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that this is a well-guarded secret. It is even as a gem concealed
within its shell. That it will be revealed is predestined. The time
will come when its light will appear, when its evidences will be
made manifest, and its secrets unraveledMy passing shineth from the Dayspring of Divine Guidance
that primal branchchosen branch, the guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom
all . . . His loved ones must turn. He is the expounder of the
words of GodBranch [is] . . . under the care and protection of the Abhá
Beauty, [and] under the shelter and unerring guidance of His
Holiness, the Exalted One . . . Whoso obeyeth him not
. . . hath not obeyed God . . . Whoso disbelieveth in him hath
disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth, separateth himself and
turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated, separated himself
and turned aside from Godshelter of his shade that shadoweth all mankind searching eye
When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My
Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God
hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root
The object of this sacred verse is none other except
the Most Mighty BranchWhen the Mystic Dove will have winged its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise and sought its far-off goal, its hidden habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him Who hath branched from
this mighty StockA study of the provisions of these sacred documents will
reveal the close relationship that exists between them, as we ll as
the identity of purpose and method which they inculcate
The Priceless Pearlthe blessed Manifestation reminded me that I too irrespective
of primogeniture or age must observe among my sons and
grandsons whom God would indicate for His officeunto God . . . for . . . through Him every mouldering bone is
quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God
. . .A Traveller’s Narrative The Secret of Divine Civilization
[T]heGuardian has been specifically endowed with such power as he
may need to reveal the purport and disclose the implications of
the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahálong, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations
[H]e often senses a situation or condi-the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal
House of Justice to be universally elected and established, are
both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the
shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One’Q. How can we systematically and realistically increase our
love for Shoghi Effendi?Q. The statement of Bahá’u’lláh regarding the two Branches
in His Tablet to ‘Alí-Muammad Varqá seems to provide
evidence that there will be no future Guardian after Shoghi
Effendi. In reading the letters of the Universal House of
Justice about this subject, I have not found any reference to
this Tablet. Is this the case and why? Was this reference
brought to the attention of Mason Remey when he was
consulting with the Custodians?Q. When considering the beloved Guardian as the central
pivot of the Covenant, would you consider him to be the
pivot of the Lesser Covenant or of the Greater Covenant?
Q. What are your feelings about the period from 1957 to
1963, between the Guardian’s passing and the election of the
first Universal House of Justice?. . . to desist from all further speculation on the future develop-
ment of the institutions of the Faith speculation which can only
give rise to those very differences of interpretation forbidden by
Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and against which they repeatedly warned us
Q. What exactly did you mean when you said that the
interpretations of the Guardian are binding in terms of the ir
validity?interpreting? Is it possible that statements he made about the
future will not be fulfilled? A fellow in my home comm unity
believes that the answer to these questions is yes in both
cases. What do you think?Q. Can you please comment on the infallibility of Shoghi
Effendi in relation to the letter written on his behalf to a
believer dated 17 October 1944, saying ‘ The infallibility of the
Guardian is confined to matters which are related strictly to t he
Cause and interpretation of the teachings; he is not an
infallible authority on other subjects, such as economics,
science, etc. When he feels that a certain thing is essential for
the protection of the Cause, even if it is something that affects a
person personally, he must be obeyed, but when he gives
advice, such as that he gave you in a previous letter about y our
future, it is not binding; you are free to follow it or not as you
please ’ (MUHJ 546, n.1)?Q. The Universal House of Justice clearly indicates that it is
not invested with the power of interpreting the Writings.
Why is it, then, that Bahá’ís write to the Supreme Institution
asking for interpretation?nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of
the othertalk, leave me alone! You said “write” – I have written. What
else should be done? Now is not the time for you to read and
write, it is the time for jumping about and chanting “O My
God!”, therefore memorize the prayers of the Blessed Beauty
and chant them that I may hear them, because there is no time
for anything elsenow is the time to play, you’ll write a lot in the future
Star of the WestA. Specimens of translations of Tablets revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Every imperfect soul is self-conceited and thinks of his own
good. But as his thoughts expand a little he will begin
to think of the welfare and comfort of his family. If his ideas
still more widen his concern will be the felicity of his fellow
citizens; and if still they widen he will be thinking of the
glory of his land and of his race. But when ideas and views
reach the utmost degree of expansion and attain the stage
of perfection then will he be interested in the exaltation of
humankind. He will be then the well-wisher of all men
and the seeker of the weal and prosperity of all lands. This
is indicative of perfection.If the mass of women in Europe and all those in America had
been enfranchised throughout all the states, undoubtedly they
would not agree to war. At present this war has made
millions of children fatherless and millions of fathers and
mothers destitute of sons; this war has snatched from pitiable
sisters their brethren; this war has turned millions of women
widows and destitute of husbands; this war has made cities
desolate; this war has brought confusion and chaos in
millions of villages; this war has made the very foundations
of mankind quake and quiver.My hope is that day by day thou mayest be more confirmed
and may serve to the best the world of humanity; that thou
mayest adore mankind and ignite in every heart the lamp of
guidance, may serve the world of morality so that human
realities may be freed from the gloom of the world of nature
which, in essence, is purely animal in character, and may be
illumined with the light of the divine realm.Q. The Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá before the passing of
Bahá’u’lláh are regarded as authoritative and binding on the
Bahá’ís. Was this because of the station conferred on
‘Abdu’l-Bahá by the Súriy-i-Gh un and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas?
If so, why are the writings of Shoghi Effendi before the
passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá not regarded as binding, since the
station of Guardian was conferred on him by the Will and
Testament while he was still a very young child?of the Faith, I feel it my solemn duty to place on record, can e ver
claim to be the perfect exemplar of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh
or the stainless mirror that reflects His lightQ. Did Shoghi Effendi contribute to translations prior to the
Guardianship, such as The Hidden Words published in Cairo
in 1921?The terrible news has for some days so overwhelmed my
body, my mind and my soul that I was laid for a couple of
days in bed almost senseless, absent-minded and greatly
agitated. Gradually His power revived me and breathed in
me a confidence that I hope will henceforth guide me and
inspire me in my humble work of service. The day had to
come, but how sudden and unexpected. The fact however that
His Cause has created so many and such beautiful souls all
over the world is a sure guarantee that it will live and
prosper and ere long will compass the world! I amimmediately starting for Haifa to receive the instructions He
has left and have now made a supreme determination to
dedicate my life to His service and by His aid to carry out
His instructions all the days of my life.. . . The stir which is now aroused in the Bahá’í world is
an impetus to this Cause and will awaken every faithful soul
to shoulder the responsibilities which the Master has now
placed upon every one of us.The Holy Land will remain the focal centre of the Bahá’í
world; a new era will now come upon it. The Master in His
great vision has consolidated His work and His spirit assures
me that its results will soon be made manifest.Cause, I am your well-wisher in His service, Shoghi
The shock has been too sudden and grievous for my youthful
age to enable me to be present at this gathering of the loved
ones of beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá . . . I venture to hope that we
his kindred and his family may by our deeds and words,
prove worthy of the glorious example he has set before us
and thereby earn your esteem and your affection. May His
everlasting spirit be with us all and knit us together for
evermore!is that they should pray that I will remain steadfast in my
resolve so that, Godgrant, this weak and worthless plant may acquire such
strength and worthiness as to enable it to bear fruit and, in
this way, bring joy and gladness to the hearts of the friends.
It is incumbent upon you to take the greatest care of Shoghi
Effendi . . . that no dust of despondency and sorrow may
stain his radiant nature, that day by day he may wax greater
in happiness, in joy and spirituality, and may grow to become
even as a fruitful tree.Ours is the duty to strive by day and night to fulfill our own
obligations and then trust in His Guidance and never failing
Grace. Unity amongst the friends, selflessness in our labors
in His Path, detachment from all worldly things, the greatest
prudence and caution in every step we take, earnest endeavor
to carry out only what is His Holy Will and Pleasure, the
constant awareness of His Presence and of the example of
His Life, the absolute shunning of whomsoever we feel to be
an enemy of the Cause . . . these, and foremost among them is
the need for unity, appear to me as our most vital duties,
should we dedicate our lives for His service.How intensely I feel the urgent need of a thorough
regeneration to be effected within me, of a powerful effusion
of strength, of confidence, of the Divine Spirit in my year ning
soul, before I rise to take my destined place in the forefront
of a Movement that advocates such glorious principles. I
know that He will not leave me to myself, I trust in His
guidance and believe in His wisdom, but what I crave is the
abiding conviction and assurance that He will not fail me.
The task is so overwhelmingly great, the realization of the
inadequacy of my efforts and myself so deep that I cannot but
give way and droop whenever I face my work . . .Your . . . letter reached me in the very midst of my sorrows,
my cares and afflictions . . . the pain, nay the anguish of His
bereavement is so overwhelming, the burden of responsibility
He has placed on my feeble and my youthful shoulders is so
overwhelming . . . I am enclosing for you personally the copy
of the dear Master’s Testament, you will read it and see what
He has undergone at the hands of His kindred . . . you will
also see what a great responsibility He has placed on me
which nothing short of the creative power of His word can
help me to face . . .Ah bitter remorse of having missed Him – in His Last Days –
on this earth, I shall take with me to the grave no matter what
I may do for Him in future, no matter to what extent my
studies in England will repay his wondrous love for me.
At this grave and momentous period through which the
Cause of God in conformity with the Divine Wisdom is
passing, it is the sacred duty of every one of us to endeavour
to realize the full significance of this Hour of Transition, and
then to make a supreme resolve to arise steadfastly for the
fulfilment of our sacred obligations.How keenly I feel at this challenging hour in the history of
the Cause the need for a firm and definite determination to
subordinate all our personal likings, our local interests, to
the interests and requirements of the Cause of God! Now is
the time to set aside, nay, to forget altogether, minor con-
siderations regarding our internal relationships, and to
present a solid united front to the world animated by no other
desire but to serve and propagate His Cause.Does not ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wish us, as He looks down upon us
with loving expectation from His glorious Station, to
obliterate as much as possible all traces of censure, of
conflicting discussions, of cooling remarks, of petty
unnecessary observations that impede the onward march of
the Cause, that damp the zeal of the firm believer and detract
from the sublimity of the Bahá’í Cause in the eyes of the
inquirer?This servant, after that grievous event and great calamity, the
ascension of His Holiness ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the Abhá King-
dom, has been so stricken with grief and pain and so
entangled in the troubles (created) by the enemies of the
Cause of God, that I consider that my presence here, at suc h
a time and in such an atmosphere, is not in accordance with
the fulfilment of my important and sacred duties.For this reason, unable to do otherwise, I have left for a
time the affairs of the Cause both at home and abroad, under
the supervision of the Holy Family and the headship of the
Greatest Holy Leaf until, by the Grace of God, having gained
health, strength, self-confidence and spiritual energy, and
having taken into my hands, in accordance with my aim and
desire, entirely and regularly the work of service I shall
attain to my utmost spiritual hope and aspiration.
May I at the very outset of this, my very first letter t o you,
convey to your hearts in words, however inadequate but
assuredly deeply felt and sincere, a measure of my burn-
ing impatience during my days of retirement to return
speedily and join hands with you in the great work of con-
solidation that awaits every earnest believer in the Cause of
Bahá’u’lláh. Now that happily I feel myself restored to
a position where I can take up with continuity and vigour
the threads of my manifold duties, the bitterness of every
disappointment felt time and again in the course of the past
weary months at my feeling of unpreparedness, have been
merged in the sweetness of the present hour when I real-
ise that spiritually and bodily I am better equipped
to shoulder the responsibilities of the Cause.True, my task is immense, my responsibilities grave and
manifold, but the assurance which the words of the all-
wise Master give me in my work is my shield and support in
the career which is now unfolding itself to my eyes.
To have been unable, owing to unforeseen and unavoidable
circumstances, to correspond with you ever since you entered
upon your manifold and arduous duties is to me a cause of
deep regret and sad surprise . . . I am however assured and
sustained by the conviction, never dimmed in my mind, that
whatsoever comes to pass in the Cause of God, however
disquieting in its immediate effects, is fraught with infini te
Wisdom and tends ultimately to promote its interests in the
world.Are we to be carried away by the flood of hollow and
conflicting ideas, or are we to stand, unsubdued and
unblemished, upon the everlasting rock of God’s Divine
Instructions? . . . [A]re we to believe that whatever befalls us
is divinely ordained, and in no wise the result of our faint-
heartedness and negligence?impotent doctrines, the crude theories, the idle imaginings,
the fashionable conceptions of a transient and troublous
age . . .The time has come for the friends . . . to think not as to how
they should serve the Cause, but how the Cause should be
served.B. Translation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament
Charter[s] of a future world civilization, the Charter of a future world civilization, which may
be regarded in some of its features as supplementary to no
less weighty a Book than the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; signed and
sealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; entirely written with His own hand;
its first section composed during one of the darkest periods of
His incarceration in the prison-fortress of ‘Akká, proclaims,
categorically and unequivocally, the fundamental beliefs of
the followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh; reveals, in
unmistakable language, the twofold character of the Mission
of The Báb; discloses the full station of the Author of the
Bahá’í Revelation; asserts that ‘all others are servants unto
Him and do His bidding’; stresses the importance of the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas; establishes the institution of the Guardianship
as a hereditary office and outlines its essential functions;
provides the measures for the election of the International
House of Justice, defines its scope and sets forth its
relationship to that Institution; prescribes the obligations,
and emphasizes the responsibilities, of the Hands of the
Cause of God; and extolls the virtues of the indestructible
Covenant established by Bahá’u’lláh. That Document,
furthermore, lauds the courage and constancy of the
supporters of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant; expatiates on the
sufferings endured by its appointed Center; recalls the
infamous conduct of Mirza Yayá and his failure to heed the
warnings of the Báb; exposes, in a series of indictments, the
perfidy and rebellion of Mirza Muammad-‘Alí, and the
complicity of his son Sh u‘á’u’lláh and of his brother Mirza
Badí‘u’lláh; reaffirms their excommunication, and predicts
the frustration of all their hopes; summons the Afnán (the
Báb’s kindred), the Hands of the Cause and the entire
company of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh to arise unitedly to
propagate His Faith, to disperse far and wide, to labor
tirelessly and to follow the heroic example of the Apostles of
Jesus Christ; warns them against the dangers of association
with the Covenant-breakers, and bids them shield the Cause
from the assaults of the insincere and the hypocrite; and
counsels them to demonstrate by their conduct theuniversality of the Faith they have espoused, and vindicate its
high principles. In that same Document its Author reveals the
significance and purpose of the uqúq’u’lláh (Right of God),
already instituted in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; enjoins submission
and fidelity towards all monarchs who are just; expresses
His longing for martyrdom, and voices His prayers for
the repentance as well as the forgiveness of His enemies.
trust totime, and the guidance of God’s Universal House of Justice, to
obtain a clearer and fuller understanding of, this authority shall pass to the Agh án, and after
them to the House of Justice should it be established in the
world by thenC. Preparing the text of The Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
TheYá Bahá’u’l-Abha! (O Thou the Glory of Glories) I have
renounced the world and the people thereof, and am heart-
broken and sorely afflicted because of the unfaithful. In the
cage of this world, I flutter even as a frightened bird, and
yearn every day to take my flight unto Thy Kingdom.
Ya Bahá’u’l-Abha! Make me to drink of the cup ofsacrifice and set me free. Relieve me from these woes and
trials, from these afflictions and troubles. Thou art He that
aideth, that succoureth, that protecteth, that stretcheth forth
the hand of help.firmly established upon the earth, and the Divine Light shall
flood the world from the East even unto the West. Then, on this
day, will the faithful rejoiceI am waiting, waiting, to hear the joyful tidings that the
believers are the very embodiment of sincerity and
truthfulness, the incarnation of love and amity, the living
symbols of unity and concord. Will they not gladden my
heart? Will they not satisfy my yearning? Will they not
manifest my wish? Will they not fulfil my heart’s desire? Will
they not give ear to my call? I am waiting. I am patiently
waiting.Q. You have said that the House of Justice receives guid-
ance from the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. Is it such that, when you
have the meeting, you feel something special, or is it
imperceptible?consider themselves as entering the Court of the presence o f
God, the Exalted, the Most High, and as beholding Him Who is
the Unseenarranged in harmony and with love and purity of motive, its
result is light, and should the least trace of estrangement pr evail
the result shall be darkness upon darkness . . . Should they
endeavor to fulfill these conditions the Grace of the Holy Spirit
shall be vouchsafed unto them, and that assembly shall become
the center of the Divine blessings, the hosts of Divine
confirmation shall come to their aid, and they shall day by day
receive a new effusion of Spiritwhether 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
God willwith whatsoever He willeth, and He verily is the Provider, the
Omniscientshould the least trace of estrangement prevail the result
shall be darkness upon darknessthe Master pointed out, if the Community does not abide by its
decisions, or the individual Bahá’í, the result is worse, as it
undermines the very institution which must be strengthened in
order to uphold the principles and laws of the Faith. He tells us
God will right the wrongs doneQ. ‘ The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own
number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in t he
important services in the work of the guardian of the Cause of
God . . . and these, whether unanimously or by a majority v ote,
must give their assent to the choice of the one whom t he
guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor ’
(WTA 12). Why didn’t the Guardian call upon the Hands of
the Cause to create this body of nine? Was it because he
knew that he wasn’t going to have a successor?Q. What was the prophecy of Daniel and why did Shoghi
Effendi refer to it so often in his writings?who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and
thirty-five daysThe “hundred lunar years,” destined to immediately precede
that blissful consummation (1335 days), announced by Daniel in
that same chapter, had commencedDaniel . . . these days must be reckoned as solar . . . years. For
according to this calculation 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 shall
flood the world from the East even unto the West. Then, on this
day, will the faithful rejoiceQ. Soon after his appointment as Guardian, Shoghi Effendi
summoned many prominent believers to the World Centre to
consult on the formation of the Universal House of Justice.
What happened at that meeting? If he knew that he was not
going to form the House of Justice, what was the purpose of
the meeting?whomsoever we feel to be an enemy of the Cause? How are
we to decide who is an enemy of the Cause. Aren’t we
supposed to associate with all people with love and kindness?
Q. ‘ Gradually His power revived me and breathed in me a
confidence that I hope will henceforth guide me and inspire me
in my humble work of service ’ (PP 40). Did Shoghi Effendi
write this before or after reading the Will and Testament?
Q. What was Shoghi Effendi’s relationship to the Greatest
Holy Leaf? How did it influence him?Q. ‘ The time has come for the friends . . . to think not as to how
they should serve the Cause, but how the Cause should be
served ’ (1923, PP 74). Could you please elaborate on what the
Guardian was conveying here?from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh Prayers and Meditations
Epistle to the Son of the Wolfwish you were with us also!) have carefully altered the text in t he
light of your suggestions and I trust that itHad he had more time at his disposal he could have,
naturally, devoted more of it to putting the finishing touches on
his manuscript . . . [U]nfortunately . . . the work of the Cause i s
so great and so pressing that he lacks the advantages enjoyed by
most authors of being able to devote themselves whole-heartedly
and single-mindedly to their taskB. Translations of Sacred Texts – listed chronologically
1. The Hidden Wordsoutstanding contribution . . . to the world’s religious literature
position of unsurpassed pre-eminence among theethical Writings of the Author of the Bahá’í Dispensation
collection of gem-like utterances . . . with which Bahá’u’lláh
was inspired, as He paced, wrapped in His meditations, the
banks of the Tigris dynamic spiritual leaven cast into the
life of the world for the reorientation of the minds of men, the
edification of their souls and the rectification of their conduct
partly in Persian, partlyin Arabic, . . . originally designated the “Hidden Book of
Fáimih,” and . . . identified by its Author with the Book of that
same name, believed by Sh í’ah Islám to be in the possession of
the promised Qá’im, and to consist of words of consolation
addressed by the angel Gabriel, at God’s command, to Fáimih,
and dictated to the Imám ‘Alí, for the sole purpose of comforting
her in her hour of bitter anguish after the death of her illustriou s
Fathertranslated by Shoghi Effendi, with the assistance of some
English friendsthe favor is complete, the argument fulfilled, the proof
manifest and the evidence establishedmodel of Persian prose, of a style at once original, chaste and
vigorous, and remarkably lucid, both cogent in argument and
matchless in its irresistible eloquence, this Book, setting for th in
outline the Grand Redemptive Scheme of God,occupies a position unequalled by any work in the entire range
of Bahá’í literature, except the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh’s
Most Holy Bookpossessing an ‘unsurpassed pre-eminence among the doctrinal
Bahá’u’lláh gives thekeynote and explains some of the outstanding passages
hoping that the friends will continue tostudy the Sacred Books by themselves and unfold the mysteries
found thereinwho wish to become competent and useful teachers, should
indeed consider it to be their first duty to acquaint themselves, as
thoroughly as they can, with each and every detail contained in
this Holy Book , so that they may be able topresent the Message in a befitting manner. It is the Guardian’s
hope, therefore, that those among the believers who have thus far
and for some reason or another, failed to make a serious study of
this important work will be stimulated to do so, and will as a
result deepen their comprehension of the essentials of the Fait h
God Passes ByWithin a compass of two hundred pages it proclaims
unequivocally the existence and oneness of a personal God,
unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation,
eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty; asserts the
relativity of religious truth and the continuity of Divine
Revelation; affirms the unity of the Prophets, the universali ty
of their Message, the identity of their fundamental teachings,
the sanctity of their scriptures, and the twofold character of
their stations; denounces the blindness and perversity of the
divines and doctors of every age; cites and elucidates the
allegorical passages of the New Testament, the abstruse
verses of the Qur’án, and the cryptic Muammadan tradi-
tions which have bred those age-long misunderstandings,
doubts and animosities that have sundered and kept apart the
followers of the world’s leading religious systems; enumer-
ates the essential prerequisites for the attainment by every
true seeker of the object of his quest; demonstrates the
validity, the sublimity and significance of the Báb’s
Revelation; acclaims the heroism and detachment of His
disciples; foreshadows, and prophesies the world-wide
triumph of the Revelation promised to the people of the
Bayán; upholds the purity and innocence of the Virgin Mary;
glorifies the Imáms of the Faith of Muammad; celebrates
the martyrdom, and lauds the spiritual sovereignty, of the
Imám usayn; unfolds the meaning of such symbolic terms
as ‘Return,’ ‘Resurrection,’ ‘Seal of the Prophets’ and ‘Day
of Judgment’; adumbrates and distinguishes between the
three stages of Divine Revelation; and expatiates, in glowing
terms, upon the glories and wonders of the ‘City of God,’
renewed, at fixed intervals, by the dispensation of Provi-
dence, for the guidance, the benefit and salvation of all
mankind. Well may it be claimed that of all the books
revealed by the Author of the Bahá’í Revelation, this Book
alone, by sweeping away the age-long barriers that have so
insurmountably separated the great religions of the world,
has laid down a broad and unassailable foundation for the
complete and permanent reconciliation of their followers.
3. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláhto the believers a befitting and authoritative rendering of
the fundamental teachings of the Cause regarding God, soul,
creation, the nature of Divine Manifestations and similar sub-
jectsacts, quotes some of the most characteristic and celebrated
passages of His own Writings, and adduces proofs establishing
the validity of His Causedeeper understanding verities on which effective prosecution
teaching administrative undertakings ultimately depend
Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá’í Faithbefore the face of thy Lord in the form of a tablet all
that which hath appeared in the world and is revealed in the
Holy Books and Scriptures6. Translated passages selected from the Writings of the Cent ral
Figures of the Faith included in Shoghi Effendi’s letters and
other worksDivine Justice The Promised Day is Come God Passes By
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláhC. Comments on Shoghi Effendi’s genius in his translation
workis to be offered through the guardian of the Cause of
God, that it may be expended forThis is one more attempt to introduce to the West, in lang-
uage however inadequate, this book of unsurpassed pre-
eminence among the writings of the Author of the Bahá’í
Revelation. The hope is that it may assist others in their
efforts to approach what must always be regarded as the
unattainable goal – a befitting rendering of Bahá’u’lláh’s
matchless utterance.THE WORLD! Know, verily, that an unforeseen calamity is
following you, and that grievous retribution awaiteth you.
The world’s equilibrium hath been upset throughthe vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Or der.
Mankind’s ordered life hath be revolutionized through the
agency of this unique, this wondrous System the like of which
mortal eyes have never witnessedWho is both the Beginning and the End, He Who is both Stillness
and Motion, is now manifest before your eyes. Behold how, in
this Day, the Beginning is reflected in the End, how out of
Stillness, Motion hath been engenderedTablet, O Amad. Chant it during thy days . . . God hath
ordained for the one who chants itMerciful hath conferred upon man the faculty of vision . . . Some
have described him as the “lesser world,” when, in reality, he
should be regarded as the “greater world.” Prayers and
Meditationsinto being the Greater and Lesser Worlds, and didst choose Man
above all Thy creatures, and didst make Him a sign of both of
these worlds . . .[T]his terrestrial globe at one time did not exist, and at its
beginning man did not appear upon it. But from the
beginning which has no beginning, to the end which has no
end, a Perfect Manifestation always exists. This Man of
Whom we speak is not every man; we mean the Perfect Man.
O SON OF MAN! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the
ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee;
therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and
revealed to thee My beautya man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of
the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the
knowledge of all that hath been . . . This is but a leaf which the
winds of the will of thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Prais ed, have
stirred. Can it be still when the tempestuous winds are blowing?
Nay, by Him Who is the Lord of all Names and Attributes! They
move it as they list. The evanescent is as nothing before Him
Who is the Ever-Abiding . . . Look upon this Youth, O King, with
the eyes of justice; judge thou, then, with truth concerning w hat
hath befallen HimQ. If knowledge is a light that God casts into the heart of
whomsoever He willeth, and we know that the Manifestation
has not undertaken any schooling, why is the gift of language
not conferred upon these suns and their moons?perused not the books which men possess and We acquired not
the learning current amongst them, and yet whenever We desire
to quote the sayings of the learned and of the wise, presently
there will appear before the face of thy Lord in the form of a
tablet all that which hath appeared in the world and is revealed
in the Holy Books and ScripturesGo thou to the people, and tell them: “Ask whatsoever ye
please. Powerful is He to do what He willeth. Nothing
whatsoever, be it of the past or of the future, can frustrate H is
Will.” Say: “O ye congregation of the divines! Choose any
matter ye desire, and ask your Lord, the God of Mercy, to reveal
it unto you. If He fulfil your wish, by virtue of His sovereig nty,
believe ye then in Him, and be not of those that reject His trut h”
Q. You said that the meaning of the Apostles speaking in
tongues has been misunderstood by many Christians. Where
is the reference for this interpretation?Q. Before the first translations of the Guardian, except for
The Hidden Words published in Cairo, were any of the
Writings of Bahá’u’lláh available to the friends of the West?
The Hidden WordsQ. The friends in the West had heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá say
wonderful things about the Hidden Words, and they had
been translated previous to Shoghi Effendi’s edition. Were
the friends in the East equally aware of this station of the
Hidden Words?Q. According to Shi’ih belief, there are other books in the
possession of the Imáms, as well as the Hidden Book of
Fáimih. Is there anything mentioned in the Bahá’í writings
concerning these books?Q. The Hidden Book of Fáimih is said ‘ to consist of words of
consolation addressed by the angel Gabriel, at God’s
command, to Fáimih, and dictated to the ‘Imam ‘Alí, for the
sole purpose of comforting her in her hour of bitter angu ish
after the death of her illustrious Father ’ (GPB 140). Where is
the association between the Book of Fáimih and the Hidden
Words, since the latter consists of a code of ethical
behaviour? How does this correlate with words ofconsolation? Is it our limited capacity that prevents us from
understanding the connection?SON OF THE SUPREME! I have made death a messenger of joy
to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on
thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom?
Q. Several passages in Gleanings deal with the subject of the
transmutation of metals and the Divine Elixir. I find these
very difficult to understand, probably because I am
unfamiliar with the ancient art of alchemy. What is the
meaning of these statements?Elixir that can, alone, transmute into purest gold the dross of t he
world, and have been empowered to administer the infallible
remedy for all the ills that afflict the children of men
Thevalue, and grasp its exact significance after so short a time s ince
its inception would be premature and presumptuous on our part.
We must trust to time, and the guidance of God’s Universal
House of Justice, to obtain a clearer and fuller understanding of
its provisions and implicationsMessages from the Universal House of Justice 1963–1986
Q. Sometimes, for example in the Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf , Bahá’u’lláh Himself reveals a Tablet a second time.
Why is it that He sometimes changed a word or two? Is it
because He did not remember the original word and so He
put in a new word instead, or He was not satisfied with the
original?Q. Could you please elaborate on the significance of the word
‘chant’ used in the Tablet of Amad? Does this mean that w e
should always try to chant the Tablet, even if we are reading
it in a language other than Arabic or Persian?Q. Who translated most of the prayers in our prayer books?
Q. Who is the author of A Concise Encyclopaedia of the
Bahá’í Faith ?Q. You said that Professor Browne made some translations
of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings at a time when he was still well
disposed towards the Faith. What does this mean? Was there
a time that he was not well disposed towards the Faith?
A Year among the PersiansQ. Why did Bahá’u’lláh use a term such as ‘ choice wine ’ as
an analogy for His W ritings and for His laws?Q. Could possible translations in the future be made of tex ts
that Shoghi Effendi has already translated? Is that
recommended?attempt to introduce to the West, in language however
inadequate, this book of unsurpassed preeminence among the
writings of the Author of the Bahá’í Revelation. The hope is that
it may assist others in their efforts to approach what must al ways
be regarded as the unattainable goal – a befitting rendering of
Bahá’u’lláh’s matchless utteranceQ. Who put the questions to Bahá’u’lláh that we find
answered in ‘Questions and Answers’ included in the Ki táb-
i-Aqdas?Q. Is the Kitáb-i-Aqdas somewhat incomplete because it d oes
not cover many of the issues of society that would require
legislation?intentionally destroy a house by fire, him also shall ye burn
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas.Q. The translations of the beloved Guardian serve as a basis
for further translations, particularly into other western
languages. To what degree is or should the original Persian
or Arabic text be consulted or taken into consideration for
these second translations?Q. George Townshend became a Bahá’í in 1921, but only left
the Church years later. What was the Guardian’s response to
this and how can we learn from this example in dealing wit h
friends who are still strongly attached to the Church?
Such questionsas the withdrawal from Church membership . . . should not be
thrust upon the newcomer, but explained to him gradually, so
that he himself may be convinced of the truth underlying these
ordinances of the CauseQ. Why has the Bayán not been fully translated yet?
The Dawn-Breakerscarried off, by a ruse, the two satchels containing
most precious documentsmost effective weapon to meet challenge of a critical hour
translated from the original Persian and edited by
Shoghi EffendiBefore translating the Narrative, the text had to be
edited and corrected, and this task was undertaken by me
personally. Exaggerations and overstatements were eliminated.
The text as it stands will serve as a standard when future
histories of the Faith will be written.translation of Nabíl’s Narrative and the reading of the books
(quoted in the footnotes) and arrangement of the notes have
taken a great deal of time and have entailed a considerable
amount of labour and effort. The work he is sending you is the
result of eight months of continuous labour and he hopes that the
efforts exerted will prove of service to the Cause in this critical
timeNabíl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Revelation
Bahá’íof a Glorious and Heroic Age, I Dedicate This Work in Token of
a Great Debt of Gratitude and LoveWhat others have said about Nabíl’s Narrative, and what Shoghi
Effendi himself stated regarding the bookThe history of a people is always a source of inspiration to its
future generations. Nabíl’s Narrative will operate in the
same manner, and remain forever a stimulus to the Bahá’ís.
Shoghi Effendi found great pleasure and spiritual upliftment
while working on the translation of Nabíl’s Narrative. The
life of those who figure in it is so stirring that everyone w ho
reads those accounts is bound to be affected and impelled to
follow their footsteps of sacrifice in the path of Faith. The
Guardian believes, therefore, that it should be studied by the
friends, especially the youth who need some inspiration to
carry them through these troubled days.The Guardian sincerely hopes and prays that the study of The
Dawn-Breakers will inspire the friends to greater activit y
and more exerted energy in serving the Cause and spreading
its message in that town. The life of those heroes of the Faith
should teach us what true sacrifice is, and to what extent we
should forego our personal and worldly interests while en-
deavouring to carry the divine message to the four corners of
the earth.He was deeply gratified to learn that the reading of The
Dawn-Breakers has deepened your knowledge of the Cause
and has inflamed you with new courage and faith. The tale of
these immortal heroes of God, so well narrated by the
powerful pen of Nabíl, is, indeed, stimulating and spiritually
uplifting. It gives the reader a new vision of the Cause and
unfolds before his eyes the glory of this new Manifestation in
a manner hitherto unknown. Nabíl’s narrative is not merely a
narrative; it is a book of meditation. It does not only teach. It
actually inspires and incites to action. It quickens and
stimulates our dormant energies and makes us soar on a
higher plane. It is thus of an invaluable help to the historian
as well as to every teacher and expounder of the Cause.
Extracts‘This Revelation, so suddenly and impetuously thrust upon
me, came as a thunderbolt which, for a time, seemed to have
benumbed my faculties. I was blinded by its dazzling
splendour and overwhelmed by its crushing force. Excite-
ment, joy, awe, and wonder stirred the depths of my soul.
Predominant among these emotions was a sense of gladness
and strength which seemed to have transfigured me. How
feeble and impotent, how dejected and timid, I had felt
previously! Then I could neither write nor walk, so tremulous
were my hands and feet. Now, however, the knowledge of His
Revelation had galvanised my being. I felt possessed of such
courage and power that were the world, all its peoples and
its potentates, to rise against me, I would, alone and
undaunted, withstand their onslaught. The universe seemed
but a handful of dust in my grasp. I seemed to be the Voice of
Gabriel personified, calling unto all mankind: “Awake, for
lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is
made manifest. The portal of His grace is open wide; enter
therein, O peoples of the world! For He who is your
promised One is come!”’.‘You have been called to this station; you will attain to it,
only if you arise to trample beneath your feet every earthly
desire, and endeavour to become those “honoured servants
of His who speak not till He hath spoken, and who do His
bidding.” You are the first Letters that have been generated
from the Primal Point, the first Springs that have welled out
from the Source of this Revelation. Beseech the Lord your
God to grant that no earthly entanglements, no worldly
affections, no ephemeral pursuits, may tarnish the purity, or
embitter the sweetness, of that grace which flows through
you. I am preparing you for the advent of a mighty Day.
Exert your utmost endeavour that, in the world to come, I,
who am now instructing you, may, before the mercy-seat of
God, rejoice in your deeds and glory in your achievements.
The secret of the Day that is to come is now concealed. It can
neither be divulged nor estimated. The newly born Bábe of
that Day excels the wisest and most venerable men of this
time, and the lowliest and most unlearned of that period shall
surpass in understanding the most erudite and accomplished
divines of this age. Scatter throughout the length and breadth
of this land, and, with steadfast feet and sanctified hearts,
prepare the way for His coming. Heed not your weaknesses
and frailty; fix your gaze upon the invincible power of the
Lord, your God, the Almighty. Has He not, in past days,
caused Abraham, in spite of His seeming helplessness, to
triumph over the forces of Nimrod? Has He not enabled
Moses, whose staff was His only companion, to vanquish
Pharaoh and his hosts? Has He not established theascendancy of Jesus, poor and lowly as He was in the eyes of
men, over the combined forces of the Jewish people? Has He
not subjected the barbarous and militant tribes of Arabia to
the holy and transforming discipline of Muammad, His
T HE D AWN B REAKERSProphet? Arise in His name, put your trust wholly in Him,
and be assured of ultimate victory.’And yet who knows what achievements, greater than any that
the past and the present have witnessed, may not still be in
store for those into whose hands so precious a heritage has
been entrusted? . . . Who knows but that triumphs, unsur-
passed in splendour, are not in store for the mass of
Bahá’u’lláh’s toiling followers? Surely, we stand too near
the colossal edifice His hand has reared to be able, at the
present stage of the evolution of His Revelation, to claim to
be able even to conceive the full measure of its promised
glory. Its past history, stained by the blood of countless
martyrs, may well inspire us with the thought that, whatever
may yet befall this Cause, however formidable the forces that
may still assail it, however numerous the reverses it will
inevitably suffer, its onward march can never be stayed, and
that it will continue to advance until the very last promise,
enshrined within the words of Bahá’u’lláh, shall have been
completely redeemed.Q. In Nabíl’s Narrative , Mullá usayn says that he seemed to
be the voice of the angel Gabriel personified. Does it mean
that he felt Gabriel spoke through him?Q. Shoghi Effendi speaks about The Dawn-Breakers as a
book of inspiration. Why is it that the history of the earlies t
believers was needed most, above all other works that could
have been translated at that time?Q. Quddús was endowed with special and divine powers.
áhirih as well occupies a very high rank in the Faith. What
was the nature of their tense dispute at Badash t?
Nabíl’sQ. Why were some of the footnotes to The Dawn-Breakers
published in French?Q. Regarding what others have said about Nabíl’s Narrative ,
who stated that it reinvented the literature of East and W est?
T HE D AWN B REAKERSQ. Shoghi Effendi in a cable said that Nabíl’s Narrative is
an indispensable preliminary to future pilgrimage to
Bahá’u’lláh’s native land. What does this mean?Q. When the manuscript of Nabíl’s Narrative was sent to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the United States how much
time elapsed before it was first published?Q. Ten thousand people witnessed the martyrdom of the Báb.
Many reports have been written about this event, including
some that are in discordance with the one recounted in
Nabíl’s Narrative . Do the majority of these reports indicate
that Nabíl’s statements were correct? Did Shoghi Effendi
take into consideration other versions of the story when
translating it?Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish
to say can any earthly power silence Mecome when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have
ceased to be with youQ. The Dawn-Breakers was originally written by Nabíl, but
was recreated by Shoghi Effendi. Does the book have the
same validity as works written by Shoghi Effendi, such as
God Passes By ?Q. What about the rest of Nabíl’s Narrative ? Will it ever be
finished? Is it being worked on at this time? How can
changes be made without having access to Bahá’u’lláh’s
correction? How did Shoghi Effendi know which corrections
needed to be made if the original corrections by Bahá’u’lláh
were not available?Q. The role of a traditional storyteller sees him or her tak ing
the story and reworking it in his or her own interpretation
and flavour. How do you see the storyteller’s tool of artistic
licence in the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s clear instruction to Nabíl,
to neither overstate nor understate, neither expand the
description of events nor reduce their importance? What
advice regarding artistic licence or individual artistic
interpretation would you give to a contemporary storyteller
who wished to retell stories from Bahá’í history?outstanding events of the century that has seen this Spirit
burst forth upon the worldreview of the salient features of birth and rise, as
well as of the initial stages in the establishment of its
administrative institutionsof a hundred years . . . has unrolled before our eyes
G OD P ASSES B Ymystery no intellect can fathom, whose climax no eye can
even dimly perceive, whose conclusion no mind canreverses with evident victories, out of which the hand of an
inscrutable Providence has chosen to form the pattern of the
Faith from its earliest days . . .and external crises . . . devastating in their immediate effects, but
each mysteriously releasing a corresponding measure of divine
power, lending thereby a fresh impulse to its unfoldment
GodIn sheer dramatic power, in the rapidity with which events of
momentous importance succeeded each other, in theholocaust which baptized its birth, in the miraculous
circumstances attending the martyrdom of the One Who had
ushered it in, in the potentialities with which it had been from
the outset so thoroughly impregnated, in the forces to which
it eventually gave birth, this nine-year periodThe heroes whose deeds shine upon the record of this fierce
spiritual contest, involving at once people, clergy, monarch
and government, were the Báb’s chosen disciples, the Letters
of the Living, and their companions, the trail-breakers of the
New Day, who to so much intrigue, ignorance, depravity,
cruelty, superstition and cowardice opposed a spirit exalted,
unquenchable and awe-inspiring, a knowledge surprisingly
profound, an eloquence sweeping in its force, a piety un-
excelled in fervor, a courage leonine in its fierceness, a self -
abnegation saintly in its purity, a resolve granite-like in its
firmness, a vision stupendous in its range, a veneration for
the Prophet and His Imáms disconcerting totheir adversaries, a power of persuasion alarming to their
antagonists, a standard of faith and a code of conduct that
challenged and revolutionized the lives of their countrymen.
2. The Ministry of Bahá’u’lláh[T]he Revelation identified with Bahá’u’lláh abrogates
unconditionally all the Dispensations gone before it, upholds
uncompromisingly the eternal verities they enshrine,
recognizes firmly and absolutely the Divine origin of their
Authors, preserves inviolate the sanctity of their authentic
Scriptures, disclaims any intention of lowering the status of
their Founders or of abating the spiritual ideals they
inculcate, clarifies and correlates their functions, reaffirms
their common, their unchangeable and fundamental purpose,
reconciles their seemingly divergent claims and doctrines,
readily and gratefully recognizes their respective
contributions to the gradual unfoldment of one Divine
Revelation, unhesitatingly acknowledges itself to be but one
link in the chain of continually progressive Revelations,
supplements their teachings with such laws and ordinances
as conform to the imperative needs, and are dictated by the
growing receptivity, of a fast evolving and constantly
changing society, and proclaims its readiness and ability to
fuse and incorporate the contending sects and factions into
which they have fallen into a universal Fellowship,
functioning within the framework, and in accordance with
the precepts, of a divinely conceived, a world-unifying, a
world-redeeming Order.as we survey the vast field which they embrace, seem to
fall into three distinct categories. The first comprises
those writings which constitute the sequel to the proc-
lamation of His Mission in Adrianople. The secondincludes the laws and ordinances of His Dispensation, which,
for the most part, have been recorded in the Kitáb-i-
Aqdas, His Most Holy Book. To the third must be assigned
those Tablets which partly enunciate and partly reaffirm
G OD P ASSES B Ythe fundamental tenets and principles underlying that
Dispensation.With the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh draws to a close a period
which, in many ways, is unparalleled in the world’s religious
history. The first century of the Bahá’í Era had by now run
half its course. An epoch, unsurpassed in its sublimity, its
fecundity and duration by any previous Dispensation, and
characterized, except for a short interval of three years, by
half a century of continuous and progressive Revelation, had
terminated. The Message proclaimed by the Báb had yielded
its golden fruit . . . God’s newborn Faith, the cynosure of all
past Dispensations, had been fully and unreservedly proc-
laimed. The prophecies announcing its advent had been
remarkably fulfilled. Its fundamental laws and cardinal
principles, the warp and woof of the fabric of its future
World Order, had been clearly enunciated . . . The Covenant
designed to safeguard the unity and integrity of its world-
embracing system had been irrevocably bequeathed to
posterity. The promise of the unification of the whole human
race, of the inauguration of the Most Great Peace, of the
unfoldment of a world civilization, had been incontestably
given . . .To direct and canalize these forces let loose by this Heaven-
sent process, and to insure their harmonious and continuous
operation after His ascension, an instrument divinely
G OD P ASSES B Yordained, invested with indisputable authority, organically
linked with the Author of the Revelation Himself, was clearly
indispensable. That instrument Bahá’u’lláh had expressly
provided through the institution of the Covenant, an
institution which He had firmly established prior to His
ascension.displayed a vitality, a courage, a single-mindedness, a
consecration to the task He had set Himself to achieve that
excited the wonder and admiration of those who had the
privilege of observing at close hand His daily acts . . .
