path of service, strengthened our hearts and fanned our faith until we lay in homage at his beloved feet such a victory as this!
Upon the
foundations laid by Shoghi Effendi, the Sign of God on earth "that
shadoweth all mankind", the divine Animus that poured its force
into the embryonic institutions existing at the time of the
Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá--He Who was the architect of
Bahá'u'lláh's world-encircling Order-have now been reared those
initial pillars which must sustain the weight of an Institution
which has been promised, for the first time in the history of this
planet, unerring guidance in the discharge of its specially
ordained tasks. From Chiie to Alaska, from Britain to Japan, in the
heart of the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, rising like a forest
from the mainland of Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa, the
pillars of the Universal House of Justice now stand, waiting to
receive, next Ridvan, on the occasion of the first Jubilee
Celebration of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic mission,
their mighty Crown.
In view of the supreme importance of
consolidating the foundations of the National and Regional
Assemblies at so momentous a juncture in Balid'i history, the Hands
of the Faith have decided to permit the formation of Local
Spiritual Assemblies any time between Ridvan, 1962 and Ridvan,
1963, following the example of the beloved Guardian who introduced
this measure during the crucial year preceding the celebration of
the one hundredth armiversary of the inception of the Bahá'í Cycle
in 1944. We feel sure this will greatly assist and encourage those
hard-pressed national communities which, in such countries as
Germany, England, the United States, Canada and Australia, have
not yet won the all-important home-front goal of forming the number
of Local Assemblies he specified as an essential part of the tasks
entrusted to their care under the provisions of his Crusade. It
will also be eagerly seized upon by other communities throughout
the world as an opportunity to add to the
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trophies they themselves have already piled so high in the course of this Crusade and to vie with each other in an effort to achieve added distinction when the roll call of local victories is held at that joyous time when the entire Bahá'í world celebrates the Jubilee Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh.
Special consideration should
be given at this time, by the believers everywhere, as well as
their elected national representatives, to the World Bahg'i
Congress, called by the beloved Guardian himself, which will be
held in London, during the Ridvan period of 1963, from April 28 to
May 2, the first of its kind in the history of the Cause, and
constituting one of the objectives of the Ten Year Plan at the
World Centre of the Faith. It is hoped that on this unique occasion
when, in every continent of the globe, in every hamlet and city
where Bahá'ís reside, the friends will be celebrating the holiest
festival of the Bahá'í calendar, commemorating the anniversary of
the "formal assumption by Bahá'u'lláh of His Prophetic Office",
which ushered in the "king of days", the "Day of God Himself",
believers from all parts of the world will gather together and
voice their thanksgiving and praise for the guidance given this age
by the Supreme Manifestation of God, for the Divine Mandate the
Centre of His Covenant devised for the spiritual conquest of this
planet, for the Mighty Crusade fashioned by the Guardian to
implement the terms of that Mandate, and for the innumerable,
glorious and immortal victories won during the last decade. On that
momentous occasion, to which all are invited and which it is hoped
as many as possible will attend, particularly representatives of
the diversified ethnic groups now included in the pale of the
Faith, the friends will have the solemn privilege of visiting the
resting-place of their dearly-loved Guardian, there to place in the
homage of their hearts the offering of ten years of unsurpassed
service in the annals of religious history, there to rededicate
themselves to the work that lies ahead as the Divine Plan of
'Abdu'l-Bahá enters a new phase in its unfoldment.
Already the
extraordinary progress the Faith has made during the past twelve
months in fulfilling the goals of the Plan conceived by Shoghi
Effendi and entrusted to our care cannot but fill our hearts with
astonishment at the magnitude of the victories won in so many
fields in so short a time. These triumphs bear eloquent tribute to
the spiritual power released by him who, speaking with the Voice
of Divine Authority, conferred upon the faithful followers of
Bahá'u'lláh a capacity for accomplishment far beyond the
understanding of those unaware of the Almighty Power of the
Manifestation which flowed through him, and which has safely
brought us to this glorious hour.
The standard of Bahá'u'lláh has
now been raised in no less than two hundred and fifty-seven
countries, islands and dependencies, including all of the virgin
territories specified by Shoghi Effendi at the beginning of
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the Crusade with the exception of the ten lying within the Soviet orbit which up to the present time have proven inaccessible.
On the
eve of the inauguration of the final year of this Crusade, the
number of localities throughout the world where Bahá'ís reside is
well over seven thousand five hundred, an increase of five thousand
centres since the inception of the Plan in 1953. More than one
thousand of these have been added during the past year, bringing
the total in Australasia to one hundred and sixty-two, in the
British Isles to one hundred and sixty-three, in Germany and
Austria to one hundred and seventy, in the Goal Countries of Europe
to nearly one hundred and eighty, in the Dominion of Canada to one
hundred and eighty-four, in Latin America to five hundred and
thirty-nine, in the Indian sub-continent to six hundred and
seventy-one, in the entire Pacific area to nearly seven hundred,
in Persia to more than one thousand one hundred, in the United
States of America to nearly sixteen hundred, and in Africa to more
than eighteen hundred and fifty. In the period since last Ridvan,
Africa has overtaken both the "Cradle of the Faith" and the "Cradle
of the Administrative Order", and now stands out as the area where
"the warming and healing light of an all-conquering Revelation"
radiates from more centres than any other continent of the globe.
The ninth year of the world-encircling Plan of the beloved Guardian
has witnessed further striking progress in such widely dispersed
regions as India, Latin America, the Pacific area, and Africa. The
significant victories, achieved by the intrepid followers of
Bahá'u'lláh in these lands, undoubtedly reflect the operation of
those spiritual forces which both the Master and Shoghi Effendi
promised would in the not distant future bring about a wave of new
enrolments such as has not occurred since the early days of the
Faith.
India, one of the first countries in the world to receive
the light of a newly-born Revelation has, during the past year,
witnessed a tide of mass conversion not only wholly unprecedented
in that country but without parallel anywhere in the entire world
during the last one hundred years of Bahá'í history. Since Ridvan,
1961 well over thirteen thousand new believers have come into the
Faith as a result of the mass teaching campaign carried out in the
villages of India by the members of what was previously a
relatively small national community.
In Latin America, the area
where such an outstanding victory was achieved last year by the
formation of no less than twenty-one new pillars of the Universal
House of Justice, the work of the Faith is progressing in all
fields, under the aegis of these new national bodies, and rapid
progress is being made in consolidating the communifies within its
borders and in carrying the Faith to the Indians, "the original
inhabitants of America"
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mentioned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, who are entering the Cause in great numbers. No less than sixty-two different Indian tribes are now represented in the Bahá'í communities of North, Central and South America, nearly four times the number mentioned by Shoghi Effendi five years ago in his Ridvan Message of 1957.
The Bolivian community, which a year ago had
already fired the imagination of the BahV world by the
extraordinary progress made in attracting new adherents from the
ranks of the Indian population, now has nearly four thousand
believers, a gain of more than twenty-five hundred since last
Ridvan. Latest reports indicate that as many as sixty Local
Assemblies may be formed this year. Already these original
inhabitants of Bolivia are arising to carry the flame of the Faith
to neighbouring republics; recently, as a result of the devoted
effof ts of these pioneers, the rising tide of new enrolments
amongst the descendants of an ancient American civilization has
been extended to Peru and also to Chile where, during the last two
months, nearly two hundred Indians have entered the Faith,
representing the first conversions on such a scale in that country.
In Panama, where nearly three hundred Indian believers have been
enrolled in recent months, the number of Assemblies will be doubled
this year. In Mexico and Costa Rica, the past year has witnessed
in the former a doubling of the number of believers comprising the
national community, while the latter, as a result of a new wave
of teaching activity on the part of its native believers,
anticipates tripling this Ridvan the number of Local Assemblies
existing a year ago.
Throughout the Pacific region the Cause
continues to gain adherents at an ever accelerating pace. In South
East Asia the number of believers has more than doubled in the past
two years and now stands at the impressive total of fifteen
thousand five hundred, nearly seven thousand of whom have been
enrolled during the last six months. In the entire Pacific area the
diverse races and peoples comprising the Bahá'í communities in that
part of the globe have established the Faith in over one hundred
new localities during the past twelve months, including, for the
first time, the northern island of the Mentawai group, one of the
most important links in that chain of islands which was the first
territory in the Pacific to witness a mass movement into the Faith,
a development which brought such great joy to the beloved Guardian
in the closing years of his life.
The steady consolidation and
rapid expansion taking place in Africa has brought the number of
followers of Bahá'u'lláh in that continent to nearly thirty
thousand, a gain of almost ten thousand believers since Ridvan a
year ago. The most spectacular increases have occurred in the
region of Central and East Africa, but substantial gains have also
been recorded in the areas under the jurisdiction of the three
other Regional
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National Assemblies; more than six hundred Local Spiritual Assemblies are now established throughout the length and breadth of that continent and its neighbouring islands, a total far exceeding that of any other major area in the Bahá'í world; three hundred and twenty-seven African tribes are now represented in the Bahá'í Community, more than forty having been added during the past year. Africa has indeed fulfilled the high hopes and confident expectations of the Guardian when, in his Message to the first Intercontinental Conference in Kampala, he alluded to the expansion even then beginning to take place there as "a multiplication designed ultimately to bring to a proper equipoise the divers ethnic elements comprised within the highly diversified world-embracing Bahá'í fellowship."
The steady gain which has taken
place in recent years in the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies,
comprising what Shoghi Effendi termed "the broad and indestructible
foundation of a rising Order", has brought the total of these
divinely-ordained institutions to well over two thousand, double
the number which he so proudly announced in his last Message to the
Bahá'í world. The total of incorporated Assemblies, both Local and
National, now exceeds three hundred. Twenty-one of the fifty-six
National and Regional Assemblies which will be established and
functioning at the end of the Crusade have secured their
incorporation; attainment of the remaining thirty-five
registrations constitutes one of the major unfinished tasks of the
Ten Year Plan, and must, during the final year of the Crusade
engage the earnest efforts of those national bodies, both old and
new, which have not yet achieved this important objective.
As the
Cause steadily expands, recognition of its independent character
by governmental authorities becomes increasingly important. This
objective has been furthered during the past year by official
acceptance of the Bahá'í Marriage Certificate throughout the
Commonwealth of New Zealand, in the Province of Ontario in the
Dominion of Canada, and in the States of Colorado and South
Carolina in the United States of America. Nearly fifty sovereign
states and governmental subdivisions have accorded legal
recognition to the Bahá'í marriage ceremony. Bahá'í Holy Days are
now officially recognized by school authorities in one hundred and
five different countries, states and cities, including in the
United States, seventy-seven school districts in twenty-seven
States, as well as the District of Columbia.
The literature of the
Faith has now been translated into no less than two hundred and
ninety-six different languages, over two hundred of which have been
completed since the beginning of the Ten Year Plan. Virtually all
of the ninety-one originally specified by Shoghi Effendi as Crusade
goals, or those subsequently approved by him as substitutions,
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have been completed, with the exception of a few used in territories or countries within the Soviet orbit.
The completion
and dedication of the Mother Temple of the Antipodes in Sydney,
Australia, the second Mashriqu'l-Adhkár to be completed since the
inception of the Crusade, constitutes still another milestone in
the development of the institutions of the Faith during the past
year. The nation-wide publicity attending this event, and the
public interest which it aroused, foreshadow the fulfilment of the
destiny of this sacred Structure as one of those great "Silent
Teachers" of the Cause. In addition to the Temples already
completed or under construction in four continents, sites for
future Mashriqu'l-Adhkars have been acquired in nearly forty-five
other localities, many of these representing goals of supplementary
plans given by the Guardian himself to National or Regional
Assemblies established since the beginning of the Crusade. Recent
acquisitions include such properties in Rangoon, Burma; Istanbul,
Turkey; Montevideo, Uruguay; as well as the site for the Mother
Temple of Venezuela, now in the final stages of legal transfer to
Bahá'í ownership.
Uninterrupted construction of the third great
House of Worship called for by Shoghi Effendi, the Mother Temple
of Europe, now rising in the heart of that continent, will require
a continuous and sacrificial flow of funds, not only from the
European believers, but from the friends in all parts of the globe
who, mindful of the stirring promises of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, will wish
to share in this noble undertaking and hasten the day when still
another continent will receive the blessings which flow from an
Edifice dedicated solely to the mention of God and His praise.
During the remaining months of the World Crusade, when the
financial requirements for attaining total victory are so
tremendous, the friends everywhere must become aware, as never
before, of the paramount need for a steady and continuous flow of
contributions in support of their National Funds, an outpouring
which the beloved Guardian characterized as "the life-blood" of the
National and Regional Assemblies now called upon to complete their
allotted goals in the few remaining months of his Plan. The
spiritual significance and blessing of voluntary giving should be
emphasized anew by each National Assembly as it presents to the
members of its community the obligations which must still be
discharged. The friends must be assisted to grasp the significance
of these words of the beloved Guardian, calling upon each and every
believer to place his or her share on the altar of Bahá'í
sacrifice: "The institution of the National Fund, so vital and
essential for the uninterrupted progress of these activities must,
in particular, be assured of the whole-hearted, the
ever-increasing and universal support of the mass of believers...
All, no matter how modest their resources, must participate. Upon
the degree of self-sacrifice
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involved in these individual contributions will directly depend the efficacy and the spiritual influence which these nascent administrative institutions, called into being through the power of Bahá'u'lláh, and by virtue of the Design conceived by the Centre of His Covenant, will exert."
The body of the Bahá'ís throughout
the world, the instruments through whom this latest phase in the
Master Plan of 'Abdu'l-Bahá alone can be accomplished, have
opportunities now, in die remaining months of the World Crusade,
which can never be theirs again, which no group of people will ever
have in future decades and centuries. That they will permit a
single objective of the Plan to fail owing to lack of the necessary
material means to ensure its accomplishment is inconceivable.
A
special appeal must be made, at this crucial point in the spread
of our Faith, to all pioneers to remain steadfastly at their posts.
The prizes won at such a cost of sacrifice and devotion on the part
of not only those souls who abandoned their own countries or their
own homes in order to assist in establishing the Cause in other
lands or other centres, but on die part of many dedicated souls who
poured their substance into the Joint Deputization Fund and various
national funds, must be safeguarded and strengthened at all costs.
In particular those pioneers and believers, struggling in less
promising parts of the globe, and lavishing on seemingly barren
soil their labour of love for Bahá'u'lláh, should not lose heart;
far from feeling discouraged over the lack of results in their
territory they should receive fresh stimulation from the
remarkable evidences of the progress of the work in other regions.
Let them remember that the harvest now beginning to be reaped in
India took many years to yield its first fruits, that the present
rapid advances being made in Latin America represent the effort of
decades, that the victories won in both Africa and the Pacific area
are, as our Guardian himself pointed out, due in no small measure
to the remarkable spiritual receptivity of the people in those
parts of the world. Let them recall the innumerable promises
enshrined in our Teachings which assure us that all nations and
peoples will be quickened by this Faith and enter beneath its
shadow, and, deriving fresh courage from these prophetic words,
have confidence in the ultimate triumph of their labours and
persevere in their dedicated service to the Cause of God. The
friends, whether in lands now witnessing the first waves of mass
conversion or striving in more difficult territories, must
determine to compensate through their steadfast and unflagging toil
for the disabilities still being suffered by the long-oppressed and
valiant body of the faithful in Bahá'u'lláh's native land, as well
as by their brethren in other countries where the traditional
enemies of the Faith are seeking to put out its light and subvert
its standard.
