A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
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A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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Budget Approved for 1949–1950 |
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Approve committing community to amounts proposed for 1949 and
1950 in your letter of November 11. Urgent to curtail if necessary
expenditure on Public Relations, National Programming and Radio
during the next two years. Ardently praying for solution of problem,
removal of difficulties, attainment of high objectives.
[November 25, 1948] Preliminary Temple Contracts 64 |
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Welcome preliminary contracts for Temple and determination to
ensure completion. Advise drastic reduction in appropriation for activities
except budgets for Latin America and European campaign, if
maximum sum for Temple is exceeded. Praying for removal of difficulties,
continual divine guidance, wise conduct of manifold activities for
Faith. Deepest love.
[December 10, 1948] Arcade for the Shrine of the Báb |
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Convey to believers the joyful news of the safe delivery on Mt.
Carmel of a consignment of thirty-two granite monolith columns, part
of the initial shipment of material ordered for construction of the
arcade of the Báb’s Sepulcher, designed to envelop and preserve the
sacred previous structure reared by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Building operations
are soon starting notwithstanding the difficulties of the present situation.
I am supplicating the Almighty’s guidance and sustaining grace
for successive stages of an enterprise envisaged sixty years ago by
Bahá’u’lláh, initiated by the Center of His Covenant, designed to
culminate as contemplated by Him in erection of a superstructure to be
crowned by a golden dome marking the consummation at the heart of
the Mountain of God of the momentous undertaking born through the
generating influence of the Will of the Founder of our beloved Faith,
so dear to the heart of His blessed Son, and dedicated to the memory of
the Martyr-Prophet, the immortal Herald of the Bahá’í Dispensation.
[December 13, 1948] Drastic Budget Reduction |
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Further drastic reduction in budget for next two years including
temporary suspension of Public Relations, National Programming,
radio activities; World Order, Bahá’í World publications permissible if
necessary.
[December 22, 1948] Further Budget Reduction 65 |
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Advise plan two. Urge, however, maintain permanent entrance
ways, vestibules and metal doors. Also permanent rubber tile or terrazzo
floor. Considering soaring prices, shortness of period, weighty issues
involved, approve still more drastic reduction of budget, complete
suspension during two years of appropriations for activities unconnected
with European project, Latin American work and assembly
consolidation in United States.
[January 13, 1949] |
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Budgets for activities in Europe, Latin America and consolidation
work in United States should not be reduced owing to their vital
relation to Second Seven Year Plan. All other activities, whether
connected with proclamation of Faith, publications, Bahá’í Magazine,
Bahá’í World or schools, should either be drastically curtailed or
suspended during two years. Holding Annual Convention and maintenance
of Bahá’í News essential.
[January 19, 1949] Divert Contributions to Temple Fund |
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Advise you to suspend magazine for next two years. Appeal on my
behalf to subscribers in East and West to devote their subscription fee
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to Temple Fund. Owing to present emergency such action would be
highly meritorious.
[February 28, 1949] A Testing Period Recalling Ordeals of the Dawn-Breakers |
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The first half of the opening decade of the second Bahá’í century is
terminating. The great-minded, stout-hearted, high-spirited American
Bahá’í Community, laden with the trophies accumulated in the course
of its fifty years’ magnificent stewardship of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is
irresistibly embarking upon a two and a half year period unsurpassed in
its fateful consequences by any previous stage traversed in the community’s
eventful history.
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Its members, without exception, are called upon to steel themselves
without delay to face an unexpected emergency, seize a God-given
opportunity, meet a supreme challenge, and show forth a tenacity of
purpose, a solidarity in sacrifice, an austerity in everyday life, worthy
the Martyr-Prophet of their Faith as well as their heroic spiritual
forebears, the hundredth anniversary of whose agonizing tribulations,
including captivity, sieges, betrayals, spoliation and martyrdom, is
being commemorated during this same period.
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No lesser tribute can be paid the memory of the glorious Báb, the
immortal Quddús, the lion-hearted Mullá Ḥusayn, the erudite Vahíd,
the audacious Hujjat, the illustrious seven martyrs of Ṭihrán and a host
of unnumbered heroes whose lifeblood flowed so copiously in the
course of the opening decade of the first Bahá’í century, by the
privileged champion-builders of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh during
the present critical stage in the unfoldment of the Formative Age of
His Dispensation, than a parallel outpouring of their substance by the
builders of the most holy House of Worship laboring in the corresponding
decade of the succeeding century.