[C]areless alike of His comfort and His health; expending
every ounce of His energy day after day from dawn till late at
night; consistently refusing any gifts or contributions
towards the expenses of His travels; unfailing in His
solicitude for the sick, the sorrowful and the down-trodden;
uncompromising in His championship of the underprivileged
races and classes; bountiful as the rain in His generosity to
the poor; contemptuous of the attacks launched against Him
by vigilant and fanatical exponents of orthodoxy and
sectarianism; . . . unequivocal in His glorification of
Bahá’u’lláh at all times and within the sanctuaries of divers
sects and denominations; adamant in His refusal, on several
occasions, to curry the favor of people of title and wealth
both in England and in the United States; and last but not
least incomparable in the spontaneity, the genuineness and
warmth of His sympathy and loving-kindness shown to friend
and stranger alike, believer and unbeliever, rich and poor,
high and low, whom He met . . . He, the incarnation of every
Bahá’í virtue and the embodiment of every Bahá’í ideal,
continued . . . to trumpet to a world sunk in materialism and
already in the shadow of war, the healing, the God-given
truths enshrined in His Father’s Revelation.The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh had been instituted solely
through the direct operation of His Will and purpose. The
Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on the other hand, may
be regarded as the offspring resulting from that mystic
intercourse between Him Who had generated the forces of a
God-given Faith and the One Who had been made its sole
Interpreter and was recognized as its perfect Exemplar. The
creative energies unleashed by the Originator of the Law of
God in this age gave birth, through their impact upon the
mind of Him Who had been chosen as its unerringExpounder, to that Instrument, the vast implications of which
the present generation, even after the lapse of twenty-three
years, is still incapable of fully apprehending.The Administrative Order which this historic Document has
established, it should be noted, is, by virtue of its origin and
character, unique in the annals of the world’s religious
systems. No Prophet before Bahá’u’lláh, it can be confidently
asserted, not even Muammad Whose Book clearly lays
down the laws and ordinances of the Islamic Dispensation,
has established, authoritatively and in writing, anything
comparable to the Administrative Order which the author-
ized Interpreter of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings has instituted, an
Order which, by virtue of the administrative principles whic h
its Author has formulated, the institutions He has established,
and the right of interpretation with which He has invested its
Guardian, must and will, in a manner unparalleled in any
previous religion, safeguard from schism the Faith from
which it has sprung. Nor is the principle governing its
operation similar to that which underlies any system . . .
which the minds of men have devised for the government of
human institutions. Neither in theory nor in practice can the
Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh be said to
conform to any type of democratic government, to any system
of autocracy, to any purely aristocratic order, or to any of
the various theocracies . . . which mankind has witnessed in
the past. It incorporates within its structure certain elements
which are to be found in each of the three recognized forms
of secular government, is devoid of the defects which each of
them inherently possesses, and blends the salutary truths
which each undoubtedly contains without vitiating in any
way the integrity of the Divine verities on which it is
essentially founded.process, God-impelled, . . . mysterious in its workings, awf ul in
the retribution meted out to every one seeking to resist its op era-
tion, infinitely rich in its promise for the regeneration and re-
demption of human kind Despiteand spiritual authority from without, or by black-hearted foes
from withinIndeed its history resolve[s] itself into a series
of pulsations, of alternating crises and triumphs, leading it e ver
nearer to its divinely appointed destinyThe tribulations attending the progressive unfoldment of the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have indeed been such as to exceed in
G OD P ASSES B Ygravity those from which the religions of the past have
suffered. Unlike those religions, however, these tribulations
have failed utterly to impair its unity, or to create, even temp-
orarily, a breach in the ranks of its adherents. It has not only
survived these ordeals, but has emerged, purified and inviol-
ate, endowed with greater capacity to face and surmount any
crisis which its resistless march may engender in the future.
Mighty indeed have been the tasks accomplished and the
victories achieved by this sorely-tried yet undefeatable Faith
within the space of a century! Its unfinished tasks, its future
victories, as it stands on the threshold of the second Bahá’í
century, are greater still.Whatever may befall this infant Faith of God in future
decades or in succeeding centuries, whatever the sorrows,
dangers and tribulations which the next stage in its world-
wide development may engender, from whatever quarter the
assaults to be launched by its present or future adversaries
may be unleashed against it, however great the reverses and
setbacks it may suffer, we, who have been privileged to
apprehend, to the degree our finite minds can fathom, the
significance of these marvelous phenomena associated with
its rise and establishment, can harbor no doubt that what it
has already achieved in the first hundred years of its life
provides sufficient guarantee that it will continue to forge
ahead, capturing loftier heights, tearing down every obstacle,
opening up new horizons and winning still mightier victories
until its glorious mission, stretching into the dim ranges of
time that lie ahead, is totally fulfilled.Q. ‘ Neither in theory nor in practice can the Administrative
Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh be said to conform to any
type of democratic government, to any system of autocracy, to
any purely aristocratic order, or to any of the various
theocracies, whether Jewish, Christian or Islamic whic h
mankind has witnessed in the past ’ (GPB 326). What does he
mean by ‘ neither in theory nor in practice ’?Q. What were the commissions of inquiry into ‘Abdu’l-
Bahá’s activity and what did they find out?Q. ‘ Nor were the British authorities slow to express their
appreciation of the rôle which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had played in
allaying the burden of suffering that had oppressed the
inhabitants of the Holy Land during the dark days of that
distressing conflict ’ (GPB 306). What did ‘Abdu’l-Bahá do
for the British?Q. Shoghi Effendi has described the W ritings of Bahá’u’lláh
during the ‘Akká period as follows: ‘ The writings of
Bahá’u’lláh during this period, as we survey the vast fi eld
which they embrace, seem to fall into three distinct categ ories.
The first comprises those writings which constitute t he sequel
to the proclamation of His Mission in Adrianople ’ (GPB 205).
What are the Tablets which constitute this sequel?
G OD P ASSES B YThe Guardian would strongly urge each and every member
of the National Spiritual Assembly to carefully peruse, and to
quietly ponder upon the outer meaning and upon the inner
spirit as well, of all his communications on the subject of t he
origin, nature and present-day functioning of theadministrative order of the Faith. A compilation of these
letters has been lately published in the States under the title
‘Bahá’í Administration’, and a complete knowledge of that
book seems to be quite essential to the right handling of the
administrative problems facing your National Spiritual
Assembly at present . . .Which of the blessings am I to recount, which in her unfailing
solicitude she showered upon me, in the most critical and
agitated hours of my life? To me, standing in so dire a need
of the vitalizing grace of God, she was the living symbol o f
many an attribute I had learned to admire in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
She was to me a continual reminder of His inspiring
personality, of His calm resignation, of His munificence and
magnanimity. To me she was an incarnation of His winsome
graciousness, of His all-encompassing tenderness and love.
Humanity, through suffering and turmoil, is swiftly moving
on towards its destiny; if we be loiterers, if we fail to play our
part surely others will be called upon to take up our task as
ministers to the crying needs of this afflicted world.
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 worldwide and
elaborate in its character – not even by the staunchness 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 Abhá 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 splendor of those eternal
principles proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh.But let us all remember, in this connection, that prior to
every conceivable measure destined to raise the efficiency of
our administrative activities, more vital than any scheme
which the most resourceful amongst us can devise, far above
the most elaborate structure which the concerted efforts of
organized Assemblies can hope to raise, is the realization
down in the innermost heart of every true believer of the
regenerating power, the supreme necessity, the unfailing
efficacy of the Message he bears. I assure you, dear friends,
that nothing short of such an immovable conviction could
have in days past enabled our beloved Cause to weather the
blackest storms in its history. Naught else can today vitalize
the manifold activities in which unnumbered disciples of the
Faith are engaged; naught else can provide that driving
force and sustaining power that are both so essential to the
success of vast and enduring achievements. It is this spirit
that above all else we should sedulously guard, and strive
with all our might to fortify and exemplify in all our
undertakings.Not by merely imitating the excesses and laxity of the ext ra-
vagant age they live in; not by the idle neglect of the sacred
responsibilities it is their privilege to shoulder; not by the
silent compromise of the principles dearly cherished by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá; not by their fear of unpopularity or their
dread of censure can they hope to rouse society from its
spiritual lethargy, and serve as a model to a civilization the
foundations of which the corrosion of prejudice has well-nigh
undermined. By the sublimity of their principles, the warmth
of their love, the spotless purity of their character, and the
depth of their devoutness and piety, let them demonstrate to
their fellow-countrymen the ennobling reality of a power that
shall weld a disrupted world.chief depository wherein are enshrined those priceless eleme nts
of that Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the
primary mission of the Bahá’í Faithprotect the institutions, adapt loyally and intelligently the Fai th
to the requirements of progressive society, and consummate the
incorruptible inheritance which the Founders of the Faith have
bequeathed to the worldability elasticity The first preserves the identity of His
Faith, and guards the integrity of His law. The second enables it,
even as a living organism, to expand and adapt itself to the needs
and requirements of an ever-changing societytransformation in the whole character of mankind, a
transformation that shall manifest itself, both outwardly and
inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external
conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed,
the futility of God’s universal Manifestation would be
apparent.Bahá’u’lláh, we should readily recognize, has not only
imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has
not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or
propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound
and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well
as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him, has, unlike the Dispensations of
the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws,
established definite institutions, and provided for the
essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a
pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the
establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency
for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the
reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth.
Leaders of religion, exponents of political theories, gover-
nors of human institutions, who at present are witnessing
with perplexity and dismay the bankruptcy of their ideas, and
the disintegration of their handiwork, would do well to turn
their gaze to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, and to medi-
tate upon the World Order which, lying enshrined in His
teachings, is slowly and imperceptibly rising amid the welter
and chaos of present-day civilization. They need have no
doubt or anxiety regarding the nature, the origin or validity
of the institutions which the adherents of the Faith are
building up throughout the world. For these lie embedded in
the teachings themselves, unadulterated and unobscured by
unwarrantable inferences, or unauthorized interpretations of
His Word.How pressing and sacred the responsibility that now
weighs upon those who are already acquainted with these
teachings! How glorious the task of those who are called
upon to vindicate their truth, and demonstrate their
practicability to an unbelieving world! Nothing short of an
immovable conviction in their divine origin, and their
uniqueness in the annals of religion; nothing short of an
unwavering purpose to execute and apply them to the
administrative machinery of the Cause, can be sufficient to
establish their reality, and insure their success. How vast is
the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh! How great the magnitude of
His blessings showered upon humanity in this day! And yet,
how poor, how inadequate our conception of theirsignificance and glory! This generation stands too close to so
colossal a Revelation to appreciate, in their full measure, the
infinite possibilities of His Faith, the unprecedented
character of His Cause, and the mysterious dispensations of
His Providence.very act of devising the machinery required for the political and
economic unification of the world . . . provide in itself the
antidote against the poison that is steadily undermining the vigor
of organized peoples and nationsthose in whose hands the immediate destinies of peoples and
nations have been committed, to adjust their system of economic
and political institutions to the imperative needs of a rapidly
evolving agetheir respective governments according to those standards that
are implicit in Bahá’u’lláh’s supreme declaration of the Oneness
of Mankindand militant nationalism . . . into an abiding consciousness of
world citizenshiphand and disclaims all attempts at uniformity on the other
reawakening of theIt calls for . . . a world organically unified in all the
essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, it s spiritual
aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet
infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of it s
federated unitsThat the forces of a world catastrophe can alone precipitate
such a new phase of human thought is, alas, becoming
increasingly apparent. That nothing short of the fire of a
severe ordeal, unparalleled in its intensity, can fuse and weld
the discordant entities that constitute the elements of present-
day civilization, into the integral components of the world
commonwealth of the future, is a truth which future events
will increasingly demonstrate.Concerning the general letter he has sent lately to the
Western friends, to which you refer . . . Shoghi Effendi thinks
that the friends should spread the message it conveys to the
public. It should undoubtedly be done in a very judicious way
lest the people think that we have entered the arena of
politics with rather drastic programmes of reform. But we
should at the same time show the lead that the teachings take
towards the realization of the international ideal. The
primary importance of the Cause among the existing
religions of the world is that, whereas the others have no
coherent programme upon which they are united, the
Movement is rich with the very spirit and teachings the world
needs for solving its present international problems. It is a
wonderful chance for the Cause to absorb the interest of the
intelligent elements in the public.Ten years of unceasing turmoil, so laden with anguish, so
fraught with incalculable consequences to the future of
civilization, have brought the world to the verge of a
calamity too awful to contemplate. Sad indeed is the con-
trast between the manifestations of confident enthusiasm in
which the Plenipotentiaries at Versailles so freely indulged
and the cry of unconcealed distress which victors and
vanquished alike are now raising in the hour of bitter
delusion.Never indeed have there been such widespread and basic
upheavals, whether in the social, economic or political
spheres of human activity as those now going on in different
parts of the world. Never have there been so many and varied
sources of danger as those that now threaten the structure of
society.Are we, the privileged custodians of a priceless Faith, cal led
upon to witness a cataclysmical change, politically as
fundamental and spiritually as beneficent as that which
precipitated the fall of the Roman Empire in the West? Might
it not happen – every vigilant adherent of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh might well pause to reflect – that out of this
world eruption there may stream forces of such spiritual
energy as shall recall, nay eclipse, the splendor of those
signs and wonders that accompanied the establishment of the
Faith of Jesus Christ? Might there not emerge out of the
agony of a shaken world a religious revival of such scope
and power as to even transcend the potency of those world-
directing forces with which the Religions of the Past have, at
fixed intervals and according to an inscrutable Wisdom,
revived the fortunes of declining ages and peoples? Might
not the bankruptcy of this present, this highly-vaunted
materialistic civilization, in itself clear away the choking
weeds that now hinder the unfoldment and futureThe call of Bahá’u’lláh is primarily directed against all
forms of provincialism, all insularities and prejudices. If
long-cherished ideals and time-honored institutions, if
certain social assumptions and religious formulae have
ceased to promote the welfare of the generality of mankind,
if they no longer minister to the needs of a continually
evolving humanity, let them be swept away and relegated
to the limbo of obsolescent and forgotten doctrines. Why
should these, in a world subject to the immutable law
of change and decay, be exempt from the deterioration
that must needs overtake every human institution? For
legal standards, political and economic theories are
solely designed to safeguard the interests of humanity
as a whole, and not humanity to be crucified for the
preservation of the integrity of any particular law or
doctrine.Let there be no mistake. The principle of the Oneness of
Mankind – the pivot round which all the teachings of
Bahá’u’lláh revolve – is no mere outburst of ignorant
emtionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. Its
appeal is not to be merely identified with a reawakening of
the spirit of brotherhood and good-will among men, nor does
it aim solely at the fostering of harmonious cooperation
among individual peoples and nations. Its implications are
deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old
were allowed to advance. Its message is applicable not only
to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature
of those essential relationships that must bind all the states
and nations as members of one human family. It does not
constitute merely the enunciation of an ideal, but stands
inseparably associated with an institution adequate to
embody its truth, demonstrate its validity, and perpetuate its
influence. It implies an organic change in the structure of
present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet
experienced. It constitutes a challenge, at once bold and
universal, to outworn shibboleths of national creeds – creeds
that have had their day and which must, in the ordinary
course of events as shaped and controlled by Providence,
give way to a new gospel, fundamentally different from, and
infinitely superior to, what the world has already conceived.
It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demili-
tarization of the whole civilized world – a world organically
unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its polit ical
machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its
script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the
national characteristics of its federated units.obstacles, maintained its unity, resisted the malignant onslaught
of its ill-wishers, silenced its calumniators broadened the
basis of its far-flung administrationWhere else, if not in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh,
can the unbiased student of comparative religion cite instances
of a claim as stupendous as that which the Author of that Faith
advanced, foes as relentless as those which He faced, a devotion
more sublime than that which He kindled, a life as eventful and
as enthralling as that which He led?That the Cause associated with the name of Bahá’u’lláh
feeds itself upon those hidden springs of celestial strength
which no force of human personality, whatever its glamour,
can replace; that its reliance is solely upon that mystic
Source with which no worldly advantage, be it wealth, fame,
or learning can compare; that it propagates itself by ways
mysterious and utterly at variance with the standards
accepted by the generality of mankind, will, if not already
apparent, become increasingly manifest as it forges ahead
towards fresh conquests in its struggle for the spiritual
regeneration of mankind.Indeed, how could it, unsupported as it has ever been by
the counsels and the resources of the wise, the rich, and the
learned in the land of its birth, have succeeded in breaking
asunder the shackles that weighed upon it at the hour of its
birth, in emerging unscathed from the storms that agitated its
infancy, had not its animating breath been quickened by that
spirit which is born of God, and on which all success,
wherever and however it be sought, must ultimately depend?
Not by the material resources which the members of this
infant community can now summon to their aid; not by the
numerical strength of its present-day supporters; nor by any
direct tangible benefits its votaries can as yet confer upon the
multitude of the needy and the disconsolate among their
countrymen, should its potentialities be tested or its worth
determined. Nowhere but in the purity of its precepts, the
sublimity of its standards, the integrity of its laws, the
reasonableness of its claims, the comprehensiveness of its
scope, the universality of its program, the flexibility of its
institutions, the lives of its founders, the heroism of its
martyrs, and the transforming power of its influence, should
the unprejudiced observer seek to obtain the true criterion
that can enable him to fathom its mysteries or to estimate its
virtue.Let them refrain from associating themselves, whether by
word or by deed, with the political pursuits of their
respective nations, with the policies of their governments and
the schemes and programs of parties and factions. In such
controversies they should assign no blame, take no side,
further no design, and identify themselves with no system
prejudicial to the best interests of that worldwide Fellowship
which it is their aim to guard and foster. Let them beware
lest they allow themselves to become the tools ofunscrupulous politicians, or to be entrapped by the
treacherous devices of the plotters and the perfidious among
their countrymen. Let them so shape their lives and regulate
their conduct that no charge of secrecy, of fraud, of bribery
or of intimidation may, however ill-founded, be brought
against them. Let them rise above all particularism and
partisanship, above the vain disputes, the petty calculations,
the transient passions that agitate the face, and engage the
attention, of a changing world. It is their duty to strive to
distinguish, as clearly as they possibly can, and if needed
with the aid of their elected representatives, such posts and
functions as are either diplomatic or political from those that
are purely administrative in character, and which under no
circumstances are affected by the changes and chances that
political activities and party government, in every land, must
necessarily involve. Let them affirm their unyielding
determination to stand, firmly and unreservedly, for the way
of Bahá’u’lláh, to avoid the entanglements and bickerings
inseparable from the pursuits of the politician, and to become
worthy agencies of that Divine Polity which incarnates God’s
immutable Purpose for all men.champion-builders of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh
theThe handling of this delicate and vital problem regarding
non-participation by Bahá’ís of East and West in political
affairs, calls for the utmost circumspection, tact, patience
and vigilance, on the part of those whose function and
privilege it is to guard, promote and administer the activities
of a worldwide, ever-advancing Cause. The misgivings and
apprehensions of individual Bahá’ís should be allayed and
eventually completely dispelled. Any misconception of the
sane and genuine patriotism that animates every Bahá’í
heart, if it ever obscures or perplexes the minds of
responsible government officials, should be instantly and
courageously dissipated. Any deliberate misrepresentation,
by the enemies of the Cause of God of the aims, the tenets
and methods of the administrators of the Faith ofBahá’u’lláh should be vigorously faced and its fallacy
pitilessly exposed. The Cause, to which we belong, stands on
the threshold of an era of unprecedented expansion. Its
problems are many, divers and challenging. Our methods
and ways of approach must likewise be characterized by
unusual sagacity, consummate skill and wisdom. He will
surely never fail us in meeting the needs of a critical hour .
As I lift up my gaze beyond the strain and stresses which a
struggling Faith must necessarily experience, and view the
wider scene which the indomitable will of the American
Bahá’í community is steadily unfolding, I cannot but marvel
at the range which the driving force of their ceaseless labors
has acquired and the heights which the sublimity of their
faith has attained. The outposts of a Faith, already per-
secuted in both Europe and Asia, are in the American
continent steadily advancing, the visible symbols of its
undoubted sovereignty are receiving fresh luster every day
and its manifold institutions are driving their roots deeper
and deeper into its soil. Blest and honored as none among its
sister communities has been in recent years, preserved
through the inscrutable dispensations of Divine Providence
for a destiny which no mind can as yet imagine, such a
community cannot for a moment afford to be content with or
rest on the laurels it has so deservedly won. It must go on,
continually go on, exploring fresh fields, scaling nobler
heights, laying firmer foundations, shedding added splendor
and achieving added renown in the service and for the glory
of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. The Seven Year Plan, which it
has sponsored and with which its destiny is so closely inter-
woven, must at all costs be prosecuted with increasing force
and added consecration. All should arise and participate.
Upon the measure of such a participation will no doubt
depend the welfare and progress of those distant com-
munities which are now battling for their emancipation. To
such a priceless privilege the inheritors of the shining grac e
of Bahá’u’lláh cannot surely be indifferent. The American
believers must gird up the loins of endeavor and step into the
arena of service with such heroism as shall astound the
entire Bahá’í world. Let them be assured that my prayers will
continue to be offered on their behalf.[I]t must be clearly understood, nor can it be sufficiently
emphasized, that the conjunction of the resting-place of the
Greatest Holy Leaf with those of her brother and mother
incalculably reinforces the spiritual potencies of that con-
secrated Spot which, under the wings of the Báb’s
overshadowing Sepulcher, and in the vicinity of the future
Mash riqu’l-Adh kár which will be reared on its flank, is
destined to evolve into the focal center of those world-
shaking, world-embracing, world-directing administrative
institutions, ordained by Bahá’u’lláh and anticipated by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and which are to function in consonance with
the principles that govern the twin institutions of the
Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice. Then, and
then only, will this momentous prophecy which illuminates
the concluding passages of the Tablet of Carmel be fulfilled:
‘Erelong will God sail His Ark upon thee (Carmel), and will
manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the
Book of Names.’To attempt to visualize, even in its barest outline, the
glory that must envelop these institutions, to essay even a
tentative and partial description of their character or the
manner of their operation, or to trace however inadequately
the course of events leading to their rise and eventual
establishment is far beyond my own capacity and power.
Suffice it to say that at this troubled stage in world history
the association of these three incomparably precious souls
who, next to the three Central Figures of our Faith, tower in
rank above the vast multitude of the heroes, Letters, martyrs,
hands, teachers and administrators of the Cause of
Bahá’u’lláh, in such a potentially powerful spiritual and
administrative Center, is in itself an event which will releas e
forces that are bound to hasten the emergence in a land
which, geographically, spiritually and administratively,
constitutes the heart of the entire planet, of some of the
brightest gems of that World Order now shaping in the womb
of this travailing age.Were anyone to imagine or expect that a Cause, comprising
within its orbit so vast a portion of the globe, so turbulent in
its history, so challenging in its claims, so diversified i n the
elements it has assimilated into its administrative structure,
should at all times be immune to any divergence of opinion,
or any defection on the part of its multitudinous followers,
would be sheer delusion, wholly unreasonable and un-
warranted, even in the face of the unprecedented evidences of
the miraculous power which its rise and progress have so
powerfully exhibited. That such a secession, however,
whether effected by those who apostatize their faith or
preach heretical doctrines, should have failed, after the lapse
of a century, to split in twain the entire body of the adherents
of the Faith, or to create a grave, a permanent and irremedi-
able breach in its organic structure, is a fact too eloquent for
even a casual observer of the internal processes of its
Administrative Order to either deny or ignore.Therein every loyal and intelligent upholder of Bahá-
’u’lláh’s incomparable Covenant – a Covenant designed by
Him as the sole refuge against schism, disruption and
anarchy – will readily recognize the hallmark of His Faith,
and will acclaim it as the supreme gift conferred by Him Who
is the Lord of Revelation upon the present and future
generations who are destined, in this greatest of all Dispens-
ations, to flock, from every creed and religion, to the banner,
and espouse the Cause, of His Most Great Name.From the record of its tumultuous history, almost every page
of which portrays a fresh crisis, is laden with the descripti on
of a new calamity, recounts the tale of a base betrayal, and is
stained with the account of unspeakable atrocities, there
emerges, clear and incontrovertible, the supreme truth that
with every fresh outbreak of hostility to the Faith, whether
from within or from without, a corresponding measure of
outpouring grace, sustaining its defenders and confounding
its adversaries, has been providentially released, communi-
cating a fresh impulse to the onward march of the Faith,
while this impetus, in its turn, would, through its manifest-
ations, provoke fresh hostility in quarters heretofore unaware
of its challenging implications – this increased hostility be ing
accompanied by a still more arresting revelation of Divine
Power and a more abundant effusion of celestial grace,
which, by enabling the upholders of that Faith to register still
more brilliant victories, would thereby generate issues of sti ll
more vital import and raise up still more formidable enemies
against a Cause that cannot but in the end resolve those
issues and crush the resistance of those enemies, through a
still more glorious unfoldment of its inherent power.
