Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand
by Shoghi Effendi
Edition 1, (September 2006)
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CONTENTS
Baha'i Terms of Use
Part I
Letters to Individuals, before April 21st, 1926.
(1) June 22nd, 1923
(2) May 8th, 1925
(3) May 9th, 1925
(4) May 21st, 1925
(5) May 28th, 1925
(6) November 4th, 1925
(7) December 5th, 1925
(8) March 4th, 1926
(9) April 3rd, 1926
Part II
Letters to Individuals, April 21st, 1926--April 21st, 1934.
(10) August 12th, 1926
(11) August 12th, 1926
(12) August 25th, 1926
(13) September 18th, 1926
(14) October 23rd, 1926
(15) November 3rd, 1926
(16) January 11th, 1927
(17) January 30th, 1927
(18) May 13th, 1927
(19) June 4th, 1929
(20) October 4th, 1930
(21) May 18th, 1931
(22) December 17th, 1931
(23) April 29th, 1933
(24) September 1st, 1933
Part III
Letters to Individuals, May 1934-1957.
(25) June 13th, 1934
(26) December 22nd, 1934
(27) January 21st, 1935
(28) February 5th, 1935
(29) May 20th, 1936
(30) September 30th, 1936
(31) December 7th, 1936
(32) November 8th, 1937
(33) May 17th, 1938
(34) December 20th, 1938
(35) March 20th, 1939
(36) August 3rd, 1941
(37) December 19th, 1947
(38) November 23rd, 1949
(39) December 18th, 1949
(40) June 11th, 1952
(41) January 6th, 1955
Part IV
Letters to Baha'i Institutions.
(42) March 31st, 1926
(43) May 14th, 1926
(44) January 7th, 1935
(45) September 26th, 1935
(46) April 26th, 1936
(47) June 10th, 1936
(48) November 17th, 1936
(49) January 31st, 1938
(50) November 2nd, 1938
(51) March 22nd, 1939
(52) April 19th, 1941
(53) April 25th, 1941
(54) April 18th, 1942
(55) May 12th, 1944
(56) December 18th, 1949
(57) June 28th, 1950
(58) November 1st, 1950
(59) March 1st, 1951
(60) June 16th, 1954
(61) July 24, 1955
(62) June 13th, 1956
(63) September 5th, 1956
(64) April 4th, 1957
(65) May 20th, 1957
(66) June 27th, 1957
(67) July 19th, 1957
(68) August 30th, 1957
(69) September 9th, 1957
Part V
Telegrams to New Zealand.
(70) January 22nd, 1949
(71) December 29th, 1949
(72) December 29th, 1949
(73) December 30th, 1953
Part VI
Statements on Various Subjects.
ALCOHOL (74)
EVOLUTION (75)
"HERALD OF THE SOUTH"--(76)
"HERALD OF THE SOUTH"--(77)
"HERALD OF THE SOUTH"--(78)
"HERALD OF THE SOUTH"--(79)
PHILOSOPHERS (80)
SCOUTING (81)
SOUL, MIND AND SPIRIT (82)
Appendix: Notes
Note 1. (Letter No. 1)
Note 2. (Letter No. 1)
Note 3. (Letter No. 2)
Note 4. (Letter No. 2)
Note 5. (Letter No. 15)
Note 6. (Letter No. 16)
Note 7. (Letter No. 16)
Note 8. (Letter No. 23)
Note 9. (Letter No. 33)
Note 10. (Letter No. 37)
Individual Addressees
Institution Addressees
Dedicated to the memory of Shoghi Effendi in commemoration of the
twenty-fifth anniversary of the formation of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha'is of New Zealand.
"AROHANUI"
The word "Arohanui" is a Maori word and, as with many Polynesian words,
there is no direct translation into English. The literal meaning is "big
love", or "much love" or "great love". And, like most words in most
languages, it has several meanings. In naming this book, "Arohanui:
Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand", "Arohanui" is used in its
more expressive meaning, "enfolding love", or "that love which binds a
community together", or "that love which creates bonds of mutual trust and
loyalty", or "that love which builds and carries forward culture or
civilization".
Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand
Baha'i publishing trust
Suva, Fiji
Approved for publication by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is
of New Zealand Inc.
