--Issue No. 2 January 1925:
To my dear friends and fellow-workers, the members of the American National Spiritual Assembly c/o the Secretary, Mr. Horace Holley,
To my dear friends and fellow-workers, the members of the American National Spiritual Assembly c/o the Secretary, Mr. Horace Holley,
New York City, U.S.A.
My Friends and Fellow-Workers:-
The letters which our able and devoted friend, Mr. Horace
Holley, has addressed in your behalf to the Greatest Holy Leaf and myself have
all been received, and, together with their enclosures, read with the closest
attention. It is indeed highly gratifying to observe that notwithstanding the
strain and stress of the critical period through which our beloved Cause is
passing, the elected representatives of the friends in America have, with
unflinching faith, undaunted courage, and conspicuous ability, persevered in
their task and fulfilled their arduous duties.
The splendid contribution you have made to the efforts of
your fellow-workers in England in connection with the Conference on the Living
Religions within the British Empire, we all heartily appreciate and regard as a
fresh evidence of the growing power and solidarity of the Cause of God. Both in
the admirable paper which you arranged to be drafted and prepared, and in the
person of your devout, trusted and talented President, who performed his duty
with absolute fidelity and high distinction, you have rendered the Cause of
Baha’u’llah a fresh and distinguished service. May the results achieved lend a
fresh impetus to the onward march of the Cause in the West.
The recent measures you have adopted in view of the necessity of promoting fuller confidence and a greater measure of understanding and cooperation between the body of the believers and the local and National Assemblies, will, I am confident, be of the greatest value, and indicate clearly that you are fully aware of the true position, the privileges and responsibilities of every Baha’i Assembly.
We all long to hasten by wise and effective measures the
completion of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, and we fervently supplicate the
All-Bountiful to bless richly our Teaching work that our numbers may be
reinforced in time by men who with sufficient means at their disposal may
voluntarily and abundantly support this vast and noble endeavor. I trust that
you will encounter no further obstacles in receiving the necessary support to
meet the immediate needs of this Universal House of Worship as decided at your
recent general gathering in Chicago.
The Star of the West, the latest issues of which I have read
with genuine satisfaction, has admittedly made a notable advance towards the
ideal which the Master has set before it. Articles on broad humanitarian lines,
well-conceived, adequately treated, and powerfully presented, should have their
proper place in every issue together with such accounts of the history and the
teachings of the Cause as will portray to the Baha’i and non-Baha’i alike the
unique beauty as well as the compelling power of the Baha’i spirit. Matters
political and partisan in character should be carefully avoided as they would
eventually lead to entanglements that would be not only futile but positively
harmful. As regards the Persian Section: I feel that in view of the severe
restrictions imposed on the friends in Persia its temporary suspension would be
well-advised, particularly as it makes such a disproportionate demand on the meagre
resources of the friends in America.
The increasing efforts displayed by my beloved brothers and
sisters in America, both individually and collectively, and the action taken by
you in constituting regional Teaching Committees are of vital importance to the
spread of the Cause in the present stage of our work. I feel that we should all
collaborate in widening its scope, intensifying its influence, assuring its
continuity, and endeavoring to subordinate every other activity to this most
urgent and vital task. It is our bounden duty to do all in our power to give
the Cause from day to day a fuller publicity, to maintain and stimulate the
interest aroused, and to concentrate at the same time our attention on a chosen
few, endeavoring tactfully and persistently to make of them earnest and
unreserved supporters of the Baha’i Faith.
I am deeply conscious of the manifold and unavoidable
difficulties that confront you in your labors for the administration of the
affairs of the Cause. Vast distances; personal professional pre-occupations;
insufficient number of capable and experienced teachers, unhampered by the
necessity of earning their means of livelihood; the inadequacy of the means at
your disposal, financial and otherwise; the prevailing tendencies in the
general thought, sentiment, and manners of the people in whose midst you work
-- all these, though insuperable
obstacles at present, will, if we stand steadfast and faithful, be one by one
removed, and pave the way for the ultimate ascendancy [sic] of the Cause and
the fruition and triumph of our labors.
