Previous Section Table of Contents
Next Section
14 March 1947 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Bahá'í Sister:
Our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer your letters dated Sep. 2nd and 16th, and Oct.22nd and 25th, 1946, and to acknowledge receipt of enclosures sent in some of them, and also material forwarded under separate cover. He regrets very much the delay in replying to these N.S.A. communications, but he has been very pre-occupied with various pressing matters the last few months, and his mail has consequently had to wait.
In regard to the various points you raised in your letters:
There is no objection to individual Bahá'ís sending Naw-RÏz cards if they want to; also the NSA can send them out occasionally, but it should not become a fixed custom.
He has already cabled you that he approved of increasing the delegates to the Annual Convention to 19.
He feels that Committees should be left free to elect their own officers.
Prayers translated by other people may be used and memorised by the friends; they need not be confined to his translations.
He considers that the N.S.A. has every right to examine the ballots if there is some doubt as to the election having been properly conducted. By "preservation" of the ballots is meant that they are preserved in the National files.
A Convention delegate should certainly be given an opportunity to report to the community his or her experiences at Convention and impressions.
As to the whole matter of the incorporation of Assemblies: he cannot go into the details of such things, as this is the work of the N.S.A. What he wants is that the spiritual Assemblies in New Zealand and Australia should be legally empowered to hold property in their own names; how this can be done, the best way of doing it, are matters for your Assembly and its legal advisers to decide.
He feels very strongly that the main thing for your Assembly and all the believers of both Australia and New Zealand to concentrate on are teaching plans. The United States, India, Persia and England are all embarked on ambitious and bold teaching campaigns, and it is a great pity that Australia, where the Cause is now firmly established and boasts an active National Assembly, should not have a definite plan, with fixed goals, of its own.
When the believers are embarked on a definite teaching schedule there will be less time for them to constantly occupy themselves with purely secondary administrative points of procedure. Teaching is their need, and the solution to any problems they may feel they have.
He was delighted over the report of the work in Brisbane; this is a step in the right direction, and should be followed through vigorously. Please convey to those who have devotedly served there and brought this group into being his warm thanks and his admiration for their services.
You may be sure he deeply values the loyal and persevering efforts of your Assembly to promote the Faith in all its aspects in Australia and New Zealand. His loving prayers are offered on your behalf and for the success of your labours.
With loving Bahá'í greetings, R. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-workers:
I wish to appeal, through you, to the members of the entire community in both Australia and New Zealand, to arise, in these opening years of the Second Bahá'í century, and lend, through their concerted, their sustained, and determined efforts, an unprecedented impetus to the growth of the Faith, the multiplication of its administrative centers, and the consolidation of its nascent institutions. The initiation of a Plan, carefully devised, universally supported, and designed to promote effectively the vital interests of the Faith, and attain a definite objective within a specified number of years, would seem, at the present hour, highly desirable and opportune, and will, as a magnet, attract, to an unprecedented degree, the blessings of Bahá'u'lláh on the members of both communities, both individually and collectively.
Now that the structural basis of the Bahá'í Administrative Order has been firmly and definitely laid in these far-away lands, and the National Headquarters of that Order established, a systematic effort must be exerted to widen the basis of that Order, by multiplying the Administrative institutions and forming the necessary nuclei, which, as they develop and are consolidated, will have to be utilized as the divinely ordained and most effectual instruments for the proclamation of the Faith to the masses.
I fully realize how small are your numbers, how circumscribed are your means, how vast the distances that separate the centres already established. But I firmly believe that the initiation of a Plan to remedy the very deficiencies from which the infant Administrative Order is now suffering, and a firm resolve to carry out its provisions, as well as a sustained effort to make the necessary sacrifices for its consummation, will set in motion forces of such magnitude, and draw upon both communities blessings of such potency, as shall excite the wonder of the believers themselves, and cause their Faith to enter an era of unprecedented expansion and marvellous and fruitful development.
The concluding years of the first Bahá'í century have witnessed a notable progress in the development and consolidation of both communities. The first decade of the succeeding century must synchronize with a no less remarkable extension of that essential administrative foundation on which the future institutions of a flourishing Faith must repose, and on which its destinies and security must ultimately depend.