G. ‘America and the Most Great Peace’these notorious exponents of corruption and heresy in
protruding for a time their ugly features only to sink, as rapi dly
as they had risen, into the mire of an ignominious end
Will it be America, will it be one of the countries of Europ e,
who will arise to assume the leadership essential to the
shaping of the destinies of this troubled age? Will America
allow any of her sister communities in East or West to
achieve such ascendancy as shall deprive her of that spiritual
primacy with which she has been invested and which she has
thus far so nobly retained? Will she not rather contribute, by
a still further revelation of those inherent powers that motiv-
ate her life, to enhance the priceless heritage which the love
and wisdom of a departed Master have conferred upon her?
Her past has been a testimony to the inexhaustible vitality
of her faith. May not her future confirm it?Contrast the sad plight of the nations of the earth, and in
particular this great Republic of the West, with the rising
fortunes of that handful of its citizens , whosemission, if they be faithful to their trust, is to heal its wounds,
restore its confidence and revive its shattered hopes.
Contrast the dreadful convulsions, the internecine conflicts,
the petty disputes, the outworn controversies, the intermin-
able revolutions that agitate the masses, with the calm new
light of Peace and of Truth which envelops, guides and
sustains those valiant inheritors of the law and love of
Bahá’u’lláh. Compare the disintegrating institutions, the dis-
credited statesmanship, the exploded theories, the appalling
degradation, the follies and furies, the shifts, shams and com-
promises that characterize the present age, with the steady
consolidation, the holy discipline, the unity and cohesiveness,
the assured conviction, the uncompromising loyalty, the
heroic self-sacrifice that constitute the hallmark of these
faithful stewards and harbingers of the golden age of the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.The passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, so sudden in the circumstances
which caused it, so dramatic in its consequences, could
neither impede the operation of such a dynamic force nor
obscure its purpose. Those fervid appeals, embodied in the
Will and Testament of a departed Master, could not but
confirm its aim, define its character and reinforce the
promise of its ultimate success.followers have suffered, amid the heat and dust which the
attacks launched by a sleepless enemy had precipitated, the
Administration of Bahá’u’lláh’s invincible Faith was born.
The potent energies released through the ascension of the
Center of His Covenant crystallized into this supreme, this
infallible Organ for the accomplishment of a Divine Purpose.
The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá unveiled its
character, reaffirmed its basis, supplemented its principles ,
asserted its indispensability, and enumerated its chief
institutions. With that self-same spontaneity which had
characterized her response to the Message proclaimed by
Bahá’u’lláh America had now arisen to espouse the cause of
the Administration which the Will and Testament of His Son
had unmistakably established. It was given to her, and to her
alone, in the turbulent years following the revelation of so
momentous a Document, to become the fearless champion of
that Administration, the pivot of its new-born institutions and
the leading promoter of its influence. To their Persian
brethren, who in the heroic age of the Faith had won the
crown of martyrdom, the American believers, forerunners of
its golden age, were now worthily succeeding, bearing in
their turn the palm of a hard-won victory. The unbroken
record of their illustrious deeds had established beyond the
shadow of a doubt their preponderating share in shaping the
destinies of their Faith. In a world writhing with pain and
declining into chaos this community – the vanguard of the
liberating forces of Bahá’u’lláh – succeeded in the years
following ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing in raising high above the
institutions established by its sister communities in East and
West what may well constitute the chief pillar of that future
House – a House which posterity will regard as the last
refuge of a tottering civilization.truths which lie at the basis of our Faith and the integrity of
which it is our first duty to safeguard. These verities, if val iantly
upheld and properly assimilated, will, I am convinced, power-
fully reinforce the vigor of our spiritual life, and greatly a ssist in
counteracting the machinations of an implacable and vigilant
enemyDominating the entire range of this fascinating spectacle
towers theincomparable figure of Bahá’u’lláh, transcendental in His
majesty, serene, awe-inspiring, unapproachably glorious.
Allied, though subordinate in rank, and invested with the
authority of presiding with Him over the destinies of this
supreme Dispensation, there shines upon this mental picture
the youthful glory of the Báb, infinite in His tenderness,
irresistible in His charm, unsurpassed in His heroism,
matchless in the dramatic circumstances of His short yet
eventful life. And finally there emerges, though on a plane of
its own and in a category entirely apart from the one
occupied by the twin Figures that preceded Him, the vibrant,
the magnetic personality of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, reflecting to a
degree that no man, however exalted his station, can hope to
rival, the glory and power with which They who are the
Manifestations of God are alone endowed.[T]hat invisible yet rational God Who, however much we
extol the divinity of His Manifestations on earth, can in no
wise incarnate His infinite, His unknowable, Hisincorruptible and all-embracing Reality in the concrete and
limited frame of a mortal being. Indeed, the God Who could
so incarnate His own reality would, in the light of the
teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, cease immediately to be God.
should never be obscured, and [its]integrity . . . no one of His followers should allow to be
compromisedrepudiates the claim to be regarded as the final revelation of
God’s will and purpose for mankindprimarily, not in His being the divinely-appointed Forerunner of
so transcendent a Revelation, but rather in His having been
invested with the powers inherent in the inaugurator of a
separate religious Dispensation, and in His wielding, to a degree
unrivalled by the Messengers gone before Him, the scepter of
independent ProphethoodIt would be indeed difficult for us, who stand so close to such
a tremendous figure and are drawn by the mysterious power
of so magnetic a personality, to obtain a clear and exact
understanding of the rôle and character of One Who, not
only in the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh but in the entire field
of religious history, fulfills a unique function . . . He towers,
in conjunction with them , abovethe destinies of this infant Faith of God from a level to which
no individual or body ministering to its needs after Him, and
for no less a period than a full thousand years, can ever hope
to rise.This Administrative Order, as it expands and consolidates
itself, will no doubt manifest the potentialities and reveal the
full implications of this momentous Documentsion of the Will of One of the most remarkable Figures of the
Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh. It will, as its component parts,
its organic institutions, begin to function with efficiency and
vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its capacity to be
regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the
New World Order destined to embrace in the fullness of time
the whole of mankind.covenant, or providing for an administrative order, that can
compare in scope and authority with those that lie at the very
basis of the Bahá’í DispensationSignificant as are the origins of this mighty administrative
structure, and however unique its features, the happenings
that may be said to have heralded its birth and signalized the
initial stage of its evolution seem no less remarkable. How
striking, how edifying the contrast between the process of
slow and steady consolidation that characterizes the growth
of its infant strength and the devastating onrush of the forces
of disintegration that are assailing the outworn institutions,
both religious and secular, of present-day society!
The vitality which the organic institutions of this great,
this ever-expanding Order so strongly exhibit; the obstacles
which the high courage, the undaunted resolution of its
administrators have already surmounted; the fire of an
unquenchable enthusiasm that glows with undiminished
fervour in the hearts of its itinerant teachers; the heights of
self-sacrifice which its champion-builders are now attaining;
the breadth of vision, the confident hope, the creative joy, the
inward peace, the uncompromising integrity, the exemplary
discipline, the unyielding unity and solidarity which its
stalwart defenders manifest; the degree to which its moving
Spirit has shown itself capable of assimilating the diversif ied
elements within its pale, of cleansing them of all forms of
prejudice and of fusing them with its own structure – these
are evidences of a power which a disillusioned and sadly
shaken society can ill afford to ignore.Compare these splendid manifestations of the spirit
animating this vibrant body of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh with
the cries and agony, the follies and vanities, the bitterness
and prejudices, the wickedness and divisions of an ailing and
chaotic world. Witness the fear that torments its leaders and
paralyzes the action of its blind and bewildered statesmen.
How fierce the hatreds, how false the ambitions, how petty
the pursuits, how deep-rooted the suspicions of its peoples!
How disquieting the lawlessness, the corruption, the unbelief
that are eating into the vitals of a tottering civilization!
Might not this process of steady deterioration which is
insidiously invading so many departments of human activity
and thought be regarded as a necessary accompaniment to
the rise of this almighty Arm of Bahá’u’lláh? Might we not
look upon the momentous happenings which, in the course of
the past twenty years, have so deeply agitated every continent
of the earth, as ominous signs simultaneously proclaiming
the agonies of a disintegrating civilization and the birth-
pangs of that World Order – that Ark of human salvation –
that must needs arise upon its ruins?principalities that have either ignored or opposed
mystic, all-irreligion, of a purely materialistic philosophy of
unconcealed paganisma marked weakening of the Church and . . . a grave diminution
of its spiritual influencebody of nations will be made the ruling principle of international
lifeThe Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, whose supreme mission is
none other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual
unity of the whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to
its implications, be regarded as signalizing through its
advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should
be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the
ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further
stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the
culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles,
but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the
stupendous evolution of man’s collective life on this planet.
The emergence of a world community, the consciousness of
world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and
culture – all of which must synchronize with the initial stages
in the unfoldment of the Golden Age of the Bahá’í Era –
should, by their very nature, be regarded, as far as this
planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in t he
organization of human society, though man, as an individual,
will, nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation,
continue indefinitely to progress and develop.Deep as is the gloom that already encircles the world, the
afflictive ordeals which that world is to suffer are still in
preparation, nor can their blackness be as yet imagined. We
stand on the threshold of an age whose convulsions proclaim
alike the death-pangs of the old order and the birth-pangs of
the new.The recrudescence of religious intolerance, of racial animos-
ity, and of patriotic arrogance; the increasing evidences of
selfishness, of suspicion, of fear and of fraud; the spread of
terrorism, of lawlessness, of drunkenness and of crime; the
unquenchable thirst for, and the feverish pursuit after,
earthly vanities, riches and pleasures; the weakening of
family solidarity; the laxity in parental control; the lapse into
luxurious indulgence; the irresponsible attitude towards
marriage and the consequent rising tide of divorce; the
degeneracy of art and music, the infection of literature, and
the corruption of the press; the extension of the influence and
activities of those ‘prophets of decadence’ who advocate
companionate marriage, who preach the philosophy of
nudism, who call modesty an intellectual fiction, who refuse
to regard the procreation of children as the sacred and
primary purpose of marriage, who denounce religion as an
opiate of the people, who would, if given free rein, lead bac k
the human race to barbarism, chaos, and ultimate extinction
– these appear as the outstanding characteristics of a
decadent society, a society that must either be reborn or
perish.Ceasing to designate to itself a movement, a fellowship and
the like – designations that did grave injustice to its ever-
unfolding system – dissociating itself from such appellations
as Bábí sect, Asiatic cult, and offshoot of Sh í’ih Islám, with
which the ignorant and the malicious were wont to describe
it, refusing to be labeled as a mere philosophy of life, or as
an eclectic code of ethical conduct, or even as a new
religion, the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is now visibly succeeding
in demonstrating its claim and title to be regarded as a
World Religion, destined to attain, in the fullness of time, t he
status of a world-embracing Commonwealth, which would be
at once the instrument and the guardian of the Most Great
Peace announced by its Author.How can a Faith, it should moreover be borne in mind,
whose divinely-ordained institutions have been established
within the jurisdiction of no less than forty different
countries, the policies and interests of whose governments
are continually clashing and growing more complex and
confused every day – how can such a Faith, by allowing its
adherents, whether individually or through its organized
councils, to meddle in political activities, succeed in
preserving the integrity of its teachings and in safeguarding
the unity of its followers? How can it insure the vigorous, the
uninterrupted and peaceful development of its expanding
institutions? How can a Faith, whose ramifications have
brought it into contact with mutually incompatible religious
systems, sects and confessions, be in a position, if it perm its
its adherents to subscribe to obsolescent observances and
doctrines, to claim the unconditional allegiance of those
whom it is striving to incorporate into its divinely-appointed
system? How can it avoid the constant friction, the
misunderstandings and controversies which formal affili-
ation, as distinct from association, must inevitably engender?
The long ages of infancy and childhood, through which the
human race had to pass, have receded into the background.
Humanity is now experiencing the commotions invariably
associated with the most turbulent stage of its evolution, the
stage of adolescence, when the impetuosity of youth and its
vehemence reach their climax, and must gradually be
superseded by the calmness, the wisdom, and the maturity
that characterize the stage of manhood. Then will the human
race reach that stature of ripeness which will enable it to
acquire all the powers and capacities upon which its ultimate
development must depend.The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Bahá’u’lláh,
implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which
all nations, races, creeds and classes are closely and
permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its state
members and the personal freedom and initiative of the
individuals that comprise them are definitely and completely
safeguarded.A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising
unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast
resources, blending and embodying the ideals of both the
East and the West, liberated from the curse of war and its
miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all the available
sources of energy on the surface of the planet, a system in
which Force is made the servant of Justice, whose life is
sustained by its universal recognition of one God and by its
allegiance to one common Revelation – such is the goal
towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of
life, is moving.freed from that cancerous growth of racial prejudice, which is
eating into the vitals of an already debilitated society
immersed ina sea of materialism, a prey to one of the most virulent and long-
standing forms of racial prejudice, and notorious for its political
corruption, lawlessness and laxity in moral standards
racialpurity, and the driving force of the life of the Bahá’í community ,
and upon must depend the future orientation of its
destiny, and the complete unfoldment of the potentialities with
which God has endowed itominous frequency and resistless force, are afflicting an ever-
increasing portion of the human race must of necessity continue,
however impermanently, to exercise, in a certain measure, the ir
baleful influence upon a world community which has spread its
ramifications to the uttermost ends of the earththe present age presents, with all the sorrows which it evoke s,
the fears which it excites, the disillusionment which it produces ,
the perplexities which it creates, the indignation which it
arouses, the revolt which it provokes, the grievances it
engenders, the spirit of restless search which it awakens, must, in
like manner, be exploited for the purpose of spreading far and
wide the knowledge of the redemptive power of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh, and for enlisting fresh recruits in the ever-swelli ng
army of His followers ‘[T]he synchronization of such
world-shaking crises with the progressiveunfoldment and fruition of their divinely appointed task is itself
the work of Providence . . . Such simultaneous processes of rise
and fall, of integration and of disintegration, of order and chaos,
with their continuous and reciprocal reactions on each other, are
but aspects of a greater Plan, one and indivisible, whose Source
is God, whose author is Bahá’u’lláh, the theater of whose
operations is the entire planet, and whose ultimate objectives
are the unity of the human race and the peace of all mankind
The lightof religion is dimmed and moral authority is disintegrating
The nations of the world have, for themost part, fallen a prey to battling ideologies that threaten to
disrupt the very foundations of their dearly won political unity.
Agitated multitudes in these countries seethe with discontent, are
armed to the teeth, are stampeded with fear, and groan beneath
the yoke of tribulations engendered by political strife, racial
fanaticism, national hatreds, and religious animosities
A world, torn with conflicting passions, and perilously
disintegrating from within, finds itself confronted, at so
crucial an epoch in its history, by the rising fortunes of an
infant Faith, a Faith that, at times, seems to be drawn into its
controversies, entangled by its conflicts, eclipsed by its
gathering shadows, and overpowered by the mounting tide of
its passions. In its very heart, within its cradle, at the seat of
its first and venerable Temple, in one of its hitherto
flourishing and potentially powerful centres, the as-yet
unemancipated Faith of Bahá’u’lláh seems indeed to have
retreated before the onrushing forces of violence and dis-
order to which humanity is steadily falling a victim. The
strongholds of such a Faith, one by one and day after day,
are to outward seeming being successively isolated, as-
saulted and captured. As the lights of liberty flicker and go
out, as the din of discord grows louder and louder every day,
as the fires of fanaticism flame with increasing fierceness in
the breasts of men, as the chill of irreligion creeps rel ent-
lessly over the soul of mankind, the limbs and organs that
constitute the body of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh appear, in
varying measure, to have become afflicted with the crippling
influences that now hold in their grip the whole of the
civilized world.any attempt to survey the possibilities of the future : . . .
the multitudinous issues that must be faced, the obstacles that
must be overcome, and the responsibilities that must be
assumed, to enable a sore-tried Faith to pass through the
successive stages of unmitigated obscurity, of active repre s-
sion, and of complete emancipation, leading in turn to its
being acknowledged as an independent Faith, enjoying the
status of full equality with its sister religions, to be foll owed
by its establishment and recognition as a State religion,
which in turn must give way to its assumption of the rights
and prerogatives associated with the Bahá’í state, func-
tioning in the plenitude of its powers, a stage which must
ultimately culminate in the emergence of the worldwide
Bahá’í Commonwealth, animated wholly by the spirit, and
operating solely in direct conformity with the laws and
principles of Bahá’u’lláh.Let not, however, the invincible army of Bahá’u’lláh, who in
the West, and at one of its potential storm-centers is to fight,
in His name and for His sake, one of its fiercest and most
glorious battles, be afraid of any criticism that might be
directed against it. Let it not be deterred by any condem-
nation with which the tongue of the slanderer may seek to
debase its motives. Let it not recoil before the threatening
advance of the forces of fanaticism, of orthodoxy, of
corruption, and of prejudice that may be leagued against it.
The voice of criticism is a voice that indirectly reinforces the
proclamation of its Cause. Unpopularity but serves to throw
into greater relief the contrast between it and its adversaries;
while ostracism is itself the magnetic power that must
eventually win over to its camp the most vociferous and
inveterate amongst its foes.The field is indeed so immense, the period so critical, the
Cause so great, the workers so few, the time so short, the
privilege so priceless, that no follower of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh, worthy to bear His name, can afford a
moment’s hesitation. That God-born Force, irresistible in its
sweeping power, incalculable in its potency, unpredictable in
its course, mysterious in its workings, and awe-inspiring in
its manifestations – a Force which, as the Báb has written,
‘vibrates within the innermost being of all created things,’
and which, according to Bahá’u’lláh, has through its ‘vibrat-
ing influence,’ ‘upset the equilibrium of the world and revo-
lutionized its ordered life’ – such a Force, acting even as a
two-edged sword, is, under our very eyes, sundering, on the
one hand, the age-old ties which for centuries have held
together the fabric of civilized society, and is unloosing, on
the other, the bonds that still fetter the infant and as yet
unemancipated Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.The opportunities which the turmoil of the present age
presents, with all the sorrows which it evokes, the fears
which it excites, the disillusionment which it produces, the
perplexities which it creates, the indignation which it
arouses, the revolt which it provokes, the grievances it
engenders, the spirit of restless search which it awakens,
must, in like manner, be exploited for the purpose of
spreading far and wide the knowledge of the redemptive
power of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and for enlisting fresh
recruits in the ever-swelling army of His followers. So
precious an opportunity, so rare a conjunction of favorable
circumstances, may never again recur. Now is the time, the
appointed time, for the American believers, the vanguard of
the hosts of the Most Great Name, to proclaim, through the
agencies and channels of a specially designed Administrative
Order, their capacity and readiness to rescue a fallen and
sore-tried generation, that has rebelled against its God and
ignored His warnings, and to offer it that complete security
which only the strongholds of their Faith can provide.
K. The Promised Day is Comeis at once a visitation from God and a cleansing process
for all mankind. Its fires punish the perversity of the human race,
and weld its component parts into one organic, indivisible,
world-embracing communitytumult of strife . . . blackened the annals of mankind
worldwide reconciliationwould correctly appraise it, should be regarded as one which is
witnessing a dual phenomenon. The first signalizes the death
pangs of an order, effete and godless, that has stubbornly
refused, despite the signs and portents of a century-old Reve-
lation, to attune its processes to the precepts and ideals which
that Heaven-sent Faith proffered it. The second proclaims the
birth pangs of an Order, divine and redemptive, that will
inevitably supplant the former, and within Whose administrative
structure an embryonic civilization, incomparable and world-
embracing, is imperceptibly maturing. The one is being rolled
up, and is crashing in oppression, bloodshed, and ruin. The
other opens up vistas of a justice, a unity, a peace, a cultur e,
such as no age has ever seen. The former has spent its force,
demonstrated its falsity and barrenness, lost irretrievably its
opportunity, and is hurrying to its doom. The latter, virile and
unconquerable, is plucking asunder its chains, and is vindicating
its title to be the one refuge within which a sore-tried humanity,
purged from its dross, can attain its destinya kingship as yet scarcely restricted by constitutional limit ations,
or entrenched within the strongholds of a seemingly inviolable
ecclesiastical powerrank and conduct of just and fair-minded kings is extolled, the
rise of monarchs, ruling with justice and even professing Hi s
Faith, is envisaged, and the solemn duty to arise and ensure the
triumph of Bahá’í sovereigns is inculcatedinflamed the ignorant and subservient masses against
calamities that afflictedThis great retributive calamity, for which the world’s su-
preme leaders, both secular and religious, are to be regarded
as primarily answerable, as testified by Bahá’u’lláh, should
not, if we would correctly appraise it, be regarded solely as a
punishment meted out by God to a world that has, for a
hundred years, persisted in its refusal to embrace the truth of
the redemptive Message proffered to it by the supreme
Messenger of God in this day. It should be viewed also,
though to a lesser degree, in the light of a divine retribution
for the perversity of the human race in general, in casting
itself adrift from those elementary principles which must, at
all times, govern, and can alone safeguard, the life and
progress of mankind. Humanity has, alas, with increasing
insistence, preferred, instead of acknowledging and adoring
the Spirit of God as embodied in His religion in this day, to
worship those false idols, untruths and half-truths, which are
obscuring its religions, corrupting its spiritual life, con-
vulsing its political institutions, corroding its social fabric ,
and shattering its economic structure.The world is, in truth, moving on towards its destiny
The interdependence of the peoplesand nations of the earth, whatever the leaders of the divisive
forces of the world may say or do, is already an accomplished
fact. Its unity in the economic sphere is now understood and
recognized. The welfare of the part means the welfare of the
whole, and the distress of the part brings distress to the whole
. . . The fires lit by this great ordeal are the consequences of
men’s failure to recognizeA tempest, unprecedented in its violence, unpredictable in its
course, catastrophic in its immediate effects, unimaginably
glorious in its ultimate consequences, is at present sweeping
the face of the earth. Its driving power is remorselessly gai n-
ing in range and momentum. Its cleansing force, however
much undetected, is increasing with every passing day.
