teaches those receptive souls one finds. The same should apply to the
beginning of the work in Africa. Any direct teaching work with the more
primitive tribes would have to be done after finding out the best and most
tactful way of doing it. The first step is to get to Africa, and, in view
of the cost involved, and the state of the Fund, the pioneers should make
every effort to get sent out there or at least get employment after
arriving, thus relieving the Baha'i Fund as much as possible. If this
fails, then of course all the expense will have to be paid by the Fund.
Letter of 11 January 1951
11 January 1951
You have voiced the same suffering, the sign of the same mystery, as has
been voiced by almost all those who have been called upon to serve God.
Even the Prophets of God, we know, suffered agony when the Spirit of God
descended on Them and commanded Them to arise and preach. Look at Moses
saying, "I am a stutterer!". Look at Mu?ammad rolled in His rug in agony!
The Guardian himself suffered terribly when he learned he was the one who
had been made the Guardian.
So you see your sense of inadequacy, your realisation of your own
unworthiness is not unique at all. Many, from the Highest to the humblest
have had it. Now the wisdom of it is this: it is such seemingly weak
instruments that demonstrate that God is the Power achieving the victories
and not men. If you were a wealthy, prominent, strong individual who knew
all about Africa and looked upon going out there as fun, any service you
render, and victories you have, would be laid to your personality, not to
the Cause of God! But because the reverse is true, your services will be a
witness to the Power of Baha'u'llah and Truth of His Faith.
Rest assured, dear sister, you will ever-increasingly be sustained, and
you will find joy and strength given to you, and God will reward you. You
will pass through these dark hours triumphant. The first Baha'i going on
such an historic mission could not but suffer--but the compensation will be
great....
Letter of 10 February 1951
10 February 1951
Whenever you see tremendous personal problems in your private lives, such
as those the parents of ... have been called upon to face, you must
remember that these afflictions are part of human life; and, according to
our teachings one of their wisdoms is to teach us the impermanence of this
world and the permanence of the spiritual bonds that we establish with
God, His Prophet, and those who are alive in the faith of God. You must
always remember that the Manifestations of God, Themselves, were not
immune to suffering of the most human nature; and that from the hands of
their relatives, they drank the bitterest potions, Baha'u'llah even being
proffered poison by His half-brother, Mirza Ya?ya. Beside their
afflictions, our afflictions, however terrible for us, must seem small in
comparison.
Regarding your personal affairs, the Guardian will pray that your
cherished hopes may be fulfilled; and that the way may open, if you both
desire it, for you to serve together the Faith you are so deeply attached
to. Never lose heart, and always remember that the power in this Cause is
of a nature not understood or accessible to those who have not our faith
in Baha'u'llah.
Letter of 30 August 1951
30 August 1951
The progress being made in Africa is truly miraculous, as if a special
benediction from on High is being extended to this work... He (the
Guardian) feels sure that the work in Uganda will now go forward rapidly.
The news from Dar is wonderful too... The racial question all over Africa
is very acute, but, while being wise and tactful, believers must realise
that their standard is far from that of the white colonials. They have not
gone there to uphold the white man's supremacy, but to give the Cause of
God to, primarily, the black man whose home is Africa.
Letter of 11 November 1951
11 November 1951
Many times the young Baha'is these days seem to be living the lives of
soldiers, and in a way the pioneers are the soldiers of Baha'u'llah, going
out to plant the banner of His dominion in far corners of the earth!
Letter of 5 October 1952
5 October 1952
What the Master meant in the words you quoted is simply that joy gives one
more freedom to create; if the Prophets, the Master Himself, and the
Guardian, had less problems and worries, They could give forth a great
deal more creatively to the Cause. When He said that "grow to be as a
fruitful tree" he meant that, by lifting burdens from the Guardian and
trying as much as possible to do our share of the work of the Faith, we
would help Shoghi Effendi to develop his full powers as Guardian and,
through the Covenant, the Cause would spread its shadow over all men. This
we have seen happen in the last 30 years, but that does not mean we must
not try to our utmost to help him by our lives and our services.
Teaching is an individual matter; one has to sense when it is right to go
further in revealing the Source of our Message; no rules exist, really,
for such things.
Letter of 3 March 1955
3 March 1955
As we almost never attain any spiritual goal without seeing the next goal
we must attain still beyond our reach, he urges you, who have come so far
already on the path of spirituality, not to fret about the distance you
still have to cover! It is an indefinite journey, and, no doubt in the
next world the soul is privileged to draw closer to God than is possible
when bound on this physical plane.
