Chapter 28
He sees no objection to your a.s.sembly's renting to suitable tenants some of the rooms in the Hazira of Frankfurt in order to a.s.sist you in financing its construction. Also he feels you are free to rent the Baha'i Hall in that building to groups, who have similar aims to ours, or to the University.
As to purchasing the property next door: although this would be desirable, he feels at present it is out of the question, as you have not got sufficient funds to do so, and are already having difficulty meeting the heavy expenses involved in building the Hazira itself.
The Guardian has already had a sum transferred to Mr. Hofman to meet the expenses of publis.h.i.+ng "G.o.d Pa.s.ses By". He trusts this important work will soon be in your hands, as it will be of great educational value to the German believers. They are, he feels, just the people to appreciate such a weighty history and review of the Faith.
The whole-hearted response made by the German Baha'is to his appeal last year to become united and to deepen their understanding of the Covenant pleases him greatly. He feels this has demonstrated anew the loyalty and faith of this Community, and justifies his hopes for the brilliant future he is convinced lies ahead of them.
The entire Community of friends in Austria and Germany should now concentrate on fulfilling their Plan. The success of the American friends, the remarkable victory of the British Baha'is and the Persian believers, the progress being made by the distant communities in Australia and New Zealand, as well as India, Pakistan and Burma, should encourage them to gird up their loins and crown their own efforts with victory.
The Guardian feels sure that, now that a greater degree of unity has been achieved by the German believers, they will find that G.o.d gives them far greater strength to carry out their work for His Faith. He a.s.sures you he will pray for all the friends to become increasingly as one soul labouring in many bodies.
He will also pray for all the members of your a.s.sembly to be strengthened to perform your historic work successfully....
P.S. He thanks you for the map showing Baha'i distribution in Germany and Austria, and will publish it in the next edition of "Baha'i World".
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The progress achieved by the German Baha'i community in recent months, under the able direction, and through the constant vigilance and loving care of its elected national representatives, is highly gratifying and fills me with hope, grat.i.tude and admiration for the sterling qualities that distinguish its members in their steadfast service to the Faith of Baha'u'llah. The restoration of harmony and cooperation among the dearly loved, high-minded, great-hearted German believers, the vigorous prosecution of their newly-adopted Plan, the gradual restoration of their newly purchased Haziratu'l-Quds, the steady extension in the range of their publications, and the notable multiplication and consolidation of their rehabilitated inst.i.tutions, are the latest evidences of the unconquerable spirit and indomitable faith which have consistently animated them in the past, and which have enabled them to weather, in the course of the last world conflict, the severest storm that has afflicted them since the inception of the Faith in their land.
The process of harmonious cooperation and the spirit of mutual understanding, remarkably evident in the life of a newly resuscitated, highly promising, spiritually enriched community must, particularly in its relation with the local communities in Hamburg and Vienna, be steadily fostered, however great the obstacles that may be encountered. The education of the members of the community in the principles and essential verities underlying the Covenants of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha as well as the Administrative Order of the Faith-the twin pillars sustaining the spiritual life and the inst.i.tutions of every organized Baha'i community-must, at all costs, be vigorously pursued and systematically intensified. The multiplication and consolidation of Baha'i administrative inst.i.tutions, in both zones under the jurisdiction of the elected representatives of the community, and in the neighbouring territory of Austria, must be given a fresh impetus through repeated exertions and carefully devised measures. The initial steps, aiming at the incorporation of the National a.s.sembly and of every soundly grounded properly functioning local a.s.sembly, should be promptly taken, as a prelude to the establishment of the national and local Baha'i endowments for the benefit of the entire community. The utmost effort should be exerted to hasten, on the one hand, the completion of the restoration of the national administrative Headquarters, and centralize, on the other, the national activities and manifold agencies of the Faith in that newly-appointed centre established in the heart of that country. Particular attention should, moreover, be given to the vital city of Berlin, its needs, its interests and future prospects. The teaching work, the cornerstone of the Baha'i Edifice and the primary purpose of every Baha'i inst.i.tution, so emphatically stressed by 'Abdu'l-Baha in His Will, should, above all, be reinvigorated and relentlessly expanded. A closer a.s.sociation through correspondence, attendance at Summer Schools, partic.i.p.ation at Teaching Conferences and collaboration in publications should be carefully fostered with the sister communities now rapidly emerging on the European continent, in the British Isles, in the North and South American continents, in Asia, Africa and Australasia.