Humanity, gripped in the clutches of its devastating power, is
smitten by the evidences of its resistless fury. It can neit her
perceive its origin, nor probe its significance, nor discern it s
outcome. Bewildered, agonized and helpless, it watches this
great and mighty wind of God invading the remotest and
fairest regions of the earth, rocking its foundations, derang-
ing its equilibrium, sundering its nations, disrupting the
homes of its peoples, wasting its cities, driving into e xile its
kings, pulling down its bulwarks, uprooting its institutions,
dimming its light, and harrowing up the souls of its
inhabitants.Who is the ruler, may it not be confidently asked, whether of
the East or of the West, who, at any time since the dawn of s o
transcendent a Revelation, has been prompted to raise his
voice either in its praise or against those who persecuted it?
Which people has, in the course of so long a captivity, fel t
urged to arise and stem the tide of such tribulations? Who is
the sovereign, excepting a single woman, shining in solitary
glory, who has, in however small a measure, felt impelled to
respond to the poignant call of Bahá’u’lláh? Who amongst
the great ones of the earth was inclined to extend this infant
Faith of God the benefit of his recognition or support? Which
one of the multitudes of creeds, sects, races, parties and
classes and of the highly diversified schools of human
thought, considered it necessary to direct its gaze towards
the rising light of the Faith, to contemplate its unfolding
system, to ponder its hidden processes, to appraise its
weighty message, to acknowledge its regenerative power, to
embrace its salutary truth, or to proclaim its eternal verities ?
Who among the worldly wise and the so-called men of insight
and wisdom can justly claim, after the lapse of nearly a cen-
tury, to have disinterestedly approached its theme, to have
considered impartially its claims, to have taken sufficient
pains to delve into its literature, to have assiduously striven
to separate facts from fiction, or to have accorded its cause
the treatment it merits? Where are the preeminent exponents,
whether of the arts or sciences, with the exception of a few
isolated cases, who have lifted a finger, or whispered a word
of commendation, in either the defense or the praise of a
Faith that has conferred upon the world so priceless a bene-
fit, that has suffered so long and so grievously, and which
enshrines within its shell so enthralling a promise for a world
so woefully battered, so manifestly bankrupt?God . . . does not only punish the wrongdoings of His
children. He chastises because He is just, and He chastens
because He loves. Having chastened them, He cannot, in His
great mercy, leave them to their fate. Indeed, by the very act
of chastening them He prepares them for the mission for
which He has created them . . .God’s purpose is none other than to usher in, in ways He
alone can bring about, and the full significance of which He
alone can fathom, the Great, the Golden Age of a long-
divided, a long-afflicted humanity. Its present state, indeed
even its immediate future, is dark, distressingly dark. Its
distant future, however, is radiant, gloriously radiant – so
radiant that no eye can visualize it.will the coming of age of the entire human race be
proclaimed and celebrated by all the peoples and nations of
the earth. Then will the banner of the Most Great Peace be
hoisted. Then will the worldwide sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh
– the Establisher of the Kingdom of the Father foretold by
the Son, and anticipated by the Prophets of God before Him
and after Him – be recognized, acclaimed, and firmly estab-
lished. Then will a world civilization be born, flourish, and
perpetuate itself, a civilization with a fullness of life such as
the world has never seen nor can as yet conceive. Then will
the Everlasting Covenant be fulfilled in its completeness.
Then will the promise enshrined in all the Books of God be
redeemed, and all the prophecies uttered by the Prophets of
old come to pass, and the vision of seers and poets be
realized. Then will the planet, galvanized through the
universal belief of its dwellers in one God, and their
allegiance to one common Revelation, mirror, within the
limitations imposed upon it, the effulgent glories of the
sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh, shining in the plenitude of its
splendor in the Abhá Paradise, and be made the footstool of
His Throne on high, and acclaimed as the earthly heaven,
capable of fulfilling that ineffable destiny fixed for it, from
time immemorial, by the love and wisdom of its Creator.
Not ours, puny mortals that we are, to attempt, at so
critical a stage in the long and checkered history of mankind,
to arrive at a precise and satisfactory understanding of the
steps which must successively lead a bleeding humanity,
wretchedly oblivious of its God, and careless of Bahá’u’lláh,
from its calvary to its ultimate resurrection. Not ours, the
living witnesses of the all-subduing potency of His Faith, to
question, for a moment, and however dark the misery that
enshrouds the world, the ability of Bahá’u’lláh to forge, with
the hammer of His Will, and through the fire of tribulation,
upon the anvil of this travailing age, and in the particular
shape His mind has envisioned, these scattered and mutually
destructive fragments into which a perverse world has fallen,
into one single unit, solid and indivisible, able to execute His
design for the children of men.however dismal the present outlook, however circumscribed
the resources we dispose of, to labor serenely, confidently,
and unremittingly to lend our share of assistance, in which-
ever way circumstances may enable us, to the operation of
the forces which, as marshalled and directed by Bahá’u’lláh,
are leading humanity out of the valley of misery and shame
to the loftiest summits of power and glory.care and unfailing grace continue to sustain them,
individually and collectivelyA continent , twice blessed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s suc-
cessive visits to its shores, and the scene of His first pub lic
appearance in the West; which has been the cradle of a
civilization to some of whose beneficent features the pen of
Bahá’u’lláh has paid significant tribute; on whose soil both
the Greek and Roman civilizations were born and flourished;
which has contributed so richly to the unfoldment of
American civilization; the fountainhead of American culture;
the mother of Christendom, and the scene of the greatest
exploits of the followers of Jesus Christ; in some of whose
outlying territories have been won some of the most
resplendent victories which ushered in the Golden Age of
Islám; which sustained, in its very heart, the violent impact of
the onrushing hosts of that Faith, intent on the subjugation of
its cities, but which refused to bend the knee to its invaders,
and succeeded in the end in repulsing their assault – such a
continent is now experiencing, at the hands of the little as yet
unnoticed band of pioneers sent forth by the enviable, the
privileged, the dynamic American Bahá’í Community, the
first stirrings of that spiritual revolution which must
culminate, in the Golden Age that is as yet unborn, in the
permanent establishment of Bahá’u’lláh’s Order throughout
that continent.Indeed if we would read aright the signs of the times, and
appraise correctly the significances of contemporaneous
events that are impelling forward both the American Bahá’í
Community and the nation of which it forms a part on the
road leading them to their ultimate destiny, we cannot fail to
perceive the workings of two simultaneous processes,
generated as far back as the concluding years of the Heroic
Age of our Faith, each clearly defined, each distinctly
separate, yet closely related and destined to culminate, in the
fullness of time, in a single glorious consummation.
One of these processes is associated with the mission of
the American Bahá’í Community, the other with the destiny
of the American nation. The one serves directly the interests
of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, the
other promotes indirectly the institutions that are to be
associated with the establishment of His World Order. The
first process dates back to the revelation of those stupendous
Tablets constituting the Charter of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine
Plan. It was held in abeyance for well-nigh twenty years
while the fabric of an indispensable Administrative Order,
designed as a divinely appointed agency for the operation of
that Plan, was being constructed. It registered its initial
success with the triumphant conclusion of the first stage of it s
operation in the republics of the Western Hemisphere. It
signalized the opening of the second phase of its development
through the inauguration of the present teaching campaign in
the European continent. It must pass into the third stage of its
evolution with the initiation of the third Seven Year Plan,
designed to culminate in the establishment of the structure of
the Administrative Order in all the remaining sovereign
states and chief dependencies of the globe. It must reach the
end of the first epoch in its evolution with the fulfilment of the
prophecy mentioned by Daniel in the last chapter of His
Book, related to the year 1335, and associated by ‘Abdu’l-
Bahá with the world triumph of the Faith of His Father. It
will be consummated through the emergence of the Bahá’í
World Commonwealth in the Golden Age of the Bahá’í
Dispensation.The other process dates back to the outbreak of the First
World War that threw the great republic of the West into the
vortex of the first stage of a world upheaval. It received i ts
initial impetus through the formulation of President Wilson’s
Fourteen Points, closely associating for the first time that
republic with the fortunes of the Old World. It suffered its
first setback through the dissociation of that republic from
the newly born League of Nations which that president had
labored to create. It acquired added momentum through the
outbreak of the second World War, inflicting unprecedented
suffering on that republic, and involving it still further in the
affairs of all the continents of the globe. It was further
reinforced through the declaration embodied in the Atlantic
Charter, as voiced by one of its chief progenitors, Franklin
D. Roosevelt. It assumed a definite outline through the birth
of the United Nations at the San Francisco Conference. It
acquired added significance through the choice of the City of
the Covenant itself as the seat of the newly born organiz-
ation, through the declaration recently made by the
American president related to his country’s commitments in
Greece and Turkey, as well as through the submission to the
General Assembly of the United Nations of the thorny and
challenging problem of the Holy Land, the spiritual as well
as the administrative center of the World Faith of Bahá-
’u’lláh. It must, however long and tortuous the way, lead,
through a series of victories and reverses, to the political
unification of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, to the
emergence of a world government and the establishment of
the Lesser Peace, as foretold by Bahá’u’lláh andforeshadowed by the Prophet Isaiah. It must, in the end,
culminate in the unfurling of the banner of the Most Great
Peace, in the Golden Age of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh.
The champion builders of Bahá’u’lláh’s rising World Order
must scale nobler heights of heroism as humanity plunges
into greater depths of despair, degradation, dissension and
distress. Let them forge ahead into the future serenely
confident that the hour of their mightiest exertions and the
supreme opportunity for their greatest exploits must coincide
with the apocalyptic upheaval marking the lowest ebb in
mankind’s fast-declining fortunes.As the threat of still more violent convulsions assailing a
travailing age increases, and the wings of yet another
conflict, destined to contribute a distinct, and perhaps a
decisive, share to the birth of the new Order which must
signalize the advent of the Lesser Peace, darken the
international horizon, the eyes of the divers communities,
comprising the body of the organized followers ofBahá’u’lláh throughout the Eastern Hemisphere, are being
increasingly fixed upon the progressive unfoldment of the
tasks which the executors of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Mandate have
been summoned to undertake in the course of the second
stage of their world-girdling mission.[N]othing short of the vitalizing influx of new blood
. . . can safeguard the prizesThis flow, moreover, will presage and hasten the advent
of the day which, as prophesied by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, will
witness the entry by troops of peoples of divers nations and
races into the Bahá’í world – a day which, viewed in its
proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long-awaited
hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same
nations and races, and as a direct result of a chain of events,
momentous and possibly catastrophic in nature, and which
cannot as yet be even dimly visualized, will suddenly revo-
lutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the equilibrium of
the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical
strength as well as the material power and the spiritual
authority of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.The steady and alarming deterioration in the standard of
morality as exemplified by the appalling increase of crime ,
by political corruption in ever widening and ever higher
circles, by the loosening of the sacred ties of marriage, by the
inordinate craving for pleasure and diversion, and by the
marked and progressive slackening of parental control, is no
doubt the most arresting and distressing aspect of the decline
that has set in, and can be clearly perceived, in the fortunes
of the entire nation.Parallel with this, and pervading all departments of life – an
evil which the nation, and indeed all those within the
capitalist system, though to a lesser degree, share with that
state and its satellites regarded as the sworn enemies of that
system – is the crass materialism, which lays excessive and
ever-increasing emphasis on material well-being, forgetful o f
those things of the spirit on which alone a sure and stable
foundation can be laid for human society. It is this same
cancerous materialism, born originally in Europe, carried to
excess in the North American continent, contaminating the
Asiatic peoples and nations, spreading its ominous tentacles
to the borders of Africa, and now invading its very heart,
which Bahá’u’lláh in unequivocal and emphatic language
denounced in His Writings, comparing it to a devouring
flame and regarding it as the chief factor in precipitating the
dire ordeals and world-shaking crises that must necessarily
involve the burning of cities and the spread of terror and
consternation in the hearts of men. Indeed a foretaste of the
devastation which this consuming fire will wreak upon the
world, and with which it will lay waste the cities of the
nations participating in this tragic world-engulfing contest,
has been afforded by the last World War, marking the second
stage in the global havoc which humanity, forgetful of its
God and heedless of the clear warnings uttered by His
appointed Messenger for this day, must, alas, inevitably
experience. It is this same all-pervasive, pernicious mat erial-
ism against which the voice of the Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s
Covenant was raised, with pathetic persistence, from plat-
form and pulpit, in His addresses to the heedless multitudes,
which, on the morrow of His fateful visit to both Europe and
America, found themselves suddenly swept into the vortex of
a tempest which in its range and severity was unsurpassed in
the world’s history.No less serious is the stress and strain imposed on the fabric
of American society through the fundamental and persistent
neglect, by the governed and governors alike, of the supreme,
the inescapable and urgent duty – so repeatedly and
graphically represented and stressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His
arraignment of the basic weaknesses in the social fabric of
the nation – of remedying, while there is yet time, through a
revolutionary change in the concept and attitude of the
average white American toward his Negro fellow citizen, a
situation which, if allowed to drift, will, in the words of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, cause the streets of American cities to run
with blood, aggravating thereby the havoc which the fearful
weapons of destruction, raining from the air, and amassed by
a ruthless, a vigilant, a powerful and inveterate enemy, will
wreak upon those same cities.severe and insistent, and yet so glorious, faces no doubt
primarily the individual believer on whom, in the last resort,
depends the fate of the entire community. He it is who
constitutes the warp and woof on which the quality and
pattern of the whole fabric must depend. He it is who acts as
one of the countless links in the mighty chain that now
girdles the globe. He it is who serves as one of the multitude
of bricks which support the structure and insure the stability
of the administrative edifice now being raised in every part of
the world. Without his support, at once whole-hearted,
continuous and generous, every measure adopted, and every
plan formulated, by the body which acts as the national
representative of the community to which he belongs, is
foredoomed to failure. The World Center of the Faith itself is
paralyzed if such a support on the part of the rank and file of
the community is denied it. The Author of the Divine Plan
Himself is impeded in His purpose if the proper instrume nts
for the execution of His design are lacking. The sustaining
strength of Bahá’u’lláh Himself, the Founder of the Faith,
will be withheld from every and each individual who fails in
the long run to arise and play his part.No matter how long the period that separates them from
ultimate victory; however arduous the task; however for-
midable the exertions demanded of them; however dark the
days which mankind, perplexed and sorely-tried, must, in its
hour of travail, traverse; however severe the tests with which
they who are to redeem its fortunes will be confronted;
however afflictive the darts which their present enemies, a s
well as those whom Providence, will, through His mysterious
dispensations raise up from within or from without, may rain
upon them, however grievous the ordeal of temporary
separation from the heart and nerve-center of their Faith
which future unforeseeable disturbances may impose upon
them, I adjure them, by the precious blood that flowed in
such great profusion, by the lives of the unnumbered saints
and heroes who were immolated, by the supreme, the
glorious sacrifice of the Prophet-Herald of our Faith, by the
tribulations which its Founder, Himself, willingly underwent,
so that His Cause might live, His Order might redeem a
shattered world and its glory might suffuse the entire planet –
I adjure them, as this solemn hour draws nigh, to resolve
never to flinch, never to hesitate, never to relax, until each
and every objective in the Plans to be proclaimed, at a later
date, has been fully consummated.It is indeed my fervent and constant prayer that the members
of this firmly-knit, intensely alive, world-embracing Com-
munity, spurred on by the triple impulse generated through
the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel by Bahá’u’lláh and the
Will and Testament as well as the Tablets of the Divine Plan
bequeathed by the Center of His Covenant – the three
Charters which have set in motion three distinct processes,
the first operating in the Holy Land for the development of
the institutions of the Faith at its World Center and the other
two, throughout the rest of the Bahá’í world, for its
propagation and the establishment of its Administrative
Order – may advance from strength to strength and victory to
victory. May they hasten, by their present exertions, the
advent of that blissful consummation when the shackles
hampering the growth of their beloved Faith will have been
finally burst asunder, when its independent status will have
been officially and universally recognized, when it will have
ascended the throne and wielded the scepter of spiritual and
temporal authority, when the brightness of its glory will have
illuminated the whole earth, and its dominion will have been
established over the entire planet.Against the background of these afflictive disturbances – the
turmoil and tribulations of a travailing age – we may well
ponder the portentous prophecies uttered well-nigh fourscore
years ago, by the Author of our Faith, as well as the dire
predictions made by Him Who is the unerring Interpreter of
His teachings, all foreshadowing a universal commotion, of a
scope and intensity unparalleled in the annals of mankind.
The violent derangement of the world’s equilibrium; the
trembling that will seize the limbs of mankind; the radical
transformation of human society; the rolling up of the
present-day Order; the fundamental changes affecting the
structure of government; the weakening of the pillars of
religion; the rise of dictatorships; the spread of tyranny; the
fall of monarchies; the decline of ecclesiastical institutions ;
the increase of anarchy and chaos; the extension and con-
solidation of the Movement of the Left; the fanning into flame
of the smouldering fire of racial strife; the development of
infernal engines of war; the burning of cities; the
contamination of the atmosphere of the earth – these stand
out as the signs and portents that must either herald or
accompany the retributive calamity which, as decreed by
Him Who is the Judge and Redeemer of mankind, must,
sooner or later, afflict a society which, for the most part, an d
for over a century, has turned a deaf ear to the Voice of
God’s Messenger in this day – a calamity which must purge
the human race of the dross of its age-long corruptions, and
weld its component parts into a firmly-knit world-embracing
Fellowship – a Fellowship destined, in the fullness of time, t o
be incorporated in the framework, and to be galvanized by
the spiritualizing influences, of a mysteriously expanding,
divinely appointed Order, and to flower, in the course of
future Dispensations, into a Civilization, the like of which
mankind has, at no stage in its evolution, witnessed.
This present Crusade, on the threshold of which we now
stand, will, moreover, by virtue of the dynamic forces it will
release and its wide repercussions over the entire surface o f
the globe, contribute effectually to the acceleration of yet
another process of tremendous significance which will carry
the steadily evolving Faith of Bahá’u’lláh through its present
stages of obscurity, of repression, of emancipation and of
recognition – stages one or another of which Bahá’í national
communities in various parts of the world now find
themselves in – to the stage of establishment, the stage at
which the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh will be recognized by the civil
authorities as the state religion, similar to that which
Christianity entered in the years following the death of the
Emperor Constantine, a stage which must later be followed
by the emergence of the Bahá’í state itself, functioning, in all
religious and civil matters, in strict accordance with the laws
and ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy, the
Mother-Book of the Bahá’í Revelation, a stage which, in the
fullness of time, will culminate in the establishment of the
World Bahá’í Commonwealth, functioning in the plenitude of
its powers, and which will signalize the long-awaited advent
of the Christ-promised Kingdom of God on earth – the
Kingdom of Bahá’u’lláh – mirroring however faintly upon
this humble handful of dust the glories of the Abhá Kingdom.
This final and crowning stage in the evolution of the plan
wrought by God Himself for humanity will, in turn, prove to
be the signal for the birth of a world civilization, incom-
parable in its range, its character and potency, in the history
of mankind – a civilization which posterity will, with one
voice, acclaim as the fairest fruit of the Golden Age of the
Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, and whose rich harvest will be
garnered during future dispensations destined to succeed one
another in the course of the five thousand century Bahá’í
Cycle.N. Sundry compilations of letters to divers national
communitiesI wish to congratulate in person the English believers, and
particularly the members of the youth group, on their
splendid achievements. The activities they have initiated, the
perseverance, zeal and fidelity they have increasingly
manifested, the plans they have conceived and the obstacles
they have already overcome, rejoice my heart and arouse
fresh hopes and expectations within me. I will continue to
pray for their success. Rest assured and persevere.
The marvellous zeal, unity, understanding and devotion
exemplified by the English believers in recent months,
individually as well as through their concentrated efforts,
constitute a landmark in the progressive development of the
Faith in that land. They who have risen to the height of their
present opportunities stand at the threshold of unprecedented
achievements. They must labour continually, exercise the
utmost vigilance, proclaim courageously, and cling tena-
ciously to the principles of their Faith, spiritual as well as
administrative, and resolve to endure every sacrifice and
hardship, however severe, for the vindication, the consolid-
ation and recognition of the Faith they profess and are now
so admirably serving.The various and compelling evidences of the unquenchable
enthusiasm, the unbreakable resolution and the inflexible
purpose of the English believers, in these days of stress , of
turmoil and danger, have cheered my heart and fortified
me in the discharge of my arduous and multitudinous duties
and responsibilities. I feel truly proud of them all, and will,
with increasing gratitude and redoubled fervour, supplicate
the Beloved whose Cause they are so valiantly serving, to
bless, sustain, guide and protect them under all circum-
stances, and aid them to establish firmly the institutions of
His Faith throughout the length and breadth of their country.
The Bahá’í world, in its entirety, is struck with amazement at
the quality of the work performed, at the extent and number
of the victories achieved by this community. Its sister-
community in the great Republic of the West, already laden
with many and splendid trophies gathered in distant fields
and over a long period of time cannot regard this resurgence
of the Bahá’í spirit, this manifestation of Bahá’í solidarity,
these ennobling evidences of Bahá’í achievement, amidst so
conservative a people, within so short a time, under such
trying circumstances, and by so small a band of workers,
except with feelings compounded of envy, of admiration and
respect. Its sister-communities throughout the East, vener-
able by reason of their age, and the sacrifices they have
made, and fully aware of the long period of incubation this
community has undergone, recall, with feelings of delight,
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prediction, forecasting the germination, at
their appointed time, of the potent seeds His loving hands
have sown in the course of His twice-repeated visit to that
Island, and marvel at the rapidity with which its soil is now
manifesting the potentialities with which it has been en-
dowed. He Who blessed it with His footsteps, Who called into
being, and fostered the growth of, the community labouring
in that Island, hails, from His station on high, the exploits
which immortalise the small band of His present-day
consecrated and resolute followers, who are carrying on the
torch which He Himself had entrusted to their immediate
predecessors. Bahá’u’lláh Himself lauds the conspicuous
victories being won in His Name, in the dawning years of the
Second Bahá’í Century, at the very heart and centre of the
greatest Empire the world has ever seen, whose Sovereign
Monarch He Himself had addressed and whose deeds He,
with His Own pen, had commended.unprecedented in its scope, unique in its character and
immense in its spiritual potentialities, must depend the
initiation, at a later period in the Formative Age of the Faith,
of undertakings embracing within their range all National
Assemblies functioning throughout the Bahá’í World,
undertakings constituting in themselves a prelude to the
launching of world-wide enterprises destined to be embarked
upon, in future epochs of that same Age, by the Universal
House of Justice, that will symbolise the unity and coordinate
and unify the activities of these National Assemblies.
