Dear Baha'i Friends:
Your letters dated February 23; March 14, 16; April 4, 5, 11; May 2, 13,
27; June 1, 7, 21 (3 of this date), 24; have all been received, as well as
their enclosures, and the material sent under separate cover, and our
beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
He has gone over the copy of the By-Laws of a local assembly which you
sent him, and he approves of the slight changes you have made in the
wording, as well as the additions at the very beginning, providing you
consider the addition essential in order to secure the government
recognition you are going to seek in the future. However, he feels that
Article VI is not correct in the form you have given it, because you state
"all persons resident ... who have attained the age of 15 years". The
original New York By-Laws are more correct, because they differentiate
clearly between all members of the Community and voting members who are 21
years of age or more. In other words children under 15 are Baha'is
according to the New York version, which is correct, but according to your
version only people over 15 years are Baha'is which is not correct. He
thinks you should go back to the New York version. The declaration of
faith by children when they reach the age of 15 in the United States is in
order to enable the American Youth to apply for exemption, under the
American laws, from active military service. It has no other purpose, but
in that country is expedient. It is not necessary to add such a clause to
your By-Laws.
Other points which he feels are not necessary and should be deleted are
those heavily underlined portions in Section 5 of Article XII and Article
XIII. In both these cases the New York By-Laws should be followed and not
added to. Likewise he feels that in Article XIV, under the heading "These
By-Laws" (on page 11) B and C should be deleted as they are not in the New
York original and not necessary. Naturally, all Assemblies are under
N.S.A. jurisdiction, but this need not be included.
He wishes the essentials to be maintained as per the New York By-Laws, but
not amplified and added to, as this will gradually lead, all over the
Baha'i world, to a steady addition of unessential rules and restrict the
freedom and plasticity of the Cause. As he has repeatedly told the
American and other National assemblies, it is much better to deal with
situations and new requirements as they arise, and not to have it all down
in black and white and rigid before hand.
He is very happy to see you are steadily working towards the goal of
having local assemblies empowered to hold property legally and to perform
Baha'i marriages. No doubt the act of the Canadian Parliament recently
passed, and giving the Canadian N.S.A. legal status will act as an
important precedent when the time is ripe for you to present your own
petitions to your Government.
The news that there is now a spiritual assembly in every capital city of
the various states in Australia pleased him immensely. This is an historic
land-mark in your progress out there, and must act as a keen incentive to
further exploits on the part of the Australian Baha'is.
He was also delighted to see that certain of the Baha'is have received
official permission not to work on Baha'i Holy Days. He admires the
initiative these believers have shown, and hopes many others will follow
their example.
Likewise, he was very pleased to see you are holding your N.S.A. meetings
in various centers, as this will greatly stimulate the local work, draw
the friends closer to your body, and promote unity and enthusiasm amongst
them.
The Act of your Assembly in depriving Mr. ... of his voting rights was
wise and correct. Unless he demonstrates an entire change of character he
certainly cannot claim to be a member of any Baha'i Community.
He appreciated the Secretary's forwarding to him copies of the Bishop's
letters acknowledging receipt of "God Passes By"--though their answers in
no way imply any spiritual wakefulness on their parts, alas!
He was very happy to see that New Zealand friends were present at the
Convention. In general the work in New Zealand is certainly progressing,
and beginning to show really promising signs for the immediate future.
The generous donation of land to Yerrinbool School by Mr. Styles will
certainly re-inforce that valuable Baha'i property, and the Guardian very
much appreciated this act of his.
His confidence in, and admiration for, the Baha'is of Australia and New
Zealand is steadily increasing, as he witnesses the enthusiasm and
self-confidence of the believers out there, and the increased capacity of
their National Body to handle wisely and capably the affairs of the Cause.
He assures you all, and through you the believers, of his loving prayers
for your success and the attainment of all the goals of your historic
Plan.
With Baha'i love,
R. Rabbani.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The notable progress achieved in recent months, in so many fields and in
spite of adverse circumstances, demonstrates afresh the vitality of the
faith and the soundness of the outlook, of the members of the
fast-advancing and steadily consolidating community of the followers of
the Cause of Baha'u'llah in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. This
remarkable process of expansion and consolidation augurs well for the
ultimate success of the Plan to which the combined resources of this
community are committed. The various reports, both local and national
which I have perused with sustained interest and quickened admiration,
attest the rapid and sound development, of the institutions of a Faith
that is so rich in promise, and whose interests are being promoted with
such devotion, energy, loyalty and consecration by the members of this
community.
