The American Baha'i Community, undefeated as yet in the performance of any
task undertaken collectively by its members, in the course of its eventful
history, is now entering a period of grave emergency, that will try the
mettle of every single one of its members. Severe as the challenge will
be, however prolonged the test, no matter how distracting the condition of
the world about them, the issues which claim every ounce of their energy
and call for their sustained, wholehearted, concentrated attention are so
weighty that none can evaluate at present the influence they will exert on
the course of the community's future destiny.
There can be no doubt that the Second Seven Year Plan, the vital link
binding the initial and concluding stages of the first epoch in the
progressive evolution of 'Abdu'l-Baha's long-term continually unfolding
Plan, has reached its crucial phase--a phase on which hinge the fortunes
not only of the Plan itself but of the community as a whole. The fourth
objective of the Plan, the transatlantic project, on which its members
have embarked, has, four years ahead of schedule, been, to all intents and
purposes, victoriously achieved. The third objective has been partly
attained, while its complete fulfillment, as a direct consequence of the
marvelous success that has attended the valiant labors of the American
pioneers and the newly enrolled native believers in Latin America, appears
to be now fully assured. The attainment of the first objective has, as a
result of the remarkable impetus given, during the opening years of the
Plan, to the multiplication of spiritual assemblies and the proclamation
of the Faith in North America, been greatly facilitated, and will, with
steady effort, involving not too great an expenditure of energy, be
insured in the course of the concluding phase of the Plan. The completion
of the Mother Temple of the West, the sacredness of which neither the
first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the Baha'i world, nor any future House of
Worship to be erected by the followers of Baha'u'llah, in any country, at
any future date, can rival, in time for the celebration of its Jubilee, is
the one remaining objective that now hangs precariously in the balance.
Owing to a combination of circumstances wholly beyond the control of its
builders, this task has assumed a critical importance, and is of such
vital urgency, that no prosecutor of the Plan, eager to witness its
consummation, can afford to ignore for a moment.
The sacrifice demanded is such as to have no parallel whatsoever in the
history of that community. The manifold issues inextricably interwoven
with the campaign audaciously launched for the achievement of this high
objective are of such a weighty character as to overshadow every
enterprise embarked upon through the organized efforts of its members, in
either the concluding years of the Heroic Age of the Faith or the first
epoch of the Age which succeeded it. The two years during which this
emergency will be most keenly felt coincide on the one hand with a period
of increasing distraction occasioned by the uncertainties, the perils and
fears of a steadily worsening international situation, and on the other
with the centenary of one of the most turbulent, afflictive and glorious
stages of Baha'i history--a stage immortalized by an effusion of blood, a
self-abnegation, a heroism unsurpassed not only in the annals of the Faith
but in the world's spiritual history. How meritorious, indeed, are the
self-denying acts which this supremely challenging hour now calls forth,
amidst the perplexities and confusion which present-day society is now
experiencing! And yet, how trifling in comparison with the self-immolation
of the most distinguished, the most precious heroes and saints of the
Primitive Age of our glorious Faith! An outpouring of treasure, no less
copious than the blood shed so lavishly in the Apostolic Age of the Faith
by those who in the heart of the Asiatic continent proclaimed its birth to
the world, can befit their spiritual descendants, who, in the present
Formative Age of the Baha'i Dispensation, have championed the Cause, and
assumed so preponderating a share in the erection of its Administrative
Order, and are now engaged in the final stage of the building of the House
that incarnates the soul of that Faith in the American continent. No
sacrifice can be deemed too great to insure the completion of such an
edifice--the most holy House of Worship ever to be associated with the
Faith of the Most Great Name--an edifice whose inception has shed such a
luster on the closing years of the Heroic Age of the Baha'i Dispensation,
which has assumed a concrete shape in the present Formative stage in the
evolution of our beloved Faith, whose dependencies must spring into
existence in the course of successive epochs of this same Age, and whose
fairest fruits will be garnered in the Age that is to come, the last, the
Golden Age of the initial and brightest Dispensation of the
five-thousand-century Baha'i Cycle.
"A most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of
existence," are 'Abdu'l-Baha's own words, predicting the release of
spiritual forces that must accompany the completion of this most hallowed
House of Worship. "From that point of light," He, further glorifying that
edifice, has written, "the spirit of teaching ... will permeate to all
parts of the world." And again: "Out of this Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar,
without doubt, thousands of Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kars will be born." "It
marks the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth."
Again I repeat--and I cannot overrate the vital, the unique importance of
the campaign now launched to insure the completion of such an edifice--the
immediate destiny of the American Baha'i Community is intimately and
inescapably bound up with the outcome of this newly launched, this
severely trying, soul-purging, spiritually uplifting campaign. The
God-given mission, constituting the birthright, and proclaiming the
primacy of a community whose members the Founder of that community, the
Center of the Covenant Himself, has addressed as the "Apostles of
Baha'u'llah," can only be fulfilled if they befittingly obey the specific
Mandate issued by 'Abdu'l-Baha in His Tablets of the Divine Plan. The
execution of this Mandate is, in its turn, dependent upon the triumphant
conclusion of the Second Seven Year Plan, the second stage in the series
of specific plans formulated to insure the successful termination of the
opening phase in the execution of that Mandate. Indeed, the successive
plans, inaugurated since the birth of the second Baha'i century, by the
British, the Indian, the Persian, the Australia-New Zealand, the Iraqi,
the German and the Egyptian National Assemblies, with the exception of the
plan undertaken by the Canadian National Assembly, which forms an integral
part of the Plan associated with the Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha, are but
supplements to the vast enterprise whose features have been delineated in
those Tablets and are to be regarded, by their very nature, as regional in
scope, in contrast with the world-embracing character of the mission
entrusted to the community of the champion builders of the World Order of
Baha'u'llah, and the torch-bearers of the civilization which that Order
must eventually establish. As to the Second Seven Year Plan itself, its
eventual success must depend on the attainment of its second and most
vital objective. This objective, in its turn, cannot be achieved unless
the two-year campaign, now launched by the elected representatives of this
community, is successfully carried out. Nor can this campaign yield its
richest fruit unless and until the community, in its entirety,
participates in this nation-wide sacrificial effort. Nor can this
collective effort be blessed, to the fullest extent possible, unless the
contributions made by its members involve acts of self-abnegation, not
only on the part of those of modest means, but also by those endowed with
substantial resources. Nor, indeed, can these self-denying acts, by both
the rich and the poor, be productive of the fullest possible benefit
unless this sacrificial effort is neither momentary nor haphazard, but
rather systematic and continuous throughout the period of the present
emergency.