Indeed the birth of this African enterprise, in the opening
decade of the second Bahá’í century, coinciding as it does
with the formation of the International Bahá’í Council,
should be acclaimed as an event of peculiar significance in
the evolution of our beloved Faith. Both events will, no
doubt, be hailed by posterity as simultaneous and compelling
evidences of the irresistible unfoldment of a divinely
appointed Administrative Order and of the development, on
an international scale, of its subsidiary agencies, heralding
the establishment of the Supreme Legislative Body designed
to crown the Administrative Edifice now being laboriously
erected by the privileged builders of a Divine Order, whose
features have been delineated by the Centre of the Covenant
in His Will and Testament, whose fundamental laws have
been revealed by the Founder of our Faith in His Kitáb-i-
Aqdas, and Whose advent has been foreshadowed by the
Herald of the Bahá’í Dispensation in the Bayán, His most
weighty Book.That they may ascend from height to height, go forward from
victory to victory, is the fervent prayer of one who has
invariably followed the course of their exploits with undim-
inished confidence and admiration, who has cherished the
brightest hopes for the ultimate attainment of their Mission,
and whose love and esteem for them has correspondingly
increased with every revelation of the capacities and
energies with which they have discharged, and are constantly
discharging, their Mission.Now, of a certainty, is not the time for the members of this
gallant band , so thinlyspread over the length and breadth of its island home, and
reaching out, so laboriously yet so determinedly to the
inhospitable islands fringing its northern and western coasts,
to dwell, however tentatively, on the nature of the tantalising
task awaiting them in the not distant future, or to seek to
probe into its mysterious, divinely guided operation. Theirs is
the duty to plod on, however tedious the nature of the work
demanding their immediate attention, however formidable
the obstacles involved in its proper execution, however
prolonged the effort which its success necessitates, until the
signs of its ultimate consummation, heralding the launching
of what is sure to be the most spectacular phase of their
Mission, are clearly discerned.You should concentrate your efforts at the present time on
whatever will, in your opinion reinforce the basis, and extend
the influence, of the administrative institutions and the
teaching activities of the Faith. The Cause will, no doubt,
surmount the obstacles that now hinder its growth, and will
establish its ascendency in the fulness of time and at the
appointed hour. We should persevere and never feel dis-
heartened.The friends in India and Burma have made a splendid start.
They have laid a firm foundation within the framework of the
administrative order of our Faith. They have weathered
manifold and distressing difficulties and successfully sur-
mounted formidable obstacles. A new era is opening before
them. I have no doubt that they will rise to the height of the
occasion, and will prove themselves worthy of their high
destiny.The progress of the teaching activities initiated by your
Assembly is highly gratifying. Inflexible determination is
required to carry it to a successful conclusion. The methods
adopted by the American Bahá’í community, the zeal, the
initiative, the efficiency, the fidelity with which they are
prosecuting their enterprise should be exemplified by indi-
viduals and Assemblies in India and Burma. The adminis-
trative machinery which the American believers have erected
and perfected has already had its counterpart in the
institutions you have so nobly reared in recent years. Your
teaching campaign, the supreme purpose for which this
machinery has been fashioned, should likewise be modelled
according to the plan which your sister community has
devised and is now developing so strenuously andI am delighted to learn of the work which is being steadily
and efficiently accomplished in so many spheres of Bahá’í
activity throughout India and Burma. My heart is filled with
gratitude as I witness the progress you have achieved, the
enterprises you have initiated, the method and measures you
have adopted, the plans you have conceived, and above all,
the spirit of exemplary loyalty and magnificent devotion that
impels you forward in the great mission you are destined to
fulfil.Let them remember that a firm resolution on their part, an
absolute re-dedication of their resources, and an actual
attempt to translate into action their meritorious intentions,
coupled with perseverance in the discharge of their duties,
would suffice to ensure the success of the mission to which
they are now committed. The time is indeed ripe, and the
minds and hearts of the suffering multitudes are being
mysteriously prepared for the Great Message that can alone
redeem, exalt and regenerate a sore tried and bewildered
humanity. I will specially and fervently pray for the suc-
cess of any and every effort the dearly beloved friends in
India and Burma may arise to exert.The vastness of the field, the smallness of your numbers, the
indifference of the masses, must neither discourage nor appal
you. You should at all times fix your gaze on the promise of
Bahá’u’lláh, put your whole trust in His creative Word, re-
call the past and manifold evidences of His all-encompassing
and resistless power, and arise to become worthy and
exemplary recipients of His all-sustaining grace and
blessings. I appeal to every Indian and Burmese believer,
however modest his position, however limited his knowledge,
however restricted his means, to rise to the height of this
great opportunity which if missed will not recur again. To
disperse, to settle, to teach by word and deed, to persevere
and sacrifice are the requirements of the present hour
The manner in which the friends have arisen to promote
the teaching work throughout their country merits the high-
est praise. By their enthusiasm, their self-abnegation, the
determination and vigour they display, they have lent a fresh
impetus to the onward march of the Faith and the expan-
sion of its institutions and the multiplication of its admin-
istrative centres. The perils of the present hour, the reper-
cussions of this tremendous world ordeal on their native
land, must, in no wise, alarm or discourage them. Their
purpose must never be deflected, their enthusiasm never
dimmed, their vision never obscured, their exertions never
discontinued. Adversity prepares the hearts of men, and
paves the way for a wholehearted and general acceptance
of the tenets and claims of our beloved Faith. Challenged
by the obstacles in their path, encouraged by work already
initiated, assured of the Divine Promise of Bahá’u’lláh, let
them forge ahead until their goal is attained.Perseverance is the magnet that will, in these days, attract
the promised blessings of the almighty Author of our beloved
Faith. Unity and harmony constitute the basis on which the
structure of these activities can securely rest. Self-sacrifi ce,
audacity, undeviating adherence to the essentials of that
Faith, will reinforce that structure and accelerate its rise.
That the dear friends in India are increasingly demonstrating
the quality and depth of their faith and the character and
range of their accomplishments is a source of intense
satisfaction to me, and I will continue to supplicate our
Beloved to guide their steps, cheer their hearts, illumine
their understanding, and fulfil their highest and noblest
aspirations. He indeed is well-pleased with the record
of their past services, and will, if they redouble their
efforts, enable them to achieve a signal victory.The call is urgent, the opportunities priceless, the need of t he
waiting masses desperate, the machinery for the execution of
the Divine Purpose already erected and vigorouslyfunctioning, the promise of signal victory clear and definite.
A higher degree of administrative efficiency; a closer
collaboration between the various elements constituting the
organic Bahá’í community; a greater measure of self-
sacrifice; a still more intensified exertion aiming at the
consolidation and preservation of the newly constituted
Assemblies and the rapid conversion of the existing groups
into full-fledged Assemblies; a systematic, sustained and
nation-wide endeavour for the purpose of disseminating the
literature of the Faith, increasing its volume and adding to
its diversity, and lastly a more audacious and convincing
presentation of its tenets to the masses of the people, thes e
constitute the primary tasks facing now the Indian believers.
The hour is indeed propitious. The ordeals and tribulations
which the hungry, the dispossessed, the sick, as well as th e
disillusioned and restless multitudes, are now experiencing,
offer the bearers of the Message of the Most Great Name, an
opportunity which may never again recur. There is no time to
lose. Every warrior in the ever-advancing army of Bahá-
’u’lláh must arise and participate in this holy crusade. The
rewards and prizes to be won are inestimable. However
circumscribed its resources, however small its numbers,
however formidable the obstacles with which it is confronted,
the entire community of the believers in India, Burma, and
Pakistan, must arise as one man, and, pledging anew its
fidelity to its Faith, prove itself fully worthy of the Cau se it
has espoused and the high mission it has undertaken.
The Asiatic continent, the cradle of the principal religions of
mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest
civilizations which have flourished on this planet; the
crossways of so many kindreds and races; the battleground
of so many peoples and nations; above whose horizon, in
modern times, the suns of two independent Revelations – the
promise and consummation of a six thousand-year-old reli-
gious Cycle – have successively arisen; where the Authors of
both of these Revelations suffered banishment and died;
within whose confines the Centre of a divinely-appointed
Covenant was born, endured a forty-year incarceration and
passed away; on whose Western extremity the Qiblih of the
Bahá’í world has been definitely established; in whose heart
the City proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh as the ‘Mother of the
World’ (Tehran) is enshrined; within whose borders another
City regarded as the ‘Cynosure of an adoring world’
(Bagh dád) and the scene of the greatest and most glorious
Revelation the world has witnessed is embosomed; on whose
soil so many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated with both
of these Revelations, have lived, struggled and died – such a
continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet so
long and so sadly tormented, now stands, at the hour of the
launching of a world-encompassing Crusade, on the thresh-
old of an era that may well recall, in its glory and ultimate
repercussions, the great periods of spiritual revival which ,
from the dawn of recorded history have, at various stages in
the revelation of God’s purpose for mankind, illuminated the
path of the human race.The time is sure to come and the signs are already apparent,
when the various and distant members of this great world
community will find their activities co-ordinated, their pur-
pose unified, their efforts re-inforced and the effect of thei r
combined efforts manifest throughout the world. May the
Power of Bahá’u’lláh breathe the dynamic spirit of Life into
the combined and systematized efforts of the friends the
world over and revive through them the body of stricken
humanity and give it the peace which it yearns for and which
the world cannot give.Why fear and sorrow? Have we not the express promise of
the Master, uttered after the termination of the Great War,
that Germany, now humbled and weakened, will no doubt be
freed from its fetters and will develop, materially and
spiritually, and shall one day emerge from this sad turmoil
strong, united and prosperous, ready to take her place in the
great Family of the advanced nations of the world?
Let us then take heart, and endeavour to deepen in spirit, to
reinforce our numbers, so that, however depressing and
distracting the conditions around us may be, we may per-
severe, with clear vision, steadfast hope, and united effort to
achieve the triumph of the Bahá’í Revelation throughout the
world.I am eagerly awaiting the news you may wish to send me,
for I thirst after the glad tidings of the progress of the C ause
in your mighty and promising land.I wish to add a few words in person and assure you of my
keen and heartfelt appreciation of your high and painstaking
endeavours for the spread and consolidation of the Faith in
that land. The German believers have undergone tests of
unprecedented severity. They have weathered the storm in a
marvellous spirit and with fine and praiseworthy deter-
mination. These tests were God-sent, and will serve to
deepen the roots of the Faith in that promising country.
My heart rejoiced and my soul was refreshed at the receipt
of your most welcome message, signed by so great a number
of ardent and youthful co-workers in a land so rich in
promise, so blessed by our Beloved, and so severely tried
by the vicissitudes of war. You are, I assure you, often in my
thoughts and prayers, and I cherish the brightest hopes for
your future work. You are, I feel confident, destined to
achieve memorable victories, both in your native land and
on the continent of Europe, and you should diligently
and unitedly prepare yourselves for this glorious task.
Persevere, redouble your efforts, and rest assured that the
Beloved will bless and sustain you always.The immediate past, with all its confused issues and
unpleasant memories must be entirely forgotten, if the task
that lies ahead is to be efficiently prosecuted. Personal
animosities, suspicions, accusations, wounded pride, contro-
versial issues must all be laid aside. Members of assemblies ,
national and local, must be the first to set a worthy example
to their fellow-believers. All thought and discussion must
henceforth centre around the measures required to stimulate
the growth of the Faith, to deepen and enrich the spiritual
life of its members, to familiarize them more intimately wi th
the character and workings of the Administrative Order, and
enable them to participate more actively in the prosecution of
the Plan to which they are committed.I appeal to them, with all my heart, to close their ranks,
purge their hearts, broaden their vision, renew their deter-
mination, rededicate themselves to their glorious task, march
resolutely forward along the road traced for them by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, beat down every barrier obstructing their
path, and press on, confidently, unitedly and uncompromis-
ingly, until their goal is attained, and the first stage in the
evolution of their collective task is brought to a victorious
conclusion.exacting, thrilling and inescapable. The hosts of the
Concourse on high will surely lead them onward and assure
them a resounding victory, if they but keep their vision
undimmed, if they refuse to faint or falter, if they persever e
and remain faithful to both the spiritual and theadministrative principles inculcated by their Faith.
Theirs is a responsibility which, at this historic and crucial
stage in the evolution of their precious and beloved Faith,
they can neither minimize nor neglect. Theirs is a God-sent
opportunity to demonstrate, at this grave hour through which
the overwhelming majority of their brethren are passing, the
incorruptible character of their faith, the indomitable spirit
which animates them, the sublimity of the principles which
motivate their action, providing thereby an abiding and
sorely needed consolation to the victims of the brutal, the
wide spread and repeated persecutions engulfing so many of
their co-religionists in the cradle of their Faith.
4. AustralasiaThe detailed report of the activities of the national assembly
– the furthermost pillar of the Universal House of Justice
which the high endeavours of the believers of Australia and
New-Zealand have reared – has filled my heart and soul with
immense joy and gratitude. The Beloved is surely watching
over and continually blessing your splendid accomplish-
ments, the plans you have conceived, the methods you have
devised, the efforts you are exerting, the services which you
have rendered. I will continue to pray for the consolidation
and uninterrupted expansion of your laudable activities in
the service of so glorious and mighty a Cause. Never relax
nor despair. The tender plant which your hands have raised
and nurtured shall grow and will ultimately gather beneath
its shadow the whole of that far-off and promising continent.
Effective measures, unprecedented in scope, should be care-
fully and immediately devised, proclaimed to the believers,
and, through sustained and organised effort, carried into
effect. There is no time to lose. The masses, greatly tried by
the calamities of the age, restless, disappointed, and eager to
obtain real and complete relief in their hour of trial, hunger
for the Message of the New Day, and will, if properly
approached and appealed to, embrace the great verities it
enshrines.The limited resources at the disposal of the prosecutors of the
Plan, the vastness of the territory in which it must operate ,
the fewness of the numbers of those participating in its
execution, offer a mighty challenge which no loyal follower
of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh can either ignore or minimize.
Indeed the greater the challenge, the more bountiful the
blessings which will be vouchsafed from on high, and the
richer the reward to be won by its triumphant executors.
It is not for them, however, at the present stage of their
evolution, to probe into the future, and seek to evaluate the
range of their future achievements. They must concentrate
every ounce of their energy, and focus their entire attention,
on the tasks immediately ahead, resolved to work un-
remittingly and unflinchingly until the goals of the present
Plan are achieved.Whatever the situation that may develop in the years to
come, however great the obstacles by which a nascent
community may yet be faced, no matter how arduous the task
now confronting its members, it must persevere until the
historic work is accomplished.I will, from the depths of my heart, supplicate the Beloved
to reinforce the noble exertions of this community, guide its
steps, clarify its vision, deepen its understanding of the
requirements of the present hour, and aid it to extend
continually the scope of its meritorious achievements.
Every outward thrust into new fields, every multiplication of
Bahá’í institutions, must be paralleled by a deeper thrust of
the roots which sustain the spiritual life of the community
and ensure its sound development. From this vital, this ever-
present need, attention must at no time be diverted; nor must
it be, under any circumstances, neglected, or subordinated to
the no less vital and urgent task of ensuring the outer
expansion of Bahá’í administrative institutions. That this
community, so alive, so devoted, so strikingly and rapidly
developing, may maintain a proper balance between these
two essential aspects of its development, and march forward
with rapid strides and along sound lines toward the goal of
the Plan it has adopted, is the ardent hope of my heart and
my constant prayer.entrenched in their religious sectarianism and strongly attached
to their religious doctrines and traditions, yet who can doubt that
with courage and persistence, kindliness and wisdom, the all-
conquering words of Bahá’u’lláh can fail to break down all these
barriers of prejudice and religious exclusiveness and conquer
this long-standing stronghold of sectarian belief!
It behoves us, now that the signs of that glorious and
promised Day are fast appearing, to arise, with utter
selflessness, unity and determination, to promote and
consolidate the Work which He has Himself established in
the heart of that vast Dominion , and proveourselves, by our wisdom, moderation, and constancy,
worthy of the many bestowals He has showered upon us in
the past. If we but follow in His Way, regard at all times t he
dignity of the Cause, guard sedulously its unity and vital
principles, and exercise the utmost endeavour to keep its
Spirit pure, effective and unobscured, then, and only then,
can we hope to achieve the immediate spread and triumph of
the Cause.Obstacles, however formidable, will have to be determinedly
surmounted. Any reverses that sooner or later may be
suffered should be met with stoic fortitude, and speedily
offset by victories in other fields. The glorious vision now
unveiled to your eyes must never be dimmed. Theilluminating promises enshrined in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets
should not be forgotten for a moment. The quality of the
success already achieved by so small a number, over so
extensive a field, in so brief a period, at so precarious an
hour in the destinies of mankind, should spur on the elected
representatives of this now fully fledged community to
achieve in as short a period, over still more extensive an
area, and despite a severer crisis than any as yet
encountered, victories more abiding in their merit and more
conspicuous in their brilliance than any as yet won in the
service and for the glory of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
As the operation of the Plan gathers momentum the members
of this community must evince a still greater measure of
solidarity, rise to higher levels of heroism, demonstrate a
greater capacity for collective achievement, and attract still
more abundant blessings on the varied enterprises on which
they have embarked.That this community will never relax in its high endeavours,
that the vision of its glorious mission will not be suffered to
be dimmed, that obstacles, however formidable, will neither
dampen its zeal or deflect it from its purpose, is my confide nt
hope and earnest prayer. He Who watches over its destinies,
from Whose pen testimonies so significant and soul thrilling
have flowed, will no doubt continue to direct its steps, to
shower upon it His loving bounties, to surround it with His
constant care, and to enable it to scale loftier heights on its
ascent towards the summit of its destiny.With a heart brimful with gratitude for all that this
community has so far achieved, and throbbing with hope for
the future exploits that will distinguish its record of
stewardship to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, I pray that by its
acts, this community will prove itself worthy of the trust
confided to its care, and the station to which it has been
called.who through his vision and skill was instrumental in
conceiving the design, and delineating the features, of the
first Mash riqu’l-Adh kár of the West, marking the first
attempt, however rudimentary, to express the beauty which
Bahá’í art will, in its plenitude, unfold to the eyes of the
world. It was a Canadian woman , one of thenoblest in the ranks of Bahá’í pioneers, who alone and
single-handed, forsook her home, settled among an alien
people, braved with a leonine spirit the risks and dangers of
the world conflict that raged around her, and who now, at an
advanced age and suffering from infirmities, is still holding
the Fort and is setting an example, worthy of emulation by all
her fellow pioneers of both the East and the West. It was a
memberwon the immortal distinction of being called upon to be my
helpmate, my shield in warding off the darts of Covenant-
breakers and my tireless collaborator in the arduous tasks I
shoulder. It was a Canadian subject , thespiritual mother of that same community, who, though fully
aware of the risks of the voyage she was undertaking,
journeyed as far as the capital of Argentina to serve a Cause
that had honoured her so uniquely, and there laid down her
life and won the everlasting crown of martyrdom. It was,
moreover, a Canadian whomore recently achieved the immortal renown of designing the
exquisite shell destined to envelop, preserve and embellish
the holy and priceless structure enshrining the dust of the
Beloved Founder of our Faith.The opportunity given to this Community is precious,
unutterably precious. The fate of this first historic Plan now
hangs in the balance. The present chance, if lost, cannot be
retrieved. The issues on which hinge the successful pro-
secution of the Plan are so weighty that none can assess them
at present. The needs of a sorely-stricken society, groping in
its distress for God’s redemptive Message, are growing mor e
acute with every passing hour. The Canadian Bahá’í
Community, newly emerged as an independent member of the
Bahá’í World Community, so richly blessed through its
elevation to the rank of a chosen prosecutor of a Divine Plan,
unique, in many respects, among its sister communities in
both Hemispheres in the manifold blessings bestowed upon
it, can neither afford to flinch for a moment or hesitate in the
discharge of its sacred duty. Every effort exerted by this
community, during these fate-laden months, every sacrifice
willingly endured by its members, will, if they but persev ere,
be richly blessed by Him Who brought it into being, Who
nursed it through His love, Who conferred upon it so
distinguished a Mission, Who made such magnificent
promises regarding its future, and Who will continue to
sustain it through His unfailing, His abounding grace and
favour.Inspired by the example and the accomplishments of those of
its members who have distinguished themselves in the Holy
Land, on the European continent and in both the northern
and southern continents of the Western Hemisphere, this
community must forge on, with added determination, with
increasing dedication, with thanksgiving and redoubled zeal,
on the road leading it to a still more glorious destiny in the
years immediately ahead. That it may press forward, conquer
still greater heights, plumb greater depths of consecration ,
spread wider and wider the fame of the Cause of God is the
cherished desire of my heart and the object of my constant
supplication.May this community march forward on its destined path with
renewed vigour, with undimmed vision, with complete unity,
with utter consecration, and be enabled to play an important
part in the execution of the great tasks ahead, and worthily
contribute to the prodigious efforts now being collectively
exerted by the followers of the Most Great Name, in every
continent of the globe, for the world-wide establishment and
ultimate triumph of a long-persecuted, divinely impelled,
world-redeeming Faith.The duties incumbent upon this community, and particularly
its elected national representatives, multiply with every
passing day. Heavy is the burden they carry. Rich and
immense are the possibilities stretching before them. Price -
less are the rewards which a befitting discharge of their
multiple responsibilities must bring in its wake. Boundless
are the favours and bestowals which a loving and watchful
Providence is ready to confer upon those who will arise to
meet the challenge of the present hour.‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prophetic words regarding the future of its
homeland, spiritually as well as materially – theinitial evidences of which are becoming more apparent every
day, must not be lost sight of for a moment, however exacting
and all-absorbing the strenuous task ahead, however
complex the problems its prosecution involves, however
burdensome the preoccupations which it must needsYour letters are always a source of inspiring joy and
stimulating encouragement to me. You are destined to
achieve great things for our beloved Cause and my constant
prayer is that your vision may be clear, your purpose
unshaken, your zeal undiminished, your hopes undimmed.
Let not obstacles and disappointments, which are inevit-
able, dishearten you and whenever you are faced with trials
recall our Beloved’s innumerable sufferings. You certainly
occupy a warm and abiding place in my heart.When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says man breaks the laws of nature, He
means we shape nature to meet our own needs, as no animal
does. Animals adapt themselves to better fit in with and
benefit from their environment. But men both surmount and
change environment. Likewise when He says nature is devoid
of memory He means memory as we have it, not the strange
memory of inherited habits which animals so strikingly
possess.May the outpourings of the Holy Spirit continue to energise
this small yet resolute forward marching, dedicated com-
munity, and may the outcome of the collective efforts of its
members contribute decisively to the triumphant consum-
mation of the World Crusade on which the entire body of the
followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh have so confidently
embarked.All must participate, whether young or old, veterans as wel l
as newly enrolled believers, all must contribute their share t o
the ultimate success of this mighty collective enterprise,
however limited their means, however modest their abilities,
however restricted the range of their previous experiences .
