Dear Baha'i Friends:
Your letters addressed to our beloved Guardian, and dated June 22, August
4 and 22, November 10 and December 5 and 11, of 1950 and January 30 and
Feb. 20, 22, 26, of 1951, together with their enclosures, have been
received; and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
In regard to the various matters raised in your letters:
It is indeed a great tragedy that ... should have such an utterly
despicable character, and the ability to be a teacher. He has undoubtedly
dealt with the greatest injustice with the friends in Fiji who wrote to
Mr. Blum; and the Guardian was extremely sorry to hear that this man,
attracted to the Faith of Baha'u'llah, and evidently a sincere and decent
person, should have been duped by the very man who gave him this glorious
Message. It was very wise to send Mr. Blum out there; and he hopes that
your Assembly will keep in close contact with the friends who were
attracted, it would seem almost miraculously under the circumstances, to
the Cause of Baha'u'llah in those distant islands.
It might interest your Assembly to know that since leaving Fiji, ... went
to the United States, and himself admitted in a letter to the Guardian
that he had seen Ahmad Sohrab.
The Guardian assures your Assembly, and, through you, all the believers
throughout Australasia, that he has been deeply touched by the spirit of
loyalty which you have all shown at this difficult time for him, and also
the devotion to every work which is undertaken here at the International
Center of the Faith.
The support you have given to the construction of the Shrine of the Bab
has been deeply appreciated; and he hopes that in the not distant future
it will be possible for the doors of pilgrimage to be opened once more;
and then the believers can see with their own eyes what their sacrificial
contributions have helped to erect, on Mount Carmel. It will interest the
friends to hear that we are at present busy with the preliminary work
required prior to the erection of the second story of the Holy Tomb, in
other words, the octagonal portion, which will be built on top of the roof
of the original Shrine building erected by 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself. The
stones have been ordered from Italy for this next stage in our
undertaking, and soon will be coming to Haifa another 300 tons of granite,
some of it with beautiful carved ornamentation.
The Guardian would like you to please convey to the Adelaide Spiritual
Assembly his deep appreciation of the contribution they made through your
Body to the Shrine Fund here in Haifa, a contribution which represents the
sum of their Property Fund. They showed in this matter an exemplary
spirit, and placed the major issue in its true perspective, forgetting
their local hopes and aspirations in order that the work on the glorious
Shrine of the Bab might be carried forward more speedily.
In regard to your question concerning the Centenary of the birth of
Baha'u'llah's mission: The Guardian, at a later date, will give
instructions concerning this commemoration to the entire Baha'i world.
He has been particularly pleased to note, during the past year, the
increase in pioneer activity going on under your jurisdiction. As you
know, he attaches the greatest importance to this type of Baha'i service;
and he hopes that more of the believers will arise and go forth into the
field, establishing new centers and groups, and broadcasting the Message
of Baha'u'llah over the face of that vast continent.
This is at once their greatest duty and privilege, and one which will
attract the blessings of Baha'u'llah, and enrich, not only each individual
who arises to serve, but the entire Community of which he forms a part.
Whenever the friends feel that they are small in number, and the effort
required, truly colossal, they should remember what the British Baha'is
accomplished during the Six Year Plan; and how, after the long and
exhaustive years of the war and all its restrictions, they succeeded, at
the point of utter exhaustion, one might say, in achieving every single
goal gloriously. The Australian and New Zealand friends, who have not been
subjected to such rigors during the last decade, who are a young and fresh
nation, so to speak, can surely accomplish as much, and one would imagine
more, than their British brethren, who labored under such great handicaps.
He assures you all that he will remember you in his prayers at the Holy
Threshold, and supplicate that your Assembly, and the Community of
believers whom you represent, may achieve great things during the coming
Baha'i year and arise to new heights of self-sacrifice and service.
With warm Baha'i love,
R. Rabbani.
P.S. I would like to add that the Guardian does not consider that it is
advisable for New Zealand to be separated in the near future from
Australia, and come under the jurisdiction of an independent National
Assembly. He considers that the present arrangement is the best one until
such time as there are more assemblies flourishing in New Zealand, and he
would consider the basis for a National Assembly strong enough there to
support such an institution.