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Indeed, not only must the host of Bahá'u'lláh's army stay at its
post and guard its conquests, redressing the balance a thousandfold
for those believers who live in lands where the institutions of the
Faith have been officially banned, its properties confiscated, its
Assemblies dissolved and its members threatened, but it must, on
the eve of the last year of Shoghi Effendi's Crusade, recall his
emphatic words that "the newly-opened territories of the globe
must, under no circumstances, be allowed to relapse into the state
of spiritual deprivation from which they have so recently and
laboriously been rescued." While there is yet time it behoves those
National Assemblies to which these precious virgin teff itories
were originally entrusted, and some of which are at present without
a single believer, to make one last supreme effort to heed the
words of their Guardian and to comply with his explicit wish.
In
reviewing the wonderful achievements of nine years' unremitting
labour and the heavy responsibilities now resting upon the
believers in every part of the world, the realization is forced
upon every thinking Balid'i that the Cause has entered an entirely
new stage in its evolution. The response to the appeal of the
Guardian in his last Message to the entire body of the faithful
throughout the world for ". . . an unprecedented increase in the
number of avowed supporters of the Faith, in all the continents of
the globe, of every race, clime, creed and colour, and from every
stratum of present-day society, coupled with a corresponding
increase in the number of Balid'i centres . , ." has been truly
stupendous. Already his ardent wish has been partially fulfilled.
Forces over which we have no control are now sweeping us into an
era of expansion breath-taking in its possibilities. The sudden
enlistment, in a single country, of over thirteen thousand new
believers in one year, the news which is pouring in to the World
Centre of the Faith of the opening up of new afeas where the
possibility of mass enrolment is equally great and may, at any
time, take place on an equally large scale, is awe-inspiring, nay
almost frightening in the vista it exposes to our dazzled eyes. The
handful of teachers and administrators, labouring in Asia, Europe,
the Americas, Africa and the Pacific suddenly find themselves
called upon, for the first time in the history of this Cause, to
receive and welcome not a few hundred souls eager to enlist in the
Army of Bahá'u'lláh but many thousands, and perhaps, in the near
future, many hundreds of thousands. Such a sudden turn in the
fortunes of a Faith which the Bahá'ís, with considerable
complacency, have conceived of as being still in the
slowly-growing, gradually maturing, laboriously evolving stage of
its development, calls for a complete re-orientation of thought,
a profound evaluation of motives, a careful study of those texts
which can throw light on the needs of the present hour.
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It was "troops" which 'Abdu'l-Bahá so ardently desired should enter
beneath the shadow of His Father's Cause. Troops are now entering.
The entire purpose of His glorious Tablets of the Divine Plan was
to initiate teaching on a world scale. "I fervently hope that in the
near future", He wrote in those Tablets, "the whole earth may be
stirred and shaken by the results of your achievements."
Suddenly,
like a thief in the night, we find that our sacrifices, our
labours, great and small, during a period of one hundred and
nineteen years, our pioneer efforts, especially those conducted
during recent years, our laborious erection of various national and
regional bodies in all parts of the globe, our silent prayers, our
tears and patience and loyalty, have borne their miraculous fruit,
and the first ripples of an awakening consciousness of the meaning
and glory of Bahá'u'lláh's Message are passing over the sleeping
giant of humanity.
This is not a religion destined for any one race
or any one people. It is the property of the entire human race.
Bahá'u'lláh has come to that soul who believes in Him. What concern
is it of ours if, at this particular moment in history, it is those
people of the world as yet uncorrupted by a materialistic
civilization who are ready to accept Him? Is not this perhaps their
unique and golden opportunity to receive the education of His
teachings ere it is too late and the corrosive aspects of that
civilization have educated them in ways that lead away from God
rather than towards Him? May not, in the mysterious workings of
God's Plan, so far above the capacity of our finite minds to grasp,
this process of conversion on a large scale of the peoples of the
Pacific Islands, the heart of India, the African continent and the
descendants of the Aboriginal population of the Americas now taking
place, release forces which will have wide repercussions in those
venerable strongholds of both Eastern and Western culture whose
people, overcome by spiritual lassitude, disillusioned and cynical,
find themselves indifferent for the most part to the redemptive
Message of Bahá'u'lláh?
Let us ponder these words of the Guardian
and seek out, in the light of present events, their implication:
"As the Plan bequeathed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá unfolds, through successive
decades of the present century, its measureless potentialities, and
gathers within the field of its operations nation after nation in
successive continents of the globe, it will be increasingly
recognized not only as the most potent agency for the development
of the World Administrative System, but also as a primary factor
in the birth and efflorescence of the World Order itself in both
the East and the West."
Nation after nation has been swept into the
orbit of the Faith since 1921. The believers, acting for thirty-six
years under the direct guidance
+350
of the Interpreter of the Teachings of the Bahá'í Revelation, have been laying the foundation and erecting the framework of the administrative institutions of this Faith. How can we fail to perceive that the tabernacle having been raised, the people are now seeking its shelter?
Fifty-six great administrative institutions
now exist in the Bahá'í world. Were such wonderful institutions as
these fashioned to administer the affairs, for the most part, of
a handful of believers? Or are they to be regarded as mighty doors
flung wide to the world and designed to enable its spiritually
hungry multitudes to enter into the stronghold of Almighty God?
"The fundamental purpose of the Bahá'í Administration at the
present time is to teach the Faith. Administering it is only to
coordinate its activities and to safeguard it", wrote Shoghi
Effendi, four months before he passed away, to one of the new
European Regional Assemblies. He informed the Bahá'í world, that
same year, that "the pre-eminent task of teaching the Faith to the
multitudes" was "the bed-rock on which the solidity and the
stability of the multiplying institutions of a rising Order must
rest." In other words, these institutions, as they grow and
consolidate, must be outgoing and not ingrowing in their action.
"Nothing could be more tragic", he wrote, "than if the
establishment of these great administrative bodies should stifle
... the teaching work." "The purpose of the new National Assemblies
... and the purpose of any administrative body, is to carry the
Message to the people and enlist the sincere under the banner of
the Faith." In a letter written as late as July, 1957, to one of
the Regional Assemblies, he said: ". . . the friends should be very
careful not to place hindrances in the way of those who wish to
accept the Faith. . . . The essential thing is that the candidate
for enrolment should believe in his heart in the truth of
Bahá'u'lláh. Whether he is literate or illiterate, informed of all
the Teachings or not, is beside the point entirely. . . ." In
another of his letters he said: "The early believers in both the
East and the West, we must always remember, knew practically
nothing compared to what the average Bahá'í knows about his Faith
nowadays, yet they were the ones who shed their blood, the ones who
arose and said: 'I believe', requiring no proof, and often never
having read a single word of the Teachings. Therefore, those
responsible for accepting new enrolments must just be sure of one
thing-that the heart of the applicant has been touched with the
spirit of the Faith. Everything else can be built on this
foundation gradually."
In the world today "a two-fold process", the
Guardian wrote, can be distinguished, each tending, in its own way
and with an accelerated momentum, to bring to a climax the forces
that are transforming the face of our planet. The first is
essentially an integrating process, while the second is
fundamentally disruptive. The former, as it steadily evolves,
+351
unfolds a System which may well serve as a pattern for that world polity towards which a strangely-disordered world is continually advancing; while the latter, as its disintegrating influence deepens, tends to tear down, with increasing violence, the antiquated barriers that seek to block humanity's progress towards its destined goal. The constructive process stands associated with the nascent Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and is the harbinger of the New World Order that Faith must erelong establish. The destructive forces that characterize the other should be identified with a civilization that has refused to answer to the expectation of a now age, and is consequently falling into chaos and decline."
Concomitant with the forces of integration working inside the Faith
and those of disintegration working outside it is another process
which he many times called to our attention: the chain reaction of
victories and crises. Who can doubt for a moment that as the
institutions of our Faith in land after land, gathering strength
and being epitomized through the election of independent national
bodies, responsible, in conjunction with the present Regional
Assemblies, for the election one year from now of the Supreme House
of Justice, are raised, forces will be released of such spiritual
power as to galvanize the body of the Faith throughout the world
with a new life and enable the Cause to sweep forward on its course
and enter a new era in the process of its propagation to the masses
of East and West, as well as its recognition and official
acceptance as an independent World Religion. Who also can doubt for
a moment that this very process of consolidation taking place
during this last year of the Crusade, when the goals of the beloved
Guardian, susceptible of accomplishment within the present
framework of world affairs, are for the most part either won or
within our reach, must inevitably unleash fresh trials and tests,
challenging the devotion and tenacity of the friends and driving
the roots of both the new believers and the national communities
deeper into the soil of faith, as well as sifting out the weak and
raising up the strong in that constant purification of the ranks
of the faithful which takes place in the course of the growth of
this World Community.
Whatever the immediate future may hold in
store, either for us or for our fellow-men, the path of action we
must tread lies clearly before us. "Ours", Shoghi Effendi pointed
out, "is the duty to fix our gaze with undeviating attention on the
duties and responsibilities confronting us at this present hour,
to concentrate our resources, both material and spiritual, on the
tasks that lie immediately ahead, to ensure that no time is wasted,
that no opportunity is missed, that no obligation is evaded, that
no task is half-heartedly performed, that no decision is
procrastinated."
"The Kingdom of God", the beloved Master assured
us, "is possessed of limitless potency. Audacious must be the army
of life if the confirming
+352
aid of that Kingdom is to be repeatedly vouchsafed unto it.... Now is the time to reveal theforce of one's strength, the stoutness of one's heart and the might of one's soul."
On the occasion of
another Centenary, over eighteen years ago, the Guardian, in
never-to-be-forgotten words, called upon us to arise and fulfil the
work entrusted to our keeping. These words are as applicable, as
deeply moving and passionate in their appeal, as if he had meant
them for this present fate-laden hour. Let us open our hearts to
their message of love and of the longing they convey: ". . . to
all, without distinction of race, nation, class, colour, age or
sex, I feel moved, as the fateful hour of a memorable centenary
approaches, to address my plea, with all the fervour that my soul
can command and all the love that my heart contains, to rededicate
themselves, collectively and individually, to the task that lies
ahead of them.... I direct my impassioned appeal to obey, as befits
His warriors, the summons of the Lord of Hosts, and prepare for
that Day of Days when His victorious battalions will, to the
accompaniment of hosannas from the invisible angels in the Abha
Kingdom, celebrate the hour of final victory."
HANDS OF THE CAUSE
IN THE HOLY LAND
ELECTION OF THE 11 INDEPENDENT
EUROPEAN NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES
RIDVAN 1962
EUROPEAN NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES
RIDVAN 1962
To the Hands of the Cause, Auxiliary Board Members, Representatives of National Assemblies, Delegates and Believers Gathered during Ridvan, 119, at the Historic Conventions for the Election of Independent National Spiritual Assemblies in the Following Countries:
| Belgium | Italy | Spain |
| Denmark | Luxembourg | Sweden |
| Finland | Norway | Switzerland |
| Holland | Portugal |
Beloved Friends:
On the occasion of the Ridvan Festival
of the one hundred and nine-teenth year since die birth of this
infinitely glorious Faith, the Bahá'ís the world over join with the
Community of European believers in rejoicing over the great
victories which have been won in the Name of Bahá'u'lláh, and which
represent the consummation of the labour of sixteen years in the
prosecution of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan in the continent of
Europe.
+353
From the moment when, at the dawn of this mightiest of
Dispensations, the Bab addressed the "peoples of the West" in His
Qayyámu'l-Asma', calling upon them to "issue forth from your
cities" and aid His Cause, the process of the spiritual conquest
of the Western World was set in motion. Who can estimate the
magnitude of the forces released when no less a Being than the
Author of the Faith Himself set foot, as the Guardian wrote, "on
the fringes of the continent of Europe" and revealed there not only
some of His most significant words addressed to the rulers of the
world, but also "the most momentous Tablet revealed by
Bahá'u'lláh", His Surih of Kings. The Supreme Manifestation of God,
led by the mysterious dispensations of Providence, sojourned on
the soil of that continent for a period of almost five years; the
Centre of His Covenant blessed that continent with His presence in
the course of two official and freely undertaken visits which
carried him to no less than eight of its countries. The Guardian
of the Faith himself, during his thirty-six-year ministry, visited
practically every country in the western part of that same
continent, and finally passed away in the capital city of a nation
whose impact on the fortunes of mankind, in both the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres, has been wider and more far-reaching than
that of any other western power.
It was during the first year of
peace, following upon the greatest war in the history of mankind,
that Shoghi Effendi inaugurated the second stage in the unfoldment
of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan by calling upon the believers of
North America to carry that Plan "a stage further across the ocean
to the shores of the Old World, and to communicate, through the
operation of its regenerative power, its healing influence to the
peoples of the most afflicted, impoverished and agitated continent
of the globe." With characteristic valour and determination they
poured forth their resources and their pioneers in a steady,
redemptive flow, neither slackening their pace nor failing in
their responsibility until such time as the work entrusted to their
care should yield its promised fruit. The crown of the consecrated
labours which have carried them through the second Seven Year Plan
and the mighty World Crusade which succeeded it, is now being
placed upon the edifice their hands have largely been instrumental
in rearing, through the election, this Ridvan, of no less than
eleven independent National Spiritual Assemblies, in Italy,
Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg,
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, raising thereby the number
of pillars of the Universal House of Justice to fifteen in that
continent which is the cradle of Western civilization.
That "host
which", Shoghi Effendi wrote as early as 1946, "must, in the years
to come, spiritually raise up the sorely ravaged continent of
Europe" went forth to conquer and conquered on all fronts, in all
fields, to
+354
a most miraculous degree. Following in the footsteps of those early founders of the Faith who, at the turn of the century established the Cause of God in Paris and London, an ever-swelling number of believers, called by him "ambassadors of Bahá'u'lláh's New World Order", streamed forth from the New World to the Old. In more recent years these have been richly reinforced by a great flow of consecrated believers from the Cradle of the Faith. Unitedly these Bahá'ís from the West and the East have hastened to fill the goals and achieve the objectives set forth by their Guardian in the provisions of both his second Seven Year Plan and his Ten Year Crusade, until now, on the eve of the election of the Universal House of Justice, the eleven new national bodies, supplanting those he characterized as "interim regional institutions", find themselves proudly and securely founded on the requisite number of Local Assemblies specified by him and are in a position to go forward with courage, confidence and optimism, into the new life awaiting them and the national communities they represent.
The
words of Shoghi Effendi himself best describe such pioneers as
Europe has received into her bosom: "Of such men and women it may
be truly said that to them 'every foreign land is a fatherland, and
every fatherland a foreign land.' For their citizenship, it must
be remembered, is in the Kingdom of Bahá'u'lláh." The full
significance of these pregnant words of the beloved Master is now
being partially unveiled before our eyes: "From the beginning of
time until the present day the light of Divine Revelation hath
arisen in the East and shed its radiance upon the West. The
illumination thus shed hath, however, acquired in the West an
extraordinary brilliancy." "The day is approaching when ye shall
witness how, through the splendour of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, the
West will have replaced the East, radiating the light of Divine
Guidance."