To these immediate tasks, so vital, so sacred, a community, purged in the fires of suffering, revitalized and functioning with unity, zeal, fidelity and enthusiasm, must address itself without delay, with complete dedication and renewed and undefected resolve, as a prelude to the future unfoldment of its mission, beyond the confines of its homeland. For a national community so vibrant with life, so painstaking in its labours, so efficient in its methods, so impervious to the slings and arrows of affliction, occupying so central a position in a continent, so politically confused, so spiritually starved, so socially agitated, and the recipient of such favours and promises, from the lips and pen of 'Abdu'l-Baha, cannot, if faithful to its destiny, remain confined in its future activities, to the narrow compa.s.s of its homeland, and fall behind its sister communities in East and West, which are forging ahead and are in addition to their tasks at home, carrying forward the banner of the Faith in both distant lands and neighbouring territories, such as Latin America, the Goal countries of Europe, the Dependencies in the Far
Already this community has, in the years preceding the great ordeal to which it has been subjected, initiated in however tentative a manner, its teaching enterprises beyond the confines of its homeland in one of the neighbouring Balkan Territories, and laid to rest, as an everlasting memorial to its pioneering spirit, the remains of its first martyr in the soil of that Territory.
No more adequate and better field can be imagined, as an outlet for the long-hemmed in energies of a spiritually virile, highly developed outstandingly loyal branch of the family of Baha'i national communities, than the neighbouring territories situated in the Balkan Peninsula, the Baltic States, and further afield the vast stretches now enveloped in darkness, and whose teeming millions hunger for the Light of G.o.d's saving grace and redemptive power.
For so glorious and mighty a mission, this community, however limited its present resources, however circ.u.mscribed in its numbers, however formidable the various obstacles that now stand in its path, must, by applying itself a.s.siduously to the tasks of the present hour, prepare itself and acquire the necessary spiritual capacity to launch, in the years that lie ahead and possibly on the morrow of the celebrations of the centenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah's prophetic Mission, the first stage in its historic Mission destined to embrace so vital a section of the European, and so colossal an area in the Asiatic, continents. May this community prove itself worthy of its high destiny.
Shoghi
LETTER OF 30 DECEMBER 1950
30 December 1950
NONATTENDANCE FEAST DOES NOT JUSTIFY SUSPENSION VOTING RIGHTS.
SHOGHI
LETTER OF 2 MARCH 1951
2 March 1951
Dear Baha'i Friends:
Your letters dated June 12th, October 23rd and December 14th, 1950, and February 12th and 13th, 1951, as well as your latest dated 2.3.51, together with their enclosures, have been received, and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf. The material sent under separate cover has also been received.
In regard to the various questions you have raised in your letters, the Guardian does not feel that we are justified in removing a Baha'i from the voting list just because they resign from the Spiritual a.s.sembly. Although it is considered a moral responsibility on the part of the believers to serve on Spiritual a.s.semblies if they are elected, if for some reason, they feel they must resign from that body-in other words for some really weighty reason-it certainly does not mean that they have lost their Baha'i voting rights. The friends should be encouraged to shoulder the burdens of the administrative work-on the other hand, they cannot be forced to do so if they have any valid reason to support their refusal.
The Guardian was pleased to note that the Baha'is figured on the census for the first time. He hopes that, in the future, your a.s.sembly will be able to establish itself legally in such a manner as to be the absolute owner and the administrator of Baha'i endowments. If you already have this status, he would like to be informed of it.
A Baha'i can certainly be an Esperantist. The Guardian does not think that in the case you mention, it is right to ask this old man to resign from his Masonic Lodge. Generally speaking, the friends should not enter secret societies. It is certainly much better for the believers to dissociate themselves from such organizations; but as I said, it would seem unnecessary, in this particular case, to ask a very old man to break this connection at the end of his life.
...It is most unfortunate that just as the believers in the eastern zone were beginning to be more active and able to keep in contact with your a.s.sembly and with the Baha'i in other parts of the world, they should now be suddenly entirely cut off and their activities banned. He feels, however, that your a.s.sembly has taken the wise decision in regard to connection with them. If, through any personal letters, it is possible to a.s.sure them of his prayers, he would like you to please do so.
He is very glad to hear that the National Headquarters is now practically finished; and a.s.sures your a.s.sembly that he approves of your raising a first mortgage on it, provided this is absolutely necessary, and you are sure that you can handle the repayment of it in the future. He would prefer, naturally, that this building which is of such importance to your national activities, and of which the believers are all so proud, should be free of any inc.u.mbency.
The desire of the German believers to partic.i.p.ate in the construction of the Holy Tomb of the Bab touches him very much; and he would suggest that, as it is not feasible at present for any funds to be sent out of that country, you accept contributions for this Fund and spend them at present in Germany, until such future time as it will be possible to remit the sum to Haifa.