Letter of 6 March 1955
6 March 1955
As regards the questions you have asked, as Baha'u'llah says categorically
that God commanded Abraham to offer up Isma'il, as far as we are
concerned, it is Isma'il who was the intended sacrifice.
In view of the great antiquity of Genesis, it is quite possible that at
some period the names were changed, and the error was propagated.
Whatever happened, we Baha'is must follow the words in our own Scriptures
as being the most authentic.
In the Tablet of the Holy Mariner, the Youth means Baha'u'llah, Himself.
Letter of 12 January 1957
12 January 1957
In the Baha'i Teachings it is made quite clear that when one is ill, one
should seek the best available medical advice. This naturally leaves a
person free to choose what they consider good in medical opinion. If you
and ... feel that she is improving under the care of your own doctor, and
... is willing to wait and be patient and see if she goes on making
progress, there can surely be no objection to her doing this. There are a
great many as you know mental diseases and troubles at present, and the
one thing Baha'is must not do is take a defeatist attitude toward them.
The power in the Faith is such that it can sustain us on a much higher
level in spite of whatever our ailments might be than other people who are
denied it. This however does not mean that we should ignore medical
opinion and treatment. On the contrary, we should do our best to procure
the opinion of specialists and competent doctors.
Letter of 15 August 1957
15 August 1957
You should not allow the remarks made by the Baha'is to hurt or depress
you, but should forget the personalities, and arise to do all you can,
yourself, to teach the Faith.
Baha'u'llah enjoins work on all. No one need ever be ashamed of his job.
"THEIR DAILY SUSTENANCE"
In his last message to the British Baha'i community as a whole the
Guardian wrote:
May they, as they forge ahead along the high road leading to ultimate,
total and complete victory, receive as their daily sustenance, a still
fuller measure of the abounding grace, promised to the believers of an
earlier generation by the Centre of the Covenant, the Author of the Divine
Plan, Himself, on the occasion of His twice-repeated visit to their
shores, and which has been unfailingly vouchsafed to themselves, in the
course of over three decades, since the birth of the Formative Age of the
Faith and the rise of its Administrative Order in their homeland.
Shoghi
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
BIOGRAPHIES
These biographies appear strictly in the order the names first appear in
the text of the book. Where a fuller report is published elsewhere, a
summary only is given together with a reference to the other material.
*NAME*
Dr. John E. Esslemont
Edward T. Hall
Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper
George P. Simpson
Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg
Dia'u'llah As_gh_arzadih
Lady Blomfield
Rev. George Townshend
Mrs. Isobel Slade
Mrs. Louise Ginman
Miss Florence Pinchon
Mrs. Claudia Coles
Sister Grace Challis
David Hofman
Mrs. Lilian Stevens
Miss Evelyn Baxter
?asan M. Balyuzi
Frank Hurst
Mrs. Mary Basil-Hall
Albert and Jeff Joseph
Dr. R. St. Barbe Baker
Miss Jessica Young
Lady Kathleen Hornell
Mrs. Ursula Samandari
Mrs. Marion Hofman
Miss Una Townshend
Joseph Lee
Mrs. Dorothy Ferraby
Philip Hainsworth
Walter Wilkins
Mrs. Alma C. Gregory
Robert Cheek
Mrs. Joan Giddings
Hugh and Violet McKinley
Dr. Lutfullah Hakim
Fred Stahler
Mrs. Prudence George
John L. Marshall
Mrs. M. Olga K. Mills
Alfred and Lucy Sugar
Charles N. Dunning
Miss Claire Gung
Mrs. Lizzie F. Hainsworth
Miss Margaret Sullivan
Cyril and Margaret Jenkerson
Richard H. Backwell
Miss Ada Williams
Mrs. Constance Langdon-Davies
George K. Marshall
Mrs. Marguerite Preston
Bernard Leach, CH, OBE
Samuel Scott
John Ferraby
Mrs. Florence "Mother" George
Musa Banani
'Ali Na_kh_javani
?assan and Isobel Sabri
Arthur Norton
Eric Manton
Dr. Abbas and _Sh_omais Afnan
Edmund Cardell
Dr. John G. Mitchell
Miss Irene Bennett
Miss Dorothy Wigington
Ernest W. Gregory
Dr. Ernest S. Miller
Ian Semple
Miss Jean Campbell
John Craven
DR. JOHN E. ESSLEMONT, Hand of the Cause of God
Born in 1874 and accepted the Faith in early 1915, Dr. Esslemont was
elevated to the rank of Hand of the Cause of God after his passing on 22
November 1925 and linked by the Guardian with George Townshend and Thomas
Breakwell, on the passing of George Townshend, as "One of three luminaries
shedding brilliant lustre annals Irish, English, Scottish Baha'i
communities". He was "Vice-President" of the first National Assembly from
October 1923 until November 1924. For fuller details of his life and works
read "Dr. J. E. Esslemont" by Dr. Moojan Momen. (Baha'i Publishing Trust,
1975-B130.)