These new national communities, poised on the threshold
of their independent existence, may well pause and count their
blessings, and in counting them find strength for the work that
lies ahead and discern the shape of those tasks they must now set
themselves to achieve. Not only have the original ten goal
countries been increased, through the addition of Finland, to
eleven autonomous areas, but the chain of islands encircling the
European continent in the Mediteff anean, the Adriatic and the
Baltic Seas, as well as the Atlantic Ocean, have been illumined
with the light of the Faith, received their quota of dedicated
pioneers and, in a number of instances, been able to establish
flourishing groups and Assemblies. The difficult goal of
Spitzbergen, an outpost of the North where the Guardian so longed
to see the banner of the Faith upraised, has been conquered since
his passing; National Haziratu'l-Quds have been purchased in all
eleven capital cities of the sovereign states which have now
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come of age in the world-encircling Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh; a number of national endowments have been acquired, as well as four of the five sites for future Bahá'í Temples which he specifically mentioned, the most sacred and important of these being that in the capital city of a land to which the beloved Guardian's heart was deeply attached and which was his own personal gift to the Swiss believers; the first European Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, the Mother Temple of the entire continent, has at long last begun to raise its walls in preparation for that joyous day when the followers of the Most Great Name can meet beneath its dome and befittingly praise Him Who is the begetter of their spiritual life, the Law-Giver of the entire planet and the loadstone of the hearts of all His lovers.
On the occasion of the formation of the new
national bodies it behoves their newly-elected members to orient
themselves, from the outset of their activities, to the desires,
hopes, and instructions of their departed Guard-ian whose loving
guidance brought them into existence and obedience to whose
slightest wish must be at once their greatest protection and the
source of their strength and inspiration. The words which he
addressed to the European Regional Assemblies in his first
communications to them must now be passed on to their component
parts which have attained, in pursuance of the provisions of his
Crusade, their independent existence. In 1957 he wrote: "The
efforts, so nobly exerted in the past by the band of pioneers,
resident believers and itinerant teachers in each of these states,
must, in consequence of the auspicious opening of a new phase in
the establishment of this Divine Order, be multiplied a
hundredfold, and the standard of consecration and of service to
His Cause must be raised to still greater heights." "A concerted
effort, systematic, strenuous and prolonged, must be exerted to
increase, to an unprecedented extent, the number of the avowed
supporters of the Faith in each of these countries. Simultaneously,
a fresh impetus must be lent to the multiplication of isolated
centres, groups and Local Assemblies, constituting the foundations
of the embryonic World Order of Bahá'u'lláh in those regions."
"The
primary duty laid upon all Bahá'ís by Bahá'u'lláh, Himself," he
pointed out in those same letters, "is to teach the Cause of God.
It is their greatest privilege and bounty ... .. The believers must
be encouraged to teach individually in their own homes ... .. We
have no priests, therefore the service once rendered by priests to
their religions is the service every single Bahá'í is expected to
render individually to his religion. He must be the one who
enlightens new souls, confirms them, heals the wounded and the
weary upon the road of life, and gives them to quaff from the
chalice of everlasting life the knowledge of the Manifestation of
God in His Day."
The emphasis which Shoghi Effendi placed on
teaching, on the one
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hand, found its counterpart, on the other, in an equal stress placed upon the importance of not introducing rigidity and uniformity in secondary matters, into the administration of the affairs of the communities. In those same historic letters to some of the European Regional Assemblies elected in 1957 he likewise stated:
"The fundamental purpose of the Bahá'í Administration at
the present time is to teach the Faith. Administering it is only
to coordinate its activities and to safeguard it. The friends must
bear this clearly in mind; and he feels that he should point out
to your Assembly, just embarking on its historic tasks, what he has
many times pointed out to the old and tried national bodies, and
that is that you should strenuously avoid introducing rules and
regulations which will complicate the smooth working of the Faith
in your region, handicap the Bahá'ís unnecessarily and confuse
them." "When problems arise, the National Assembly can deal with
them one by one in a loving and understanding manner, applying the
Bahá'í Teachings both in the spirit and in the letter to their
solution ... The fact that the affairs of the believers in
these European communities are going to be administered on the
spot, and for the most part by native Europeans, who understand
both the problems and the psychology of the people, is a tremendous
advantage. . ."
Every obstacle should be removed from the path of
those seeking to embrace the Faith. We are not called upon to
insist on a wide degree of knowledge of its teachings before
enrolling new believers; our purpose must be to awaken in the
hearts of those whom we seek to enlist in the ranks of
Bahá'u'lláh's followers the belief in Him as the Manifestation of
God, the Bab as His Forerunner, the Master as the Centre of His
Covenant, and win their acceptance of the Administrative Order.
We may well ask ourselves if perhaps one of the fundamental reasons
why the people are not entering in "troops" in the strongholds of
western civilization is this very tendency to seek to educate the
mind in the teachings of the Faith rather than to light in the
heart the fire of the love of God and belief in His Chosen One for
this Day.
Strongly as our beloved Guardian urged the Assemblies not
to raise obstacles in the path of those seeking to enrol, he
nevertheless laid great emphasis on the importance of educating the
Bahá'ís themselves in the teachings. One of the objectives given
by him to the new Regional Assemblies of Europe was to "extend the
scope and increase the number of existing summer schools". No doubt
the new national communities will now develop, as time goes by,
separate institutions of this nature for the instruction of the
believers and visitors in their area and as adjuncts and
instruments of that important process of deepening the knowledge
and understanding of those already enrolled.
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Every effort should likewise be made to incorporate as soon as
possible the new national bodies, as well as all Local Assemblies
existing on a firm foundation; to which should be added the further
duty, alike specified by the Guardian himself, of seeking to have
Bahá'í Holy Days and the Babd'i Marriage Certificate recognized by
the civil authorities.
Although extraordinary progress has been
made in the course of more than a decade, in the vital task of
translating and printing Bahá'í literature, it must continue to
receive special attention, and the instructions of Shoghi Effendi
to those European nations using French as either their national
tongue or one of their official languages, to cooperate and
consult with each other and "avoid all duplication of effort,
which is a waste of time and money" must be conscientiously borne
in mind.
The importance of enrolling in the Cause representatives
of various European racial minorities must notbe forgottenfor a
moment, and the duty placed upon the Scandinavian and Finnish
communities of introducing the Faith into the three Baltic States
must be seriously considered by the new independent National
Assemblies of that region and sedulously pursued.
At this crucial
moment in Bahá'í history when that Supreme Administrative Body,
the Universal House of Justice, which Shoghi Effendi likened to
the dome which must rest upon the pillars of the national bodies
and the foundation of the local bodies, is about to be elected one
short year from now, the security of the foundations of these new
National Assemblies is of paramount importance. It behoves them to
recall the words of their Guardian, written at an earlier
turning-point in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan, but equally
applicable to the days we are about to pass through: "The spirit
that has inflamed the pioneers who have set the seal of triumph ...
must ... be constantly watched, kept alive and nourished." To no
small degree the Assemblies of Europe owe their present existence
to pioneers, largely drawn from the ranks of the American and
Persian believers; their devotion, their self-sacrifice, the deep
love for the Guardian of their Faith which led them to leave their
own countries and rush to the assistance of young communities
struggling to fulfil the present objectives of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Plan,
must be acknowledged and receive the homage it deserves. Although
problems may arise through the difference in background, language
and customs, to meet these and overcome them, with deep Bahá'í love
and the firm detennination to understand and cooperate, is the
obligation not only of every pioneer, but also those native
Europeans who are called upon to accept their help and work with
them in creating those purely indigenous communities which the
Guardian repeatedly pointed out are the only safe foundation for
the national and local institutions of the Cause to rest upon.
The
responsibility for various territories which the Guardian himself
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allotted to some of the European Regional Assemblies as their special province, will, until the termination of the Crusade, be allocated as follows: the Balearic Islands to the National Spiritual Assembly of Spain; Sardinia, Sicily, Rhodes, San Marino and Monaco to the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy; Corsica and Liechtenstein to the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland.
A special appeal should be made to all the friends,
whether residents of these European goal countries or pioneers, to
adequately support their National Fund. However humble the
offering, the friends must come to realize that contributing to
this National Fund on a systematic basis, will enable the National
Assembly to carry forward the glorious work of which its members
are at once the servants and spiritual trustees. The privilege of
supporting the institutions of our Faith cannot be overestimated.
Largely due to the sacrifice and generosity of believers in other
countries the Regional Assemblies have been able to carry on their
work. Had it been possible for them to receive more they would have
accomplished more. Now the time has come when the hitherto nascent
communities have emerged into adult existence. They must learn to
stand on their own feet, receiving the strength and blessings from
on High which such an act brings.
The demands of the European
Temple upon the limited resources of the Bahá'ís of that continent
are not only extremely heavy during this last year of the Crusade,
in order to complete the superstructure in time for the Centenary
celebration of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Prophetic Mission, but
must inevitably continue to be. so during the years immediately
following this world-wide Jubilee. The bounties which will flow
from this Mother Temple are, we know, incalculable; as it rises,
its shadow will cast far and wide the fame of the Cause of God; it
will be another of the great "Silent Teachers" shedding a lustre
on the Faith which the accomplishment of no other single
enterprise ever can. We therefore appeal to the new National
Assemblies and the communities they represent to inaugurate, at
the time their National Funds are established, a special European
Temple Fund, to which all may contribute, in great or small
measure, mindful that the act of everyone giving has a spiritual
significance far surpassing the size of the gift and releases,
beneficent forces which react on the life of both the individual
and the community in a mysterious and highly potent manner.
What
cause for rejoicing the European believers have as they stand on
the threshold of a new epoch in the history of the Faith in their
continent! North, South and West the long tally of victories nears
completion as the last year of the Crusade opens. Before them lies
Eastern Europe, where many of their brethren still hold aloft the
torch of Bahá'u'lláh under
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conditions requiring the greatest fortitude and persistence, waiting for the day when the remaining goals of our beloved Guardian's Crusade can be fulfilled. This arm of Bahá'u'lláh's followers, outstretched over Western Europe and pointing and stretching its fingers towards the East, is already ornamented by more than one priceless jewel, for in Bulgaria are laid to rest George Adam Benke, whom the Guardian called the first European martyr, as well as that "immortal heroine", Marion Jack, she whom he eulogized as the "shining example to pioneers of present and future generations of East and West". Dotted over many other countries are precious graves where other teachers and pioneers and "first to believe" of their countrymen lie buried, blessing the soil in which they rest, whilst in the azure waters of the Mediterranean lie the remains of Dorothy Baker, Hand of the Cause, and distinguished servant of the Faith.
No words can better convey
the vastness of the opportunities that lie ahead, the sacredness
of the responsibilities being presently assumed by so many new
national communities, the glorious challenge facing each individual
Bahá'í at this time, than those the beloved Guardian himself
addressed to the first European Intercontinental Teaching
Conference on the occasion of the inauguration of the European
Campaign of his global Crusade. In never-to-be-forgotten words he
painted the picture of the greatness of Europe's past, recounted
the blessings she had received throughout her distinguished
history, and expressed his hope that the believers toiling upon her
soil, in the Name of Bahá'u'lláh, would outshine in deeds the acts
of the disciples of Jesus Christ:
"A continent, occupying such a
central and strategic position on the entire planet; so rich and
eventful in its history, so diversified in its culture; from whose
soil sprang both the Hellenic and Roman civilizations; the
mainspring of a civilization to some of whose features Bahá'u'lláh
Himself paid tribute; on whose southern shores Christendom first
established its home; along whose eastern marches the mighty forces
of the Cross and the Crescent so frequently clashed; on whose
southwestern extremity a fast evolving Islamic culture yielded its
fairest fruit; in whose heart the light of the Reformation shone
so brightly, shedding its rays as far as the outlying regions of
the globe; the well-spring of American culture; whose northern and
western fringes were first warmed and illuminated, less than a
century ago, by the dawning light of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh;
in whose heart a community, so rich in promise, was subsequently
established; whose soil was later sanctified by the twice-repeated
visit of the appointed Centre of His Covenant; ... such a continent
has at last at this critical hour-this great turning-point in its
fortunes--entered upon what may well be regarded as the opening
phase of a great spiritual revival that bids fair to eclipse any
period in its spiritual history.
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"May the elected representatives of the national Bahá'í communities
aided by the Hands of the Cause. and their Auxiliary Board,
reinforced by the local communities, the groups and isolated
believers . . . be graciously assisted by the Lord of Hosts . .
. and lend a tremendous impetus to the conversion, the
reconciliation and the ultimate unification of the divers and
conflicting peoples, races and classes dwelling" within that
continent.
"May all the privileged participators, enlisting under
the banner of Bahá'u'lláh for the promotion of so pre-eminent and
meritorious a Cause, be they from the Eastern or Western
Hemisphere, of either sex, white or coloured, young or old,
neophyte or veteran, whether serving in their capacity as
expounders of the teachings, or administrators, of His Faith, as
settlers or itinerant teachers, distinguish themselves by such
deeds of heroism as will rival, nay outshine, the feats
accomplished nineteen hundred years ago, by that little band of
God-intoxicated disciples who, fearlessly preaching the Gospel of
a newly arisen Messiah, contributed so decisively to the
illumination, the regeneration and the advancement of the entire
European continent."
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
BAHA`I WILMETTE
APRIL 28,1962
REJOICE LONG ANTICIPATED VICTORY HOMEFRONT FULFILLING BELOVED GUARDIANS PLAN VINDICATING HIS HOPES JUSTIFYING HIS CONFIDENCE REAFFIRMING SPIRITUAL VITALITY STRENGTH CHAMPION BUILDERS BAHA'U'LLAH'S WORLD ORDER STOP HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENTS EUROPEAN LATIN AMERICAN FIELDS ESTABLISHMENT AEGIS AMERICAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SUCCESSIVE RIDVAN 118 AND 119 THIRTYTWO INDEPENDENT NAtionAL BODIES REPRESENTING HARVEST THREE SUCCESSIVE STAGES UNFOLDMENT ABDU'L-BAHAS DIVINE PLAN UNFORGETTABLE STOP CONFIDENT LAST YEAR CRUSADE WILL WITNESS PART THIS GREATLY BLESSED DISTINGUISHED COMMUNITY MIGHTY WAVE ACTIVITY ENSURE PRESERVATION PRECIOUS GOALS ADD FURTHER DISTINCTION UNIQUE SERVICES.