As to the projected prayer-book, I feel the need for a
specially prepared compilation of the prayers of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l Baha
designed for the general public which would both prove of value for devotional
purposes and act as a fresh incentive to eager and inquiring minds. I am
enclosing copies of prayers which you may have not yet received and trust to
send you more in future. I should be glad to receive any particulars you might
wish me to consider in this connection.
Our untiring and devoted sister, Dr. Moody, (the handmaid of
the Most High), has had to her profound regret to discontinue for a time the
invaluable and unique services she has been rendering to the Cause in Persia.
She is proceeding to America, and will familiarize you with the deplorable
state of affairs in that unhappy country. You will get first-hand information
from her regarding the present condition and activities of our long-suffering
friends in Persia, and she will take counsel with you as to the best way to
meet the needs and serve the Cause of Education in Tihran. I hope and pray that
as soon as circumstances permit, the friends in America may enable Dr. Moody to
take back with her to Persia suitable, capable and ardent collaborators who
will contribute their distinct share towards the uplift and the advancement of
their brethren and sisters in that land.
Concerning the magazine “Reality,” I feel we must make it
unmistakably plain to those in charge of it that the Baha’is would gladly and
gratefully respond to the invitation to cooperate [sic] with those that are
responsible for it immediately they are fully satisfied that nothing is or will
be published by them, whether in the magazine or elsewhere, that would, however
indirectly, prejudice or reflect upon their conception of what the Baha’i
Movement is or stands for. Should this be refused, and unfriendly and harmful
matters be published against them, the attitude of all of us should be a
definite refusal to help and absolute non-interference, as well as the absence
of any form of retaliation which will instead of achieving our end defeat our
purpose. We should leave him in the hands of God.
As to the suggestion of the Annual Convention being held
next summer at Green Acre, I believe it to be both wise and helpful, and trust
that it will forge another link between the Baha’is as a body and its founders
and trustees, and will serve to draw them closer and closer to the outward form
as well as to the spirit of the activities of the friends in America.
The financial help extended recently by the friends in
America to their fellow-workers of the Faith in Qadiyan, Punjab, has given us
all intense satisfaction and made us deeply grateful. Their contribution has
immediately been forwarded to them through the National Spiritual Assembly of
India and Burma, and will, I am certain, enhance the prestige and the influence
of the Cause.
I feel that the conditions are now favorable for the
circulation of the Will and Testament of Abdu’l Baha only in manuscript form
and among recognized believers in America. Every such believer should be
trusted with a single copy with the express understanding that no duplicate
copies or extracts of it be made or published anywhere.
The suggestion made by my dear and able friend, Mr. Horace
Holley, as to the compilation of an annual “Baha’i Year Book’’ is extremely
valuable and timely. I am much impressed by it, and feel that an immediate
start should be made. I believe it can best be now undertaken under the
direction and supervision of your Assembly until the time should come for the
friends in the East and particularly Persia to participate effectually in its
development. I trust you will send me a copy of the skeleton of the material
you propose to include, and I shall here attempt to fill up any gap and render
any assistance I can to make it as comprehensive, as attractive, and as
authoritative as possible.
I am sending through my dear brother, Mr. M. Mills, various
relics and Tablets of our beloved Abdul Baha, the only and priceless treasures
of the devoted gardener of Baha’u’llah’s Shrine, Ustad Abu’l-Qasim Khurasani,
who has offered them to be preserved in his behalf in the Archives of the
friends in America. I am hoping to be able to send you in future precious
additions to what the Archives Committee has already collected, and may I in
this connection express to those who have conceived so admirable a plan my
profound admiration and heartfelt gratitude.
I wish to assure you
in conclusion of my readiness and genuine desire to help you and serve you to
the utmost of my ability. I fully realize the enormous burden that weighs on
your shoulders, and am constantly mindful of the distinct and eminent share you
are contributing to the advancement of the Cause. I wish you from the depths of
my heart entire satisfaction in your glorious work. Our beloved Master is
surely watching from the Realm Beyond over His children whom He nurtured and
loved so well, and will certainly guide you in every step you take, and crown
your patient efforts with signal success.
Your brother and fellow-worker,
(signed) Shoghi
Haifa, Palestine,
November 27, 1924.