EDWARD THEODORE HALL
First heard of the Faith in 1910 in the Salford, Lancashire area and with
his wife Rebecca, her brother John Charles and his wife Hester Ann Craven,
made contact with Sarah Ann Ridgway, one of the earliest British Baha'is,
and later established the second Baha'i Group in the British Isles. In
1912 Mr. Hall and Mr. Craven went to Liverpool and met 'Abdu'l-Baha at the
boat. Five Tablets from the Master were received. In 1922 the first
Spiritual Assembly was formed in Manchester with E. T. Hall as Secretary.
He also "represented" Manchester on the first National Spiritual Council
in 1922, and was a member of the National Assembly until 1928. He was
entrusted by Shoghi Effendi with part of his early diaries and later
maintained a close correspondence with the Guardian for many years. His
book, "The Baha'i Dawn; Manchester" paints a vivid picture of the early
days of the Faith in Lancashire. Through Mr. Hall's correspondence with
the Editor of the 'John O'Groats Journal' (Mr. R. J. G. Millar) frequent
reviews and letters were published for nineteen years until the Editor's
retirement. He passed away on 5 December 1962 aged 82.
MRS. THORNBURGH-CROPPER
One of the first Baha'is of the West and possibly the first Baha'i
resident in England. Her early Baha'i life is described in "The Chosen
Highway" and in "The Baha'i World", Vol. VIII, pp. 649-51. She was a
member of the National Spiritual Assembly for its first two years and it
was in her house in Westminster that the first meeting of the "All-England
Baha'i Council" was held on 6 June 1922. She passed away on 15 March 1938.
GEORGE PALGRAVE SIMPSON
Was associated with the Administration of the Faith in the British Isles
from its earliest days. Elected as Chairman of the first "Spiritual
Council" and President of the "National Spiritual Assembly" in 1923. He
also served as the Assistant Secretary and the Treasurer for some years.
All the early letters from the Guardian were addressed to him and the file
copies of his letters to the Holy Land, some to the Guardian and others to
the various secretaries, as well as the Minutes in his handwriting, give
us our closest insight into the conditions obtaining in the 1920's. At one
stage he felt obliged to resign from the National Assembly but was still
called upon to remain as its Treasurer and attend the meetings! He served
the Cause with great distinction until his death on 31 August 1934. (See
letter 30 September 1934.)
MISS ETHEL JENNER ROSENBERG
"One of the pioneers of the Baha'i Cause in the Western World". Having
first embraced the Faith in 1899 she soon afterwards went to Akka,
subsequently visiting many times both Akka and Haifa for months at a time,
learning from and assisting the Master in translating and transcribing the
Teachings. Beloved by all the members of the Holy Family, her passing in
November 1930 at the age of 72 evoked a cabled tribute from Shoghi
Effendi, who knew her well in England and welcomed her in Haifa after the
passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha. She was the one entrusted to bring the robe of
Baha'u'llah to England, and was a member of the National Assembly from
1923-1927. ("Baha'i World", Vol. IV, p. 263.)
DIA'U'LLAH ASGHARZADIH, Knight of Baha'u'llah
Born in 1880 into a Baha'i family which emigrated to I_sh_qabad when he
was fifteen years old, Dia'u'llah was throughout his life an active
Baha'i. His first pilgrimage was in 1903, his second was seventeen years
later, after which he settled in London, and his third was at the time of
the passing of the Master when Shoghi Effendi gave him the task of making
copies of the Master's Will from the original. He was a member of the
National Assembly for various periods between 1925 and 1941 and settled in
Jersey as a Knight of Baha'u'llah in 1953 at the age of 73. He passed away
in Jersey in April 1956. ("Baha'i World", Vol. XIII, p. 881.)
SARA, LADY BLOMFIELD (SITARIH KHANUM)
For fuller details of her devoted services to the Cause it is necessary to
refer to "The Chosen Highway" and "The Baha'i World", Vol. VIII, pp.