7. AlaskaI am thrilled by the news you give me. How proud I feel of
the spirit that so powerfully animates you. My prayers will, I
assure you, accompany you on your great and historic
adventure. Persevere no matter how great the obstacles in
your way. Future generations will glorify your deed and
emulate your example. The Concourse on high acclaims your
resolve and will richly bless your endeavours. Be happy and
confident.Your letter cheered and heartened me in the conduct of my
arduous duties and responsibilities. I rejoice to learn of your
high endeavours in that distant field, and I will specially pray
with increasing fervour for your protection and success. How
great your privilege, how laborious your task, how noble
your mission! Do not feel disheartened. Persevere and be
confident always.The endeavours which the highminded, youthful hearted,
deeply consecrated members of this community will exert
must be such as to excite the unqualified admiration of their
fellow believers in Bahá’í communities in both Hemispheres.
The sacrifices which must be made will, no doubt, if they rise
to this occasion, merit the applause of the Concourse on high
and draw forth a still fuller measure of the promised
blessings of the Author of the Divine Plan Himself.
That the members of this community may neither falter
nor fail, that they may set an example worthy of emulation of
their fellow-workers in all continents of the globe, that they
may achieve such feats, in the course of the attainment of
their high objectives, as shall eclipse the past achievements
of their spiritual brethren in the North American continent
and throughout Latin America, is the object of my constant
prayer for them in the Holy Shrines as well as my heart’s
most cherished desire.Now if ever is the time for you and for us to show, by our
unity, service, steadfastness and courage, the spirit that
the Master has throughout His lifetime so laboriously, so
persistently kindled in our hearts. Now is the time for us to
prove ourselves worthy of His love for us, His trust in us
and His hopes for us. Japan, He said, will turn ablaze. Let
us not, in any way, whatsoever, retard the realization of
His promise. Nay, let us hasten, through our service, coope-
ration and efforts the advent of this glorious day.
Your letters have gladdened my heart and fortified me in my
task. I will continue to supplicate for you at His Shrine, that
He may graciously assist you to make of those who are
merely interested, active supporters of the Faith, recogni zing
fully the significance and station of Bahá’u’lláh, and who
will form a nucleus of believers who will carry on the work,
loyally and effectively after you and in your absence. This is
my fervent prayer for you.Your past and present services are engraved upon my heart.
The Beloved is well-pleased with your constancy, your zeal
and exemplary devotion. I am proud of the spirit that so
powerfully animates you in His service. I will continue to
pray for your success from the bottom of my heart. Rest
assured and persevere.Bahá’u’lláh wrote, many, many years ago: ‘The vitality of
men’s belief in God is dying out in every land; nothing short
of His wholesome medicine can ever restore it. The corrosion
of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society; what
else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can cleanse and
revive it?’This is the ebb of the tide. The Bahá’ís know that the tide
will turn and come in, after mankind has suffered, with
mighty waves of faith and devotion. The people will enter the
Cause of God in troops, and the whole condition will change.
The Bahá’ís see this new condition which will take place, as
one on the mountain-top sees the first glimpse of the dawn,
before others are aware of it; and it is toward this that the
Bahá’ís must work.. . . The emergence of a new Regional Spiritual Assembly in
the North Pacific Areahave, at long last, established a spiritual axis, extending from
the Antipodes to the northern islands of the Pacific Ocean –
an axis whose northern and southern poles will act as power-
ful magnets, endowed with exceptional spiritual potency, and
towards which younger and less experienced communities
will tend for some time to gravitate.A responsibility, at once weighty and inescapable, must rest
on the communities which occupy so privileged a position in
so vast and turbulent an area of the globe. However great the
distance that separates them; however much they differ in
race, language, custom, and religion; however active the
political forces which tend to keep them apart and foster
racial and political antagonisms, the close and continued
association of these communities . . . is a matter of vital and
urgent importance, which should receive on the part of the
elected representatives of their communities, a most earnest
and prayerful consideration . . .O. Letters written on behalf of the Guardian by his
secretariesWhatever letters are sent in my behalf from Haifa are all read
and approved by me before mailing. There is no exception
whatever to this ruleQ. How can we explain sensitively to a seeker that the futu re
World Order will have international institutions, which wil l
govern the whole world in a just and fair way, but whose
members will be only Bahá’ís? How can we then explain that
the Faith accepts and embraces all religions?Such a state will have to include within its orbit an
International Executive adequate to enforce supreme and
unchallengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the
commonwealth; a World Parliament whose members shall be
elected by the people in their respective countries and whose
election shall be confirmed by their respective governments; and
a Supreme Tribunal whose judgment will have a binding effect
even in such cases where the parties concerned did not volun-
tarily agree to submit their case to its consideration
This common-wealth must, as far as we can visualize it, consist of a worl d
legislature, whose members will, as the trustees of the whole of
mankind, ultimately control the entire resources of all the
component nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required
to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust the relationshi ps
of all races and peoples. A world executive, backed by an
international Force, will carry out the decisions arrived at, and
apply the laws enacted by, this world legislature, and will
safeguard the organic unity of the whole commonwealth. A world
tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory and final
verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the
various elements constituting this universal system
supreme organ of the Bahá’íQ. Could you please clarify what was going to be the function
of the Bahá’í Court in the Holy Land that was to be
established as one of the objectives of the Ten Year Crusad e?
Do you think that such a Court will be created in the futu re,
if conditions permit?Q. What is the role of the nine Israel Branches of National
Spiritual Assemblies?Q. Today the Universal House of Justice is the Head of the
Faith, and fulfils legislative, executive and judicial funct ions.
When the stage of the Bahá’í World Commonwealth is
attained, what will be the function of the Universal House of
Justice? What is it that will protect this unique Order f rom
degenerating into any form of despotism, oligarchy or
demagogy?and however extensive its ramifications, cannot ever degenerate
into any form of despotism, of oligarchy, or of demagogy which
must sooner or later corrupt the machinery of all man-made and
essentially defective political institutionsunity and integrity of its world-embracing system had been
irrevocably bequeathed to posterityQ. ‘ Will America allow any of her sister communities in Eas t
or West to achieve such ascendancy as shall deprive her of that
spiritual primacy with which she has been invested and wh ich
she has thus far so nobly retained? ’ (WOB 94). Is this just
rhetoric? Do you think that Shoghi Effendi really considered
the possibility that one of the European communities would
surpass the United States? What about the other countries in
the world, such as India, Colombia, Iran, etc.?past and present achievements! Immeasurably greater are the
wonders which the future has in store for you!Q. ‘ To attempt to visualize, even in its barest outline, the g lory
that must envelop these institutions, to essay even a t entative
and partial description of their character or the manner of
their operation, or to trace however inadequately the course of
events leading to their rise and eventual establishment is far
beyond my own capacity and power ’ (TDH 46). Is this just
rhetoric? Are we to honestly believe that Shoghi Effendi, the
sign of God, didn’t have the power to tell us about these
things?shaking, world-embracing, world-directing administrative insti-
tutions, ordained by Bahá’u’lláh and anticipated by ‘Abdu’l-
Bahá, and which are to function in consonance with the
principles that govern the twin institutions of the Guardianship
and the Universal House of Justiceworld’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating
influence of this most great, this new World Order
thiswondrous System the like of which mortal eyes have never
witnessedQ. Bahá’ís are allowed to vote in certain elections, for
example, those which do not require them to identify them-
selves with a political party. How should we view an election
where you cannot, technically, give your vote to an
individual, only to a political party? Would it make any
difference if each party had only one candidate (e.g. for
President), so that by voting for a particular party one is, in
effect, voting for a particular individual?Let them refrain from associating themselves, whether
by word or by deed, with the political pursuits of their resp ective
nations, with the policies of their governments and the schemes
and programs of parties and factions I am firmly convinced,
their first and sacred obligation to abstain from any word or
deed that might be construed as a violation of this vital
principleQ. Could you elaborate a little on the fall of Shi’ah Islam, of
the Qájár dynasty and of the Sunni Caliphs inConstantinople, and on the rampant rise of secularism in the
East?[T]his process of disintegration, associated with the
declining fortunes of a superannuated, though divinely revealed
Law, . . . is destined to culminate in the secularization of the
Muslim states, and in the universal recognition of the Law of
Bahá’u’lláh by all the nations, and its enthronement in the hearts
of all the peoples, of the Muslim worldQ. As I understand it, Muammad established in Medina the
precedent of the modern state, with a triple separation of
powers: executive, legislative and judicial. Yet, we read in
many history books that the modern state has its origins in
the traditional monarchies of fifteenth-century Europe. What
is the relationship between the state, as conceived by
Muammad, and the modern state?attainment to the state of nationhood, may, therefore, be said to
be the distinguishing characteristics of the Muammadan
Dispensation, in the course of which the nations and races of the
world, and particularly in Europe and America, were unified and
achieved political independenceQ. Do you think that there will be crisis and victory in the
Golden Age?Q. Could you please tell us a little bit more about the
secretaries of the Guardian? How many of them remained
loyal?Q. What did the Nazis do to the Bahá’ís in Germany and
Austria? What was their motivation for this?Q. I can see the integrative process in the world today, for
example, the way in which the principles of Bahá’u’lláh are
gaining greater acceptance among all kinds of people. This is
speeding up day by day. However, the disintegrative process
doesn’t seem to be progressing. Did it not reach its peak
during the lifetime of the Guardian? Aren’t things a lot
better now than before, generally speaking?Q. ‘ Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent
in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world,
growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize t he
oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish
once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this
fundamental principle of its life ’ (WOB 202). The number of
nations in the world has rapidly increased since the time
Shoghi Effendi wrote this, especially in Eastern Europe and
Africa. Many other countries are on the verge of splitting up.
How should we view this process in the light of the above
quotation?misgivings as to the animating purpose of the world-wide Law of
Bahá’u’lláh . . . Its purpose is neither to stifle the flame of a s ane
and intelligent patriotism in men’s hearts, nor to abolish the
system of national autonomyQ. In The Promised Day is Come the Guardian explains the
high station of just kings and monarchs. Was he only
speaking about the hereditary kind of monarchs as there
were at that time, or could he also have meant presidents, as
we have today, or elected monarchs, for example?of State should be referred to the House of Justice
Q. ‘ This judgment of God . . . is both a retributory calamity a nd
an act of holy and supreme discipline. It is at once a visi tation
from God and a cleansing process for all mankind. Its fires
punish the perversity of the human race, and weld its
component parts into one organic, indivisible, world-embracing
community ’ (PDC 5–6). Is the line of disintegration a part of
the Major Plan of God? Are the calamities the result of
mankind’s own behaviour? What is meant by the ‘judgment
of God’?God . . . does not only punish the wrongdoings of His children.
He chastises because He is just, and He chastens because He
loves. Having chastened them, He cannot, in His great mercy,
leave them to their fate. Indeed, by the very act of chast ening
them He prepares them for the mission for which He has created
themQ. ‘ Who is the sovereign, excepting a single woman, shinin g in
solitary glory, who has, in however small a measure, felt
impelled to respond to the poignant call of Bahá’u’lláh? ’ (PDC
20–1). Who is the single woman mentioned in this quotation?
Q. How can we understand the statement made byBahá’u’lláh, ‘ In truth the station of this Revelation
transcendeth the station of whatever hath been manifested in
the past or will be made manifest in the future ’ (TB 74–5).
Does this mean there will never again be a Revelation equal
to or higher than Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation?Prophets will bring us new laws suitable to our state of
development and continue to educate us on this planet, but they
will be under the shadow of Bahá’u’lláh for five thousand
centuriesQ. You stated that only the Head of the Faith can identify
Covenant-breakers, but with the passing of the Guardian
there was on the one hand the International Bahá’í Council
and on the other the Hands of the Cause. Who was then the
official Head of the Cause and therefore who had the
authority to identify Mason Remey’s secession?function of guarding over the security, and of insuring the
propagationto show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever
watchful and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose
and protest against the guardian of the Cause of God, cast him
out from the congregation of the people of Bahá and in no wise
accept any excuse from him . . . Should any, within or without the
company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek
division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him
Endowments dedicated to charity revert to God,the Revealer of Signs. None hath the right to dispose of them
without leave from Him Who is the Dawning-place of Revelation.
After Him, this authority shall pass to the Agh án, and after them
to the House of Justice – should it be established in the world by
then – that they may use these endowments for the benefit of the
Places which have been exalted in this Cause, and for
whatsoever hath been enjoined upon them by Him Who is the
God of might and power. Otherwise, the endowments shall revert
to the people of Bahá who speak not except by His leave and
judge not save in accordance with what God hath decreed in this
TabletQ. Regarding: ‘ those world-shaking, world-embracing, world-
directing administrative institutions, ordained by Bahá’u’l láh
and anticipated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and which are to function in
consonance with the principles that govern the twin inst itutions
of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice ’ (TDH
46). What are the principles that govern the Guardianship
and the Universal House of Justice?of Justice be established wherein shall gather counselors to the
number of Bahá, and should it exceed this number it doth not
matterQ. What is a pantheistic mindset? Does the present worship
of industrial objects, such as cars, have anything to do with
it? What is an anthropomorphic conception of God?Divine incarnation is as removed from, and incompatible with,
the essentials of Bahá’í belief as are the no less inadmissible
pantheistic and anthropomorphic conceptions of God
Some Answered Questions8. Clarification of certain laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and issues
related to the Most Holy Bookgrieved and afflicted ones. From His exalted station, He is
addressing the people of Bahá in this world of dust, and
conveying to them these exhortations:‘O my loved ones. Be not grieved and disturbed. Be not
listless, nor lose hope and feel distressed. I am with you. I am
guarding you in the stronghold of My protection, and at
every moment I send you a fresh measure of assistance and
confirmation. Be ye faithful to His Cause, and like unto this
Servant, be constant till your very last breath, in service to
this Faith and in thraldom at His Threshold. Exert your
utmost and vie ye with each other.‘Be not saddened by My passing, nor afraid and unsettled
by reason of the changes and chances of this world and its
ever-checkered conditions. Do not waver in the Cause of
God. Ye are His hosts. Ye are the people of Bahá who are to
face the storm of this ordeal, to evince meekness and
tenacity, and be adorned with goodly deeds and the
ornaments of purity and rectitude of conduct before the eyes
of all men.sombre, this afflicted and agitated world to the climax of
eternal glory, under the shadow of the Cause of God, and the
canopy of divine Salvation.‘O my beloved friends. O staunch ones who have arisen
to follow Me! Be not lax or negligent after Me, and do not
forfeit your precious chance, otherwise you will find
yourselves in utter loss and disappointment, deprived of the
supreme blessing of everlasting felicity. Do not think that
stillness and silence on the part of any of the believers wi ll
lead to any harm. Nay, by God! God will raise up heroes for
His Cause, who will win the day in His holy Name.‘Strive ye, therefore, and exert your high endeavours. I
am with you, and in the sublime presence of the Exalted One
and the Blessed Beauty, I will aid your efforts and guide your
steps with a mighty confirmation. You should all arise in
utmost unity and attain this exalted station. Otherwise you
will not see Me, nor enter His sacred presence in the
heavenly Realms. O beloved ones of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This is
what will impart joy and happiness to My heart in the Abhá
Kingdom.’2. O spiritual brothers and sisters! I call on you to reflect
and immerse yourselves in the Sacred Texts. Some fifty years
ago, there poured down as copious rain from the tongue of
the Mighty Founder of our Faith, our Lord, the All-Knowing,
the All-Informed, admonitory Tablets, stern warnings, joyful
tidings, and wrathful apostrophes addressed to the Kings and
Rulers of the East and the West . . .Ere long, when the appointed time has come, the Rulers
and Presidents of the Republics of the world will step
forward and follow the example of the active supporters and
helpers of God’s Holy Cause. They will cast away their
crowns upon the dust, will adorn their heads with the
begemmed diadem of total, absolute and unconditional
servitude, will join the front ranks of the leaders and
proclaimers of His Cause and with their substance, their very
souls, and with whatsoever their Lord has bestowed upon
them, will engage in spreading the tidings of God’s Faith and
ensuring its triumph.And after completing their mission, they will hasten to
reach the shores of the Holy Land, will be privileged to
circumambulate the Holy Shrines in a spirit of humility,
submissiveness and lowliness, will raise their voices to the
heavens in praise, in glorification and celebration of their
blessings, and will convincingly demonstrate to the entire
world the validity and majesty of this Mighty Cause.
This is a standing promise, unfailing, unchanging and
immutable, as decreed by God, as it is irrevocably recorded
in His preserved Tablet.3. Be well assured that, as the enemies of the Cause of God
will strive to oppose the Faith, its flame will be intensi fied
and its warmth and brightness will increase. The erudite and
intellectuals, who are carefully watching the progress of this
Cause and are investigating its aims, will never be influenced
or waver in their resolve, as a result of false reports and
futile, unfounded and conflicting accounts originating from
that land. They will never give up their search after truth,
nay, indeed they will only be led to deepen their study and
examination of the purposes of our Faith, its teachings and
principles so that they become fully aware of the essence of
the Cause of God. They will, as circumstances may indicate
and as guided by our All-Knowing and All-Powerful Lord,
arise to defend the Faith of God and ensure its triumph. They
will overcome the hosts of vain fancies and imaginings, will
destroy and uproot the edifice of falsehood and untruth and
will demonstrate, with sound evidence before the eyes of the
world, the purity, loftiness, power and reality of God’s
invincible Cause.4. He is God! O mighty Lord! Thou seest what hath befallen
Thy helpless lovers in this darkest of long nights; Thou
knowest how, in all these years of separation from Thy
Beauty, the confidants of Thy mysteries have ever been
acquainted with burning grief.abased and brought low; succour this handful of feeble
creatures with the potency of Thy might. Exalt Thy loved
ones before the assemblage of man, and grant them strength.
Allow those broken-winged beings to raise their heads and
glory in the fulfilment of their hopes, that we in these brief
days of life may gaze with our physical eyes on the elevati on
and exaltation of Thy Faith, and soar up to Thee with
gladdened souls and blissful hearts.Thou knowest that, since Thy ascension, we seek no name
or fame, that in this swiftly passing world we wish hencefort h
no joy, no delight and no good fortune.Then keep Thy word, and exhilarate once more the lives
of these, Thy sick at heart. Bring light to our expectant ey es,
balm to our stricken breasts. Lead Thou the caravans of the
city of Thy love swiftly to their intended goal. Draw those
who sorrow after Thee into the high court of reunion with
Thee. For in this world below we ask for nothing but the
triumph of Thy Cause. And within the precincts of Thy
boundless mercy we hope for nothing but Thy presence.
Thou art the Witness, the Haven, the Refuge; Thou art He
Who rendereth victorious this band of the innocent.
5. O people of Bahá! Raise your call addressing the people of
wisdom, cry out betwixt heaven and earth and say: O people
of the world! O perpetrators of tyranny and oppression!
Know ye of a certainty that we, the people of Bahá, bought
our Faith with our own blood, and have tasted the sweetness
of sacrifice in the path of His love. We are living in the hop e
of attaining His Presence. We are detached from all else but
Him. We will help and support His Cause to our very last
breath, and are contented and grateful in the face of trials
and tribulations.O people of the earth! Be well-assured, and give ye
assurance to every hesitant doubter that whatsoever has been
revealed by the Pen of the Most High will come to pass and
shall eventually be made manifest, as clear as the sun in its
midday glory. In this snow-white spot, as well as in other
lands, through the direct and celestial operation of the Will
of the One Who spread the earth and upraised the Heavens,
the fondest desires of His lovers will be realized and will
emerge from behind seventy thousand veils.consummated fully, impeccably and to perfection. This is
what our Lord has promised us, both implicitly and openly,
and this is a pledge which will not prove untrue. Arise,
therefore, and tell the unbelieving world: ‘Die ye in your
wrath! Ere long shall the ensigns of God’s Holy Cause be
raised in every city, and shed its radiance upon all regions.’
6. The Lord of Hosts, the King of The throne of divine
Majesty, is calling from His Exalted Realm during this
spiritual spring time, this Riván period, the supporters of
His Most Great Name, and addresses them with these words:
‘O ye My ardent lovers! O ye who have arisen to help My
Cause! O ye bearers of My trust among My creatures.
Hearken unto My call. I am Ever-living in My Realm of
Glory! O My friends, be ye aware of My presence.‘You were quickened for the triumph of My Cause. I
chose you for Mine Own Self. I singled you out that ye may
attain true understanding. I reared you for the exaltation of
My Word. I raised you up for the proclamation of My Sove-
reignty. I made you spiritual leaders among My servants, and
heirs of My heritage.‘Be patient, O My lovers, I will unveil to your eyes My
Signs, will strengthen you with My confirmations, and will
fulfil all that I have promised in My Tablets. I will aid you to
subdue My enemies and will realize your aspirations through
the potency of My Might and My Dominion over all the
worlds.‘Help Me on My earth, that I may render you victorious
in My Kingdom – a Kingdom lofty, exalted, luminous,
wondrous and sublime.‘O ye who are the treasuries of the hidden and heavenly
secrets enfolded in My Cause, the repositories of the
matchless tokens of My wisdom, and the mysteries of My Law
– a Law which has manifestly emerged from behind the veils,
and whose light will shed its radiance upon all regions with a
brilliance that past centuries have not witnessed. Then will
the sanctified and angelic dwellers in the Concourse on High
sing songs of glory and praise, and beyond them shall rejoice
God’s Messengers and Prophets in the highest Heaven. Then
shall ye clearly witness the gems and tokens that the hands of
Our grace, wisdom and might had concealed from the eyes of
men, in this bewildering, this challenging and irresistible
Cause.’7. Praise be to God, the One, the Single, the Eternal, the
Ever-Abiding, the Supreme life-imparting Reality, the Being
whose bounties embrace all things, He Who is the Invisible,
Inaccessible, the Hidden Treasure, the Source of all grace,
the Causer of Causes, He who has sent the Messengers, and
set down the laws and commandments, Who has no peer or
partner in His realm, no equal in the entire creation. All are
His servants, and all abide by His bidding, move according
to His Purpose and are in need of His tender mercies. All
have their origin in Him, and all return unto Him. Exalted,
immensely exalted is He above any description of His Pro-
phets or any praise uttered by those endowed with wisdom.
