CONSOLIDATION EXPANSION MANIFOLD MERITORIOUS ACTIVITIES DEARLY LOVED
VALIANT PERSEVERING GERMAN BAHAI COMMUNITY. SUPPLICATING BLESSINGS
DELIBERATIONS. URGE REDOUBLE EFFORTS TO FULFIL OBJECTIVES PLAN AND PAVE
WAY STILL GREATER MORE GLORIOUS ENTERPRISES.
SHOGHI
LETTER OF 26 JULY 1951
26 July 1951
INFORM GERMAN ASSEMBLY TRANSMITTING FURTHER CONTRIBUTION NATIONAL FUND.
SHOGHI
LETTER OF 9 AUGUST 1951
9 August 1951
Dear Baha'i Friends:
Our Guardian was very pleased to see the Post card of the new German
National Baha'i Headquarters, and also to note the official cancellation
mentioning the Baha'i annual Convention.
He feels sure the Faith in Germany, through means such as these, will
attract an ever wider interest in the public at large.
He wishes all of you every success in your devoted services to the Cause
of God....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Almighty abundantly reward you for your labours, guide every step
you take in the path of service, and aid you to extend continually the
range of your accomplishments, and contribute effectively to the
consolidation of the nascent institutions of our beloved Faith,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
LETTER OF 27 AUGUST 1951 (SUMMER SCHOOL)
27 August 1951 (Summer School)
Dear Baha'i Friends:
Your letter of July 22 reached our beloved Guardian, and he has instructed
me to answer it on his behalf.
He was very happy to see the friends are now regularly enjoying the use of
the National Headquarters which they constructed through so much effort
and sacrifice. This marks a great step forward in the progress of the
Faith in Germany, and will ever-increasingly lead to bounties and
blessings.
He assures you one and all of his most loving prayers for the success of
your devoted services to the Cause of God....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Almighty reward you abundantly for your steadfast and meritorious
labours, aid you to acquire a fuller understanding of the essentials of
His Faith, and contribute effectively to the consolidation of its nascent
institutions,
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
LETTER OF 28 SEPTEMBER 1951 (SUMMER SCHOOL)
28 September 1951 (Summer School)
Dear Baha'i Friends:
Your loving message was received by our beloved Guardian, and he has
instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
He was particularly pleased to hear the sessions of the School were
carried forward in an atmosphere of love and harmony, as this is the very
essence of Baha'i living.
He urges you all to redouble your teaching efforts in your local
Communities, and he will pray for you all....
[From the Guardian:]
May the Spirit of Baha'u'llah sustain and guide you in your meritorious
activities, bless your high endeavours, and enable you to lend a great
impetus to the consolidation of the institutions of His glorious Faith,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
LETTER OF 30 OCTOBER 1951 (SUMMER SCHOOL)
30 October 1951 (Summer School)
Dear Baha'i Friends:
Your greeting reached our beloved Guardian, and he was very happy to see
your school had been so successful and well attended.
Hamburg is a very important Center, one of the oldest Baha'i Centers in
Germany, and situated in a position where it can favour the spread of the
Faith. It is, therefore, essential for the believers there to be firm and
united in serving the Cause, for them to keep in close contact with the
National institutions of the Faith in Germany, and to be active in
teaching, and also in associating with travelling Baha'is who pass through
their city.
He will pray for the success of your Baha'i work....
P.S. He was very interested to see the "Rundbrief" you enclosed.
[From the Guardian:]
May the Almighty bless your high endeavours, guide and sustain you in your
meritorious activities, and enable you to promote the best interests of
the institutions of His Faith,
Your true brother,
Shoghi
LETTER OF 30 OCTOBER 1951
30 October 1951
Dear Baha'i Friends:
Your letters dated May 31, August 14, and two of September 16, have been
received, as well as other material sent the Guardian by you under
separate cover, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
Please note that on behalf of the beloved Guardian I have written direct
to ... assuring her of his prayers and his sympathy for her sufferings.