651-6. Born in Ireland of a fearless Protestant mother and a strong Roman
Catholic father, she understood from an early age the tragedy of religious
intolerance which led her to search for Truth until she found the Baha'i
Revelation. She was held in high esteem in the London society of the late
"nineties" but she herself was always looking for the Promised One. She
was a great friend and admirer of Basil Wilberforce, Archdeacon of
Westminster. Not only did she place her home in Cadogan Gardens at the
disposal of the Master during His London visits but she accompanied Him to
Paris. While He was in America she went to Mount Pelerin, in Switzerland,
to edit the rough notes of "Paris Talks", had them sent to Him for
correction and had the book published in time for His second visit when He
signed and gave away many copies. She accompanied Shoghi Effendi when he
returned to Haifa after the passing of the Master and wrote the letter
which was later published as "The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha". She was a
member of the National Spiritual Assembly for eight of its first eleven
years. She passed away on the last day of 1939 and a remarkably fine
obituary in the magazine "The World's Children" of March 1940 was headed
"Lady Blomfield--Apostle of World Unity".
GEORGE TOWNSHEND, Hand of the Cause of God
First corresponded with 'Abdu'l-Baha about 1918. The Master wrote to him
"It is my hope that thy church will come under the heavenly Jerusalem".
For very many years he tried to bring to the clergy of the Church of
Ireland and particularly the senior ones, the realisation of Baha'u'llah
as Christ returned in the Glory of the Father. In spite of his important
books, "The Heart of the Gospel" and "The Promise of All Ages", no one in
the church responded and in 1947 the Guardian called upon him to resign
from the church. He complied immediately and moved with his wife and two
children to a small bungalow in Dundrum near Dublin. He was one of the
founder members of the first Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Dublin
and in 1951 was elevated to the rank of Hand of the Cause. For many years
he gave distinguished services to the Guardian, not least of which was the
writing of the introduction to "God Passes By" and his presentation on
behalf of the Guardian of his paper "Baha'u'llah's Ground Plan for World
Fellowship" to the inaugural meeting of the World Congress of Faiths in
1936. The pamphlet he wrote to all Christians under the title "The Old
Churches and the New World Faith" was sent out to 10,000 so-called
"responsible people" in the British Isles on the occasion of his
resignation from the church, and his last book "Christ and Baha'u'llah"
was described by the Guardian as "his crowning achievement". He
participated in the Inter-Continental Conference, Stockholm, Sweden in
July 1953 and passed away in March 1957 at the age of 81. ("Baha'i World",
Vol. XIII, p. 841.)
MRS. ISOBEL SLADE
It has not been possible to trace exactly when Mrs. Slade became a Baha'i
but she did tell the story of how she heard of the Faith from a visiting
American believer and wished to go on pilgrimage to see the Master. Before
her plans were made she heard of His passing and she went in the early
1920s. In the year 1926 there is a record of her being a "substitute"
member of the National Assembly elected to "represent" the London
community. From the following year the delegates elected the National
Assembly from the national electorate and Mrs. Slade served as a member
for fourteen of the following nineteen years. She was, in different years,
Chairman, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary.
She was a "last ditch" pioneer to Edinburgh to form the first Assembly
there in 1948. To the end of her long life she would delight her visitors
with fascinating stories of her experiences in the early days of the Faith
in the British Isles and she passed away in September 1972 at the age of
98. The Universal House of Justice cabled: "PASSING ISOBEL SLADE SEVERS
ONE FEW REMAINING LINKS EARLY CAUSE BRITISH ISLES DEPRIVES COMMUNITY
OUTSTANDING BELIEVER STOP HER UNFLAGGING SUPPORT CAUSE GOD MORE THAN HALF
CENTURY COMPRISING MEMBERSHIP NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY PIONEER VISITING
TEACHER SIX YEAR PLAN CONSTANT DEVOTION DUTY HIGH MORAL STATURE RENDER HER
SHINING EXAMPLE FUTURE GENERATIONS STOP EXPRESS RELATIVES FRIENDS LOVING
SYMPATHY ASSURE PRAYERS SACRED THRESHOLD AMPLE REWARD PROGRESS SOUL ABHA
KINGDOM."
MRS. LOUISE GINMAN
Also referred to later as "Louise Charlot". Became a Baha'i in Burlingame,
California about 1910, and came to England late in 1919. She served on the
London Spiritual Assembly for a period; pioneered to Oxford, and then to
Bristol where she died in February 1963 at the age of 92.
MISS FLORENCE E. PINCHON
Little is known about Miss Pinchon's early life but she was mentioned as
being active in the Faith with Dr. Esslemont and Major Tudor Pole during
the First World War (See "Baha'i World" Vol. XIV, pp. 370-2). "Floy" had a
most lucid pen and in addition to contributing to Baha'i and non-Baha'i
magazines, wrote "The Coming of the Glory", and "Life after Death". She
travelled as a Baha'i teacher before the Second World War but suffered
from indifferent health for many years before her death in Bournemouth in
March 1966.