(c) 1982 BAHA'I PUBLISHING TRUST SUVA, FIJI ISLANDS
"You are destined to achieve great things for our beloved Cause
and my constant prayer is that your vision may be clear, your
purpose unshaken, your zeal undiminished, your hopes undimmed. Let
not obstacles and disappointments, which are inevitable,
dishearten you and whenever you are faced with trials recall our
Beloved's innumerable sufferings."
From a letter to the first New Zealand Baha'i dated August 12th, 1926.
The letters in this compilation were written by various secretaries of the
Guardian at his specific direction. Spelling and other inconsistencies are
a reflection of the fact that different secretaries were used. Those
passages actually written by the Guardian himself are printed in italics.
The messages are numbered sequentially for the convenience of the reader
and as an aid to indexing. The numbers appear before the date of each
letter.
PART I
LETTERS TO INDIVIDUALS, BEFORE APRIL 21ST, 1926.
These were written prior to the formation of the first Local Spiritual
Assembly in New Zealand.
(1) June 22nd, 1923
My dear Baha'i sister,
Your beautiful letter of April 3rd written to the Beloved Guardian of the
Cause of God, our dear Shoghi Effendi, was received.[+E1] He was much
impressed and charmed with the spirit of your letter, which indicated deep
devotion to and absolute dependence on the Holy Spirit of the Beloved
Master, 'Abdu'l-Baha.
He instructed me with a heart overflowing with love to answer your letter,
conveying to you his high estimation for the beauty of the faith of the
New Zealand friends, and deep appreciation towards the splendid services
of our dear Mr and Mrs Dunn,[+E2] who are so wonderfully blessed and
assisted by the power of the Holy Ghost. He loves you all and prays for
your happiness and spiritual growth.
It is true that your group is now still small, but he assures you that
your group will before long grow larger and larger day by day. It has been
always the case with the growth of every religion. Some pure soul or souls
go to some land and sow the seeds of the heavenly teachings in the hearts
of few who are most pure and so most receptive. The seeds will germinate
and grow in them. The fruits of these seeds appear in the regeneration of
the lives of these primary adherents. These primary adherents share the
bounties they have received with other souls, who through them obtain new
life and light and in turn illumine other people.
The primary adherents are the stars of great magnitude in every land in
the firmament of the Kingdom of God. They are the chosen people. They are
like candles which, through their sacrificial efforts, are weeping their
lives away in order to give light to the world and establish the purpose
of their Lord and Saviour, which purpose is the salvation of mankind. His
Holiness, Jesus Christ! see how small the group of His disciples was! No
matter how few the number of the disciples was, yet they through His power
illumined the world. Our Era is similar to that, but through the
development of humanity it is greater, and through the evils of the
material civilization and negligence of mankind our sacrifices must be
greater. Divine light must make itself manifest in our daily life deeds.
In the early days of the appearance of our Saviour, virtue was to save
ourselves. When we are once established in our faith, then virtue is to
save others. The three mottoes of education hold true in our case too.
First grow, then become and then contribute. We have developed; we have
established ourselves, and now it is time to contribute to others. We have
inexhaustible capital. The candles of our spiritual lives constantly weep
away their lives in shedding light to the world, but they never become
exhausted. For there is connection between our lives and that of
Baha'u'llah and our beloved 'Abdu'l-Baha.
It cannot be described how much we long to see our dear New Zealand
brethren and sisters. We hope the day will come when they can come to us
and we to them. Meanwhile, we are praying at the Holy Threshold of our
beloved Master for your success and happiness. We hope you will pray for
us too. The effect of the prayers of the pure hearts is tremendously
great.
Our dear Shoghi Effendi wants you not to look at your own capacity, but at
the power of the Holy Ghost of God. He sends you all his loving greeting
and tender affection.
With warm wishes and Baha'i love, I remain,
Your humble brother in His love,
Azizullah S. Bahadur
(2) May 8th, 1925
Allah-u-abha
Dear Baha'i Sister,
Shoghi Effendi was very pleased to receive this morning your letter of
28th April, but we were very sorry to hear you have been ill and hope your
health will soon be completely restored.[+E3] It was nice that you saw
Shoghi's sister and Soheil's brother in London.