Naw-Ruz and Ridvan are celebrated all over the Baha'i world according to the solar calendar-there is no difference in the dates in the east or the west.
In regard to your publis.h.i.+ng work: It is most unfortunate that, through the delay in printing "G.o.d Pa.s.ses By", you now require such an exorbitant sum to be expended on it, if it is gotten out in England. The Guardian has explained to Mr. Hofman that he feels that unless some arrangement can be made with your a.s.sembly to get out this book with the sum already forwarded by him for this purpose, that it is not possible to go on with the publication at this time, as the funds of the Cause, limited as they are, must now be concentrated on building the upper parts of the Shrine of the Bab. If there is any way that your a.s.sembly can arrange with Mr.
Hofman to receive a certain number of copies-perhaps unbound-at this time, and have them bound in Germany, he would approve of this, and suggests you look into the matter. Of course, if there was any way Mr. Hofman could transmit to you the money he has received, and you could publish the book in Germany, the Guardian would approve of this.
He thinks that "Some Answered Questions" is more important in the teaching work than "Paris Talks", and recommends to get "Some Answered Questions"
out first.
The Guardian has already written to..., asking him to reconcile himself with your a.s.sembly and to entirely forget this episode, which he considers to have been due to a misunderstanding, and certainly not worth the amount of feeling that was expended upon it on all sides. He hopes that your a.s.sembly will accept any overtures he and his dear Father may make, and a.s.sist them to put the whole thing behind them, and go on with their active service in the Cause to which we know they are both so attached at heart.
In this connection, the Guardian would like to point out to your a.s.sembly that, although it is sometimes necessary to take away the voting rights of a believer for purposes of discipline, that this prerogative of the National a.s.sembly should be used only in extreme cases. It is very bad for the believers to have the feeling that their a.s.sembly will deal too harshly with them, and the net result can only be that a feeling of fear or alienation or resentment may grow up in their hearts towards the body that they should look to as being, not only their elected representatives, but their helper,-one might almost say their father-and the one to whom they can confidently take their problem, and whose wishes and decrees they will respect and obey unhesitatingly.
The Guardian has never heard of any ruling by which a believer who does not attend three consecutive 19 Day Feasts can be deprived of his voting rights. He does not consider that such action is justifiable at all. The whole question is whether a person considers himself a Baha'i or not, and is willing to adhere to the principles of the Faith and accept the authority of the Guardian and the Administration,-whether that individual is able, or always in a condition psychologically to attend Feasts and Baha'i meetings is an entirely different subject. If a person makes it quite clear that they do not wish to be considered an active member of the Baha'i Community and be affiliated with it and exert their voting right, then their name should be removed from the voting list; but if a person considers himself or herself a Baha'i, and for various reasons is not able to be active in the affairs of the Community, then they should certainly not be removed from our voting list, least of all at present, when the number of the Baha'i Community is so small.
Our beloved Guardian regrets extremely the delay in answering many of these questions. This has been, and still is, an extremely difficult period for him. He has so much work to do-there are so many things to be attended to here in Haifa-with the construction of the Shrine and the administration of the many Baha'i properties here, and also through the formation of this first International Baha'i Council, that he is finding it extremely difficult to attend to his correspondence-even such important letters as those he receives from the national bodies.
We are all hoping that this is merely a transitional and difficult phase, and that soon he will be able to find some respite from his heavy duties, and devote more time to taking care of his precious health. If he were not so overburdened with details which, alas, are often very insignificant, he would be able to give out so much more to the believers all over the world. The friends should pray that G.o.d will lift some of these burdens from their Guardian, and enable them to receive the full bounties of his mind and spirit, which he could pour forth into the body of the Faith if he were only not so exhausted and preoccupied.
The increased activity of your a.s.sembly, the increased unity amongst the believers and their evident sense of growing responsibilities, the work already achieved in constructing the national Hazirat-all these things augur well for the expansion of our glorious Faith in Germany and Austria, and undoubtedly are hastening the day when this Community will play a more important role in the international affairs of the Faith, and be able to carry out its own final duties in neighbouring countries, and thus enrich the record of its services to the Cause of G.o.d.
He a.s.sures you, one and all, of his loving prayers for the success of your work; and deeply appreciates the spirit of dedication which animates your Body....
Post Script (March 8)
In regard to the matter you raised in your latest letter, the Guardian does not see how, under present circ.u.mstances, he can arrange to transfer any more funds to Germany. He regrets this very much; but, as you know, nothing can be sent out of this country, and the International Fund cannot support any additional work on this national headquarters at the present time. He will pray that this obstacle may be swiftly removed from your path.
[From the Guardian:]