May the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh guide, sustain and inspire you in the discharge of the noble and formidable tasks which will face you in the years to come.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
24 March 1947 [National Spiritual Assembly]
LOVING APPRECIATION REMEMBRANCE SHRINES
4 April 1947
To: Mother Dunn
Dear Bahá'í Sister:
Your welcome letter dated Nov 18th, 1946, reached our beloved Guardian and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf.
He is very glad to hear Miss Perks has embraced the Faith; please assure her of his loving prayers on her behalf, and tell her that he hopes in the future the way will open for her to visit here. At the present time no pilgrims are permitted owing to the state of the country.
He was very happy to hear you find the friends progressing spiritually there. This is the true progress and on it, to a great extent depends the outward advancement of the Faith.
Your devoted and untiring services are, you may be sure, deeply appreciated by him, and his loving prayers are offered for you in the Holy Shrines.
He is urging the N.S.A. to make definite teaching plans, with a time limit and specified objectives, and he hopes your health will permit you to do some teaching work in new centres.
With warm Bahá'í love, R. Rabbani
May the Beloved protect, bless, & sustain you, enable you to enrich still further the record of your past splendid services to His Cause, & aid you to fulfil whatever desire you cherish for the promotion of the interests of its God-given institutions.
Your true & grateful brother, Shoghi
7 April 1947 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Bahá'í Sister:
Our beloved Guardian has instructed me to write and ask you to please forward to him copies of the letters of acknowledgment written by the Bishops who received copies of "God Passes By".
He read in the British News Letter that such letters had been received by your Assembly, and he feels that such material should always be forwarded (in copy) to Haifa, as it is of more than mere local importance.
He hopes the N.S.A. is progressing with its teaching plans, and assures you all of his loving prayers.
With Bahá'í greetings, R. Rabbani.
8 April 1947 [Bertha Dobbins]
Dear Bahá'í Sister:
Your letter of Feb. 2nd was received, and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to write you a little line of appreciation for the lovely and encouraging description you gave him of Yerrinbool School. As he is so very busy these days he finds it hard to keep up with his mail.
He hopes that all the Australian friends will unite as one soul in pursuing their teaching plans and in constructing new groups and Assemblies.
Your devoted labours for the Faith of God are much appreciated, and he prays for your success in confirming new souls.
With loving Bahá'í greetings, R. Rabbani
May the Beloved bless your efforts, guide your steps, & enable you to promote the best interests of His Faith & its God-given institutions,
Your true brother, Shoghi
16 April 1947
Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Bolton, "Bolton Place", Yerrinbool. N.S.W. Australia.
Dear Bahá'í Friends;
Your Naw-RÏz greeting was received, as well as Mrs. Bolton's letter dated Feb. 18th. by our beloved Guardian; and he has instructed me to write and thank you for it and also for the poems written by Stanley Bolton Jr.
He hopes the school will go on being a source of inspiration to the friends and a rally-point for the youth, and that from it many souls may go forth, fired with a keener determination to teach and serve our glorious Faith.
You may be sure his loving prayers are with you and your work for the Cause.
With Bahá'í love, R. Rabbani.
May the Beloved bless your constant and meritorious efforts for the promotion of our glorious Faith, and enable you to win great victories in its service,
Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi.
P.S. He cannot at present grant anyone permission to visit Haifa owing to the very disturbed conditions within the country. He hopes, however, that in the future your children will have this privilege and blessing. He will pray for their success and spiritual progress in the Holy Shrines.
20 April 1947
Bolton, Yerrinbool, New South Wales.
HOPING CONVENTION NEXT YEAR ASSURE YOU LOVING PRAYERS
20 June 1947 [Alvin & Gertrude Blum]
Dear Bahá'í friends:
Your letter to our beloved Guardian dated March 9th was received and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf, and also to thank you for the photograph of your little girl, taken with her mother. He is very happy to hear of your going out to settle in New Zealand. Your presence there, he feels sure, will be of great help in stimulating and assisting the friends there to establish new centers and build up new Spiritual Assemblies.
He urges you, if it is feasible, to settle in some town where you can build up a Local Assembly, and thus hasten the day when New Zealand will have a representative number of Assemblies.
You may be sure his loving prayers will accompany you, and be offered for your success and protection as you settle down in your new home.