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BAHA'I WILMETTE
MAY 11, 1962
JOYFULLY SHARE NEWS RECEIVED RIDVAN PERIOD OUTSTANDING ADDITIONAL
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VICTORIES WON THROUGHOUT BAHA'I WORLD EVIDENCE DEVOTION CONSECRATION DETERMINATION BELIEVERS EAST WEST CROWN BELOVED GUARDIANS CRUSADE UNFADING GLORY STOP VITAL HOMEFRONT GOALS UNITED STATES CANADA BRITISH ISLES ATTAINED OR EXCEEDED THROUGH FORMATION MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES AMERICAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY SIXTYONE DOMINION OF CANADA AND FORTYEIGHT BRITISH ISLES STOP SINGLE ADDITIONAL ASSEMBLY NEEDED FULFIL GOAL HOMEFRONT GERMANY STOP ASSEMBLIES NOW ESTABLISHED CAPITAL CITIES ALL AUSTRALIAN STATES STOP RAPIDLY SPREADING CONFLAGRATION MASS CONVERSION REFLECTED FORMATION ONE HUNDRED TEN NEW LOCAL ASSEMBLIES INDIA TOTAL NOW FIVE TIMES NUMBER REQUIRED MEET CRUSADE GOAL STOP UNPRECEDENTED INCREASES REPORTED SOUTH-EAST ASIA AFRICA LATIN AMERICA STOP TWENTYFOUR NEW ASSEMBLIES PHILIPPINES WHERE TOTAL BELIEVERS NOW EXCEED ONE THOUSAND STOP SIXTEEN NEW ASSEMBLIES FORMED VIETNAM BRINGING TOTAL FORTY STOP CENTRAL EAST AFRICA REPORTS SIX HUNDRED SIXTY LOCAL ASSEMBLIES TWENTYSIX THOUSAND BAHA'IS INCLUDING OVER SIX THOUSAND CONGO WHICH SENT TWELVE DELEGATES CONVENTION INCLUDING FIRST PYGMY DELEGATE BAHAI HISTORY STOP SIXTYTWO LOCAL ASSEMBLIES FORMED BOLIVIA FOCAL POINT MASS CONVERSION LATIN AMERICA STOP TWO HUNDRED NEW INDIAN BELIEVERS RECENTLY ENROLLED CHILE STOP NICARAGUA PANAMA RESPECTIVELY REPORT TRIPLING QUADRUPLING BELIEVERS LAST YEAR WITH INDIAN ENROLMENTS NUMBERING SEVERAL HUNDRED STOP URGE ALL NATIONAL BODIES SEIZE OPPORTUNITY FORM ADDITIONAL LOCAL ASSEMBLIES ANY TIME PRESENT YEAR ENSURE STILL GREATER INCREASE AVOWED SUPPORTERS GROUPS ASSEMBLIES ERE TERMINATION SACRED GLOBAL PLAN ENTRUSTED BELOVED GUARDIAN COMMUNITY MOST GREAT NAME STOP AIRMAIL MESSAGE HANDS NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
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To the Hands of the Cause of God
July 13, 1962
Dear Fellow-Hands:
It is now six months since the
passing of dear Milly Collins, and it has become evident that a
ninth Custodian must be appointed for legal purposes, since we
are liable to be asked in legal matters to give the names of the
nine Custodians.
In accordance with the authority given the Hands
in the Holy Land at the first Conclave, we have therefore appointed
Hasan Balyuzi to act as
+362
Custodian temporarily until the Hands meet. Hasan has for some time not been well, but we have urged him to come to Haifa as soon as his health permits.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
FAIZI CARE KHAMSI, CASILLA 1613, LA PAZ (BOLIVIA)
JULY 24, 1962
BASIS RECOMMENDATION OVERWHELMING MAJORITY HANDS CONCLAVE POSTPONED APRIL LOVE.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
To the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Goal Countries of Europe
July 27, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
As you know, the beloved Guardian's Ten Year Plan
called for quadrupling the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies
and tripling the number of localities which existed in each of the
Goal Countries of Europe at the beginning of the Crusade. The first
of these objectives was attained during the Ridvan period last
year, a victory which gave inspiration and encouragement to the
entire Bahá'í world.
In these closing months of the Crusade we
request each National Assembly to compare the total number of
localities where Bahá'ís reside within their respective countries
with the number existing at the beginning of the Crusade, in order
to ensure that this particular objective has been attained in every
case. Naturally the maintenance of all existing Assemblies must not
be jeopardized in any way in an effort to triple the total number
of localities where Bahá'ís reside. We are confident that this is
a Crusade objective which can and will be achieved in all the Goal
Countries, if it has not already been attained.
The other remaining
unfinished tasks of the beloved Guardian's Plan in the Goal
Countries are the securing of the incorporation of National
Assemblies and the incorporation of Local Assemblies in leading
cities of these countries. These are objectives which should be
pursued vigorously by each National Assembly to ensure their
accomplishment before next Ridvan. In countries where it may not
be possible to secure the incorporation of the National Assembly
as a religious body at this time, it may be
+363
possible to incorporate as a non-profit company of some nature, and this alternative should be carefully investigated if incorporation as a religious body appears doubtful.
Although some of the Goal
Countries have succeeded in incorporating the Local Spiritual
Assemblies in the capital city of those countries, others have no
incorporated Local Assemblies, and the National Assemblies of
these countries should urgently pursue this objective along with
that of having the national body itself incorporated in some
manner. Also additional local incorporations may be possible in
those countries which have succeeded in registering the Local
Assembly in the capital city.
We are confident that the National
Assemblies of the European Goal Countries, an area where such
victories have been won, will leave no stone unturned in their
efforts to ensure that every objective of the beloved Guardian's
Plan will, without exception, be accomplished by Ridván, 1963.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To All National Spiritual Assemblies
July 27, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
The Ten Year Crusade
is drawing to a close and the signs of its glorious fulfilment are
everywhere apparent. In many ways the successes achieved have more
than fulfilled the beloved Guardian's fondest hopes when he
initiated it.
The greatest care must be taken, however, that the
triumphal conclusion of the various national Plans in April, 1963
is not succeeded by an anticlimax in which pioneers leave their
posts, Assemblies are lost and the work and sacrifices of the last
ten years are marred by setbacks to the progress of the Cause.
Pioneers who have performed such noble services by leaving their
homes to open territories, establish Assemblies, or consolidate
what has been achieved at home and abroad should make every effort
to remain at their posts after Ridvan, 1963 until their services
can be dispensed with, remembering the appeal of the Guardian in
one of his last messages that they should "remain at their posts",
and bearing in mind that at the glorious yet critical juncture of
the formation of the International House of Justice, any weakening
of the administrative structure and depletion of
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the ranks of the vanguard of the faithful holding distant and difficult outposts of the Faith, would place in jeopardy the fruits of the World Crusade we have achieved so gloriously and in no small measure through the labours of the host of valiant pioneers.
The
work of consolidation is scarcely less important than that of
establishing and maintaining Assemblies, and sacrifices will be
needed for these purposes after the completion of the Crusade as
they have been needed during the ten years of its achievement.
We
ask you to circulate this letter widely, in your newsletter or
otherwise, so that all may see clearly where their duty to
Bahá'u'lláh lies and may lay a firm foundation upon which the Cause
can march from strength to strength in the years succeeding the
Most Great Jubilee of 1963.
With Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To the Hands of the Cause of God
July 27, 1962
Beloved Co-workers:
You have
received our cable of July 19 requesting all of you to send us your
recommendation on the holding of the next Conclave.
We have now
received replies from nearly all of the Hands, and the vote of the
overwhelming majority is to hold the Conclave next April, beginning
on the date mentioned in our cable, April 9, 1963. This vitallv
important gathering can be extended beyond the suggested nine-day
period if it appears necessary or desirable to do so.
It has been
suggested that all of the Hands, in making their arrangements for
attending the Conclave, the Convention for the election of the
House of Justice, and the World Congress, should plan on leaving
open at least a week or two following the Congress for whatever
initial consultations the members of the House of Justice may wish
to hold with the Hands of the Cause.
We have just completed a
detailed review of the few remaining unfinished goals of the
beloved Guardian's Crusade, and have written the National
Assemblies concerned, urging them to exert every effort to complete
these vital tasks. Aside from those which our Beloved himself felt
were doubtful of accomplishment, such as establishment of the
Babd'i courts in Islamic countries, the chief ones still to be won
are the Australian home front and the incorporation of those
National Assemblies which have not yet secured their registrations.
+365
Recently we have approved a plan for carrying forward the work on
the European Temple which will, unless unexpected delays occur,
permit services of commemoration to be held in this sacred Edifice
during Ridván, 1963.
With warmest greetings and deepest love to
you all,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To All National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í World
August 16,1962
Beloved Friends:
This letter is to inform you
that the Annual Gathering of the Hands of the Cause will be held
beginning April 9, 1963, preceding the election of the Universal
House of Justice.
The wonderful and thrilling victories throughout
the Bahá'í world during the past year have made it possible for
the Hands of the Faith to postpone their Annual Meeting and to
concentrate their efforts on the all-important teaching work so
that the "vast increase" of new believers envisioned by the beloved
Guardian for this fourth and final phase of the Crusade may become
a reality.
Holding the Annual Gathering in April will not only free
the Hands of the Faith for this essential task, but will also help
conserve the precious Funds of the Faith by eliminating the
necessity of the Hands' assembling twice in the Holy Land this
present Bahá'í year.
Tbe news from around the world brings
frequent and thrilling accounts of fresh triumphs for our blessed
Cause as it moves from victory to victory.
We urge each National
Spiritual Assembly, as well as every individual Bahá'í, to join the
Hands of the Cause in every continent in taking advantage of this
rising tide, so that every single believer may make a supreme and
unprecedented effort to assure that "vast increase" in new
believers envisioned by our beloved Guardian for this fourth phase
of his glorious global Crusade.
Upon our success in discharging
this responsibility together as "one soul in many bodies" will
depend, in a large measure, the joy and happiness we will all
share upon the occasion of the great Jubilee celebration of the
Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh to His Throne of Glory.
We shall pray
earnestly at the sacred Threshold of the Blessed Beauty that each
individual believer, each Local Assembly, and each National
Assembly will arise during these closing hours of a Crusade, the
equal of
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which mortal eyes will never see again, and enrich their record of services with a sacrifice, selflessness, and dedication unmatched by anything they have done in the past, individually or collectively.
With warmest Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the World
August 22, 1962
Beloved Co-workers:
Reports of new teaching victories continue to reach the
Holy Land from all parts of the world. Since Ridvan, mass
conversion has begun in Brunei, and during the past two months
alone the number of believers in Brunei has increased from 2,300
to 3,500. In Central and East Africa, nine African village Local
Assemblies in Uganda have been legally incorporated, marking an
historic step toward assuring the future progress and consolidation
of these village communities. The number of believers now reported
in the Indian sub-continent is well over 26,000. Mass conversion
is still taking place in the Congo, in Panama, in Mexico and in the
Philippine Islands. There are signs in many other areas of that
"rapid increase" in new believers envisioned by our beloved
Guardian.
Work is progressing satisfactorily on the European Temple
in accor-dance with contracts which have been approved calling for
the expenditure of approximately $120,000, and which will complete
the exterior finish and, it is hoped, enough of the interior,
including painting and plastering, to permit the holding of
gatherings in the House of Worship on the occasion of the Most
Great Jubilee.
Sir Barnet Janner, a Member of the British
Parliament and Chairman of the Jewish Board of Guardians in
Britain, visited the Shrine by invitation yesterday and met the
Hands and the International Council. He is very friendly to the
Faith and expressed his wish for further contact with the Bahá'ís
in Britain.
Mingled with the news of these joyous victories comes
the sad note of the passing of that faithful caretaker of the
Mansion of Mazra'ih, 'Abdu'l-Rahmdn Jarrb. He passed away suddenly
in Athens, Greece, while on holiday. His devoted services to the
Faith have now been specially blessed by his being the first Bahá'í
to be buried in the country of Greece.
Steps are being taken
through the diplomatic missions to the United Nations to assist
persecuted Berber believers who have been imprisoned in Morocco.
+367
Plans for the World Convention for the election of the Universal
House of Justice, and for the Most Great Jubilee, are receiving
increasing attention as the historic hour for these two
unprecedented events approaches.
With less than eight months
remaining in which to fulfil every cher-ished aim of our beloved
Guardian for his great global Crusade, we may well remind ourselves
of our united conviction expressed at our last Annual Gathering.
We all saw the urgency for the Hands in every conti-nental area to
work even more closely and energetically with the various National
Assemblies through personal consultation when possible, or through
frequent correspondence when not, so that the wonderful prom-ises
given by our beloved Guardian in his Message to the Hands and
National Assemblies on June 4, 1957, may be fully realized, and
that together we may "carry out unflinchingly" what our beloved
Guardian has called our "sacred, inescapable duties".
"Upon the
befitting discharge of the weighty responsibilities now resting
upon the members of these two institutions", he tells us, will
depend "the security of our precious Faith, the preservation of the
spiritual health of the Bahá'í communities, the vitality of the
faith of its individual members", as well as "the proper
functioning of its laboriously erected institutions, the fruition
of its world-wide enterprises" and "the fulfilment of its ultimate
destiny".
The following is for your information only. Mr. Jean
Donat, a believer from Réunion Island strongly suspected of contact
with the Covenant-breakers, has recently been in England speaking
against the institutions of the Faith. His case is now being
investigated. A Covenant-breaker from Pakistan was recently in
Britain and France. Tony Fillon, Covenant-breaker from South
America, is reported to have gone to France from Ecuador. This may
have no particular significance, but knowing France to be such a
strong centre of sedition, it should put us on our guard.
Now, as
never before, during the remaining eight months of our
Chief-Stewardship, at a time when our enemies, both from within and
without the Faith, may well make a supreme effort to hinder in
every way they can, the successful culmination of our beloved
Guardian's glorious Crusade, and the election of the Universal
House of Justice, the Institution of the Hands of the Cause
working, as directed by Shoghi Effendi himself, closely and
constantly with the National Spiritual Assemblies, should be more
vigilant than ever against what the beloved Guardian described as
"evidences of increasing hostility without" and "persistent
machinations within" the Cause. In this way, we can best protect
the Faith against any attacks, but above all at this time, we can
prevent anything from dampening the zeal and ardour of these
National Spiritual Assemblies which must give such inspiring
leadership to their communities during these final
+368
months of the Crusade when the great emphasis is upon reaching the masses in unprecedented numbers.
You are always in our thoughts and
prayers when we visit the sacred Shrines. We know that during these
fast-fleeting crucial days of this unparalleled Crusade, our hearts
are united even more closely than ever, and that each one of us is
determined to sacrifice his time, his energy, his very life so
that we may offer the. full measure of our devotion in serving our
beloved Guardian and the Cause for which he sacrificed his precious
life.
With warmest Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America
August 22, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
You have no doubt by this time
heard of the imprisonment of fourteen of the Bahá'ís in Morocco and
the strong steps taken against the Faith by the authorities in that
country....
In view of the fanatical and prejudiced religious and
political environment, great wisdom and caution must be exercised
to avoid still greater and more intensified persecutions. We do not
feel that it is wise to mobi-lize our forces for publicity and for
action through the United Nations as was done in 1955 in the case
of the Persian persecutions.
It has, however, been suggested that
representations made to the diplo-matic missions of Morocco in
Washington and at the United Nations might be helpful from the
standpoint of indicating that the world-wide Bahá'í community is
aware of and is surprised and gravely concerned about the
imprisonment of innocent Bahá'ís in Morocco, a country which has
recently joined the family of independent nations.
We request that
your Assembly make such a contact or contacts in the same way as
was done a few months ago in the case of the Turkish diplomatic
representatives in connection with the court case in that coun-try.
The non-political character of the Faith should of course be
stressed, as well as its establishment in nearly 260 countries,
islands and dependen-cies of the world.