I forget whether I gave you the address of Mr and Mrs King, c/o Messrs
Hayman and King, 202 Old Christchurch Rd. Bournemouth. They are very
kind-hearted Baha'is and will be delighted to see any of you if you call.
Both of them work in the business and you are most likely to see them if
you call there. They live above the shop.
I gave you Sister Challis's address at West Moors (Ferndown Lodge). You
can get there by 'bus from Bournemouth Sq. or Lansdowne, which will drop
you right at Sister Challis's door (She keeps a nursing home) or you can
go by train from West Bournemouth to West Moors station which is within 5
minutes' walk of Ferndown Lodge. I hope you will be able to see her.
As I write, the Greatest Holy Leaf is on a visit to the Shrine of the
Master. It is over a year, I think, since she has been able to visit the
shrine and until now she has not seen the new Gardens, in the laying out
of which Shoghi Effendi has taken such a deep interest. The Gardens are
looking lovely now and it is easy to imagine how delighted she will be.
One day during the feast of Ridvan she and the Holy Mother were able to
visit Bahji and the Garden of Ridvan.
I have quite recovered from my pleurisy now and am steadily regaining my
strength.
Shoghi Effendi is still tired. I hope he will soon be able to take a rest.
All the friends here join in loving greetings and best wishes to yourself,
your son and daughter, Miss Stevenson and Effie Baker.[+E4] With warmest
greetings.
Your brother in the service of the Beloved,
J. E. Esslemont
[From the Guardian:]
_My dear precious sister in 'Abdu'l-Baha:_
_I was so glad to hear from you directly and learn of your improved health
and meeting with the English Baha'is. I need not assure you of my ardent
prayers for your happiness, good health and continued success in the
service of the Cause. I hope and pray you will be enabled by the guiding
spirit of the Master not only to stimulate the interest of your friends
and relations in this Cause but to make of some of them earnest and
whole-hearted believers and supporters of the Faith._
_Shoghi_
(3) May 9th, 1925
Allah-u-abha
Dear Baha'i Sister,
The Greatest Holy Leaf and Shoghi Effendi have asked me to answer on their
behalf your kind letters of Apr. 2nd from Port Said and April 14th from
London.
We were sorry to hear that Mrs Blundell got a chill on the steamer and was
laid up for a few days after her arrival in London. We hope that by this
time she is all right again. We had a note from her from Bournemouth.
You will be glad to hear that the Greatest Holy Leaf and the Holy Mother
were able to motor to Bahji and Ridvan one day during the Feast of Ridvan,
and that yesterday the Greatest Holy Leaf motored to the Shrine of
'Abdu'l-Baha and saw the new Gardens in which Shoghi Effendi has been
taking so much interest.
Yesterday a Dutchman arrived here from Port Said, the first Dutch Baha'i,
so far as we know. He has been a sincere and earnest truth-seeker for
years. About 9 months ago he left his home at the Hague and walked on foot
through Belgium, France and Italy. Then he felt some inward urge to go to
Egypt, and travelled thither by a Dutch Cargo Steamer. When the steamer
arrived at Port Said Mahmood Effendi, one of the Port Said Baha'is came on
board and was introduced to Mesdag (the Dutchman). They struck up a
friendship at once and after 2 days Mesdag went to live in Mahmood's
house. There he met Martha Root, Mr Schopflocher and various other
Baha'is, read my book and became thoroughly interested and seems now
already a firm believer. He has already, since his arrival yesterday
morning, translated our 8-page folder into Dutch and we hope he will be
able to do much to make the Cause known in Holland and win adherents
there.
I have quite recovered from my pleurisy now and am feeling almost as
vigorous as before the attack. Azizullah Bahadur is now in Stuttgart.
There is as yet no improvement in his hand, but he is having skilled
treatment now and we hope it will be successful. He seems to be having a
very happy time with the German friends.
Shoghi Effendi is much in need of rest, but fairly well. He and all the
members of the Holy Family join in loving greetings and heartfelt prayers
for your welfare. We hope you will have a fine time in England and return
to New Zealand refreshed and reinvigorated physically and spiritually to
take up your work for the Kingdom there with new enthusiasm and devotion.
We pray that you may always be guided and strengthened by the Divine
Confirmations.