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The American Bahá’í Community, exalted, singled out among
sister communities of East and West through revelation of the Tablets
of the Divine Plan, is unavoidably approaching a testing period,
crucial, prolonged, potent, purifying, clearly envisaged by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
different from but recalling in its severity the ordeals which
afflicted the dawn-breakers in a former Age.
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Might not the strain, the stress, of the strenuous period now being
ushered in through inscrutable dispensations of Providence be productive
of perspicuous benefits and blessings reminiscent of the incalculable
outpourings of divine grace which followed closely in the train
of the woeful trials immortalizing the initial, the bloodiest, the most
dramatic period in the Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation.
[March 16, 1949] Arcade of the Báb’s Shrine Begun |
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Convey to friends the joyful historic news of commencement of
construction of arcade of the Báb’s Shrine coinciding with fortieth
anniversary of the placing of His remains in marble sarcophagus in
vault of the same shrine by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
[March 21, 1949] One Remaining Objective Hangs in the Balance |
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The American Bahá’í 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.
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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-Bahá’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.
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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 Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Bahá’í
world, nor any future House of Worship to be erected by the followers
of Bahá’u’lláh, 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.
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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 Bahá’í 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
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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
Bahá’í 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 Bahá’í
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 Bahá’í Cycle.
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“A most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of
existence,” are ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’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
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs will be
born.” “It marks the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth.”
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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 Bahá’í 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 Bahá’u’lláh,” can only be fulfilled if they befittingly
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obey the specific Mandate issued by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 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 Bahá’í century, by the British, the Indian, the Persian, the
Australia-New Zealand, the Iráqí, 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-Bahá, 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 Bahá’u’lláh,
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.
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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 Bahá’u’lláh, 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-Bahá
pertaining to its destiny.
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No more befitting consummation for this magnificent enterprise
can be envisaged than that this noble edifice, whose cornerstone has
been laid by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s own hands, the preliminary measure for
whose construction synchronized with the formal interment of the
Báb’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 Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic Mission in the Síyáh-Chál
of Ṭihrán.
[April 11, 1949] Process of Expansion Accelerates |
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Desire to share with attendants at Forty-first American Bahá’í
Convention feelings of joyous gratitude evoked by the steady acceleration
of the dual process of expansion and consolidation of the Bahá’í
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 Bahá’í literature is translated, and assemblies, local
and national, incorporated, now total fifty-six and one hundred five,
respectively. Bahá’í 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 Bahá’í scriptures raised to forty-eight, including Thule
beyond the Arctic Circle and Etah near eightieth latitude. Number of
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American states, territories and federal districts recognizing Bahá’í
marriage raised to eighteen. Restoration of the newly acquired German
national Hazíratu’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 Bahá’u’lláh’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. Bahá’í observers accredited by United
Nations participated in Conference on Human Rights, Geneva;
United Nations General Assembly, Paris. Bahá’í 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 Báb’s Sepulcher commenced
forty years after official interment of His remains by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Prolonged hostilities ravaging Holy Land providentially terminated.
Bahá’í 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-Ḥamíd and Jamál
Páshá 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 Bahá’í holy sites and
continuation of Bahá’í 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 Bahá’í marriage endorsed, Bahá’í endowments exempted by
responsible authorities of the same state. Best wishes for the future
welfare of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh 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,
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however long the period, however herculean the labor, to carry forward
unremittingly their task to its triumphant conclusion.
[April 25, 1949] Welcome Initial Victory |
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Greatly welcome, much impressed by remarkable feat of initial
victory collectively achieved by self-sacrificing efforts of invincible,
far-visioned, forward-marching American Bahá’í Community. Ultimate
victory now in sight bidding fair to bring present emergency period to
triumphant conclusion, seal fate of Second Seven Year Plan and
open prospect of glorious inauguration at appointed time of third
collective Plan designed to terminate initial chapter in story of
mysterious unfoldment of Divine Plan. Rejoice particularly at
formulation of teaching plans so vitally linked with immediate destiny
of Temple enterprise. Owing to relaxation of pressure occasioned
by critical situation advise direct special attention to invigorate
activities conducted in Latin America and European continent.
Need for voluntary, self-supporting, wholly dedicated pioneers calculated
to supplement newly launched undertaking in both fields is
still pressing and acquiring greater urgency owing to approaching
emergence of Latin American national assemblies and necessity to
consolidate swiftly the newly-formed local assemblies in ten European
goal countries. Heart uplifted at contemplation of mighty range of
accomplishments embracing so vast a field in both hemispheres. Prayers
continually ascending to Abhá throne both in thanksgiving for marvelous
bounties already vouchsafed and in supplication for renewal of
strength for attainment of future goals.
