The situation as I see it calls for the devoted efforts of one or two
capable workers who, untrammelled and with independent means, can quietly,
tenaciously and tactfully, pursue over a considerable length of time the
meritorious work of fostering the cause of Baha'i education, for both boys
and girls, in the swiftly changing capital of a promising country. It
should be their primary duty to extend the scope and enhance the prestige
of these twin Baha'i educational institutions, and to initiate by sound
and well-considered methods such measures as will consolidate the work
already achieved. It would be highly gratifying if they could also
endeavor, by keeping in close and constant touch with the Persian and
American National Spiritual Assemblies, to fortify those vital bonds that
spiritually unite the cradle of the Baha'i Faith with the great American
Republic--the foremost standard-bearer of the Cause in the Western field.
Such efforts will extremely facilitate cooperation between these two
countries, whose common destiny is to provide, each in its own typical
manner, the essential elements in the foundation of the world order
ushered in by Baha'u'llah.
The gradual expansion of foreign as well as officially subsidized
educational schools in Tihran, the prolonged absence of competent teachers
and organizers that can revive the declining influence of a hitherto
renowned Baha'i educational institution, and the critical and vigilant
attitude which the growing influence of the Cause has induced in its
malignant and envious enemies, are today subjects of gravest concern to
the elected representatives of our suffering brethren and sisters in
Persia. I would therefore request those who feel the urge and have the
means to undertake this task to communicate with the National Spiritual
Assembly who, after mature deliberation, will select one or two who, in
their judgment, can best render this service, and decide upon the exact
time and manner which would be most suitable for its execution. I would
strongly urge the friends to consult most earnestly with that devoted,
experienced and indefatigable handmaid of Baha'u'llah, Dr. Moody, whose
past services have ennobled the record of collaboration of East and West
for the furtherance of the Cause of Baha'u'llah. It would be highly
satisfactory and immensely helpful if our beloved sister could find it
possible and convenient to accompany such a carefully-chosen person on the
way to Tihran, and, by her unrivaled experience and loving-kindness,
assist personally in the fulfillment of this pressing need.
Whoever steps into this field will find, as he settles down to his work,
that the environment is extremely disheartening, that restrictions are
oppressive, that the amenities of social life are lacking, that the forces
of opposition are determined and organized. But let him realize also that,
however tedious and exacting his labors, however precarious and thankless
his task, the pioneer services it is his unique privilege to render in
this time of stress will forever live in the annals of God's living Faith,
and will prove a source of inspiration to the countless workers who, in
happier times and with better means at their disposal, will consummate the
spiritual regeneration and material rehabilitation of Baha'u'llah's native
land.
Your true brother,
SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
November 14, 1926.
Letter of February 12, 1927.
To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
the West.
Dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in 'Abdu'l-Baha:
The trend of various events, affecting directly and indirectly the
interests of the Baha'i Cause, have of late served to bring into further
prominence the character as well as the significance of a Faith destined
to regenerate the world.