With love also to Effie Baker and all the other friends,
Your brother in the service of the Beloved,
J. E. Esslemont
[From the Guardian:]
_My precious Baha'i sister:--_
_I wish to assure you personally of my appreciation of your devotion to
the Cause, and your earnest efforts to promote it as well as my fervent
prayers for your spiritual advancement, success and happiness. I will
always remember you most tenderly in my hours of visit at the three holy
Shrines and beseech for you and the New Zealand friends the blessings of
our loving and almighty Master._
_You true brother, _
_ Shoghi_
(4) May 21st, 1925
Allah-u-abha
Dear Baha'i Brother,
Shoghi Effendi has asked me to reply to your kind letter of 11th April. He
is delighted to hear that you propose starting a Baha'i Magazine for
Australia and New Zealand and suggests as a suitable title "The Herald of
the South". Every 19 days a letter will be sent from Haifa to Mr and Mrs
Hyde Dunn giving the news of the Cause. Owing to the restricted facilities
for multiplying copies which are at present available here, I fear it will
not be possible to send another copy to you, but doubtless you can arrange
with Mr and Mrs Hyde Dunn to have their copy passed on to you for the
magazine. We are glad to hear that notwithstanding the absence of the
Blundells and Margaret Stevenson, the friends in New Zealand are remaining
united and active. We hope that when the pilgrims return the faith and
enthusiasm of the believers will be greatly deepened and strengthened and
that many new believers may be attracted. I had a long letter from Effie
Baker yesterday. She is very devoted and whole-hearted and will be a
valuable worker for the Cause, I think, and a great help to Father and
Mother Dunn. When she wrote, Margaret Stevenson had gone to Scotland and
Mrs and Miss Blundell were in Bournemouth. Effie Baker hopes to make a
return visit to Haifa on her way back to Australia.
Shoghi Effendi assures you of his prayers on behalf of your mother,
yourself and all the Australasian friends and his hopes that the proposed
Magazine may greatly help the spread of the Glad Tidings in Australia and
New Zealand.
With warmest greetings and best wishes,
Yours sincerely in the Master's service,
J. E. Esslemont
[From the Guardian:]
_My dear fellow-worker:_
_Your charming letter truly gladdened my heart. I will follow the
development of your magazine with keen interest and assure you of my
desire to help and promote its interests to the fullest possible extent. I
am enclosing the photographs of the shrine and gardens recently laid out
in the close neighbourhood of the Shrines of the Bab and 'Abdu'l-Baha. I
assure you of my love, appreciation and fervent prayers._
_Yours, _
_ Shoghi_
(5) May 28th, 1925
Allah-u-abha.
Dear Baha'i Sister,
Shoghi Effendi asks me to thank you on his behalf for your letter of 14th
May. He received the letter of Mrs. Amy Thornton all right. I remember
answering it for him some weeks ago, so you can set your mind at rest on
that score.
The recovery of your Baha'i ring and stones was very remarkable. It
reminds me of a somewhat similar occurrence in Bournemouth. One of our
Baha'i friends had her Baha'i ring stolen, and nothing was heard or seen
of it for some months. Mr King, another of our group, has an antique shop
in Bournemouth and one day his partner (a non-Baha'i) bought a ring from a
man who said it was his wife's, but as they had become very badly off she
wanted to sell it. When Mr King saw the ring he recognized it as a Baha'i
ring and knowing that this friend had lost her ring, he sent it to me. It
turned out to be her ring and she was delighted to recover it. The curious
thing is that out of the dozens of jewellers and antique shops in
Bournemouth to which the ring might have been taken for sale, it should be
taken to the one where there was a Baha'i who recognized it.
I hope that before you leave Scotland you may be able to go to Aberdeen
and see my home people. They would be delighted to see you. My father's
address is Fairford, Cults, (about 3 miles from Aberdeen, by car or
train). He is 86 years of age and rather frail. My sister looks after him.
My two married brothers are Peter Esslemont, 21, Louisville Avenue
(Business: John E. Esslemont, 16 King Street) and W.D.E., 12 Wellbrae
Terr., Mannofield. Both of their houses are near the Mannofield Car Line.
We were very glad to hear of your meetings with the friends at London and
West Moors.