[June 29, 1949] Supplicating Blessing for American Activities |
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Delighted by progress of Temple work. Highly approve, deeply
appreciate suggestion to defray expenses of German representative to
Brussels conference. Supplicating Almighty’s blessing for manifold
activities pursued, unrelaxing vigilance, unflinching determination,
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exemplary self-sacrifice in three continents by divinely sustained American
Bahá’í Community.
[July 20, 1949] Corners of Shrine Arcade Under Construction |
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The efforts exerted, and the results achieved, by the members of the
American Bahá’í Community during the opening months of the two-year
emergency period are such as to merit the highest commendation
and praise. They will, if the effort be sustained, evoke the admiration of
the entire Bahá’í world, which is now watching, with feelings of
wonder and expectancy, the outcome of the tremendous labor of this
community now confronted with one of the most challenging, arduous
and far-reaching tasks ever undertaken in its history.
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The great forward stride that has already been undertaken, during
so short a period, augurs well for the ultimate victory, now within
sight—a victory which will pave the way for the successful execution of
a seven-year enterprise, destined, in its turn, to enable its executors to
launch, at the appointed time, the third and most glorious stage in the
initial unfoldment of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s unique and grand design for that
privileged and conspicuously blessed community.
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No less striking has been the achievement of the representatives of
this community in the vast and most recent field of their historic and
highly meritorious endeavors, exerted beyond the confines of their
homeland, where over so vast a territory, on a continent so agitated, and
amidst peoples so disillusioned, so varied in race, language and outlook,
so impoverished spiritually, so paralyzed with fear, so confused in
thought, so abased in their moral standards, so rent by internal schisms,
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victories so rich in promise, so startling in their rapidity, so magnificent
in their range, have been won, and ennobled, to such a marked degree,
the deathless record of American Bahá’í service to the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh.
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Now that so prodigious and successful an effort has been exerted on
behalf of the historic and sacred Temple, whose completion constitutes
so vital an objective of the Second Seven Year Plan, and so conspicuous
a triumph won in the transatlantic sphere of its operation, its needs and
other vital objectives, both at home and in the Latin American field,
must receive, in the months immediately ahead, the particular attention
of both the national elected representatives of the community who
supervise the working of the Plan and the mass of believers who
participate in its execution.
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While the financial requirements of the Mother Temple of the
West are being met with unabated heroism by rich and poor alike in
the critical months that lie ahead, and the measures to ensure the
undiminished support, and the uninterrupted consolidation of the
European enterprise are being assiduously carried out, a parallel effort,
no less strenuous and sustained should be simultaneously exerted in the
North American continent and in Central and South America, for the
purpose of preserving the prizes already won over the length and
breadth of the Western Hemisphere, where the initial impulse of this
mighty and Divine Plan has been felt and its initial victories in foreign
fields registered.
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The assemblies of the North American continent, constituting the
base for the gigantic operations destined to warm and illuminate,
under American Bahá’í auspices, the five continents of the globe, must,
at no time and under no circumstances, be allowed to diminish in
number or decline in strength and in influence. The movement of
pioneers, whether settlers or itinerant teachers, which in fields so
distant from this base, has exhibited so marvelous a vitality, must,
within the limits of the homeland itself, be neither interrupted nor
suffer a decline. The groups and isolated centers so painstakingly
formed and established must, conjointly with this highly commendable
and essential duty, be maintained, fostered and if possible multiplied.
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No less attention, while this emergency period taxes, to an unprecedented
degree, the combined resources of the envied trustees of
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‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan, should be directed to the vast network of
Bahá’í enterprises initiated throughout Latin America, where the work
so nobly conceived, so diligently prosecuted, so conspicuously blessed,
is rapidly nearing the first stage of its fruition. The flow of pioneers, so
vital in all its aspects, and which has yielded such inestimable benefits
at the early stages of this widely ramified enterprise, must, however
urgent the other tasks already shouldered by an overburdened yet
unfailingly protected community, be neither arrested nor slacken. The
outpost of the newly born communities, established in the Straits of
Magallanes in the South, must be held with undiminished vigor and
determination. The major task of ensuring the breadth and solidity of
the foundations laid for the establishment of two national Bahá’í
assemblies, through the preservation of the present assemblies, groups
and isolated centers, and the restoration of any of these vital centers,
now dissolved, to their former status, must be scrupulously watched
and constantly encouraged. The process of the dissemination of Bahá’í
literature, of Bahá’í publication and translation, must continue unabated,
however much the sacrifice involved. The newly fledged institutions
of teaching and regional committees, of summer schools and of
congresses, must be continually encouraged and increasingly supported
by teachers as well as administrators, by pioneers from abroad, as well as
by the native believers themselves. The highly salutary and spiritually
beneficent experiment of encouraging a more active participation by
these newly won supporters of the Faith in Latin America, and a
greater assumption of administrative responsibility on their part, in the
ever expanding activities to be entrusted wholly to their care in the
years to come, should be, in particular, developed, systematized and
placed on a sure and unassailable foundation. Above all, the paramount
duty of deepening the spiritual life of these newly fledged, these
precious and highly esteemed co-workers, and of enlightening their
minds regarding the essential verities enshrined in their Faith, its
fundamental institutions, its history and genesis—the twin Covenants
of Bahá’u’lláh and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the present Administrative Order,
the future World Order, the Laws of the Most Holy Book, the
inseparable institutions of the Guardianship and of the Universal
House of Justice, the salient events of the Heroic and Formative Ages
of the Faith, and its relationship with the Dispensations that have
preceded it, its attitude toward the social and political organizations by
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which it is surrounded—must continue to constitute the most vital
aspect of the great spiritual Crusade launched by the champions of the
Faith from among the peoples of their sister republics in the South.