Then and only then will this holy edifice, symbol and harbinger of a world
civilization as yet unborn, and the embodiment of the sacrifice of a
multitude of the upholders of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, release the full
measure of the regenerative power with which it has been endowed, shed in
all its plenitude the glory of the Most Holy Spirit dwelling within it,
and vindicate, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the truth of every single
promise recorded by the pen of 'Abdu'l-Baha pertaining to its destiny.
No more befitting consummation for this magnificent enterprise can be
envisaged than that this noble edifice, whose cornerstone has been laid by
'Abdu'l-Baha's own hands, the preliminary measure for whose construction
synchronized with the formal interment of the Bab's remains on Mt. Carmel,
within whose walls the first Centenary of the birth of His ministry has
been celebrated, whose interior ornamentation has coincided with the
construction of the arcade of His Sepulcher, should be vouchsafed the
honor of having the Jubilee of its inception coincide with, and celebrated
on the occasion of, the Centenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah's prophetic
Mission in the Siyah-_Ch_al of Tihran.
[April 11, 1949]
PROCESS OF EXPANSION ACCELERATES
[MESSAGE TO 1949 CONVENTION]
Desire to share with attendants at Forty-first American Baha'i Convention
feelings of joyous gratitude evoked by the steady acceleration of the dual
process of expansion and consolidation of the Baha'i World Community as
well as the perspicuous evidences of divine protection vouchsafed the
World Center of the Faith during the course of the third year of the
Second Seven Year Plan. The number of countries included within the pale
of the Faith is ninety-four. Languages into which Baha'i literature is
translated, and assemblies, local and national, incorporated, now total
fifty-six and one hundred five, respectively. Baha'i literature now being
translated into fourteen additional languages. The number of centers in
Latin America is one hundred and nine. The fourth objective of the present
Plan has been achieved four years ahead of schedule through the formation
of a spiritual assembly in each of the ten goal countries on the European
continent. Centers established in these countries total thirty-one, newly
enrolled native believers, one hundred fifty-four. Nearly a million dollar
drive to complete the Mother Temple of the West has been auspiciously
launched and construction of interior sections of the ornamentation
initiated. Number of settlements in Greenland provided with Baha'i
scriptures raised to forty-eight, including Thule beyond the Arctic Circle
and Etah near eightieth latitude. Number of American states, territories
and federal districts recognizing Baha'i marriage raised to eighteen.
Restoration of the newly acquired German national Haziratu'l-Quds at
Frankfurt has been commenced. Formulation of five year plans for German
and Egyptian National Assemblies, culminating at the Centenary of the
Birth of Baha'u'llah's prophetic Mission, completes the number of national
assemblies pledged to achieve within appointed time specified goals in
five continents. The European Teaching Conference convened at Geneva
inaugurating series of annual gatherings designed to consolidate the
tremendously significant transatlantic project. Baha'i observers
accredited by United Nations participated in Conference on Human Rights,
Geneva; United Nations General Assembly, Paris. Baha'i representative
attended Luxembourg general conference of world movement for world
federation. First all red Indian Assembly consolidated at Macy, Nebraska.
Building operations on arcade of Bab's Sepulcher commenced forty years
after official interment of His remains by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Prolonged
hostilities ravaging Holy Land providentially terminated. Baha'i holy
places, unlike those belonging to other faiths, miraculously safeguarded.
Perils no less grave than those which threatened the World Center of the
Faith under 'Abdu'l-Hamid and Jamal Pa_sh_a and through Hitler's intended
capture of the Near East, averted. Independent sovereign state within
confines of Holy Land established and recognized, marking termination of
twenty-century-long provincial status. Formal assurance of the protection
of Baha'i holy sites and continuation of Baha'i pilgrimage given by Prime
Minister of newly emerged state. Official invitation extended by its
government on the historic occasion of the opening of the state's first
parliament. Official record of Baha'i marriage endorsed, Baha'i endowments
exempted by responsible authorities of the same state. Best wishes for the
future welfare of the Faith of Baha'u'llah conveyed in writing by the
newly elected head of the state in reply to congratulatory message
addressed him upon assumption of his office. Appeal to entire community,
through assembled delegates, in thankful recognition of the manifold
blessings vouchsafed the Faith and in response to the alert sounded for
the present emergency, to arise and demonstrate more conspicuously than
ever before, through greater austerity at home and increasing audacity in
foreign fields, both in Latin America and Europe, their grim determination
at whatever cost, no matter how crucial the test, however long the period,
however herculean the labor, to carry forward unremittingly their task to
its triumphant conclusion.
[April 25, 1949]