MISS CLAUDIA STUART COLES
Having accepted the Baha'i teachings in Washington, D.C. was one of its
most loyal and enthusiastic adherents. Moved to London, England in 1920
and was for eleven years a member of the community, serving for a period
as secretary of the National Assembly. She died in London on 25 May 1931.
("Baha'i World", Vol. IV, pp. 263-4.)
SISTER GRACE CHALLIS
Sister Challis was a Quaker when she heard of the Faith from Dr. Esslemont
and she accepted it at the gathering of the Bournemouth Baha'is called to
hear of the passing of the Master. Always an active teacher of the Faith,
she also served on the National Assembly for fifteen of its first eighteen
years, mainly as its Chairman. She passed away in Bournemouth in October
1948.
DAVID HOFMAN
A member of the Universal House of Justice since its formation in 1963, he
became a Baha'i in the Maxwell home in Montreal in 1933, when he began
corresponding with the Guardian. Returning to England in 1936, he was
elected to the British National Spiritual Assembly and was the Secretary
during some of its most crucial years. He was the first Manager of its
Publishing Trust and played a vital role on the National Teaching and
Africa Committees of the Six and Two Year Plans. He served almost
continuously on the National Assembly until his election to the Universal
House of Justice. David and Marion Hofman pioneered during the Six Year
Plan in Northampton, Birmingham and Oxford and during the Ten Year Crusade
in Cardiff and Watford. Throughout his years of devoted service to the
British community he was always in demand as a most accomplished speaker
and convincing teacher.
MRS. LILIAN STEVENS
Was a founder member of the first Torquay Spiritual Assembly in 1938; was
for many years its secretary and in spite of prolonged illness remained a
great servant of the Faith. She passed away on 1 January 1958.
MISS EVELYN BAXTER, Knight of Baha'u'llah
Born around 1883 of missionary parents, accepted the Faith in 1923 and
served with absolute devotion throughout the remainder of her life. She
was for many years a member of the London Spiritual Assembly and served
for six years on the National Assembly. Throughout her Baha'i life she
corresponded frequently with the Guardian and responded to his overseas
pioneer call when she became a Knight of Baha'u'llah for the Channel Isles
in September 1953. She had already pioneered in the Six Year Plan to
Birmingham, Nottingham, Hove, Oxford and Cardiff. She died on 21 August
1969 and the Universal House of Justice cabled: "DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING
KNIGHT OF BAHA'U'LLAH EVELYN BAXTER. AMONG FIRST PIONEERS SIX YEAR PLAN
HER LONG FAITHFUL SERVICE BRITISH BAHA'I COMMUNITY PROVIDES EXAMPLE
DEVOTION FORTITUDE". ("Baha'i World", Vol. XV, pp. 456-7)
?ASAN M. BALYUZI, Hand of the Cause of God
He was first elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of
the British Isles in 1933 and served continuously until 1960, when he
retired in order to devote his whole time to the work of the Hands of the
Cause. He served at the World Centre, and travelled to South America and
throughout Canada in 1961. Mr. Balyuzi was Secretary of the first Summer
School Committee in 1936, on the National Teaching Committee in 1940 and
Chairman of the National Assembly almost every year from 1942 until his
retirement. He was elevated to the rank of Hand of the Cause in 1957, and
has made invaluable contributions to the literature of the Faith with his
trilogy, "Baha'u'llah", "'Abdu'l-Baha" and "The Bab"; his "Edward
Granville Browne and the Baha'i Faith", his pamphlet on "Baha'i
Administration", and "Mu?ammad and the Course of Islam". (See page 490)
FRANK HURST
An early worker in the Trade Union Movement in Britain, Frank was an
outspoken sympathiser of the Faith for over twenty years before actually
accepting it in Bradford in 1939. He died in Leeds in 1949.
MRS. MARY BASIL-HALL (PARVINE)
Daughter of Lady Blomfield, she was active in the Faith from her youth,
particularly during the visit to Britain of the Master Whom she served
with such devotion, and Who bestowed upon her the name "Parvine" on His
first visit in 1911. She served for five years on the National Spiritual
Assembly and for a short time on the National Teaching Committee of the
Six Year Plan. At her passing the National Assembly cabled the Guardian,
"PARVINE GLORIED IN SUCCESS PLAN PASSED TO ABHA KINGDOM MORNING 28TH"
(April 1950).
ALBERT AND JEFF JOSEPH