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The magnitude of the tasks these heroes and champions of the
Faith are summoned, at this hour, crowded with destiny, to discharge
from the borders of Greenland to the southern extremity of Chile in the
Western Hemisphere, and from Scandinavia in the north, to the
Iberian peninsula in the south of the European continent, is, indeed,
breath-taking in its implications and back-breaking in the strain it
imposes. The sacrifices they are called upon to voluntarily make for
the successful performance of such herculean, such holy, such epoch-making
tasks, are comparable to none but those which their spiritual
forbears have willingly accepted at the hour of the birth of their
Faith more than a hundred years ago. Theirs is the privilege, no less
meritorious and perhaps as epoch-making, to preside, in their own
homeland and its neighboring continents, over, and direct the forces
generated by, the birth of an order that posterity will acclaim as both
the offspring of that Faith, and the precursor of the Golden Age in
which that same Faith must, in the fullness of time, find its fullest
expression and most glorious consummation.
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How great the opportunity which the present hour, so dark in the
fortunes of mankind and yet so bright in the ever-unfolding history of
their Faith, offers them. How unspeakably precious the reward which
they who serve it will reap! How pitiful and urgent the need of the
waiting multitudes of these continents, summoned to sustain the initial
impact of the operation of a divinely impelled Plan which no force can
resist and no power can rival!
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For what this superbly equipped community, this irresistibly
advancing army of the chosen warriors of Bahá’u’lláh, battling under
His banner, operating in conformity with the explicit Mandate voiced
by His beloved Son, has already achieved, over so extensive a field, in
such a brief time, at such great sacrifice, for so precious a Cause, and in
the course of such turbulent years, I cannot but feel the deepest sense of
gratitude the like of which no achievement, single or collective,
rendered in any other part of the globe, by any community associated
with the Cause of the Most Great Name has evoked. For what it will
and must achieve in the future I entertain feelings of warm expectation
and serene confidence. For it, I will continue, from the depths of a
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loving and grateful heart to supplicate blessings immeasurably richer
than any it has yet experienced.
[August 18, 1949] Praying For Increasing Success |
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Delighted at progress of Temple work; urge uninterrupted reinforcement
of Latin American and European enterprises through
steady flow of pioneers, continued self-sacrifice; praying for increasing
success of your high endeavors. Deepest loving appreciation.
[November 6, 1949] Majesty of the Báb’s Shrine Unfolding |
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Announce to the friends that six hundred tons of stones destined
for the arcade of the Báb’s Shrine, received in successive shipments to
the Holy Land, have been safely transported to its precincts despite
repeated accidents—the sinking of a lighter in the harbor and outbreak
of fire in the hold of the ship. An additional two hundred tons of
material including carved marble mosaic have been ordered through
recent contract for erection of parapet designed to crown the columns
and arches of the arcade. North and east sides of structure with three
corners virtually completed. Construction of cornice and roof, last stage
in erection of the arcade, will soon be undertaken. Majesty and beauty
of the colonnade enveloping the central holy edifice built by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
hands steadily unfolding, presaging revelation of the full glory
of the completed Sepulcher manifesting the plenitude of the splendor
of the constructed dome.