We hope that a contact of
this kind can be made in the very near future, so that it will
effectively reinforce the steps already taken in Morocco itself to
alleviate the situation. In the interviews with the Moroccan
+369
representatives, the proper framework of approach would be to imply that undoubtedly the measures against the Bahá'ís were taken as a result of a misunderstanding based on incorrect information given the government regarding the. Faith. We shall be most interested in receiving a report on the results of your efforts to assist the dear friends in Morocco, who have shown great courage, wisdom and above all steadfastness in the face of these grievous difficulties.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
BAHA'I WILMETTE
AUGUST 26,1962
IF CONTACTED BY PRESS REGARDING STORY IMPRISONMENT FRIENDS MOROCCO ANY STATEMENT SHOULD EMPHASIZE ONLY PRINCIPLES OBEDIENCE GOVERNMENTS UNITY RELIGIONS STOP ESSENTIAL AVOID CONTROVERSY OR IMPLIED CRITICISM ACTION MOROCCAN GOVERNMENT.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
On August 28th this same message was cabled to the National Spiritual Assembly of France.AUSTRALIAN BAHAI COMMUNITY CARE NATBAHA'I SYDNEY
SEPTEMBER 3,1962
WITH LESS THAN EIGHT MONTHS REMAINING BELOVED GUARDIANS GLORI-OUS CRUSADE APPEAL EACH EVERY BELIEVER DEVOTED AUSTRALIAN COMMU-NITY ARISE NEW HEIGHT DEDICATION SACRIFICE CONQUER SHORTEST TIME POSSIBLE VIRTUALLY LAST REMAINING UNFULFILLED HOMEFRONT GOAL TEN YEAR PLAN ENTREAT EACH INDIVIDUAL BAHA'I PRAYERFULLY RE-EXAMINE LIVES LIGHT THIS CRITICAL HOUR AUSTRALIAS SPIRITUAL DESTINY MAKE HEROIC EFFORTS PIONEER GOAL CITIES HOMEFRONT WITHOUT DELAY URGE EVERY BAHAI TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE THIS SACRED PRECIOUS LAST OPPORTUNITY CONSECRATE TIME ENERGIES RESOURCES ON UNPARALLELED TEACHING EFFORT STOP PRAYING HOLYSHRINES ENTIRE COMMUNITY AUSTRALIA WILL ARISE ONE SOUL MANY BODIES MEET THIS GLORIOUS CHALLENGE FULFIL FONDEST HOPES BELOVED GUARDIAN.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
+370
To All National Spiritual Assemblies
September 5, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
You have by this time received our communication of August
16 informing you that the Annual Gathering of the Hands of the
Cause will be held next April, rather than in October or November
as heretofore.
As you know, we have always requested each National
Assembly to transmit its semi-annual reports on the progress of the
Ten Year Plan in time to reach the Holy Land not later than March
15 and September 15. The facts provided in the March reports are
shared with the Bahá'í world in our Annual Ridvan Message, and
those in the September reports have been considered by the Hands
in their Annual Meeting and used in pre-paring the message to the
friends from that gathering.
Although the Annual Meeting will not
take place at the usual time this year, the Hands will send a
general message to the believers throughout the world, and it is
essential that we have the information provided in the September
semi-annual reports for inclusion in this message. We there-fore
request that you mail your reports in time to reach Haifa not later
than September 30.
For the guidance of all National and Regional
Assemblies we attach an outline of the basic statistical and other
information needed. (Some of these headings, such as translations,
may not apply in the case of all National Assemblies.)
Since Local
Assemblies can be formed at any time during this final year of the
World Crusade, we request that any Local Spiritual Assemblies
formed since Ridvan be listed separately, in addition to including
them in the total. We also ask that in the remaining months of the
Ten Year Plan you inform the World Centre whenever additional new
Assemblies are established or former ones restored.
In addition
to the specific information called for, we would appreciate your
including in your semi-annual report any other interesting or
striking developments in your area which represent victories for
the Faith. These should also be reported from time to time as they
occur throughout the year.
We are confident that the rising tide
of victories under the beloved Guardian's Plan, already evident in
so many countries, will spread throughout the Bahá'í world in these
glorious months preceding the Most Great Jubilee.
With warm Bahá'í
love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
[The enclosure is not included here.]
+371
To the Hands of the Cause of God
September 7, 1962
Beloved Co-workers:
Since our last letter to you, news has reached us of
the activities of the supporters of Mason Remey in Latin America.
A cablegram was received from the National Spiritual Assembly of
Chile informing us that Fabienne Guillon, long-time member of the
Chilean and Regional Assembly, and the other members of the Local
Assembly of Loncoche, Chile, had ac-cepted the claims of Remey.
Mas'úd Khamsí, Auxiliary Board member for Protection and a former
member of the Regional Assembly which included Chile, was sent
immediately to the spot by the Hands in the Western Hemisphere,
following an exchange of cables with the World Centre. The National
Assembly of Chile was cabled to have all the friends refrain from
association with Guillon and other affected persons until a full
investigation can be made. We are following the agreed steps of
meeting and trying to save these people before expelling them from
the Faith, in case all, or some, of them because of their
inexperience, lack of sufficient knowledge of Covenant-breaking or
Covenant-breakers, may have been unduly influenced and will
renounce such baseless claims once the situation is clear to them.
This new flare-up has come apparently as a result of Bernardo
Fillon returning to South America from France. The National
Spiritual Assembly of Chile wrote us a letter which arrived after
their cable about Loncoche telling us that Fillon was there trying
to influence the friends. It now seems fairly apparent that
following a meeting in France, some of the key-conspirators of
Mason Remey have gone out to renew their efforts to damage the
Cause and undermine the faith of the friends.
Therefore, the things
we shared with you in our recent letter concerning the application
of the beloved Guardian's cable of June 4, 1957 to all the
Continental Hands and National Spiritual Assemblies becomes even
more urgent and vital. We must all redouble our vigilance and
intensify our efforts to combat the spread of their evil influence
wherever we find it.
We are preparing a letter to all National
Spiritual Assemblies on this subject, and the significance of that
June 4, 1957 cable of Shoghi Effendi. We are sending a special
letter to Latin America including the above, but also giving them
some background to share with the friends on the significance of
Covenant-breaking so they will be better able to resist their
insidious efforts.
We have asked dear Varqá to go to France to help
strengthen that Community and to consult with die, National
Spiritual Assembly. He is there now and will remain for fifteen
days. Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum
+372
arrives in the World Centre Sunday from Europe. Faizí reports thrilling victories and wonderful news of his visit, to Bolivia, and also comments strongly on the grave general weakness of many Latin American areas. Leroy goes to America on personal business, after his trip to Europe where lie has visited the. summer schools and made valuable visits to National Spiritual Assemblies of the Scandinavian countries and Germany. Muhájir is here at present, and is lending his valuable help to our consultations.
There has
also been a wonderful flow of good news from the Bahá'í world. The
Prime Minister of Uganda and his Personal Secretary, accompanied
by the Director of Public Relations from the Israel Foreign Office
with the possible future Israeli Ambassador to Uganda visited the
Shrine of the BAb. The Prime Minister, Apollo Milton Obote was our
guest of honour at a luncheon in the House of the Master. This is
for your infor-mation as it will appear later in the News Letter
from the International Council.
News of additional victories in the
Philippines has reached us. They have increased their number to
2,000 believers. Since Ridvan they have doubled their centres to
nearly 200. Among the new believers are mem-bers from four
different tribes.
The teaching victories continue also in the
Indian sub-continent, Africa and Bolivia. Dear Enoch, accompanied
by Auxiliary Board member Max Kenyerezi, has arrived this week in
die Congo and we are confident that ever-greater victories will be
forthcoming from that fruitful area, following the success of his
trips to Tanganyika, Kenya and Uganda.
We would be grateful for any
news that you may have which might indicate increased activities
by the enemies in your area, so that we may anticipate and minimize
them.
We are all visiting the Shrine of the Blessed Beauty this
afternoon, and will remember you in our prayers, and shall
supplicate alt. that sacred Thresh-old that even greater victories
may flood the earth during these precious, rapidly passing hours
of our beloved Guardian's glorious Crusade.
With warmest Bahá'í
love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To the Hands of the Cause of God
September 13, 1962
Dear Fellow-Hands,
We have noticed in the minutes of several
National Assemblies that they are urging the members of their community to use the Long
Obligatory Prayer. We consider this is neither part of the
function of a National
+373
Assembly nor in accordance with the spirit of the teachings of the Faith, for the reasons given in the following letter sent to the New Zealand National Assembly:
We have noticed in your minutes of 26-27 May that you decided to encourage the friends to use the Long Obligatory Prayer.In taking this action, we feel that your National Assembly has exceeded the powers given to it in the Administrative Order, insofar as Bahá'u'lláh left the believers entirelyfree to choose between the three obligatory prayers. Further He said: "To chant but one verse with joy and gladness is better for you than reading all the Revelations of the Omnipotent God with carelessness."No pressure should be put upon the believers to say one of the three prayers rather than another. If a believer feels inclined to say the long prayer he should say it, and if for some reason he prefers one of the others he is quite free to say this instead.
We feel the Hands
should use their influence to prevent such pressures, that are not
in accordance with the law of Bahá'u'lláh, being put upon the
believers.
With Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States
September 23, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
As you know, fifteen of the believers are
imprisoned in Morocco. We now have two lawyers working on their
case, but nothing anyone has been able to do so far has permitted
them to have. a speedy hearing or be let out on bail or be
released. Needless to say, it is a very delicate problem because
of the intense Muslim fanaticism which has led to their
imprisonment....
We have been informed that the personal
representative of the King of Morocco . . . is now heading that
country's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New
York.
We would like your National Assembly to consider seeking an
interview with him, at which Bahá'í representatives would call to his
attention the entirely non-political character of the Faith, our
obedience to our governments, and that our beliefs are not in any
way subversive towards any
+374
religion or any country. It might be possible also to enter a plea that this man would intervene with his King, the real power in the country, on behalf of these innocent Bahá'ís who are simple and relatively insignifi-cant people, whose only sin seems to be their religious belief....
With
warmest loving greetings,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To All Hands of the Cause of God
September 26, 1962
Dear Co-workers:
As our beloved Guardian's
Plan speeds to an end, news of additional victories continues to
brighten the closing months.
Plans for the World Convention and
World Congress are progressing at an increased pace. The Hands of
the Faith and the members of the International Bahá'í Council are
working more closely than ever during these golden days still
remaining of our beloved Guardian's World-Conquering Crusade.
India
reports 34,000 believers, over 20,000 since Ridvan; Central and
East Africa over 42,000. Borneo Island now has over 6,000 new
believers since Ridvan, 3,000 in the past two months. There were
115 new believers among the San Blas Indians in Panama during the
past month. One entire island of the San Blas group, named
Islapino, has been conquered for the Faith, and four new Indian
areas have been opened up there. The first Indian community in
Argentina has been enrolled in the Faith across the border from
Bolivia. The first all-Indian Local Assembly of Brazil was
established in Logoa Grande. In England they have enrolled over 120
new believers since June, nearly as many as during the entire last
year, which was a record year. This greatly increased effort is
supported by no less than 100 fireside meetings each week.
Such
victories have brought in their wake, as expected, increased
attacks and opposition from the enemies. Two members of the
National Spiritual Assembly of Chile, residing in Loncoche,
Fabienne. Guillon and Sr. Pallés,1 have become Covenant-breakers,
supporting the false claims of Mason Remey. Both have been
expelled. Mr. and Mrs. James Barrett of Panama, daughter and
son-in-law of Fabienne Guillon, have also been
1 The expulsion of Sr. Jorgé Pallés was based on information at hand. It was later clarified that he had not accepted Mason Remey and was therefore reinstated (see p. 376). That a letter had been written by seven members of the Loncoche community in support of Remey was proved to be incorrect.
+375
expelled from the Faith for similar reasons. It has been reported that the Local Spiritual Assembly of Loncoche is following Guillon and Pall6s. Faizf and Board member Mas'ild Khamsf are in Loncoche, Chile now to make an investigation. We are awaiting their report, and shall keep you informed.
The Remey supporters are sending out
a flood of correspondence, re-peating the same things over and
over; this material includes a printed 52-page booklet by Remey
which is a duplicate of all the things he said in 1960 and has been
parroting since.
This brings you up to date on the activities of
these Covenant-breakers. If you have any additional items to
report, or have evidence of any increased activity, or the presence
or movement of any of these enemies, we would appreciate immediate
and regular reports.
Both the National Spiritual Assembly of
Colombia and of Belgium have received official status from their
respective governments during the past months.
The reports from the
summer schools around the world all speak of the new spirit of
enthusiasm and dedication, and many speak of the astonishing
number of enrolments which took place during the sessions.
We shall
remember you in our prayers at the sacred Shrines.
With warmest
Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To All Hands of the Cause of God
October 10, 1962
Beloved Co-workers:
This letter is to share with you the very
encouraging news that as many as 300 of the National Spiritual
Assembly members may be attending in person the World Convention
in the Holy Land. With reports from 37 National Assemblies, 253
have already stated definitely that they plan to attend. There are
19 National Assemblies still to send their final figures.
Because
of his continued efforts to support the views of Mason Re-mey, both
verbally and in writing, we have been obliged to expel Jean Donat
of Réunion Island (in the South West African U.S.A. Region) from
the Faith.
We have received the satisfying news that while Fabienne
Guillon, National Spiritual Assembly member of Chile, has not
renounced Remey, seven members of the Loncoche Community who wrote
a letter to the Chilean National Spiritual Assembly supporting
Mason, have now renounced
+376
him, This seven includes the other National Spiritual Assembly member, Jorgé Pallés. After meeting with Faizf, National Spiritual Assembly Secretary Alexander Reid and Board members Mas'iid Khdmsi and Seymour Malkin, they have declared their complete loyalty to the Faith. Faizí has rendered a wonderful service to the Cause through his patience, love and wisdom, and has been most capably assisted by the National Spiritual Assembly of Chile and the, abovementioned Board members. It is indeed a great victory for the Cause and a blow to the enemies. It demonstrates again that the friends are misled by misinformation and deception, but when logical explanations based on the Teachings are offered to them, if they are sincere, they respond.
Our dear fellow-Hands
have, of course, all been busy serving the Faith in different parts
of the world; some of them have not been well. Hasan had an
operation on his shoulder (nothing dangerous we understana) but he
has not yet been able to come to Haifa as planned; we hope for his
early arrival. Ugo has just completed an exhausting supervision,
in the heat of the Rome summer, of the publication of our beloved
Guardian's Mid-Way Point of the Crusade map. It is very beautiful,
and will be a joy to the believers everywhere when it is placed on
sale next Ridvan. Ugo is very run down and has left for some weeks'
rest. Adelbert has visited every European Summer School except one;
he also is in frail health. We hope when you pray for all of us you
will particularly say healing prayers for these three Hands.
Hermann, after his arduous tour of Latin America, has returned to
Germany for a much-needed rest; Collis is embarking on a
comprehensive tour of some of the Pacific Islands as well as
centres in Australia and New Zealand. Enoch is now engaged in a
tour of the Bahá'í Centres in the Congo; we have not yet received
a report from him but are sure his visit will produce resounding
victories in this fertile field. Samandarí, whose perseverance is
a shining example to us all, is after several months in Turkey,
visiting a series of Bahá'í communities throughout the Indian
sub-continent and neighbourhood; his presence will no doubt greatly
encourage new and old believers alle in serving the Faith. 'Ald'i,
Varqd, Agnes, Khddern and John [Robarts] are all at their posts and
carrying on their devoted services.
The Hands in the Holy Land
aided by Muhájir, who is remaining here for some time after
practically two years of uninterrupted travel, are as well as can
be expected, and very busy.
Reports of the astonishing progress of
our blessed Cause continue to reach the World Centre almost daily.
In the last five months, 6,000 have accepted the Faith in Borneo,
These victories are among the people of the Dayak tribe. Nearly 60
Local Assemblies have been established. There are 56 villages where
the inhabitants are all Bahá'ís.
+377
in the Philippines there are now 2,000 believers, 24 Local
Spiritual Assemblies and 200 localities. Members from four
different tribes have embraced the Faith.
In Vietnam 275 new
believers have been enrolled, and 5 new Local Assemblies formed.
There is also wonderful news of great teaching and administrative
strides in Costa Rica. They have progressed from 3 Local Spiritual
Assemblies at the start of the Crusade to 8 in 1961, and in the
past year they tripled this number to 24 Local Spiritual
Assemblies, 8 of which Local Assemblies are in the fertile Indian
regions.
Equally as thrilling, in view of the long years during
which this project was unsuccessful in taking hold, is the news
from the United States that there are now 66 Navajo Indians in one
area who have accepted the Faith; 51 of them have enrolled during
the past three months.
