And now in conclusion, may I be permitted to direct your attention to the
lesson which the trend of world events brings home to us, the little band
of His chosen workers who, according to the intelligent efforts we exert,
can prove ourselves the determining factor in the immediate fortunes of
the society we live in? As we witness on all sides the growing
restlessness of a restless age, we are filled with mixed feelings of fear
and hope--fear, at the prospect of yet another deadly encounter, the
inevitability of which is alas! becoming increasingly manifest; hope, in
the serene assurance that whatever cataclysm may yet visit humanity, it
cannot but hasten the approaching era of universal and lasting peace so
emphatically proclaimed by the Pen of Baha'u'llah. In the political
domain, where we have lately witnessed, in the council of the leading
nations of the world, the surrender of humanity's noblest conception to
what may be regarded only as a transient phase in the life of peoples and
nations; in the industrial world, where the representatives of the
wage-earning classes, either through violence or persuasion, are capturing
the seats of authority and wielding the scepter of power: in the field of
religion, where we have lately witnessed widespread and organized attempts
to broaden and simplify the basis of man's faith, to achieve unity in
Christendom and restore the regenerating vigor of Islam; in the heart of
society itself, where the ominous signs of increasing extravagance and
profligacy are but lending fresh impetus to the forces of revolt and
reaction that are growing more distinct every day--in these as in many
others we have much cause for alarm, but much to be hopeful and thankful
for also. To take but one instance more fully: Observe the fierce and as
yet unsilenced dispute which the proposal for the introduction of a
binding and universal pact of non-aggression among the nations of Europe
has aroused among the avowed supporters of the League of Nations--a League
so auspiciously welcomed for the ideal that prompted its birth, yet now so
utterly inadequate in the actual principles that underlie its present-day
structure and working. And yet, in the great outcry raised by post-war
nationalism in blindly defending and upholding the unfettered supremacy of
its own sovereignty, and in repudiating unreservedly the conception of a
world super-state, can we not discern the re-enactment only on a larger
scale of the dramatic struggles that heralded the birth of the
reconstructed and unified nations of the West? Has not authentic history
clearly revealed in the case of these nations the painful yet inevitable
merging of rival, particularistic and independent cities and
principalities into one unified national entity, the evolving of a crude
and narrow creed into a nobler and wider conception? Is not a parallel
struggle being now manifested on the world stage of ever-advancing
humanity? Can it lead to any other result than that which shall reaffirm
the truth of humanity's onward march towards an ever-widening conception,
and the ever-brightening glory of its destiny? Reverses and setbacks, such
as we have already witnessed, no doubt will retard the ripening of the
choicest fruit on the tree of human development. Yet the fierceness of
controversy, the weight of argument advanced in its disfavor, cannot but
contribute to the broadening of the basis and the consolidation of the
foundations upon which the stately edifice of unified mankind must
ultimately rest. Let us take heart therefore, and labor with renewed vigor
and deepened understanding to contribute our share to those forces which,
whether or not cognizant of the regenerating Faith of Baha'u'llah in this
age, are operating, each in its respective sphere and under His
all-encompassing guidance, for the uplift and the salvation of humanity.
Your true brother,
SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
October 18, 1927.
Letter of December 6, 1928.
To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
the West.
Dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in 'Abdu'l-Baha:
Events, of a startling character and of the utmost significance to the
Faith of Baha'u'llah, have recently transpired throughout the Near and
Middle East in such rapid succession, that I feel moved to write about
them to those who, in distant lands and with eager hearts, are waiting to
witness the fulfillment of the prophecies of Baha'u'llah. You will, I am
certain, rejoice with me to learn that the quickening forces of internal
reform are swiftly awakening from their age-long slumber of negligence
those lands which, trodden by the feet of Baha'u'llah and wherein are
enshrined the memorable scenes of His birth, His ministry, His exiles, His
banishments, His suffering and His ascension, are destined in the fulness
of time to play a pre-eminent role in the regeneration of the East--nay of
all mankind.