With warmest Bahá'í greetings, R. Rabbani
May the Beloved bless, guide and sustain you and aid you to promote, at all times and under all conditions, the vital interests of His faith, and its God-given institutions.
Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi
26 June 1947 [National Spiritual Assembly]
ACCLAIM NEW PLAN CONCEIVED AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND BAHAI COMMUNITY STOP ADVISE REDUCE PERIOD TO SIX YEARS IN ORDER TERMINATION COINCIDE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY BIRTH BAHAULLAHS PROPHETIC MISSION STOP APPEAL BOTH COMMUNITIES ARISE UNITEDLY DETERMINEDLY ENSURE SUCCESS PLAN MARKING OPENING NEW EPIC DEVELOPMENT FAITH BAHAULLAH ANTIPODES STOP PRAYING ARDENTLY CONSUMMATION DEAREST HOPES STOP CABLING FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS MY CONTRIBUTION PROMOTION PLAN DEEPEST LOVING GRATITUDE SHOGHI
28 June 1947
Mrs. Mariette G. Bolton, Bolton Place, Yerrinbool. N.S.W. Australia.
Dear Bahá'í Sister:
Your letter to our beloved Guardian with its enclosures, dated June 16th, was received, and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf.
He is delighted to hear the visit to America has so stimulated your dear children and that they are all eagerness to serve the Cause in Australia on their return. You may be sure he will certainly pray for them in the Holy Shrines, and for the other young people you mention in your letter.
It cheered his heart to hear there is now a Bahá'í in Glen Innes, and he will pray that a group may be soon formed there. He will also pray for the constant success of your much appreciated labours,
With Bahá'í love, R. Rabbani.
May the Spirit of Bahá'u'lláh sustain, bless and guide you and enable you and the members of your dear family to promote effectively the best interests of His Faith and of its nascent institutions in that far-off and promising country.
Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi.
8 July 1947 [Alvin & Gertrude Blum]
Dear Bahá'í Friends:
I am just sending you this little note to assure you that your letter to our beloved Guardian, dated July 10th, 1946, was received, but by an oversight was not acknowledged in the recent letter I wrote you on his behalf!
His loving prayers go with you in your new life, and he feels your presence in New Zealand will be of great service to the Cause there.
With loving greetings, R. Rabbani
Assuring you of my loving prayers for your success in the service of our beloved Faith,
Your true brother, Shoghi
22 July 1947 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Bahá'í Brother:
The letters from the N.S.A. (some written by the former Secretary) dated Sep. 2nd, 1946, Feb. 10th, March 9th, April 27th (two of this date), June 13th and July 10th have been received, as well as their enclosures, and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.
He is very anxious that your Assembly should devote its energies and resources to prosecuting the teaching work and stimulating and encouraging the believers to devote their thoughts and time to it. This is really the solution to all the small problems and differences of opinion that arise in Australia. It is the sacred duty of the believers to teach, and one of the reasons for so painstakingly building up Assemblies is for them to promulgate the Cause of God, and not to lose their time in discussing details, settling disputes which should not have arisen between Bahá'ís, and generally losing themselves in personalities.
He urges your Assembly to try and create as many Local Assemblies as possible; large suburbs, if outside the city limits and possessing their own administration should - if 9 Bahá'ís reside in them, form separate assemblies. This may at first seem to weaken the larger communities; but it will also challenge all concerned to renew their labours to expand the local communities and increase their numbers.
Enclosed is a letter to Mr. Featherstone in connection with his letter sent to the Guardian by your Assembly.
Regarding Mr Dive's appeal; the Guardian feels the best course of action in this matter is to ask both the believers concerned to forgive and forget the entire matter.
He does not want the friends to form the habit of taking up a kind of Bahá'í litigation against each other. Their duties to humanity are too sacred and urgent in these days, when the Cause is struggling to spread and assert its independence, for them to spend their precious time, and his precious time, in this way. Ask them, therefore, to unite, forget the past, and serve as never before.
His loving prayers are offered for you and the other members of the Assembly, for your guidance and success.
With warm greetings, R. Rabbani.