Many thanks for your letter to myself and the excellent snap-shots
enclosed. I am glad you have fallen in love with Sister Challis and hope
you will see her again before you leave. I had a delightful letter
yesterday from Miss Kilford of West Moors, whom I regard as a Baha'i
grand-daughter, as she was brought into the Cause by Sister Challis who
calls me her Baha'i father!
We hope Shoghi Effendi will get away soon for a much needed rest. The
Greatest Holy Leaf was rather seriously ill last week, but is a good deal
better again, although very feeble and frail.
I have been advised by the Drs to leave Haifa for the summer months, as my
breathing has lately been troublesome and they think the moist heat during
the summer here would be bad for me. On the same day on which this
decision was arrived at, I received a cordial invitation to go to a place
in the Black Forest for my summer vacation. The Drs considered this place
would be ideal for me and that the sooner I got away the better, so I
leave in 3 days time. My address will be c/o Frau Victoria von Sigsfeld,
Husli, Finsterlingen, bei St Blaisien, Baden, Germany. I hope to return to
Haifa in the latter part of Sept. to resume my work here.
Shoghi Effendi, the members of the Holy Household and the friends here
join in loving greetings and best wishes.
Your brother in the service of the Beloved,
J. E. Esslemont
Mrs Schopflocher arrived here last night after a very successful tour in
Russia, Persia and Iraq.
[From the Guardian:]
_My dear co-worker:_
_I was very glad indeed to learn about your experiences and visit to the
friends and your firm determination to labour unceasingly in the Divine
Vineyard. I will continue to pray for you that all your relatives and
friends may recognise and be illumined with the resplendent Light of this
Divine Revelation. Never feel disheartened and trust me ever your
affectionate, grateful and true brother in the service of the Cause._
_Shoghi_
(6) November 4th, 1925
Dear Baha'i Sister,
Shoghi Effendi received your kind letter and wishes me to acknowledge its
receipt. He hopes that on your return to New Zealand you will obtain
divine assistance in your services to the Cause. That land has been newly
opened to the Baha'i Movement. The work of the friends therefore,
interesting and useful as it may be, is hard and most exacting to one's
patience and energy. It needs great perseverance to obtain a hearing among
the people and draw their attention to this Blessed Cause. But once that
that has been obtained and the way smoothed then progress becomes
increasingly great and the fruits of your labours appreciated.
Shoghi Effendi is very glad that you have enjoyed your trip to England.
The Friends there though they are few in number, are full of love and
affection, one cannot but feel at home among them.
Shoghi Effendi thanks Miss Nora Lee for the kind contribution she has made
to the Cause. It will be spent for the progress of this movement so dear
to the heart of us all. Enclosed there will be a receipt for that amount.
Shoghi Effendi and the other members of the family send you their best
Baha'i love and greeting and wish you success in your services to the
Cause.
Your brother in His Name,
Ruhi Afnan
[From the Guardian:]
_My dearest fellow-worker:_
_My prayers accompany you wherever you go. I wish you to be happy,
confident and active. Rest assured of my great admiration of your zeal and
steadfast labours, of my confidence in the success of your splendid
pioneer services and of my eagerness to hear from you about the progress
of your work._
_Your true brother, _
_ Shoghi_
(7) December 5th, 1925
_To the publisher of the Baha'i Magazine, "The Herald of the South"._
_My dear friend and fellow-worker:_
_I have just heard the welcome news of the publication of the first issue
of the Baha'i Journal, recently established by the friends of Australia
and New Zealand. I rejoice in this new and notable Baha'i enterprise,
particularly as it is undertaken by my dearly-beloved and self-sacrificing
brothers and sisters in a land which holds so great a promise for the
future._
_I have followed the progress of the activities of the Baha'is of
Australia and New Zealand with keen interest and ever-increasing
confidence, and with a deep sense of pride and gratitude. I most heartily
welcome this newly-added link in the chain of the many services, so
lovingly and spontaneously rendered by the pioneers of the Cause in these
lands. I assure you of my steadfast prayers for the speedy expansion and
consolidation of this youngest of all Baha'i Magazines, and of my earnest
endeavours to enable it attain a standard worthy of the bearer of such a
noble Message._
_It should be the object and purpose of its author and publisher to open
its pages to the consideration and review of matters that are strictly
Baha'i in character, as well as to the treatment of topics of a
humanitarian, ethical and religious nature; that its readers, while
witnessing to the liberal and broad-minded attitude of the Baha'i Cause,
may receive from it their full share of inspiration which only a clear and
direct statement of the Divine Message can impart._
_Go forth, on thy noble errand, O thou Herald of the South! Join thy
voice, however feeble, to those of thy sister-journals who, in various
parts of the world, are raising with one accord the call of this new Day
of God. Persevere in thy labours, endeavour to reach every circle and
every home, that the light thou bearest may in the fulness of time
illuminate with its healing rays the uttermost corners of that distant and
troubled continent._
_Your well-wisher, _
_ Shoghi_
(8) March 4th, 1926
Dear Baha'i Sister,
Your letter to Shoghi Effendi and the enclosed one to Ruhi with the postal
order for L10 have been received and read with keen interest and pleasure.