Salutation and praise be upon the Most Resplendent
Light that shone from the Dayspring of Glory, the Ancient
Beauty, the Most Great Name, the Adorned Symbol, He, the
Glory of God, unapproachably eminent and singularly
splendorous, the Inmost Reality of all truth, the Essence of
Essences, the Source of all Light, the Concealed Name, the
Impenetrable Mystery, the Ancient Root, the Most Great
Announcement, God’s Universal Manifestation, He round
Whom all Messengers circle, the Promised One mentioned in
the Scriptures of the Messengers and Prophets of the past,
the Lord of Hosts, the Speaker of Sinai, Who built the
Temple, Who is the Healer of the ills, and is seated upon the
throne of David, Who is the Heavenly Father, the Alpha and
the Omega, the King of Kings, the Lord of the Kingdom, the
Lord of the Day of Reckoning, the Author of the Covenant,
the Lord of the Covenant, the Day-star of the world, He Who
is the All-compelling, Whom God shall make manifest, the
Remnant of God, the Most Sublime Vision for His creatures
mentioned in God’s glorious Book, He Whom the world has
wronged, the Quickener of mouldering bones, the Establisher
of the Most Great Peace amongst all nations, Who unsealed
the choice, the mystic and sealed wine, through Whom God
proved the hearts of the entire company of His Messengers
and Prophets, through Whose advent the day of Resurrection
did open, the second woe occurred, and the second blast on
God’s trump was heard, the earth shone forth with the light
of its Lord, whereupon the earth told out its tiding, and cast
forth its burden. How great, how very great is His might, His
glory, His grandeur, His loftiness, His sovereignty, His
power, and His transcendent authority.Blessing and glory be upon His peerless Herald, the
Solace of the eyes of the Prophets of the past, the Gate of
God, His Most Great Gate, His Most Lofty and Supreme
Remembrance, His Mighty Testimony unto all people, His
choice Pearl of great price, the Exalted, the Most Exalted
One, the Primal Point, He Who manifested the signs and
tokens of all the Prophets of former Dispensations, He Who
was God’s Countenance that cannot wane, and His Light that
cannot fade, He who arose as prophesied, the Morn of truth,
the Lord of the Age, the King of Messengers, through Whose
appearance the time of the end came to pass, the Hour did
strike, the earth was rent in twain, the heavens were cleft
asunder, the mountains were set in motion, the contingent
world swooned away, the Straight Path was laid, the Balance
was appointed, the Fire was made to blaze, every expectant
mother cast her burden, the Dawn of Guidance did break, the
Great Glad-tiding was announced, and the Hour drew nigh
for the sun of Bahá to shed His radiance upon the entire
creation.Greeting and glorification be upon the Messengers and
the Prophets of God, the Emblems of divine unity, the
Embodiments of detachment, the Manifestations of God, the
Pure Mirrors reflecting His light, the Perfect Words
emanating from Him, They Who are the Sacred Souls chosen
by Him, Who represent Him amongst men, Who are the
Exponents of His Revelation, the Symbols of His radiant
Beauty, the Daysprings of His Cause, the Repositories of H is
mysteries, the Revealers of His attributes, the Sources of His
wisdom, the Fountainheads of His inspiration, the Treasuries
of His knowledge, the Mouthpieces of His Utterance, the
Standards of His might, the Lamps of His guidance, the
Tokens of His love, the Bearers of His truth, and the
Dawning-places of His behest. Through Them Godannounced His Cause, revealed His Law, advanced His
Proofs, transmitted His Message, foretold the Day when His
divine Presence would be attained – the Day of Reckoning,
the Promised Day, the Day of Gathering, the dreadful Day of
the Lord, and the Day when mankind shall stand before the
Lord of the worlds.Covenant, His Most Great Branch, His immutable and
glorious Mystery, the Gulf that branched out of His Ancient
Ocean, the Exemplar of His teachings, the Being round
Whom all names revolve, He Whom God has purposed, the
Apple of the eye of Bahá, His trust amongst His people, t he
Interpreter of His Revelation, the Stronghold and Shield of
His Cause, the Promoter of His Law, the Repository of His
hidden secrets, the Expounder of the principles of His Order,
the Standard of His victory, and He Who attired His head
with the crown of thraldom in servitude to God’s Holy
Cause.Joy and light be upon God’s Holy ones, His Chosen ones,
Successors and the Arch-Promoters of His Cause, His
Testimonies, His Witnesses, the Chief guides of His com-
munity – they who were appointed by the Messengers and the
Prophets to execute Their laws, to interpret Their utterances,
to consolidate the foundations of God’s Faith, to render it
victorious, to exalt His Name, to spread His message, to
demonstrate His might, to demand and establish the rights of
His Cause and to neutralize the evil designs of His enemies
and opponents.Remembrances and praise be upon the people of Bahá,
they that hold aloft the banner of His Faith, and dwell in His
Crimson Ark, upon His kindred, the Leaves and Off-shoots of
the Tree of Holiness, the Letters of His Book, the Hands of
His Cause, the summoners of the people to His Call, they
who are firm in His Covenant, hold fast unto the Cord of His
love, long to shed their blood in His path, spread the divine
fragrances and are the builders of the foundations of His
New World Order – an Order which is the child of His Law
and the fruit of a Divine Covenant which is eminently
glorious, exalted, holy, unassailable and unique.8. He is God! O our Lord, the Most Exalted! We entreat
Thee, by the righteousness of Thy blood which was shed upon
the dust, to heed our petition, to shield us within the
stronghold of Thy care and protection, to rain down upon us
out of the clouds of Thy bounty and loving kindness, to
enable us to walk in Thy Path, through Thy gracious help
and confirmation, to lay fast hold on the cord of Thy grace,
to demonstrate the truth of Thy Testimony, to spread abroad
Thy Holy Writings, to dispel the wickedness of Thine
enemies, to become imbued with Thy saintly character and to
proclaim the Cause of Thy Best-Beloved, the Lord of Glory –
He for whose sake Thou didst sacrifice Thine Own Being,
and yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of His
love. Help us, we beseech Thee, O our Best-Beloved, the
Most Exalted One. Strengthen our loins, make firm our steps,
wash away our sins, cancel our evil doings, unloose our
tongues to yield praise and thanksgiving unto Thee, adorn
our deeds and efforts with the garlands of Thy accept-
ance and good-pleasure, and grant that our last days may
prove as the ones Thou hast destined for the sincere among
Thy servants. Shelter us within the court of Thy gracious
favour, and cause us to be admitted into the effulgent realm
of Thy nearness. Make us come together with such of Thy
chosen ones as are nigh unto Thee, and destine for us to
attain Thy holy Presence. Suffer us to be intoxicated with the
immortal draught of reunion with Thee, and let us gain
admission into the meads of Thy holiness, and provide us
with the best of what Thou hast fore-ordained for Thy
heavenly kingdom, O Thou Who art invoked by all man-
kind.9. This beautiful and majestic path, which extends from the
Shrine of the Báb to the City of Haifa in line with the greatest
avenue of that blessed city, which is adorned with trees and
verdant plants and illumined with bright lights, which is the
object of the admiration of the people of this region and a
source of joy and pride to the authorities in this land, will
subsequently be converted, as foreshadowed by the Centre of
the Covenant, into the Pathway of the Kings and Rulers of
the World.pilgrims to the Sanctuary of the Lord, will, upon their arrival
in the Holy Land, first proceed to the Plain of ‘Akká, there t o
visit and circumambulate the Qiblih of the People of Bahá,
the Point around which circle in adoration the Concourse on
High. They will then make their way to this august and
venerated city, and climb the slopes of Mount Carmel. With
the utmost rapture, ardour and devotion, they will hasten
towards this Sacred Spot and, with reverence and sub-
missiveness, humility and lowliness, ascend these terraces to
approach the luminous precincts of the sanctified and holy
Shrine. Reaching the threshold of the Sanctuary of Grandeur,
they will cast their crowns upon the ground, prostrate
themselves to kiss its fragrant earth and, circling around its
hallowed arcade, call out ‘Here am I, here am I, O Thou
Who art the Exalted, the Most Exalted One!’ and recite in
tones of fervent supplication the perspicuous Verses of the
Tablet of Carmel.Thereafter they will walk over the spacious lawns and
through the wondrous gardens of this sublime and holy spot,
this garden of the Exalted Paradise, will inhale its fragrant
scents and taste of its choice and luscious fruits. They will,
with tearful eyes and burning hearts, call to mind the pain
and suffering, each affliction and calamity, the duress,
imprisonment and martyrdom which befell that Wronged One
of the world, will behold, with their own eyes, on every hand
in this exalted Spot, the glory of Carmel and the evidences of
the compelling might and greatness, the invincibility, the all-
encompassing dominion of the Conqueror of the worlds, and
will praise and glorify the Lord of Carmel.10. Unto thee, O Queen of Carmel, be the purest and most
tender salutations, and upon thee rest the fairest and most
gracious blessings! Glorified be He Who has ordained the
place of thy Seat and honoured it with His footsteps, and has
made mention of thee in His Holy Writ. How great is the
potency of thy might, a might which has bewildered the souls
of the favoured ones of God and His Messengers!glorious throne, robed in white, crowned in gold, resplendent
with the lights shining within thee and around thee, calling
aloud in ringing tones and lifting up thy voice between earth
and heaven.I see the souls of the holy ones and of the dwellers of the
realms above hastening towards thee with utmost devotion,
love and attraction, pointing to thee, circling around thee,
inhaling the fragrance of thy blossoms and flowers, seeking
blessing from the earth of thy precincts, and bowing their
foreheads to the ground in recognition of the majesty and
glory which surround the Trust of God reposing in thy heart,
and the Pearl that lies enshrined within thy bosom.
Blessed, immeasurably blessed is the one who visits thee
and circles around thee, who serves at thy threshold, waters
thy flowers, inhales the fragrance of holiness from thy roses ,
celebrates thy praise and magnifies thy station for the love of
God, He Who has created thee in this most hallowed and
luminous, this most exalted, august and wondrous age.
11. This magnificent edifice (the Shrine of the Báb) stands
facing Bahá’u’lláh’s Most Great Prison, extolled by the Pen
of Glory as the ‘Heaven of heavens’, and looks toward the
Qiblih of the people of Bahá, that Spot within the vale of
security and peace, the plain of ‘Akká, round which circle in
adoration the Concourse on high. To her right are the hills of
Galilee in which nestles the childhood home of the beautiful
Christ, and the locality by the banks of the Jordan River
where He Who is the Spirit (Jesus Christ) was called to
prophethood; and on her left, on the crest of Carmel, are to
be found the Cave of Elijah and the exalted Spot which was
blessed by the footsteps of the Most Holy Abhá Beauty and
was ennobled through the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel
from the treasury of the Pen of Glory. Behind her stand the
twin Mounts of Zion and Olives and the holy and ancient city
of Jerusalem, within whose walls lie the site of the martyr -
dom and the burial place of Jesus Christ, the seat of the
Throne of David, the glorious Temple of Solomon and the
Aqsa Mosque which ranks third among the shrines of the
Islamic world. Beyond these there rises Mount Sinai, the
cradle of the Jewish Faith, that Sacred Mount, the Paran of
light, that holy land where He Who conversed with God
(Moses) heard the Voice from the Blessed Tree. And further
beyond lies the Arabian Peninsula, the land of Hijaz, the
cradle of the Muammadan Dispensation, with the two cities
of Batha and Yathrib, the noble Mecca and the bright
Medina, one enshrining the Qiblih of Islam and the other
the Resting-place of Him Who is the Lord of mankind
(Muammad) – upon Him be countless salutations andHigh, immeasurably high, is this Shrine, the lofty, the
most great, the most wondrous. Exalted, immeasurably
exalted, is this Resting-place, the fragrant, the pure, the
luminous, the transcendent. Glorified, immeasurably glori-
fied, is this Spot, the most august, the most holy, the mos t
blessed, the most sublime.12. How often the beloved Master was heard to say: Should
each one of the friends take upon himself to carry out, in all
its integrity and implications, only one of the teachings of the
Faith, with devotion, detachment, constancy and persev-
erance and exemplify it in all his deeds and pursuits of life,
the world would become another world and the face of the
earth would mirror forth the splendours of the Abhá Para-
dise. Consider what marvellous changes would be effected if
the beloved of the Merciful conducted themselves, both in
their individual and collective capacities, in accordance with
the counsels and exhortations which have streamed from the
Pen of Glory.13. One can hardly imagine what a great influence genuine
love, truthfulness and purity of motives exert on the souls of
men. But these traits cannot be acquired by any believer
unless he makes a daily effort to gain them . . .14. The chosen ones of God . . . should not look at the
depraved condition of the society in which they live, nor at
the evidences of moral degradation and frivolous conduct
which the people around them display. They should not
content themselves merely with relative distinction and
excellence. Rather they should fix their gaze upon nobler
heights by setting the counsels and exhortations of the Pen of
Glory as their supreme goal. Then it will be readily realized
how numerous are the stages that still remain to be traversed
and how far off the desired goal lies – a goal which is none
other than exemplifying heavenly morals and virtues.
15. [P]raise be to God that the Pen of Glory has done away
with the unyielding and dictatorial views of the learned
and the wise, dismissed the assertions of individuals as an
authoritative criterion, even though they were recognized as
the most accomplished and learned among men and ordained
that all matters be referred to authorized centers and
specified Assemblies. Even so, no Assembly has been invested
with the absolute authority to deal with such general matters
as affect the interests of nations. Nay rather, He has brough t
all the assemblies together under the shadow of one House
of Justice, one divinely-appointed Center, so that there would
be only one Center and all the rest integrated into a single
body, revolving around one expressly-designated Pivot, thus
making them all proof against schism and division.
Godmystery of this Cause must needs be made manifest, and the
secret of this Message must needs be divulged. I can say no
more. I can appoint no time. His Cause will be made known after
ín (68)Great Reversal in the Sign of the Sovereign” hath now been
made manifestwho have turned away, and how many the wayward who have
drawn nighQ. What is the meaning of the ‘ nine concentric circles ’? Is
this a fulfilment of a prophecy or is it a symbol?
nine concentric circlesQ. What does the Crimson Ark refer to in the Writings?
Q. ‘ These mighty embodiments of kingly power, humble
pilgrims to the Sanctuary of the Lord, will, upon their arrival in
the Holy Land, first proceed to the Plain of ‘Akká, there to visit
and circumambulate the Qiblih of the People of Bahá . . . ’
(Naw-Rúz 1952). When is this going to happen?Q. Mount Carmel is ordained to be the spot for the
emergence of three central institutions of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh: the Báb’s Shrine, the Dayspring of Lights; the
Mash riqu’l-Adh kár, the Dawning Place of His praise; and
the World Administrative Seat of the Bahá’í worldcommunity, the Pivotal Centre to which all much turn. Why
is so much weight given to Mount Carmel? Why isn’t the
Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh the spot for the emergence of these
institutions? Why is not the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh the cen tre
of the nine concentric circles?Q. Why did the International Bahá’í Council have women on
it, if the Guardian envisioned it as the precursor to the H ouse
of Justice? Will future Manifestations of God change the
laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and allow women to sit on the
Universal House of Justice?Justice, however, according to the explicit text of the Law of
God, is confined to men; this for a wisdom of the Lord God’s,
which will ere long be made manifest as clearly as the sun at
high noonQ. You have said that, in his Persian writings, Shoghi Effendi
described the Shrine of the Báb as the head cornerstone of
the Universal House of Justice. Why is not the Shrine of
Bahá’u’lláh the head cornerstone?How can my lonely pen, so utterly inadequate to glorify so
exalted a station, so impotent to portray the experiences of so
sublime a life, so disqualified to recount the blessings she
showered upon me since my earliest childhood – how can
such a pen repay the great debt of gratitude and love that I
owe her whom I regarded as my chief sustainer, my most
affectionate comforter, the joy and inspiration of my life? My
grief is too immense, my remorse too profound, to be able to
give full vent at this moment to the feelings that surge within
me.Dearly-beloved Greatest Holy Leaf! Through the mist of
tears that fill my eyes I can clearly see, as I pen these l ines,
thy noble figure before me, and can recognize the serenity of
thy kindly face. I can still gaze, though the shadow of the
grave separate us, into thy blue, love-deep eyes, and can feel,
in its calm intensity, the immense love thou didst bear for the
Cause of thine Almighty Father, the attachment that bound
thee to the most lowly and insignificant among its followers,
the warm affection thou didst cherish for me in thine heart.
The memory of the ineffable beauty of thy smile shall ever
continue to cheer and hearten me in the thorny path I am
destined to pursue. The remembrance of the touch of thine
hand shall spur me on to follow steadfastly in thy way. The
sweet magic of thy voice shall remind me, when the hour of
adversity is at its darkest, to hold fast to the rope thou didst
seize so firmly all the days of thy life.Bear thou this my message to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, thine exalted
and divinely-appointed Brother: If the Cause for which
Bahá’u’lláh toiled and labored, for which Thou didst suffer
years of agonizing sorrow, for the sake of which streams of
sacred blood have flowed, should, in the days to come,
encounter storms more severe than those it has already
weathered, do Thou continue to overshadow, with Thine all-
encompassing care and wisdom, Thy frail, Thy unworthy
appointed child.Intercede, O noble and well-favoured scion of a heavenly
Father, for me no less than for the toiling masses of Thy
ardent lovers, who have sworn undying allegiance to Thy
memory, whose souls have been nourished by the energies of
Thy love, whose conduct has been moulded by the inspir-
ing example of Thy life, and whose imaginations are fired
by the imperishable evidences of Thy lively faith, Thy
unshakable constancy, Thy invincible heroism, Thy great
renunciation.Whatever betide us, however distressing the vicissitudes
which the nascent Faith of God may yet experience, we
pledge ourselves, before the mercy-seat of thy glorious
Father, to hand on, unimpaired and undivided, togenerations yet unborn, the glory of that tradition of which
thou hast been its most brilliant exemplar.In the innermost recesses of our hearts, O thou exalted
Leaf of the Abhá Paradise, we have reared for thee a shining
mansion that the hand of time can never undermine, a shrine
which shall frame eternally the matchless beauty of thy
countenance, an altar whereon the fire of thy consuming love
shall burn forever.O ye the oppressed ones in the path of the Lord, who
have remained steadfast in His Covenant and who are
builders of the pillars of His luminous and excellent Order.
O burning torches of love and affection! I send you my
salutations from this sacred, luminous and radiant Spot. Your
loving memory is always on my mind, filled as I am with joy
as I receive your glad tidings. I rejoice at the vastness of
your services, remember you in my prayers, and seek for
every one of you perpetual confirmations from the Kingdom
of Lights.Q. Why is it that, for over 80 years now, the writings of
Shoghi Effendi and of the Universal House of Justice have
conveyed a constant feeling of urgency? Is every day really a
critical moment in the life of the Faith?Q. Shoghi Effendi, when writing to the Bahá’ís of the East,
sometimes expresses thoughts in a form of prayer, or by
saying that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is now addressing the people of
Bahá. How should we consider these? Are these prayers?
Can we say that the Guardian wrote prayers?dimly picture to ourselves the wishes that must have welled fr om
His eager heart as He bade His last farewell to that promisi ng
country. An inscrutable Wisdom, we can well imagine Him
remark to His disciples on the eve of His departure, has, in H is
infinite bountyQ. ‘ In the innermost recesses of our hearts, O thou exalted
Leaf of the Abhá Paradise, we have reared for thee a shining
mansion that the hand of time can never undermine, a shri ne
which shall frame eternally the matchless beauty of thy
countenance, an altar whereon the fire of thy consuming lov e
shall burn forever ’ (BA 194). Is this mansion purely symbolic,
or is it also a reference to the monument Shoghi Effendi bu ilt
over the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf?Q. The Guardian insisted that Spiritual Assemblies have a
constitution and by-laws. What does this mean for Local and
National Assemblies in this day?Q. You said that Shoghi Effendi invariably omitted the
closing greetings in his cables. Was this for financial reasons,
since every word had to be paid for?Q. Why was Shoghi Effendi so reserved about writing to the
Persian believers about his vision of the future World Ord er
of Bahá’u’lláh?love and compassion, not of force and coercion. This hath been
God’s method in the past, and shall continue to be in the future!
Some AnsweredA. Brief statements introducing the Faith, its history, basic
principles and administrative structuresThe Revelation proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh, His followers
believe, is divine in origin, all embracing in scope, broad in i ts
outlook, scientific in its method, humanitarian in its principles
and dynamic in the influence it exerts on the hearts and minds of
menThis final stage in this stupendous evolution, they
assert, is not only necessary but inevitable, that it is
gradually approaching, and that nothing short of the
celestial potency with which a divinely ordained Message
can claim to be endowed can succeed in establishing it.
non-essential aspectsto fulfill the Revelations of the past to reconcile rather
than accentuate the divergencessupranational, entirely non-political, non-partisan, and
diametrically opposed to any policy or school of thought that
seeks to exalt any particular race, class or nation
subordinate everyparticular interest, be it personal, regional or national, to the
over-riding interests of the generality of mankind
the advantage of the part is best to beInformation Statistical and Comparative, including supplement:
Ten Year International Bahá’í Teaching and Consolidation Plan
1953–1963would strongly advise you to procure a copy of the Bahá’í
Year Book . . . which will give you a clear and authoritative
statement of the purpose, the claim and the influence of the
Faith. To the belovedof the Lord and the hand-maids of the Merciful throughout
the East and West Thesince its inception taken a keen and sustained interest in its
development, have personally participated in the collection
of its material, the arrangement of its contents, and the close
scrutiny of whatever data it contains. I confidently and
emphatically recommend it to every thoughtful and eager
follower of the Faith, whether in the East or in the West . . .
removing themalicious misrepresentations and unfortunate misunder-
standings that have so long and so grievously clouded the
luminous Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.of your letter enclosing the precious appreciation which will
constitute a valuable and outstanding contribution to the
forthcoming issue of the Bahá’í World.Q. What happened to the descendants of Queen Marie of
Romania? Was not her daughter also a Bahá’í? What is the
relationship of the family to the Faith now?Q. What does the beloved Guardian mean when he states
that religious truth is relative, not absolute? What impact
should the statement have on our teaching work?Q. What are the social and material teachings of a religion?
TheO Maidservant of God! Verily, that child is born and is alive
and from him will appear wondrous things that thou wilt
hear of in the future. Thou shalt behold him endowed with
the most perfect appearance, supreme capacity, absolute
perfection, consummate power and unsurpassed might. His
face will shine with a radiance that illumines all the horizons
of the world; therefore forget this not as long as thou dost
live inasmuch as ages and centuries will bear traces of him.
supreme capacityArohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand
Áth ár-i-Qalam-i-A‘láThe Constitution of the Universal House of Justice
The Dawn-BreakersMessages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent
Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963–
1986Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-
AqdasTablets of Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Centre of the CovenantLetters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand
Messages to the Bahá’í World 1950–1957Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent
The Passing of ‘Abdu’l-BaháMessages from the Universal House of Justice 1963–1986
The Vision of Shoghi Effendi