What has been achieved, in both the teaching field and in the
administrative sphere of Baha'i service, however is but a stepping stone
to the still greater victories which the gradual unfoldment of the Plan
must inevitably produce. The multiplication of the groups and assemblies
that constitute the bedrock of the Faith, must accompany the consolidating
process which must bring in its wake, on the one hand, the incorporation
of these assemblies and their recognition by the civil authorities, and
the establishment, on the other, of Baha'i local endowments and the right
of these assemblies to execute, officially, the fundamental laws of the
Most Holy Book regarding both marriage and divorce that constitute the
distinguishing feature of this most holy and august Dispensation.
The task undertaken is immense, fraught with momentous possibilities,
highly delicate in nature, and bound to have far-reaching repercussions,
not only in the West, and particularly in the continent of Europe, where
the institutions of Baha'u'llah's Administrative Order are emerging with
such rapidity and showing such promise, but on the continent of Asia,
where the overwhelming majority of the followers of the Most Great Name,
have endured such grievous afflictions, and are faced with grave peril,
and are battling so heroically against the forces of darkness with which
they are encompassed.
The nature of the work in which this wide-awake, untrammelled
unprejudiced, freedom-loving community, is so energetically engaged,
cannot, therefore, be regarded as a purely local and isolated enterprise,
but is vitally linked with the fortunes of a world-encircling Order,
functioning mysteriously in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres,
highly organized in its administrative machinery, sensitive in its
mechanism, far-flung in its ramifications, challenging in its features,
revolutionizing in its implications, and destined to seek increasingly, as
it expands and develops, the good-will and assistance of the civil
authorities in every continent of the globe.
The number of pioneers, both from among the veterans of the Faith who have
participated in the early establishment of this infant Order in the
Antipodes, and the new believers who have embraced its Cause, must, if
this task is to be successfully carried out, be substantially increased.
The flow of funds to both the local and national treasuries must
correspondingly be augmented and systematically sustained. The heroism and
self-sacrifice of those who prosecute the Plan, both as administrators and
pioneers, must attain greater heights and engender still more powerful
forces in the spiritual life of this community.
The relationship binding it to the civil authorities of the Australian
Commonwealth, the Dominion of New Zealand and the Island of Tasmania, must
be assiduously fostered. The ties linking it with the members of the
world-wide community of the adherents of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, must be
rapidly strengthened and multiplied. The unity and solidarity of its
constituent members must be simultaneously reinforced, its roots
permanently planted in the soil of the Covenants of both Baha'u'llah and
'Abdu'l-Baha, its branches spread out irresistibly to the furthest ends of
that far-off continent, its vision clarified, its determination reaffirmed
and its consecration deepened.
Obstacles, varied and numerous, will no doubt arise to impede the onward
march of this community. Reverses may temporarily dim the radiance of its
mission. The forces of religious orthodoxy may well, at a future date, be
leagued against it. The exponents of theories and doctrines fundamentally
opposed to its religious tenets and social principles may challenge its
infant strength with persistence and severity. The Administrative
Order--the Ark destined to preserve its integrity and carry it to
safety--must without delay, without exception, claim the attention of the
members of this community, its ideals must be continually cherished in
their hearts, its purposes studied and kept constantly before their eyes,
its requirements wholeheartedly met, its laws scrupulously upheld, its
institutions unstintingly supported, its glorious mission noised abroad,
and its spirit made the sole motivating purpose of their lives.
Then and only then, will this community, so young, so vibrant with life,
so rich in promise, so dedicated to its task, be in a position to
discharge adequately its weighty responsibilities, to reap the full
harvest it has sown, acquire still greater potentialities for the conduct
of subsequent stages in the crusade on which it has embarked, and
contribute, to a degree unsuspected as yet by its members, its full share
to the World-wide establishment of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, the
emancipation of its Oriental followers, the recognition of its
independence, the birth of its World Order and the emergence of that world
civilization which that Order is destined to create.
Your true brother,
Shoghi.