We are all very happy to know that you have had such a pleasant journey
back home and that you had the opportunity of delivering the message on so
many occasions. We hope and pray that the seed you have sown has fallen on
fertile soil and that in time it will grow and bear abundant fruit.
We hope that now through your sustained zeal and effort new life will be
infused into your small Baha'i group, and that it will in the near future
grow sufficiently in number to enable you to form an assembly the first to
be established in that land. We shall pray at the Holy Threshold for your
guidance and the success of your work.
The Greatest Holy Leaf and the Holy Mother remember you well, and they and
the other members of the family send their loving greetings to you.
You will be interested to know that the new pilgrim house is being
completed, and it will be all ready in a month time for the new pilgrims
that will come.
We still have our dear sister Effie Baker with us, and we all love her so;
she is so sweet and helpful.
We have just now two American lady friends with us, Auntie Victoria
Bedekian and Mrs R. Kehler--very fine Baha'is they are and we are
expecting some more soon.
I always remember the happy day I spent with you and Effy in London and
shall look forward to the pleasure of meeting you again some day--perhaps
here in Haifa or in New Zealand, who knows?
I am back at home now for the present, and I am trying to help Shoghi
Effendi a little in his enormous task.
He is keeping in good health I am glad to say in spite of his many
activities and heavy and manifold responsibilities.
To you he sends his brotherly love and the assurance of his prayers for
your welfare and happiness.
With all good wishes and loving greetings,
Your sister in His Service,
Ruh-Anguiz Rabbani
[From the Guardian:]
_My dear and precious Baha'i sister:_
_I cannot but add a few words personally expressing my deep appreciation
of your persistent, self-sacrificing services to the Cause. I have devoted
your gift towards the Fund for the Western Pilgrim House and I wish to
assure you that when I visit the Holy Shrines I tenderly supplicate for
you Divine Guidance and strength in your labours for our beloved Cause._
_Your true Brother, _
_ Shoghi_
(9) April 3rd, 1926
Dear Spiritual Sister:--
Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated
January 24, 1926.
He hopes that after this long vacation you have had you are ready to begin
spreading the Cause in New Zealand with even greater energy than before.
The people there seem to be broad in their outlook, receptive to any idea
which helps the human family from decreasing its burden.
Shoghi Effendi was most chagrined to hear of the sudden death of your
son(1) and wishes me to extend to you his deepest love and sympathy.
There is no special news here except that we have removed to the new
pilgrim house. Miss Baker is well and very busy entertaining the friends
and arranging the new home.
Shoghi Effendi as well as the other members of the family are well and
send you their love and greetings. They earnestly pray for your success
and hope to hear, before long, the news of your many victories in the
field of services to the Cause.
Please convey my loving greetings to your son and daughter.
Yours most sincerely,
Ruhi Afnan
[From the Guardian:]
_My dear fellow-worker:_
_I wish to express in person my deep sympathy in the heavy loss you have
sustained. May the Beloved Comforter strengthen you and sustain you in
your bereavement. The memory of your visit to the Holy Land is still fresh
and vivid in my mind and I pray and supplicate at the holy Shrines that
your labours in the Cause may yield an abundant harvest._
_Your sympathising brother, _
_ Shoghi_