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Baha’i World Vol 5, pp126-7
September 29, 1933:
"He was particularly gratified to learn of the suggestions you made for the effective and wide spread of the Menage, and he has directed me to inform you that they all have met with his whole hearted approval.
"Your proposals center around the problem of indirect teaching and such a method of presenting the Message is on the whole more suitable than the direct method in view of the fact chat the masses today are not spiritually minded and resent anything which is presented to them in the name of religion. The tendency today is to disassociate morality from religion, to separate the human from the Divine as if the two were antagonistic and irreconcilable. Social reconstruction and peace are believed to be independent of any help which religion might offer. In other words, religion has been relegated to the background and everything is done in the name of humanity and of goodness.
"It is evident that under such circumstances it is not only difficult, but well nigh impossible, to present and teach the Cause in a direct manner. Religiously minded persons are the exception and not the rule, and it is only with these people that we can speak of the Cause as essentially a religious faith. The masses who are more interested in the social and humanitarian teachings of the Faith should, therefore, be given an opportunity to learn about them and in this way he gradually drawn to study the deeper spiritual principles of the Cause. To start a movement for social peace, like you have suggested is, therefore, very fruitful and may prove of an immense benefit to the Cause. Conversion is not a sudden process. It takes a long time and expresses itself under the pressure of different forces. It is hoped that by following this indirect method of teaching the friends will greatly add to the success. and effectiveness of their efforts.
"Concerning the problem of racial prejudice in the United States and that of class prejudice in England, the Guardian wishes you to know that upon the complete abolition of such prejudices must depend the future success of the Cause. There is nothing more non-Bahá’í than that. The friends should, therefore, exert themselves to the utmost that such evil conceptions may be totally eliminated from the minds of the people."
[on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, to Australia and New Zealand]
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