We shall continue to keep you closely
informed of all events as they happen, and as we approach the
glorious consummation of our beloved Guardian's World Crusade.
With
warmest Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To All National Spiritual Assemblies
October 11, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
We are planning to issue, in
time for sale at the World Congress to be held in London, a
pamphlet similar to the one our beloved Guardian published in 1952
at the beginning of the World Crusade, bringing as far as possible
the statistics and comparative information up to date.
We therefore
request your Assembly to please not duplicate this effort; there
are so many demands made upon National Funds at this time in order
to win their goals, maintain those already won, keep pioneers in
the field, publicize the Faith etc. that we feel the resources of
the Faith must be carefully harboured for the most important tasks.
In the near future we shall be sending you suggestions regarding
the national celebrations of the Most Great Jubilee, publicity in
connection with it, etc.
Assuring you of our prayers for the
success of your work when we visit the holy Shrines, and with
warmest loving greetings,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
+378
BAHA'I WILMETTE
OCTOBER 12,1962
WITH THANKFUL HEARTS UNFAILING PROTECTION BELOVED GUARDIANS OWN HISTORY MAKING CRUSADE SHARE GLAD TIDINGS JUST RECEIVED CENTRAL EAST AFRICAN ASSEMBLY STOP OVER FIFFYONE THOUSAND BE-LIEVERS THIS AREA 763 ASSEMBLIES 665 GROUPS 587 CENTRES TOTALLING OVER 2,000 LOCALITIES STOP CONGO NOW LEADS AFRICAN CONTINENT WITH OVER THIRTY THOUSAND BAHAIS STOP GREAT VICTORIES CHALLENGE BODY FAITHFUL EAST WEST ARISE CROWN OWN ENDEAVOURS MANNER BEFITTING CONSUMMATION CRUSADE CELEBRATION MOST GREAT JUBILEE NEXT RIDVAN STOP SHARE MESSAGE ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
To All National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies
November 4, 1962
Beloved Friends:
The enclosed
Message should reach all the believers at the earliest possible
date; wherever translation is necessary will you kindly see this
is done at once and that it is circulated amongst the community
immedi-ately, thus enabling each and every Bahá'í to search his
heart and ask himself what service he can personally render before
these challenging last days of the beloved Guardian's glorious
Crusade pass us by forever.
With warmest loving greetings,
In the
service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY
LAND
MESSAGE TO THE BAHA'IS OF EAST AND WEST
October 31, 1962
October 31, 1962
Dearly beloved Friends:
Upon the horizon of the Bahá'í world the
splendorous light of the Most Great Jubilee is daily brightening.
Six months stand between us and that occasion our beloved Guardian
informed us would witness "the world-wide celebrations of the 'Most
Great Festival', the 'King of Festivals', the 'Festival of God'
Himself-the Festival associated with the accession of Him Who is
the Lord of the Kingdom to the throne of everlasting glory, and
with the formal assumption by Him of His Prophetic Office ... that
greatest of all Jubilees, related to the year 1335, mentioned by
Daniel
+379
in the last Chapter of His Book, and associated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá with tile world triumph of His Father's Faith." That time at which, the Master assured us "a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth, then will the teachings of God be firmly established upon the earth, and the Divine Light shallflood the worldfrom the East even unto the West. Then, on this day, will the faithful rejoice!"
It behoves us, standing on the threshold of so
mighty an event, to pause and contemplate its magnitude and to
renew in our hearts the image of that "adorable and ever-blessed
Beauty", the Supreme Manifestation of God. His Own words, alone,
can adequately reveal the glory of His Station and the significance
of this Day:
"The Pen of Holiness ... hath writ upon A1y snow-white
brow and in characters of effulgent glory these glowing, these
musk-scented and holy words: 'Behold ye that dwell on earth, and
ye denizens of heaven, bear witness, He in truth is your
Well-Beloved. He it is Whose like the world of creation hath not
seen, He Whose ravishing beauty hath delighted the eye of God, the
Ordainer, the All-Powerful, the Incomparable! ' " ". . . the Tongue
of Grandeur is now proclaiming: 'Lo, the sacred Pledge hath been
fulfilled, for He, the Promised One, is come!'" "The Eternal Truth
is now come. He hath lifted up the ensign of power, and is now
shedding upon the world the unclouded splendour of His Revelation."
"Tell the priest to ring the bells no longer. By God, the True One!
The Most Mighty Bell hath appeared in the form of Him Who is the
Most Great Name, and the fingers of the will of Thy Lord, the Most
Exalted, the Most High, toll it out in the heaven o Immortality,
in His Name, the All-Glorious." f "Naught is seen in My temple but
the Temple of God, and in My beauty but His Beauty, and in My being
but His Being, and in My self but His Self, and in My movement but
His Movement, and in My acquiescence but His Acquiescence, and in
My pen but His Pen, the Mighty, the All-Praised. There hath not
been in My soul but the Truth, and in Mysetf naught could be seen
but God."
"This is the King of Days, the Day that hath seen the
coming of the Best-Beloved, Him Who through all eternity hath been
acclaimed the Desire of the world." "This is the Day whereon naught
can be seen except the splendours of the Light that shinethfrom
theface of Thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most Bountiful.... This is
the Day whereon the unseen world crieth out: 'Great is thy
blessedness, 0 earth, for thou hast been made thefoot-stool of thy
God, and been chosen as the seat of His mighty throne.' " "The
Scriptures qfpast Dispensations celebrate the great Jubi-lee that
must needs greet this most great Day of God. Well is it with him
that hath lived to see this Day and hath recognized its station."
"In this most mighty Revelation all the Dispensations of the past
have attained
+380
their highest, their final consummation." 'That which hath been made manifest in this pre-eminent, this most exalted Revelation, stands unpar-alleled in the annals of thepast, nor will.future ages witness its like."
Let
us fix our gaze in adoration upon that figure, so inimitably
delin-eated by the Guardian: "the incomparable. figure of
Bahá'u'lláh, transcen-dent in His majesty, serene, awe-inspiring,
unapproachably glorious." He Whom, He Himself testifies, the
Prophets and Messengers addressed, on the eve of His Declaration,
as "O Most Great Mystery, O Tabernacle of Immortality!" He, but for
Whom, in His Own words, "no Divine Messen-ger would have been
invested with the Robe of Prophethood, nor would any of the sacred
Scriptures have been revealed." Let us call to mind, in His Own
words, the period of His declaration in Baghdad, the Centenary of
which is so close upon us: "'Arise, and proclaim unto the entire
creation the tidings that He Who is the All-MerciM hath directed
His steps towards the Ridvan and entered it. Guide, then, the
people unto the Garden of Delight which God hath made the Throne
of His Paradise . . ." "Rejoice, with exceeding gladness, 0 people
of Baha! as ye call to remembrance the Day Qf supreme felicity,
the Day whereon the Tongue of the Ancient of Days hath spoken, as
He departed from His House proceeding to the Spot from which He
shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of His Name, the
All-Merciful."
"The mere contemplation", 'Abdu'l-Bahá testified,
"of the Dispensation inaugurated by the Blessed Beauty would have
sitfficed to overwhelm the saints of bygone ages-saints who longed
to partake. for one moment of its great glory." "How thankful must
we be for having been made in this Day the recipients of so
overwhelming a favour! Would that we had ten thousand lives that
we might lay them down in thanksgiving for so rare a privilege, so
high an attainment, so priceless a bounty!" "The holy ones of past
ages and centuries have, each and all, yearned with tearful eyes
to live, though for one moment, in the Day of God. Their longings
unsatisfied, they repaired to the Great Beyond. How great,
therefore, is the bounty of the Abh4 Beauty Who, notwithstanding
our utter unworthi-ness, hath through His grace and mercy breathed
into us in this divinely-illumined century the spirit of life, hath
gathered us beneath the standard of the Beloved of the world, and
chosen to conftr upon us a bounty for which the mighty ones of
bygone ages had craved in vain."
It was in November, 1951, that the
beloved Guardian disclosed to our eyes the significance of the
event we shall so shortly be celebrating ffiroughout the Bahá'í
world when he cabled that the first four Interconti-nental
Conferences scheduled to be held during the Holy Year were a
"prelude to Most Great Jubilee which will alike commemorate
Centenary formal assumption by Author of Bahá'í Revelation of His
Prophetic Office
+381
and mark God willing world-wide establishment Faith forecast by Centre of Covenant in His Tablets and prophesied by Daniel in His Book thus paving way for advent of Golden Age destined witness world recognition universal proclamation ultimate triumph of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh." He said those Conferences marked the "inauguration beyond limits of World Centre of the Faith of intercontinental stage of Bahá'í activity . . .", and pointed out to us in glowing words that the "earthly symbols of Baha-'u'llah's unearthly Sovereignty must needs, ere the decade separating the two memorable Jubilees draws to a close, be raised as far north as Franklin beyond the Arctic Circle and as far south as the Falkland Islands, marking the southern extremity of the Western Hemisphere, amidst the remote, lonely, inhospitable islands and archipelagos of the South Pacific, the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, the mountain fastnesses of Tibet, the jungles of Africa, the deserts of Arabia, the steppes of Russia, the Indian Reservations of North America, the wastelands of Siberia and Mongolia, amongst the Eskimos of Greenland and Alaska, the Negroes of Africa, the Buddhist strongholds in the heart of Asia, amongst Lapps of Finland, the Polynesians of the South Sea Islands, Negritos of the archipelagos of the South Pacific Ocean."
The celebration of the Most Great
Jubilee marks the end of a century-the greatest century this planet
has ever seen, or will see, for a period of five hundred thousand
years; a century in which the Promised One of all ages ascended the
throne of Prophethood and shed the light of His Rev-elation from
the Day of His Declaration upon mankind for twenty-nine years; a
century which witnessed the ministry of that unique Being, the
Centre of the Covenant, the Mystery of God, the perfect Man, Who
served the Cause of His glorious Father for no less than
twenty-nine years; a century during which His beloved eldest
grandson, Shoghi Ef-fendi, Guardian of the Faith, laboured to
establish that Cause over the face of the entire planet during the
thirty-six years of his office; a century that encompassed
fifty-eight years of the Heroic Age of the Faith; that was laved
in its opening years by the precious blood of countless martyrs;
that gave birth to the Formative Age of the Cause of God; that
beheld the hoisting of the banner of Bahá'u'lláh in over two
hundred and fifty states, dependencies, chief islands and
territories of the globe; a century whose inauguration-ushered in
by the Declarations of the Twin Manifestations of God-was so
significant that it marked the end of a six-thousand-year-old
religious cycle.
The mysterious workings of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh, presided over by His divinely inspired Guardian, have
enabled the followers of the Most Great Name to approach the coming
Jubilee laden with the spoils of untold victories. Already in 1957,
wben almost half of the Ten Year Plan
+382
had run its course, he himself testified to the extraordinary character of those victories: "The phenomenal advances made since the inception of this globe-girdling Crusade, in the brief space of less than five years, eclipses-if we pause to ponder the scope and significance of recent developments-in both the number and quality of the feats achieved by its prosecutors, any previous collective enterprise undertaken by the followers of the Faith, at any time and in any part of the world, since the close of the initial and most turbulent epoch of the Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation."
Who can doubt for a moment that the hopes he
expressed at that time have been abundantly fulfilled? "May this
Crusade," he wrote, "on which the privileged heirs and present
successors of the heroes of the Primitive Age of our Faith have so
auspiciously embarked, yield ... such a harvest as will amaze its
prosecutors, astonish the world at large, and draw forth from the
Source on High a measure of celestial strength adequate to ensure
its triumphant consummation."
Every single territory of the globe
named by him as a goal to be opened to the Faith, and apportioned
amongst the original twelve national and regional bodies to whom
the Plan was given, has been made the recipient of the light of
Bahá'u'lláh, with the single exception of ten within the Soviet
orbit, comprising a part of that group which at the inception of
the Crusade Shoghi Effendi himself indicated might prove
inaccessible. In addition, those numerous supplementary goals,
added by him at a later date, have, with one or two exceptions,
likewise been opened to the Faith. The phase of the Crusade, which
he told us at that time was about to open, has witnessed the
fulfilment of his express desire and been truly "immortalized ...
by an unprecedented increase in the number of avowed supporters of
the Faith". By thousands and tens of thousands they have trooped
into the Cause of God; behind them already can be seen the shadowy
outlines of the hundreds of thousands and millions who are
approaching it, tramping nearer day by day. When we remember that
the appeal of the Guardian to teach the masses was practi-cally the
last words we received from him before his passing, and see that
every week brings in a new record of enrolments in Africa, the
sub-continent of India, the Pacific area and Latin America, our
hearts are uplifted and comforted. We do not come empty-handed to
our Most Great Jubilee. We have, by the grace of Bahá'u'lláh,
witnessed the realization of those pregnant words of Shoghi
Effendi, when he wrote at the inception of the Crusade, that it
was "destined ... to diffuse the radiance of His Faith over the
face of the entire planet."
The second aspect of the phase of the
Ten Year Plan which, our beloved Guardian said, would open with the
midway-point of the Crusade,
+383
has likewise been fulfilled. The three great Temples he called upon the Bahá'ís of the world to rear during this period, now stand, in all their distinction and sanctity, in the heart of Africa, Australasia, and Europe, vibrating forth their spiritual power, joining as great "Silent Teachers", the beloved first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar raised in the heart of Asia and the Mother Temple of the West, built in the midmost heart of America. The roll call of languages in which our literature has been printed, the tribal and ethnic groups enlisted in the ranks of Bahá'u'lláh's followers, the Assemblies, groups and isolated centres throughout the world where Bahá'ís are labouring to establish the Kingdom of God upon earth, far surpasses the number originally given by Shoghi Effendi in his majestic outline of the tasks to be accomplished during the unique decade separating the two great Jubilees-the celebration of the Centenary of the Year Nine, and the celebration of the Revelation of BahVu'llah's station in the plenitude of its splendour in Baghdad, which took place one hundred years ago.
So
great an occasion calls for celebrations not only on an
international scale, through the holding of the World Congress to
take place in London during the Ridv.4n period, but nationally and
locally, in every city, hamlet and village where Bahá'ís are to be
found throughout the entire world. The fifty-six National and
Regional Assemblies should immediately set plans in motion to
befittingly commemorate this inestimably glorious event, to
celebrate the praises of Bahá'u'lláh, to review the victories won
during the Ton Year Crusade, to entertain friends and truth-seekers
on special occasions, that they too may partake of our joy and
receive that hospitality at our hands which is so highly prized in
our teachings.
Mindful of their Guardian's instruction that the
"avowed, the primary aim of this Spiritual Crusade is none other
than the conquest of the citadels of men's hearts", they must seize
this unique opportunity and "befittingly consummate" this great
Centenary celebration. We are fortu-nate in having his own explicit
instructions as to the manner in which the believers should
celebrate an historic occasion of this nature: "An un-precedented,
a carefully conceived, efficiently coordinated, nation-wide
campaign, aiming at the proclamation of the Message of Bahá'u'lláh,
through speeches, articles in the press, and radio broadcasts,
should be promptly initiated and vigorously prosecuted. The
universality of the Faith, its aims and purposes, episodes in its
dramatic history, testimonials to its transforming power, and the
character and distinguishing features of its World Order should be
emphasized and explained to the general pub-lic, and particularly
to eminent friends and leaders sympathetic to its cause, who should
be approached and invited to participate in the celebrations.
