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Divine Springtime - Louise Coswell Recalls , pp108-14
The beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer on his behalf your letters dated May 30th, June 26th, and July 16th.
He was delighted to hear that the Convention was such a success, and that the Hand of the Cause, Mr. Khadem, was able to visit so many centers throughout that region. He feels sure that the spirit he imparted to the friends, as well as the stirring events of the Convention and the election of your Assembly, will all mark a turning point in the work in that area and give the forward march of the Faith a new impetus.
Now that the New Regional Assemblies in Latin America have been formed, and that each one embraces a more limited area than the previous Central and South American assemblies, the work should be much easier to handle, and therefore go ahead much faster. He anticipates great things from your assembly and is eagerly awaiting news of fresh victories.
Hie paramount task is, of course, the teaching work: at every session your assembly should give it close attention, considering everything else of secondary importance. Not only must many new assemblies be developed, as well as groups and isolated centers, but special attention must be focused on the work of converting the Indians to the Faith. The goal should be all-Indian assemblies, so that these much exploited and suppressed original inhabitants of the land may realize that they are equals and partners in the affairs of the Cause of God, and that Bahà’u’llàh is the Manifestation of God for them.
Another of the important tasks facing your body is that of purchasing sites for future Temples in the outskirts of the capital cities of all the Republics under your jurisdiction, with the exception of Panama, which has its Temple site already. The land need not be large, two or three acres being quite sufficient for your purposes at this time; it need not be in the city but anywhere within a radius of fifteen kilometers, and economy should be borne in mind. If, when the time comes to build a House of Worship, the site is not suitable, it can be exchanged or sold and another one acquired.
Wherever the laws permit, firmly established local assemblies should be incorporated, thus laying a foundation on which the future independent National Spiritual Assemblies can build when they come into being.
Every step forward in the expansion of our glorious Faith releases new spiritual energies. The believers, as well as your assembly, must seize upon this opportunity they now have with both hands, and arise to new levels of self-sacrifice, service and dedication, confident that Bahà'u'llâh is only waiting for the instruments to be put in His hands in order to fulfill His Divine purpose.
The Guardian assures you he will support you, one and all, with his prayers, and supplicate that you may be guided in carrying out your great work, strengthened and protected.
With warm Baha’i greetings,
(Signed) R. Rabbani
Dear and Valued Co-workers :
The formation of a Regional Spiritual Assembly representing the Bahà’í Communities of Central America and Mexico, with its seat fixed in the capital city of a Republic the future 110 of which the pen of the Centre of Baha’u’llah's Covenant has extolled, is indeed, an auspicious event of far-reaching significance, to be acclaimed as the forerunner of no less than seven National Spiritual Assemblies, designed to support, each as a separate pillar, the noble and divinely conceived structure of the Universal House of Justice.
There can be no doubt that the remarkable progress achieved, singly and collectively, in both the teaching and administrative fluids, by the followers of the Most Great Name, labouring, in the course of two decades, so diligently, for the propagation of His Faith, throughout the length and breadth of an area linking the northern and southern continents of the Western Hemisphere, has been responsible for this great step forward that has been taken towards the consummation of so historic a task.
The various and urgent enterprises, now challenging both their spirit and resources, demand a consecration as complete, a resolve as firm, and a zeal as ardent as any they have hitherto envinced.
The Six-Year Plan formulated to enable them to meet the immediate requirements of their mission should be prosecuted with the utmost diligence. Attention, on the part of all the members of the seven Bahà’í Communities participating in this world crusade, as well as their elected representatives, should be continually focused on its objectives.
A Systematic effort must be made by the rank and file of these communities to increase rapidly the nuMber of avowed supporters of the Faith, of isolated centers, of groups and of local spiritual assemblies. Every firmly grounded assembly should, at the earliest opportunity, be incorporated for the purpose of reinforcing the foundations of the rising structure of a divinely conceived administrative order. Every avenue should moreover, be explored in order to obtain recognition from the civil authorities concerned, of the Bahà’í marriage certificate and of the Bahà’í Holy Days. Nor must the meritorious work, so zealously undertaken in the newly opened virgin territories be, under any circumstances, neglected. The translation of Bahà’í literature into the Spanish and American Indian languages, its publication and dissemination, should likewise, be carried out with efficiency and vigour. The all-important enterprise, aimed at winning the whole-hearted allegiance of the members of various tribes of the American Indians to the Cause of Bahà'u’llah, and of ensuring their active and sustained participation in the conduct of its administrative affairs, must likewise be seriously considered and strenuously pursued. And, last but not least, a site of modest dimensions should in the neighborhood of the capital cities of each of these seven Republics, with the exception of Panama, .be chosen and promptly purchased, designed to pave the way for the ultimate erection of a Mother Temple in each of these Republics.
Marvellous opportunities, which if not seized at once may not reoccur, have been vouchsafed, at this auspicious hour, to the prosecutors of this historic and momentous Plan, on which the immediate destinies of these communities, now gathered under the shadow of Bahà'u'llah, depend. Theirs is the privilege and sacred duty to exploit them to the full, ere it is too late, and to play their part, befitting the co-executors of ‘Abdu'1-Baha’s Divine Plan and members of that band of crusaders now battling for the strength of His Father's Cause in building up the institutions, and in broadening and reinforcing the foundations, of the embryonic world order of His Faith in the heart of the Western Hemisphere.
No matter how severe the testis and trials they may encounter, however arduous the task that confronts them, they must, one and all, pursue steadily the path they now tread, with undimmed vision, undeviating loyalty, unrestrained devotion and unyielding determination, until the Plan they are pledged to execute will have been carried out in its entirety, and the fondest expectations entertained for their success by their watchful brethern throughout the Western Hemisphere, and, indeed, in every continent of the globe, are triumphantly fulfilled.
May the spirit of Bahà'u'llah bountifully sustain them while discharging their manifold and pressing responsibilities, and may the Author of the Divine Plan, whose design they are painstakingly labouring to create, and whose mandate they have willingly arisen to obey, guide every step they take, remove every obstacle obstructing their path, fulfill every hope they cherish, and enable them, through a still greater measure of His abiding grace, promised unequivocally to all those who will respond to His call, to write an unforgettable chapter in Latin American Bahà’í history, and contribute a share to its enrichment which posterity will soever cease to extol.
(Signed) Shoghi
July 28th, 1957.
1957-07-28 to Central America RSA
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