Regarding the question of Mr. ..., the Guardian was considerably surprised
at his temerity in getting in touch with the Baha'is. He belongs to an old
family of Covenant-breakers from the days of 'Abdu'l-Baha, was later
pardoned by the Guardian, and a number of years ago, flagrantly disobeyed
the Guardian, and was put out of our local Community here. We all know
that he has been in constant association with the Covenant-breakers ever
since, and he even admits it in his own letter! Needless to say, the
Baha'is should consider him a Covenant-breaker, and shun him entirely. The
harm that he could do a Community if treated otherwise, would be very
great indeed.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The manifold and ever multiplying activities in which the Australian, New
Zealand and Tasmanian Baha'i communities are so devotedly and unitedly
engaged are the object of my constant solicitude, and evoke, as they
steadily expand, feelings of gratitude and admiration in my heart. Though
unavoidably prevented from communicating more frequently with their
elected national representatives, who are directing with exemplary
loyalty, unrelaxing vigilance, inflexible resolve, unsparing devotion and
commendable foresight, the course of these highly meritorious and
promising activities, I follow, through the perusal of the various reports
and news letters I receive from them, every development in the unfoldment
of their work, and surround them as they labour so assiduously for their
Cause, with my fervent prayers, offered on their behalf in the holy
Shrines.
The assistance they have so spontaneously and enthusiastically extended to
the newly established centre in the Fiji Islands, constituting the opening
phase of the crusade destined to be systematically launched by them in the
Pacific Islands--a territory with which their spiritual destiny is
irrevocably linked--has been particularly gratifying and merits unstinted
praise. To have undertaken this additional task, with such determination
and fervour, while immersed in the labours associated with the prosecution
of their Plan, is surely an evidence of their youthful vitality, their
unbounded devotion to the interests of the Faith, and their eager desire
to emulate the example of their sister-communities which have initiated,
over and above their prescribed tasks, enterprises beyond the confines of
their respective homelands.
While this historic undertaking is being carried forward by their elected
national representatives, these communities must concentrate their
attention on the pressing and inescapable requirements of the Plan to
which they stand committed. The process of extending the range of their
administrative activities through the formation of groups and the
multiplication of assemblies must continue unabated until this particular
objective of the Plan is fully achieved. The proper incorporation of the
national and local assemblies, so vital and urgent at the present stage of
their evolution, must be hastened by every means in their power. The
measures required to ensure the recognition of the Faith, of its laws
regarding matters of personal status, as well as its Holy Days, by the
civil authorities, in both Australia and New Zealand, must be carefully
considered, and promptly adopted. The institutions of summer and winter
schools, so vital and beneficial at the present stage in the development
of the Faith must be continually expanded enriched and consolidated. The
national and local Funds, on which the prosperity and unfoldment of a
rising Administrative System must ultimately depend, should be assured of
an ever-increasing measure of support, whilst the contributions of the
believers for the raising of the superstructure of the Bab's Holy
Sepulchre, constituting a sacred and added responsibility at this present
critical hour, should be constantly borne in mind and steadily maintained.
The deepening and enrichment of the spiritual life of the individual
believer, his increasing comprehension of the essential verities
underlying this Faith, his training in its administrative processes, his
understanding of the fundamentals of the Covenants established by its
Author and the authorised Interpreter of its teachings should be made the
supreme objectives of the national representatives responsible for the
edification, the progress and consolidation of these communities.
This two fold task, both at home and abroad, confronting the members of
these communities, labouring so valiantly, and holding aloft so
courageously the banner of the Most Great Name in the Antipodes, at so
crucial a stage in the evolution of the human race on this planet, can
neither be shirked nor be treated lightly for one moment. The hour is too
critical, time is too short, the requirements of an infant Faith are too
pressing, the resources at the disposal of the few into whose hands its
care has been entrusted are too circumscribed to suffer any time to be
lost in procrastination or through complacency or neglect. The prizes
destined for the heroic warriors, battling for the Cause of Baha'u'llah
throughout the Southern Hemisphere, and particularly Australasia, are
glorious beyond compare. The assistance to be vouchsafed to them from on
high in their struggle for its establishment to recognition and triumph is
ready to be poured forth in astonishing abundance. Action immediate and
whole-hearted, coupled with unswerving fidelity and dogged perseverance,
will no doubt enable those who participate in this double crusade, to
attract the full measure of these blessings and to attain these glorious
goals.
Your true brother,
Shoghi.