Lectures, conferences, banquets, special publications should, to
+384
whatever extent is practicable and according to the resources at the dis-posal of the believers, proclaim the character of this joyous Festival."
This infinitely precious Faith has, through the
mercy of Bahá'u'lláh, now enveloped, as the Guardian hoped it would
do, "the whole planet with the radiance of its splendour." We stand
at the crossways; the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan,
under the aegis of His divinely appointed suc-cessor, has passed
through successive stages in its evolution and reached the point
of victory to which the minor plans concerned with its
prosecution, and devised and impelled forward by the tremendous
drive and vision of Shoghi Effendi himself, have brought it. Many
plans, as he himself forecast, will be needed to carry forward the
world-redeeming Message of the Supreme Manifestation of God until
such time as His Spirit covers the earth as the waters cover the
sea, but none of them will be from our beloved Guardian's own pen.
This is our last chance to pay him the tribute of our love, to lay
before his memory, at the end of his Crusade, tenderly,
sorrowfully, proudly, victory upon victory. We have seen, in the
most miraculous manner, these past five years the repeated
evidences of God's sustaining grace poured out upon us. Which one
of us can doubt that it ties within our power to rise to still
greater heights, to surge forward, in every part of the globe, and
seize, in the last moments of our Guardian's Plan, still further
glowing prizes to be heaped at his feet, in his name, as a token
of his sacrifice for the glory of Bahá'u'lláh, at that moment when
the world over we render Him thanks for His Revelation and pour out
paeans of praise to His celestial Might and Beauty?
This is alike
a time for great rejoicing and a time for deep soul-searching.
Every believer has some particular service he or she can ren-der
in these last days of the Crusade; whether it be that long-delayed
moment he arises and goes forth to strengthen one of the distant
territo-ries where pioneers are still urgently needed, including
resettlement of one of the very few which, though previously
opened, is at present lacking a resident pioneer, or to fill a
home-front need, or to enter into some field of active teaching
work, or to aid individually in the rapidly growing enlistment of
the masses in the ranks of the Faith, or to give of his substance
in supporting its meagre and overburdened Funds, of to attract new
souls through opening his home, however humble, to the people of
his town or village and inviting them to receive the loving gift
of'Bahá'í hospitality. No one need be deprived of the bounty of a
last worthy service in the closing months of the Guardian's
Crusade.
Who can doubt that the essence of true religion is love;
the love of the Creator for His creature, the love of that shadowy
creature for his Eternal Beloved, the love of men for all mankind?
What greater moment during our lives will ever come than this
moment to shower the love Bahá'u'lláh
+385
has brought to this world on each other and on our fellow-men, bewildered, fearful, misled, ignorant, cold in a world of hatred, tension, misunderstanding, prejudice and bigotry? He Himself testified that "a spark of the fire of Thy love is enough to set ablaze a whole world." Let us pour out from our hearts, now overflowing in gratitude to Him and thanksgiving for His appearance in our midst, a measure of love upon our fellow-men which will quicken their souls and draw them to the shores of this Most Great Ocean to drink their fill and quench the fire of their separation and longing. Each one of us can do this, this lies within the power of each of us.
Now irrevocably associated with the
termination of our beloved Guardian's Crusade comes another event
of singular historic impor-tance-the election of the Universal
House of Justice. On the first day of the "greatest Bahá'í
Festival", in the shadow of the Shrine of the Bdb, the election
will take place of that august Body Shoghi Effendi said would be
regarded by posterity as "the last refuge of a tottering
civilization". The profound significance of this event, the sacred
character of the setting in which it will take place, the nature
of this unique Administrative Body, cannot be overestimated: "In
a land", Shoghi Effendi wrote, "already revered and held sacred
alle by the adherents of three of the world's outstanding religious
systems", a land which "geographically, spiritually and
administratively constitutes", he stated, "the heart of the entire
planet", and is likewise "the heart and nerve-centre" of
Bahá'u'lláh's 49 world-cricompassing" Administrative Order and the
"world seat" of that system-in such a land the delegates for the
election of the Universal House of Justice have been invited to
foregather. In a spot overshadowed by Mt. Carmel, "the Hill of God
and His Vineyard", the "Mountain of the Lord", to which "all
nations shall flow"; faced by the plain of 'Akka, which Muhammad
called the "Banquet-Hall of God" and that city it "whose whiteness",
He said, "is pleasing unto God", that city of which Bahá'u'lláh
wrote: "Upon Our arrival We were welcomed with banners of light,
whereupon the Voice of the Spirit cried out saying: 'Soon will all
that dwell on earth be enlisted under these banners' "; in the
neigh-bourhood of not only the Shrine of the Bdb, which Shoghi
Effendi associated with the words of Bahá'u'lláh in the Tablet of
Carmel when He described "the celestial Kaaba round which have
circled in adoration the javoured of God, the pure in heart, and
the company of the most exalted angels", but of those three
sanctified resting-places which our Guardian informed us were the
"spot designed constitute focal centre Bahá'í Administrative
Institutions at Faith's World Centre"-in such a peerless setting
as this will the first International Bahá'í Convention be convened.
+386
That House which Shoghi Effendi called "the Supreme Legislative
Body of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahg'u'llah";
which he identified with those majestic words of the Manifestation
of God Himself in His Tablet of Carmel: "Erelong will God sail His
Ark upon thee, and will manifest the people of Baha who have been
mentioned in the Book of Names"; which derives its being from no
less a source than the Aqdas itself, designated by Shoghi Effendi
"the Mother Book" of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation and the "Repository
of His Laws"; which Bahá'u'lláh called the "Book of God" and is,
He asserted, "My weightiest testimony unto all people"; and of
which 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament states: "Unto the Most
Holy Book every one must turn and all that is not expressly
recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of
Justice. That which this Body, whether unanimously or by a majority
doth carry, that is verily the Truth and the Purpose of God
Himself. Whoso doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that love
discord, hath shown forth malice and turned away from the Lord of
the Covenant"-such a House as this, constituting, Shoghi Effendi
tells us, "the last unit crowning the structure of the embryonic
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh", will be elected next Ridvan.
At such
a turning-point in the history of our Faith we are indeed blessed
through having received, from both the Centre of the Covenant and
His appointed Guardian, many indications as to both the function
and method of election of this glorious Institution. "To the
trustees of the House of Justice", Shoghi Effendi wrote, "He
(Bahá'u'lláh) assigns the duty of legislating on matters not
expressly provided in His Writings, and promises that God
will 'inspire them with whatsoever He willeth'." In His Will and
Testament 'Abdu'l-Bahá states: "And now, concerning the House of
Justice which God hath ordained as the source of all good and
freedfirom all error, it must be elected by universal suffrage,
that is, by the believers. Its members must be manifestations of
the fear of God and daysprings of knowledge and understanding, must
be steadfast in God's faith and the well-wishers of all mankind.
By this House is meant the Universal House of Justice, that is, in
all countries a secondary House of Justice must be instituted, and
these secondary Houses of Justice must elect the members of the
Universal one. Unto this body all things must be referred. It
enacteth all ordinances and regulations that are not to be found
in the explicit Holy Text." "It is incumbent upon these members (of
the Universal House of Justice)", 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, "to gather
in a certain place and deliberate upon all problems which have
caused differ-ence, questions that are obscure and matters that are
not expressly re-corded in the Book. Whatsoever they decide has the
same effect as the Text itself."
+387
The independence of this Supreme Body from its electorate is
clearly set forth by the Guardian himself in his analysis of the
provisions of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament: "The powers and
prerogatives of the Universal House of Justice, possessing the
exclusive right to legislate on matters not explicitly revealed in
the Most Holy Book; the ordinance exempting its members from any
responsibility to those whom they repre-sent, and from the
obligation to conform to their views, convictions or sentiments;
the specific provisions requiring the free and democratic election
by the mass of the faithful of the Body that constitutes the sole
legislative organ in the world-wide Bahá'í community-these are
among the features which combine to set apart the Order identified
with the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh from any of the existing systems
of human government." The members of that Body "are to follow,"
Shoghi Effendi says, "in a prayerful attitude, the dictates and
pfomptings of their conscience. They may, indeed they must,
acquaint themselves with the conditions prevailing among the
community, must weigh dispassionately in their minds the merits of
any case presented for their consideration, but must reserve for
themselves the right of an unfettered decision. 'God will verily
inspire them with whatsoever He willeth', is Bahá'u'lláh's
incontrovertible assurance. They, and not the body of those who
either directly or indirectly elect them, have thus been made the
recipients of the divine guidance which is at once the life-blood
and ultimate safeguard of this Revelation." The Guardian has made
abundantly clear that the enactments of the Universal House of
Justice are "authoritative and binding" and that its "exclusive
right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final
judgement on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not
expressly revealed"; and that it is "the body designed to
supplement and apply His (Bahá'u'lláh's) legislative ordinances".
Laboriously, painstakingly, over a period of thirty-six years, the
Guardian implemented the instructions revealed in the Holy Text of
Baha'u'llAh's Writings and elaborated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Over the
face of the globe he ensured that those Local Spiritual Assemblies,
which he characterized as "the chief sinews of Bahá'í society, as
well as the ulti-mate foundation of its administrative structure",
should be elected on a firm foundation; he said they were presently
"designated as 'Spiritual Assemblies'-an appellation that must in
the course of time be replaced by their permanent and more
descriptive title of 'Houses of Justice' . . ."; he informed us the
National Assemblies, which the Master Himself had designated as
"secondary Houses of Justice", would constitute "the elec-toral
bodies in the formation of the International House of Justice"; he
assured us that 'Abdu'l-BahA Himself had "established beyond any
doubt the identity of the present Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblies with
the Houses of
+388
Justice referred to by Bahá'u'lláh", and explained that "it has been found advisable to bestow upon the elected representatives of Bahá'í communi-ties throughout the world the temporary appellation of Spiritual Assemblies, a term which, as the position and aims of the Bahá'í Faith are better understood and more fully recognized, will gradually be superseded by the permanent and more appropriate designation of House of Justice"; he stated that: "Upon the National Houses of Justice of the East and the West devolves the task, in conformity with the explicit provisions of the Will (of 'Abdu'l-Bahá), of electing directly the members of the International House of Justice."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, in one of His
Tablets, expounding upon the words of Bahá'u'lláh Himself, has made
it clear that only men are eligible for election to the Universal
House of Justice: "The House of Justice, how-ever, according to
the positive commandments of the Doctrine of God, has been
specialized to the men, for a (specific) reason or exercise of
wisdom on the part of God, and this reason will presently appear,
even as the sun at midday." When specifically asked why women were
not to be elected to this Supreme Body, Shoghi Effendi, through his
secretary, gave the following explanation: "Regarding your
question, the Master said the wisdom of having no women on the
International House of Justice would become manifest in the future.
We have no other indication than this.... when the International
House of Justice is elected, there will only be men on it, as this
is the law of the Aqdas."
With the closing of the first epoch in
the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan we are now entering
a new phase in the Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. Who
can doubt that with the election of this Supreme Legislative Body
tremendous forces will be released? Al-ready, as early as 1951,
Shoghi Effendi told us the 1953 celebrations would signalize the
"inauguration long-anticipated intercontinental stage in
administrative evolution of Faith." He pointed out to us that the
Cru-sade and its unfoldment would be "acclaimed by posterity as
counterpart to consolidation Faith at its World Centre through
recent formation International Bahá'í Council in Holy Land". We
now stand on the threshold of what, no devout Bahá'í can question,
is an event of incalculable spiritual significance. We are entering
what Shoghi Effendi termed the "tenth part" of that majestic
process which was "set in motion at the dawn of the Adamic cycle",
the part which must witness: "the penetration of that light, in the
course of numerous crusades and of successive epochs of both the
Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith, into all the remaining
territories of the globe through the erection of the entire
machinery of Bahá'u'lláh's Administrative Order in all territories,
both East and West, the stage at which the light of God's
triumphant Faith shining in all its
+389
power and glory will have suffused and enveloped the entire planet."
We have been assured by our Guardian that the history of
this Faith "if read aright, may be said to resolve itself into a
series of pulsations, of alternating crises and triumphs, leading
it ever nearer to its divinely appointed destiny." The victorious
termination of his Crusade, followed immediately by the erection
of that Institution which he informs us is "the exponent and
guardian of that Divine Justice which can alone ensure the security
of, and establish the reign of law and order in, a strangely
disordered world . . ." cannot but set in motion, once again, this
process of crisis and triumph.wiai awe, with joy, with courage,
with renewed dedication, we are ready to take the next step,
comforted and encouraged by his assurance that in spite of the fact
that "the tribulations attending the progressive unfoldment of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh have indeed been such as to exceed in gravity
those from which the religions of the past have suffered ... these
tribulations have failed utterly to impair its unity, or to create,
even temporarily, a breach in the ranks of its adherents. It has
not only survived these ordeals, but has emerged, purified and
inviolate, endowed with greater capacity to face and surmount any
crisis which its resistless march may engender in the future."
"As
the administrative processes expand," he explained, "as their
operation steadily improves, as their necessity is more fully and
strikingly demonstrated, and their beneficent influence
correspondingly grows more apparent and evident, so will the
blessings, the strength and guidance bestowed by Him Who animates
and directs these processes be more abundantly vouchsafed to those
who have been called upon to utilize them, in this age, for the
execution of God's Purpose and for the ultimate redemption of a
sore-stricken travailing humanity. Many will be the set-backs, the
shocks and the disturbances, which the commotions of a convulsive
age must produce; yet no force, however violent and world-wide in
its range and catastrophic in its immediate consequences, can
either halt these processes or deflect their appointed course. How
great, then, the privilege, and how staggering the responsibility,
of those who are destined to guard over them and to bring them
eventually to full fruition. Nothing short of utter, of continuous
consecration to His Will and Pur-pose can enable them to fulfil
their high destiny."
Our invincible Faith "has gone", he wrote,
"from strength to strength, has preserved its unity and integrity,
has diffused its light over five continents, reared the
institutions of its Administrative Order and spread its
ramifications to the four corners of the earth, and launched its
system-atic campaigns in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
For such benefits, for such an arresting and majestic vindication
of the undefeat-able powers inherent in our precious Faith, we can
but bow our heads in
+390
humility, awe and thanksgiving, renew our pledge of fealty to it, and, each covenanting in his own heart, resolve to prove faithful to that pledge, and persevere to the very end, until our earthly share of servitude to so transcendent and priceless a Cause has been totally and completely fulfilled."
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE
HOLY LAND
To All National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í World
November 4, 1962
Beloved Co-workers:
In accordance
with the decision of the body of the Hands of the Cause of God
regarding the election of the Universal House of Justice, we are
enclosing nine ballot-papers and nine envelopes to contain these
ballots, and nine copies of this covering letter, one for each
member of your Assembly. These ballot-papers carry all the
necessary instructions for voting.
The following information should
be carefully read, and if there is anything which is not entirely
clear, your questions should be sent imme-diately to the World
Centre for clarification.
1. It is the members individually, and
not the body of the National Assembly collectively, which makes up
the electorate of the Universal House of Justice.
2. Because of the
sacred nature of this historic occasion, and in order that those
voting by mail may also partake of the spiritual atmosphere which
surrounds this unique and unprecedented election, we urge each
National and Regional Spiritual Assembly to make every effort to
meet together in a body on this occasion; not as a part of a
National Assembly session, but as a separate and distinct electoral
session for the purpose of casting their ballots for the Universal
House of Justice. If this proves unfeasible, the delegates may vote
alone, and send their ballots to their National Secretary.
