Particular attention, I feel, should, at this juncture, be directed to the
various Indian tribes, the aboriginal inhabitants of the Latin republics,
whom the Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan has compared to the
"ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula." "Attach great importance,"
is His admonition to the entire body of the believers in the United States
and the Dominion of Canada, "to the indigenous population of America. For
these souls may be likened unto the ancient inhabitants of the Arabian
Peninsula, who, prior to the Mission of Muhammad, were like unto savages.
When the light of Muhammad shone forth in their midst, however, they
became so radiant as to illumine the world. Likewise, these Indians,
should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that they will
become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world." The initial contact
already established, in the concluding years of the first Baha'i century,
in obedience to 'Abdu'l-Baha's Mandate, with the Cherokee and Oneida
Indians in North Carolina and Wisconsin, with the Patagonian, the Mexican
and the Inca Indians, and the Mayans in Argentina, Mexico, Peru and
Yucatan, respectively, should, as the Latin American Baha'i communities
gain in stature and strength, be consolidated and extended. A special
effort should be exerted to secure the unqualified adherence of members of
some of these tribes to the Faith, their subsequent election to its
councils, and their unreserved support of the organized attempts that will
have to be made in the future by the projected national assemblies for the
large-scale conversion of Indian races to the Faith of Baha'u'llah.
Nor should the peculiar position of the Republic of Panama be overlooked
at the present stage in the development of the Faith in Latin America.
"All the above countries," 'Abdu'l-Baha, referring to the Central American
republics in one of the Tablets of His Divine Plan, has affirmed, "have
importance, but especially the Republic of Panama, wherein the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans come together through the Panama Canal. It is a center
for travel and passage from America to other continents of the world, and
in the future it will gain most great importance." "Likewise," He moreover
has written, "ye must give great attention to the Republic of Panama, for
in that point the Occident and the Orient find each other united through
the Panama Canal, and it is also situated between the two great oceans.
That place will become very important in the future. The teachings, once
established there, will unite the East and the West, the North and the
South."
The manifold activities initiated since the launching of the first Seven
Year Plan should, under no circumstances, be neglected or allowed to
stagnate. The excellent publicity accorded the Faith, and the contact
established with several leaders in that republic should be followed up,
systematically and with the greatest care, by the growing community within
its confines. The initial contact with the Indians should be developed
with assiduous care and unfailing patience. Furthermore, the strengthening
of the bonds now being forged between the North American communities and
their sister communities in Latin America must constitute, owing to the
unique and central position occupied by that republic, one of the chief
objectives of the Panamanian believers, the progress of whose activities
deserves to rank as one of the most notable chapters of recent Latin
American Baha'i history.
Nor should the valuable and meritorious labors accomplished since the
inception of the first Seven Year Plan in Punta Arenas de Magallanes, that
far-off center situated not only on the southern extremity of the Western
Hemisphere, but constituting the southernmost outpost of the Faith in the
whole world, be for a moment neglected in the course of the second stage
in the development of the Divine Plan. The assembly already constituted in
that city, the remarkable radio publicity secured by the believers there,
the assistance extended by them to the teaching work in other parts of
Chile, should be regarded only as a prelude to the work of consolidation
which must be indefatigably pursued. This work, if properly carried out,
in conjunction with the activities associated with the assemblies of
Santiago, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, and the groups of Puerto Montt,
Valdivia, Quilpue, Temuco, Sewell, Chorrillos, Muelchen and other smaller
ones, as well as several isolated localities in that republic, may well
hasten the advent of the day when the Chilean followers of the Faith of
Baha'u'llah will have established the first independent national spiritual
assembly to be formed by any single nation of Latin America.