Cancer is a most terrible affliction, and has taken its toll of some very
fine Baha'is, alas!
The Guardian was particularly pleased to hear so many of the German
friends could be present at the E.T. Conference in Holland. This
association of the friends is a great stimulus to the work, and he hopes
will increase in scale as the situation in Europe improves.
He was also very glad to know your Assembly met with ... and ... as Berlin
and Vienna are important centers, and the work needs to be stimulated and
fostered in both places, especially Vienna.
The Guardian feels that the financing of the Hazira--so that debts may not
pile up too much--and the teaching work are very important.
To concentrate on achieving the goals of your Plan you should, if
necessary, make economies in other directions. In America, for years, the
publication of "World Order Magazine" was given up, as it was not
essential, and the money in the Fund was more urgently needed elsewhere.
He feels that, if necessary, "Sonne der Wahrheit" and the Youth Bulletin
can be given up. The Youth can have a place in your regular "Baha'i News"
for themselves. However, these are matters for your assembly to weigh and
decide upon.
The most important thing of all, now that greater unity has been
established in the German Community, is to make the friends
pioneerconscious; they must learn to venture forth, putting their trust in
God, and go to new cities and towns to establish the Cause. This will mark
an entirely new phase in the history of the Cause in Germany, and will
give the Baha'is a sense of victory and importance they have never had
before. When they see how, after years of persecution, of war, occupation,
financial chaos and instability, they have built their Hazira, and moved
their National Headquarters to it, they must feel both astonished at their
victory and immensely proud. Did they ever believe such a thing could
happen? Let them, then, with the same faith and determination, arise and
build up new assemblies and groups. They will find that they succeed as
they succeeded with their Hazira.
The Guardian remembers you all in his prayers, and is very pleased with
the progress so far made by the German friends. But he hopes they will now
accomplish still greater feats!...
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The Plan now being prosecuted with such diligence, fidelity, unity and
enthusiasm by the long oppressed, greathearted, indefatigable, much
admired German Baha'i community, despite the exhaustion following a
prolonged ordeal, is entering upon its concluding phase. This first
collective enterprise, embarked upon by a community which, by virtue of
its size, its experience, its past achievements, occupies a preeminent
position in the European continent, and is destined, in view of its
capacity, its fortitude, its resilience and tenacity of purpose, to play
an outstanding role in both contemporary and future Baha'i history, must,
through a concerted and supreme effort on the part of its members, be
brought to a triumphant conclusion.
Its successful termination will be but a signal for a series of
enterprises, each more glorious than the one preceding it, which will
carry the fame of this community, already tested in the crucible of
afflictive trials, and richly endowed by the tender favours of its
Founder, Who blessed with His Presence its leading center, to regions far
beyond the confines of its homeland and as far as the Eastern fringes of
the Asiatic continent.
In such a glorious venture, and in the course of so vast, so momentous and
sacred an enterprise, it will, if it discharges manfully its present task,
be seconded in its noble exertions by the concerted efforts of all the
budding communities in the European continent, and will play a notable
role, in collaboration with the trustees of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan
labouring throughout the American continents, and with its sister
communities toiling in Africa, South East Asia, and Australasia, in
achieving the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.
Much depends, however, on the manner in which it discharges the
responsibilities of the present hour. The administrative base from which
it must spread out into Eastern and Southern Europe, and beyond these
spheres into the heart of Northern Asia, as far as the China Sea, must
first be thoroughly consolidated. The valiant battalions that are to carry
the banner of the Faith of Baha'u'llah to distant climes, amidst alien
races, and throughout the length and breadth of immense territories and in
inhospitable surroundings, must, to begin with, increase in number,
acquire added experience, and deepen in their faith and understanding. The
literature with which the bearers of God's redeeming Message must be
equipped when launching out beyond the frontiers of their native land
must, preparatory to their arduous crusade, be multiplied and adapted to
the mentality of those diversified peoples and races inhabiting so vast a
section of the globe.
