Chapter 13
I wish to reaffirm my deepfelt appreciation to the manner and spirit in which you strive to promote, consolidate and defend the interests of our invincible Faith. Future generations will no doubt extol your services in this formative period of our Cause. Persevere and rest a.s.sured that my fervent prayers will continue to be offered on your behalf. Gratefully and affectionately.
Shoghi
LETTER OF 22 OCTOBER 1935
22 October 1935
Dear Baha'i Friends,
Your message of the first of this month has been received by our beloved Guardian, and its perusal has brought much joy and satisfaction to his heart. He feels, indeed, profoundly touched by the kind sentiments you have been moved to express to him, and wishes me to reciprocate your greetings and good wishes, and in particular to a.s.sure you of his abiding grat.i.tude for the ceaseless endeavours you are all exerting for the wider spread and firmer establishment of the Cause in your centre. He cherishes the brightest hopes for the future of the Faith in Esslingen which, he trusts, will as a result of your sustained and collective efforts, and through the continued guidance and a.s.sistance of the German N.S.A., develop into one of the most active and flouris.h.i.+ng Baha'i communities not only in Germany but throughout Europe. It has already acquired great fame and importance as an international meeting centre for all the believers throughout that continent, and specially in connection with the annual Summer School of the German friends which has been invariably held there.
The Guardian is fervently praying that this progress, which has been so characteristic of the development of your community during the last few years, will continue increasing, and will thus fully repay your labours for the establishment and wider penetration of the Faith throughout Germany.
With his cordial greetings to you all,...
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
I value the sentiments you have expressed in your most welcome message, and I am deeply touched by its contents. I wish to a.s.sure you in person of my loving and continued prayers for you, that you may grow in understanding, spirituality and influence, and play a worthy part in the expansion of the Faith and the consolidation of its inst.i.tutions.
Your true brother, Shoghi
LETTER OF 12 NOVEMBER 1935
12 November 1935
Dear Dr. Grossmann,
The Guardian is in receipt of your letter of October 26th, and feels very much pleased of the news of the completion of the German translation of "The Seven Valleys". He wishes me to congratulate you most heartily for this great service you have been able to render the Cause, and which no doubt will serve to enrich the record of the manifold contributions you have, during the last few years, so brilliantly made towards the spread of the Faith throughout Germany. He is praying to Baha'u'llah that He may continue to guide and inspire you, and a.s.sist you in accomplis.h.i.+ng still more outstanding works for the
Regarding the publication of the ma.n.u.script, he sees no objection that it should be undertaken by a non-Baha'i publisher, inasmuch as it will then have a greater appeal to the general public. But, of course, in this as well as in all other local matters of this kind you should seek the approval of the N.S.A. As to the expenses of printing the work, they should be preferably furnished by the national fund.
The Guardian is also very much pleased to learn of the new publications which the N.S.A. is planning to issue very soon. The printing of the lectures delivered at the last Esslingen Summer School in a book form is, no doubt, highly useful. It is hoped that the funds required in this connection, as well as for other important publications, will be generously contributed by both the individual believers, and the local groups and a.s.semblies.
With reference to the publication of the "Kitab-i-iqan" into Esperanto, the Guardian also hopes that some action will be taken in this matter by the N.S.A. But obviously the printing of this, and other non-German works, should be subordinated to the publication of Baha'i literature in German....
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-worker:
I am so eager to learn that your health is fully restored, for I believe your services are a most valuable a.s.set to the Faith you serve in these troublous days. I welcome your efficient and unrelaxing cooperation, in spite of the obstacles which face you, in so many fields of Baha'i activity. I am confident that as a result of your strenuous endeavours the administrative inst.i.tutions in your land will be further consolidated and extended and the cause of teaching receive an added impetus.
Your true brother, Shoghi
LETTER OF 5 APRIL 1936
5 April 1936
Dear Baha'i Friends,
Your most welcome message of the first Naw-Ruz has just arrived and its perusal has brought indescribable joy to our Guardian's heart. He is so thankful and happy that the friends in Vienna are working so unitedly and with such fervour, and he hopes that as a result the Cause will steadily develop, and your centre will become one of the leading Baha'i communities in the West.
The most vital matter on which the Guardian wishes you to fully concentrate is that of consolidating the foundations of the Administration. Not until your group learns to work efficiently through obedience to the local a.s.sembly and under its guidance can there be any hope for future expansion. The friends must all realize the necessity of internal discipline and order which only a properly elected and efficiently functioning body such as the local a.s.sembly can effectively maintain. Obedience to the decisions of the local a.s.sembly should be unqualified and whole-hearted, as by this means alone can the community work as a united body and achieve something constructive and enduring.
The Guardian feels also the necessity of urging you to keep always in touch with the friends in Germany. The center in Vienna, though outside the political boundaries of Germany, forms nevertheless an integral part of the German-speaking Baha'i community. It is therefore of a vital importance that the ties of fellows.h.i.+p and cooperation between you and the German believers be increasingly strengthened and consolidated so that through your united endeavours the Cause in Germany and Austria may rapidly spread and be established on firm foundations....
[From the Guardian:]
Dearly beloved friends:
I am deeply grateful to you for your constant services, your unswerving loyalty, your firm determination and exemplary devotion to our beloved Cause. Unity and cooperation are absolutely essential and vital at the present stage of your development. Persevere and rest a.s.sured I will continue to pray for you all from the depths of my heart.
Affectionately, Shoghi
LETTER OF 10 MAY 1936
10 May 1936
Dear Dr. Muhlschlegel,
Your letter dated May 1st with the enclosed message from the Annual Convention of the German friends have all duly arrived and been read with deepest interest and satisfaction by our beloved Guardian.
He is indeed pleased to learn of the results of your national elections, and wishes me to ask you to kindly convey to the members of the new N.S.A.
his hearty congratulations, as well as the a.s.surance of his fervent supplications on their behalf at the Holy Shrines.
The Guardian very much regrets, however, that the Convention has not been quite representative of the centers in Germany, and particularly deplores the fact that the Vienna community has been unable to send any delegate to the meeting. He feels the necessity of urging you to bring this matter before the N.S.A. at its next session, in order that they may strongly recommend all the local communities having an a.s.sembly to send every year at least one representative to the Convention. The Convention meeting is indeed a very important gathering, and the friends should be strongly impressed with its importance and significance. With some effort and sacrifice it is always possible for the delegates to be present at the Convention-sessions....
[From the Guardian:]