| >> Back to Shoghi Effend: Uncompiled Letters |
USBN #282 August 1954 p2
He (the Guardian) thinks the less time spent on such topics as " Current Events in the light of the Baha'i Faith" and "The Baha'i Faith and Modern Science" the better. There is no harm in having an evening lecture by a qualified speaker once on each of these subjects, but he certainly does not feel that much time should be spent on them, for the very simple reason that there is so little that can be said on the subject. The Baha'is are not scientists, and cannot very well go into details of the relation of the Baha'i Faith to Modern Science; and " Current Events in the Light of the Baha'i Faith" is also a topic which can be dealt with briefly.
He feels that the most important thing for the Baha'i Schools all over the world at present to do is to strongly impress upon the Baha'i attendants the urgency of arising not only to fulfill pioneer goals and to consolidate the work on the home front, which is getting weaker every year instead of stronger, but also to bring home to the friends the necessity of dispersing.
He is quite serious in stating that he believes that even in the large cities , such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles , San Francisco, Washington, Baltimore, etc., the Cause would not suffer if the membership were reduced to fifteen. The Baha' is , who have been struggling for practically fifty years to attract people to the Faith in these immense cities , have been wholly unsuccessful, when one considers the slight numerical increase in the voting lists. He therefore feels that they had better go out and teach in towns and villages. They will be safer, in case war should break out, and they will be better off spiritually, away from these centers of intense materialism, where so much time is wasted on trivialities and non-essentials.
The Baha'is must realize that they belong to a world-wide Order, and not an American civilization. They must try and introduce the Baha'i atmosphere of life and thought into their Summer Schools, rather than making the Summer School an episode and a pleasant vacation period, during which they learn a little more about the Faith.
|
|