3. This
covering letter of instructions should be read at that time. The
attached selections concerning the nature of Bahá'í elections
should also be shared with the delegates, and this should be
followed by a period of prayer. Then, in that spiritual atmosphere,
only those who are not able to attend the World Convention in
person, should cast their ballots for the election of the Universal
House of Justice.
4. Each ballot-paper should be placed in the
ballot-envelope and sealed, and neither ballot-paper nor envelope
should be signed. This envelope containing the ballot-paper should
be placed inside a second
+391
envelope and sealed, and the name and address of the delegate written plainly upon it for identification purposes.
5. These
envelopes should be given to the Secretary of the National
Assembly, who will immediately send them by Registered Air Mail
Post to the Hands of the Faith in the World Centre.
6. If any
delegate has any doubt about his ability to be present at the World
Convention in the Holy Land, he or she should vote by mail at this
time. Then, if it is possible to attend in person, the ballot can
be returned to the delegate after arrival in the Holy Land, so that
the delegate may vote during the Convention itself.
7. Those who
are planning to attend the World Convention should not vote at this
time, but should bring their ballot-paper and envelope with them.
8. If, at the last minute, a delegate is unable to attend in person
as planned, he should himself follow the steps outlined in this
letter and send his properly enclosed ballot-paper by Registered
Air Mail Post to the World Centre.
9. It is left to the judgement
of each National and Regional Spiritual Assembly to set the date
for such a meeting as mentioned above in Point No. 2. The important
thing to remember, is to make certain that sufficient time is
allowed so that these ballots will be received at the World Centre
not later than April 10, 1963.
10. This letter and the enclosed
ballot forms should be sent by the Secretary to each individual
member of the National or Regional Assem-bly without delay. If
translations are necessary, these can be sent later to the member
needing them. However, only the original printed ballot will be
valid for the election.
We are confident that each single delegate
is keenly aware of the grave responsibility and blessed, sacred
privilege which he or she has been given in participating in this
unequalled event which will cast its holy and protective shadow
down through the ages.
We shall pray ardently at the sacred Shrines
that each one of you will be sustained, inspired, and guided by the
Blessed Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh, in bringing into reality this august
and glorious Institution which His Infal-lible Pen created, which
the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, defined and exalted, and the foundations
of which our beloved Guardian laboriously laid during thirty-six
years of unremitting toil in perfecting the administrative
institutions of the Faith and calling into being those National
Assemblies which are the sustaining pillars of this Supreme
Administrative Body whose members you are now called upon to elect.
With warmest Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
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THE NATURE OF BAHA'I ELECTIONS
The electors "must approach their task with absolute detachment" and with "that purity of spirit that can alone obtain our Beloved's most cherished desire."Shoghi Effendi
The elector "is called upon to vote for none but those whom prayer and reflection have inspired him to uphold."Shoghi Effendi
The elector has a "God-given right . . . to vote only in favour of those who he is conscientiously convinced are the most worthy candidates."Shoghi Effendi
"Hence it is incumbent upon the chosen delegates to consider without the least trace of passion and prejudice, and irrespective of any material consideration, the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience."Shoghi Effendi
BALLOT FOR THE ELECTION OF THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
RIDVAN, 1963
RIDVAN, 1963
1. Our beloved Guardian has said that electors in a Bahá'í election should 41 consider without the least trace of passion and prejudice, and irre-spective of any material consideration, the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience."
2. He has also stated that "when the International House of Justice is elected, there will only be men on it, as this is the Law of the Aqdas."
3. The Hands of the Cause in their message of November 4, 1961, re-ferred to the election of the Universal House of Justice in these terms: "That all male voting members throughout the Bahá'í world are eli-gible for election to the Universal House of Justice. The Hands do not limit the freedom of the electors. However, as they have been given the explicit duties of guarding over the security and ensuring the propagation of the Faith, they ask the electors of the House of Justice
+393
to leave them free at this time to discharge their duties. When that Supreme and Infallible Body has been elected, it will decide on all matters concerning its own membership."
NOTES:
The following instructions are for those who will be voting by mail:
(1) This ballot when completed should be given to the Secretary of your Assembly in the envelope provided with it, and the enve-lope should be sealed.
(2) All ballots should be mailed by the Secretaries of National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies to reach the World Centre before Ridvan, 1963.
(3) Neither ballot paper nor envelope should be signed.
(4) Each of the nine names on the ballot should be written in block capital letters and not written in long-hand.
(5) After each name, the name of the country should be written in block capital letters, so that it is absolutely clear for whom the vote is cast, in case of identical names in various parts of the world.
(6) Great care should be taken not to repeat any name.
(7) Votes must be cast for nine people. To vote for more than nine or less than nine will invalidate the ballot.
1. .......................................................
2. .......................................................
3. .......................................................
4. .......................................................
5. .......................................................
6. .......................................................
7. .......................................................
8. .......................................................
9. .......................................................
BAHA'I WILMETTE
NOVEMBER 7,1962
OVERJOYED SHARE BELIEVERS NOW RACING LAST LAP BELOVED GUARD-IAN'S HISTORY MAKING CRUSADE THRILLING NEWS LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS MASS CONVERSION INDIAN SUBCONTINENT WHERE ALMOST THIRTY THOU-SAND HAVE ENTERED FOLD FAITH SINCE RIDVAN RAISING TOTAL ABOVE
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FORTYTWO THOUSAND STOP 528 LOCAL ASSEMBLIES NOW ESTABLISHED 705 GROUPS 294 CENTRES TOTALLING 1527 LOCALITIES THROUGHOUT COUNTRY STOP GLORIOUS VICTORIES RECENTLY WON COMMUNITIES MOST GREAT NAME INDIA AFRICA CHALLENGE ENTIRE BAHA'I WORLD ONE LAST MIGHTY EFFORT ACHIEVE DISTINCTION ALL IMPORTANT TEACHING FIELD ERE PRE-CIOUS UNIQUE GLOBE GIRDLING PLAN DRAWS CLOSE STOP AIRMAIL MESsage HANDS NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
To All National Spiritual Assemblies
November 8, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
Among the many
glorious victories being won during these closing months of the
beloved Guardian's World Crusade is the establishment of a very
large number of new Local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the
world, in accordance with the action of the Hands of the Faith
permitting Local Spiritual Assemblies to be formed at any time
during the year preceding the great Jubilee in Ridvan, 1963.
The
establishment of so many new Local Assemblies raises certain
practical questions in connection with the assignment of delegates
for the National Conventions which are to be held after the World
Congress next year. In many cases it will be necessary to raise the
number of delegates comprising the National Conventions in order
to include newly-formed Assemblies in the apportionment of
delegates. However, it is also neces-sary to establish a cut-off
date so'that each National Assembly will have ample time to make
the apportionment of delegates and to carry out the other necessary
steps in arranging for election of the delegates.
In order that the
necessary actions may be taken by the World Centre and by the
various Regional and National Assemblies, we are designating
January 1, 1963 as the deadline for the establishment of Local
Assemblies which are to be represented by delegates at the various
National Conventions. In other words, only those Local Assemblies
formed before January I of next year will be included in the
apportionment of delegates for the National Conventions. We wish
to emphasize that in accordance with the announcement made in our
last Ridvan Message, Local Assemblies can continue to be formed up
to April 21, 1963, but only those formed prior to January 1 can be
represented by delegates at the National Conventions to be held in
May, 1963.
In order that any necessary changes in the number of
delegates due to an increase in number of Local Assemblies may be
made, we request all
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National and Regional Assemblies to inform the Hands in the Holy Land immediately after January 1, 1963 the number of Local Assemblies existing in their areas at that time; also, if any National Assemblies have not already done so, they should inform us as to the number of delegates comprising the last Annual Convention, held during the Ridvan period of 1962. This information should reach us in Haifa not later than January 15, 1963. As soon as possible thereafter, we shall inform each National Assembly the number of delegates approved for its National Convention.
As we
approach the end of the World Crusade and the historic time of the
Most Great Jubilee, it becomes increasingly evident that an ever
greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit is taking place, assisting
the devoted believers everywhere in their efforts to crown the
beloved Guardian's Plan with unprecedented victories in its final
months.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
To All National Spiritual Assemblies
November 25, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
As we
draw closer to the historic festivities and activities which will
take place next Ridvan, it becomes imperative for the National
Assem-blies to have a uniform policy in handling such important
matters as publicity given to the election of the Universal House
of Justice in the Holy Land next April. This would include both
publicity at the time of the event, as well as from now on. We have
devoted considerable thought to this matter, and in view of the
policies of our beloved Guardian and his repeated emphasis on the
importance of protecting the World Centre, the heart and nerve
centre of the Faith, we wish to share with you our views and
instructions in this matter.
As you are well aware, opposition to
the Faith in Islamic countries is acute; there is a strong
resentment against the Bahá'ís, not only on reli-gious grounds, but
also at the present time because our World Centre is situated in
the State of Israel. This position, which has been brought about
through the political situation in the world, only adds to our
responsibility and the necessity for us to be wise and cautious in
order to protect both the World Centre and our brethren who are
living-in large numbers-in Muslim countries.
We feel that the great
emphasis in publicity connected with the Jubilee next Ridvan should
be on the Jubilee itself; in other words that the
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Bahá'ís are celebrating the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh. The aims and purposes of the Faith can be stressed, its remarkable spread during the last ten years, and emphasis placed on the World Congress to be held in London, at which time representatives from all over the Bahá'í world will give thanks for the progress made, on the occasion of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llgi.
In focusing the
attention of the press on the above lines of publicity, we will be
able to reach many people with the name "BahaT', and acquaint them
with the purposes and aims of our Faith.
Any reference to the
holding of an international election in the Holy Land should cover
the following points: That the various national Bahá'í communities
are voting for the election of the Supreme Administrative Body of
the Bahá'í Faith; that the World Centre of the Bahá'ís is situated
in Israel because in 1868 the Founder of the Faith, Bahá'u'lláh,
at that time a prisoner of the Turks, was exiled to 'Akka and
passed away in that country; that as His tomb and that of His
Forerunner, the Bdb, are places of visitation for the Bahá'ís
throughout the world, the World Centre was located in the vicinity
of their resting-places; that it is the Spiritual and
Administrative Centre of the Bahá'í Faith, and that its world-wide
affairs are administered from this Centre.
We would like to call
your attention to the fact that the beloved Guard-ian himself used
more than one term in referring to the Universal House of Justice,
especially the phrase "International House of Justice". In view of
this we feel that, as in the eyes of the general public the term
"Univer-sal House of Justice" could be easily misconstrued, it
would be better to use this other term, or to use it in conjunction
with "Universal House of Justice". The use of the word "Infallible"
in the press would also be in this category, since although it is
clear to the Bahá'ís, it may be misunder-stood and misrepresented
by the public. We must always remember that when we publicize the
Faith, our aim is not to make it seem something strange to the
public, but rather to express its purposes and functions in ways
that are easily understood and will not create prejudice or
opposition.
We feel very strongly that at a time when tensions
between the Arab States and other Muslim countries and Israel are
acute, we must be exceedingly wise and not focus too much attention
on the Convention to be held here. The greatness of this occasion
in the eyes of the Bahá'ís could never be properly assessed; but
there is no reason why we should tell the whole world this in the
press if it is going to have the exact opposite effect and create
more complications with which the Universal House of Justice will
have to deal when it assumes its supremely important functions.
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We ask that you do not circulate this letter in any way, but that
where appropriate you summarize its contents in a confidential
letter to the Local Assemblies throughout your area and any
national committees which may be involved, emphasizing the
importance of these instructions and the necessity for wise
handling of what undoubtedly will prove to be an unprecedented
opportunity for publicizing the Faith in the proper way.
With warm
Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
BAHA'I WILMETTE
DECEMBER 17,1962
FROM MOROCCO NAVIDI INFORMS PRISONERS CONDEMNED RELIGIOUS GROUNDS RADIO HERE AND REUTERS NEWS DISPATCH STATES THREE CONDEMNED DEATH OTHERS LONG IMPRISONMENT HARD LABOUR STOP BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SHOULD IMMEDIATELY RELEASE OFFI-CIAL BAHA'I STATEMENT PRESS DEPLORING MOROCCAN RELIGIOUS PERSECUtion INJUSTICE FLOUTING ADHERENCE UN CHARTER ALSO RESOLUTION CONDEMNING RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE JUST ADOPTED UN GENERAL ASSEM-BLY STOP STRESS USUAL POINTS BAHA'I POSITION OBEDIENCE GOVERNMENT STOP... KEEP US INFORMED DEVELOPMENTS PRAYING SUCCESS.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
BAHA'I LONDON
DECEMBER 23, 1962
RELAY BY CABLE AT OUR EXPENSE FOLLOWING ALL NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES EUROPE ALSO NORTHWEST AFRICA QUOTE YOUR ASSEMBLY REQUESTED IMMEDIATELY CABLE U THANT SECRETARY GENERAL UNITED NATIONS NEW YORK REQUESTING HIS INTERVENTION BEHALF MOROCCAN BAHAIS UNJUSTLY SENTENCED DEATH AND LIFE IMPRISONMENT RELIGIOUS GROUNDS IN DEFIANCE UN CHARTER STOP USE OWN WORDING STOP ALSO CONTACT UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION YOUR COUNTRY URGING SIMILAR APPEAL UTHANT UNQUOTE.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
BAHA'I WILMETTE
DECEMBER 23, 1962
RELAY BY CABLE AT OUR EXPENSE FOLLOWING ALL NATIONAL SPIRITUAL
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ASSEMBLIES WESTERN HEMISPHERE QUOTE YOUR ASSEMBLY REQUESTED IMMEDIATELY CABLE U THANT SECRETARY GENERAL UNITED NATIONS NEW YORK REQUESTING HIS INTERVENTION BEHALF MOROCCAN BAHA'IS UN-JUSTLY SENTENCED DEATH AND LIFE IMPRISONMENT RELIGIOUS GROUNDS IN DEFIANCE UN CHARTER STOP USE OWN WORDING STOP ALSO CONTACT UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION YOUR COUNTRY URGING SIMILAR APPEAL U THANT UNQUOTE.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH |
On December 26th this same message was cabled to the National Spiritual Assemblies of:BAHA'I WILMETTE
Australia India Southem Rhodesia Burma Írán Turkey Ethiopia Japan Uganda Fiji New Zealand Vietnam
DECEMBER 25,1962
RELIABLE SOURCES ASSURE APPEAL FILED TRIAL SCHEDULED END JANUARY.
| [CABLE] | HANDSFAITH. |
To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of ...
December 27, 1962
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
Further consideration of the way our
support of the Moroccan Bahá'í prisoners is shaping up has led us
to the conclusion that it is advisable for your National Assembly
and all Local Assemblies to write letters direct to the Moroccan
Ambassador in your country.
Obviously it should not be a form
letter, but the points to be embodied should be the same as those
we asked you to use in our recent letter regarding obtaining
publicity. Stress should be laid on the fact that obedi-ence to
government is a fundamental part of the Bahá'í teachings and that
far from discrediting Islam, all Bahá'ís, no matter what background
they come from, believe Muhammad was the Prophet of God, the Qur'an
a Holy Book, and love and respect Him and His teachings. No attack
should be made either on the Moroccan government or the Moroccan
court. The plea should be for justice and religious freedom.
We
feel that following the wave of international publicity the case
has
+399
received, and the actions being taken through the United Nations and other non-Bahá'í societies, this wave of letters reaching the Moroccan representative in different countries will keep the matter before that gov-ernment and add pressure at the right time.
With
warm Bahá'í love,
In the service
of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
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