Dear and valued co-workers:
The Plan, on which the National elected representatives of the Bahá'í communities of Australia and New Zealand have spontaneously embarked marks a turning-point, of great spiritual significance, in the evolution of the Faith in those far-off lands, and is an evidence of the truly remarkable spirit that animates them as well as the communities they represent. I welcome this mighty step they have taken with joy, pride and gratitude, and have hastened to transmit to them my contribution as a token of my keen appreciation of their high endeavours, of my confidence in their ability, and of my admiration for their zeal and noble determination in the service of the Faith. The attention of the members of both communities must henceforth be focused on the Plan, its progress, its requirements, its significance and immediate objectives. All must participate without exception without reserve, without delay. The Administrative Order which they have laboured to establish must henceforth, through its organs and agencies be utilized for the promotion of this vital purpose, this supreme end. For no other purpose was it created. That it may serve this end, that the Plan may speedily develop and yield its destined fruit and demonstrate through its consummation the worthiness, the capacity and high-mindedness of the organized body of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh in those distant lands are the objects of my fervent and constant prayers at the Holy Shrines.
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.
22 July 1947
Mr. Featherstone, 1 Nana Terrace, Albert Park, S. Australia.
Dear Bahá'í Brother:
Your letter to our beloved Guardian, dated 12th Dec. 1946, with its enclosures, was duly forwarded to him by the N.S.A. and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
Such cases where the decision of the Local Assembly is challenged by some of the believers (or one of them,) should be referred by the Assembly to the N.S.A. for decision.
He has already informed the N.S.A. that he feels it is the right and duty of delegates to report back to the community on the Convention.
He hopes all the friends, your dear self included, will concentrate all their time and energies on carrying out the teaching plans, as the success of these, through enlarging the Faith, will gradually do away with many of the problems that arise at present.
He assures you of his loving prayers on your behalf, and his appreciation of your devotion to the Cause of God.
With warm greetings, R. Rabbani
May the Beloved bless, sustain & guide you, at all times & under all conditions, & enable you to promote effectively the vital interests of our glorious Faith, & its God-given institutions,
Your true brother, Shoghi
6 December 1947 [National Spiritual Assembly]
OVERJOYED GLORIOUS NEWS MAGNIFICENT PLAN ALL IMPORTANT TEACHING WORK DEEPEST ADMIRATION EXEMPLARY SPIRIT CABLING FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS MY CONTRIBUTION REALISATION NOBLE PURPOSE ARDENTLY PRAYING SUCCESS DEEPEST LOVE SHOGHI
19 December 1947 [Bertram Dewing]
Dear Bahá'í Brother:
Your letter to our beloved Guardian, dated Dec. 12th has been received, and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf. The previous letter you mention cannot have reached him; as he always replies to letters from the friends.
Your book touches on a very important subject, and he regrets that he cannot read it himself. His work is so pressing and multiplying so fast that he invariably refuses to go over the manuscripts the friends send him, as he simply cannot attend to such things as well as all his other work. You should send it to the Reviewing Com. in the U.S.A. and ask their advice. Perhaps an outside publisher would be interested in it? The Bahá'í funds have such heavy demands made on them at present that even essential literature must often wait to be published, unfortunately.
He fully appreciates the fact that the believers locally, in different parts of the world, often feel that their political party is in many ways striving to accomplish ideals akin to our Bahá'í aims - but the fact remains that the only way for the Bahá'ís to preserve their international character, their unity and integrity, is for them individually to sacrifice these desired political affiliations for the universal good and protection of the Faith. There is no political party in existence with whose platform we wholly agree, and we must abstain from membership in such parties. Likewise people who join the Faith must have the courage and conviction to leave their political affiliations behind.
There is no reason why this should cause enmity as they are not joining another party, but a universal Faith striving for the advancement of the entire human race. He thinks there is very little possibility of any politician joining the Faith. The sacrifice of such individuals' personal ambitions is too great a one for them to make!
The condition of the world today is such that it is obvious no political solution to its problems is going to be found. We Bahá'ís must therefore concentrate on Bahá'u'lláh's World Order - the true solution.
He assures you he will pray your teaching labours may be very successful. He will also pray for your dear mother's welfare.
With warmest greetings, R. Rabbani
Assuring you of my loving prayers for your welfare & success in the service of our beloved Faith,
Your true brother, Shoghi
Previous Section Table of Contents
Next Section
|
|