The Baha'i Administrative headquarters now being completed in the heart
and center of this community's homeland must be speedily consolidated and
further extended. The assemblies and groups which, as a result of the
operation of the present Plan, must be brought into being, must be
safeguarded and strengthened. The spiritual life of its participating
members must, while this process of administrative consolidation is being
accelerated, be continually enriched, their vision broadened, their
understanding deepened, their unity reinforced, their enthusiasm enkindled
through the institutions of summer-schools, conventions, regional
conferences, youth rallies and study classes. The unity and solidarity of
the members of this community must be vigilantly safeguarded and
constantly reinforced. The ties binding it to its neighbouring
sister-community in Austria must be greatly strengthened, and the
administrative agencies operating in both communities must be closely
correlated and the cooperation between them continually fostered.
Then and only then, will this community be empowered to launch befittingly
its first campaign across the borders of its native land, and manifest, as
it projects itself beyond its national frontiers and diffuses over
regions, both far and near, the illuminating radiance of Baha'u'llah's
redemptive Revelation, the potencies with which its Divine Founder, the
Center of the Covenant, endowed it in the course of the last decade of His
Ministry.
As the centenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah's Mission approaches, as the
Plan formulated by this Community draws to a close, a supreme effort,
unprecedented in its scope and intensity, must be exerted collectively by
its members, young and old, an effort that will arouse the admiration of
the entire world, that will proclaim its worthiness and capacity to
shoulder so immense a task in the future, and which will carry to a
triumphant conclusion this initial undertaking, embarked upon by the
German and Austrian followers of the Faith of Baha'u'llah in the heart of
the European continent.
Shoghi
LETTER OF 18 APRIL 1952
18 April 1952
INFORM GERMAN ASSEMBLY HANDS ELIGIBLE.
SHOGHI
LETTER OF 29 APRIL 1952
29 April 1952
DEEPLY APPRECIATE MESSAGE ASSURE DELEGATES PRAYING FERVENTLY UNPRECEDENTED
BLESSINGS ATTAINMENT OBJECTIVES HISTORIC PLAN LOVING REMEMBRANCE SHRINES.
SHOGHI
LETTER OF 30 MAY 1952
30 May 1952
Dear Baha'i Brother:
The beloved Guardian has received your letters of January 29, February 13,
April 7 and April 14 (2), and May 1, 1952, and he has instructed me to
answer you on his behalf.
He was very pleased to hear of the progress the German Baha'is are making,
not only in their teaching work, as witnessed by the formation of new
assemblies and the establishment of new groups, but also in the
administrative field.
The reports he received about the success of your Convention this year,
the free consultation and the unity which prevailed amongst the friends,
encouraged him greatly. He feels that this indicates a new maturity on the
part of the German believers. They must come to realize that the
Administration is a system both living and dynamic, and that, through
obedience to its principles and regulations, they will gain greater
strength in teaching the Faith, and be able to direct their energies as a
united force into the different channels of service that lie open to them.
One of the main reasons why the Faith does not advance more rapidly is
because the friends have not learned to live with, and work within the
framework of the Administrative Order. Either they crystallize it into too
set a form, or they rebel against what they feel to be a System, and do
not give it sufficient support. Both of these extremes impede the progress
of the Faith, and the efficiency of the believers.
In this connection I should like to mention that the Guardian states that
the Hands of the Cause are eligible to administrative offices except those
permanently residing in Haifa and helping the Guardian in the
administrative work. Whenever the time comes when the Hands should give up
their administrative offices in order to be more free to serve under his
direction, he will inform the friends.
The convention--all Baha'i Conventions--must be held within the Ridvan
period; and he was very pleased to see that you had been able to advance
the date of your Convention without affecting its success.
As regards the question you asked, the Baha'i marriage certificate has
been accepted by the Israel Authorities. All the Baha'i properties and
imports are exempt from taxation and customs, and the status of the Faith
as a religion, recognized. At present, we are planning to clarify our
legal position with the Government, and get it on a more concrete footing.
We are not incorporated here, but there are the Palestine Branches of the
National Spiritual Assemblies of both the United States and India
incorporated here, and holding title to property.
He was very pleased to see that the Secretary is now residing at the
Hazira, as he considers this both the proper procedure, and important for
the national work.
He was very sorry to learn that you are still having so many financial
difficulties in connection with the Headquarters, and hopes that, through
the self-sacrifice of the believers, the debts can be gradually wiped out,
and funds be made available for other important forms of Baha'i activity.
He thanks you all for the expression of your loving sympathy on the
occasion of the passing of dear Mr. Maxwell. His services will long be
remembered, and he has had a very great bounty in being permitted to
design the Holy Tomb of the Bab.
He assures you all that, in his visits to the Holy Shrines, he remembers
you lovingly in his prayers, and supplicates for your guidance and the
advancement of your work....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
From the reports and communications received, in the course of recent
months, from your assembly I have derived considerable satisfaction, as I
have noted the spirit of wholehearted dedication which has animated its
members in the discharge of the manifold duties and sacred
responsibilities which have faced them in the execution of their Plan. It
is indeed highly gratifying, and a source of great pride, to contemplate
the progress that has been made, the consolidation that has been achieved,
the great sacrifices that have been willingly undertaken, the enthusiasm,
the fidelity, and the perseverance that have been so abundantly
demonstrated, the publicity that has been accorded the Faith, the plans
that have been devised, the marked stimulus that has been given to the
activities of the Youth, the harmony that has characterized the
collaboration of the oriental and occidental believers, the progress made
in connexion with the National Haziratu'l-Quds, the steady expansion of
Publishing activities, and above all, the notable improvement in the
spiritual life of the community, as witnessed by the greater unity,
cooperation and understanding prevailing among its members.
As the last year of the Plan, formulated by the German Baha'i community
inexorably draws to its close, a concerted, a redoubled effort should be
made to ensure that all its provisions, without any exception, will be
fully carried out, that the members of this community may thus acquire the
spiritual potentiality regarded as indispensable for the launching of a
still greater enterprise, on the morrow of the celebrations of the
approaching Baha'i Holy year--an enterprise that will bring the
much-admired, greatly loved, highly promising community of the followers
of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, in both Germany and Austria, into direct
association with its sister communities throughout the Baha'i world for
the conduct of the world Crusade destined to immortalize the decade
separating the two greatest Jubilees of the second Baha'i century.
Whilst every ounce of energy will be exerted for the consummation of their
present task, special attention should be directed towards the
consolidation of the ties, both spiritual and administrative, that must
continue to bind the believers in the Western Zone of Germany to their
brethren in the Eastern Zone, as well as to those living in the Republic
of Austria. A special effort must, moreover, be exerted to improve and
consolidate the relationship existing between the German Baha'i community
and the civil authorities, both local and central, in order to give
greater publicity to the Faith, and facilitate the expansion of its
administrative institutions in the crucial years ahead. No less energetic
efforts must be made to stimulate the process of the incorporation of the
local assemblies, and to obtain a better legal status for the German
Baha'i National Assembly, raising thereby the status of the Faith and
consolidating the foundations of its highest administrative agency in the
heart of the European continent.
The total success of the Plan, now demanding the concentrated attention of
the entire German Baha'i community, is indeed indispensable for the
adequate discharge of the still greater tasks that lie ahead of its
members, and which, in themselves, will constitute the prelude to the
unfoldment of the glorious Mission awaiting them, as soon as the present
obstacles are removed, in both Eastern Europe and the heart of the Asiatic
continent. The extent of their future undertakings in both continents;
their contribution to the Global Crusade to be launched throughout the
whole planet; their particular and, in many ways, unique, reinforcement of
the work, connected with future Baha'i research and scholarship, in view
of the characteristic qualities of painstaking thoroughness, scientific
exactitude and dispassionate criticism distinguishing the race to which
they belong,--these are too vast and complex to be assessed at the present
time.
They, no doubt, stand, emerging as they have done, from two successive
world ordeals that have served to purify, vitalize, and weld them
together, on the threshold of an era of glorious achievements, both at
home and abroad. Their present Plan is but the initial chapter in the
history of their collective achievements in the service of the Faith of
Baha'u'llah--a service, anticipated in such glowing terms, by the One,
through Whose creative power, this community was brought into being, Who
nursed it in its infancy, and Who, through His personal visit communicated
to it, in a direct and effective manner, the impulse destined to sustain
its growth, guide its steps and lead it to ultimate victory.
The participation of the Baha'i community, in both Germany and Austria,
individually as well as officially, in the forthcoming Stockholm
inter-continental Conference, to which I trust its members will contribute
a notable share, in view of the part they are destined to play in the
future awakening of the European Continent--will no doubt, launch them upon
the initial stage of their glorious Mission beyond the confines of their
respective countries. Theirs will be the two-fold and highly challenging
task of consolidating, steadily and rapidly, the administrative
foundations of the Structure which is being painstakingly established by
them in the heart of the European continent, and of implanting the banner
of the rising order of their Faith in the neighbouring sovereign states
and dependencies of that continent and even beyond its borders, as far as
the heart of Asia.
Time is running out. The work they have to accomplish is immense,
exacting, thrilling and inescapable. The hosts of the Concourse on high
will surely lead them onward and assure them a resounding victory, if they
but keep their vision undimmed, if they refuse to faint or falter, if they
persevere and remain faithful to both the spiritual and the administrative
principles inculcated by their Faith.
That they may discharge nobly their trust, that they may emerge triumphant
from the first stage of their collective and historic undertaking, that
they may set an undying example to their brethren in East and West, of
Baha'i solidarity, of tenacity of purpose, of single-minded devotion, of
unrelaxing vigilance, of assiduous labour, of harmonious cooperation, of
audacity, and of absolute dedication to the aims and purposes of their
Faith, is the object of my special, my loving and constant prayers at the
threshold of the Shrine of Baha'u'llah.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
LETTER OF 15 JUNE 1952
15 June 1952
Dear Baha'i Friends:
The beloved Guardian has instructed me to write you on his behalf, to
request that the information relating to Germany and Austria and their
activities, contained in the booklet "The Baha'i Faith", 'Information
Statistical and Comparative', be brought up to date as of May 1, 1952, and
sent to him here by the first possible air mail post.
One of the features of the Holy Year will be the re-issuance of this
important book; inasmuch as the Holy Year is fast approaching, the
Guardian wishes information as quickly as possible.
Briefly, the information which your NSA is to provide, brought up to date
of May 1, 1952, is as follows:
Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies in Germany and Austria, showing
each country with its Local Assemblies separate.
Baha'i Centers in Germany and Austria, showing if possible the division
between Local Spiritual Assemblies, Groups and Isolated Believers.
Any information not immediately available, should be handled by telegraph,
but such information as is available should not be delayed for any one or
two delinquents. You can appreciate that if the booklet is to be published
early in the Holy Year, the information should reach the Guardian at a
very early date.
The Guardian sends his loving greetings to the National Assembly and its
devoted members....
LETTER OF 9 JULY 1952
9 July 1952
ADVISE HOLD CONVENTION APRIL.
SHOGHI
LETTER OF 27 AUGUST 1952
27 August 1952
CULMINATION PLAN APRIL 1953.
SHOGHI
LETTER OF 4 OCTOBER 1952
4 October 1952
Dear Baha'i Friend:
The beloved Guardian is very anxious to secure the date on which your
National Assembly was incorporated.
He also wishes information as to the present value of the National Hazira
in Frankfurt.
Will you please send this information to him by return Air Mail, as he
wishes it promptly, so that a new statistical book concerning the Faith
may be issued promptly.