[November 13, 1949] Faithless Brother Hussein |
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Faithless brother Hussein, already abased through dishonorable
conduct over period of years followed by association with Covenant-breakers
79
in Holy Land and efforts to undermine Guardian’s position,
recently further demeaned himself through marriage under obscure
circumstances with lowborn Christian girl in Europe. This disgraceful
alliance, following four successive marriages by sisters and cousins with
three sons of Covenant-breaker denounced repeatedly by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
as His enemy, and daughter of notorious political agitator, brands them
with infamy greater than any associated with marriages contracted by
old Covenant-breakers whether belonging to family of Muḥammad-‘Alí
or Badí’u’lláh.
[December 19, 1949] Maintain Momentum in Triple Field |
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Delighted by progress in Latin-American field, Temple construction
and publicity activities. Announce arrival of first shipment of
parapet panels. Anticipate early completion of eastern façade of Shrine
including mosaic panels. Urge maintenance of momentum in triple
field, home, intercontinental enterprises. Praying for bountiful blessings
from the Almighty.
[February 25, 1950] Shrine Parapet Completed |
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Announce to the friends the completion, on the eve of Naw-Rúz, of
the erection of parapet crowning the eastern façade of Holy Shrine one
year after placing the first threshold stones upon the foundation of the
arcade. The beauty and majesty of the finely carved panels surmounting
the soaring arches spanning the rosy monolith columns, emblazoned
with emerald green and scarlet mosaic symbolizing the Báb’s
lineage and martyrdom, are strikingly revealed. The original pearl-like
structure raised by the hands of the Center of the Covenant, enshrining
the remains of the Martyr-Prophet of the Faith, acquiring, through
construction of the shell designed for its embellishment and preservation,
additional height by one-third, additional width by one-fifth,
enhancing the massiveness of the edifice embosomed in the Mountain
80
of God, heralding the erection of the lofty gilded dome that will
eventually shine forth in solitary splendor from its heart.
[March 21, 1950] Sacred Task of Present Hour |
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Approved recommendation regarding treatment of walls. Meeting
deficit budget must have precedence over purchase of land near Hazírá
owing to critical situation in Latin America and vital needs in Europe.
Steady flow of pioneers to both continents is the imperative, urgent,
sacred task of the present hour.
[March 29, 1950] Shrine Arcade Nearing Completion |
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Moved to share with assembled representatives of American Bahá’í
Community gathered beneath the dome of the Most Holy House of
Worship in the Bahá’í world, feelings of profound emotion evoked by
this historic occasion of the world-wide commemoration of the First
Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Blessed Báb, Prophet and Herald
of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Dispensation marking the
culmination of the six thousand year old Adamic Cycle, Inaugurator of
the five thousand century Bahá’í Cycle.
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Poignantly call to mind the circumstances attending the last act
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consummating the tragic ministry of the Master-Hero of the most
sublime drama in the religious annals of mankind, signalizing the most
dramatic event of the most turbulent period of the Heroic Age of the
Bahá’í Dispensation, destined to be recognized by posterity as the most
precious, momentous sacrifice in the world’s spiritual history. Recall the
peerless tributes paid to His memory by the Founder of the Faith,
acclaiming Him Monarch of God’s Messengers, the Primal Point
round Whom the realities of all the Prophets circle in adoration.
Profoundly stirred by the memory of the agonies He suffered, the glad-tidings
He announced, the warnings He uttered, the forces He set in
motion, the adversaries He converted, the disciples He raised up, the
conflagrations He precipitated, the legacy He left of faith and courage,
the love He inspired. Acknowledge with bowed head, joyous, thankful
heart the successive, marvelous evidence of His triumphant power in
the course of the hundred years elapsed since the last crowning act of
His meteoric ministry.
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The creative energies released at the hour of the birth of His
Revelation, endowing mankind with the potentialities of the attainment
of maturity are deranging, during the present transitional age, the
equilibrium of the entire planet as the inevitable prelude to the
consummation in world unity of the coming of age of the human race.
The portentous but unheeded warnings addressed to kings, princes,
ecclesiastics are responsible for the successive overthrow of fourteen
monarchies of East and West, the collapse of the institution of the
Caliphate, the virtual extinction of the Pope’s temporal sovereignty, the
progressive decline in the fortunes of the ecclesiastical hierarchies of
the Islámic, Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Hindu Faiths.
|
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The Order eulogized and announced in His writings, whose laws
Bahá’u’lláh subsequently revealed in the Most Holy Book, whose
features ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delineated in His Testament, is now passing
through its embryonic stage through the emergence of the initial
institutions of the world Administrative Order in the five continents of
the globe. The clarion call sounded in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá, summoning
the peoples of the West to forsake their homes and proclaim
His message, was nobly answered by the communities of the Western
Hemisphere headed by the valorous, stalwart American believers, the
chosen vanguard of the all-conquering, irresistibly marching army of
the Faith in the western world.
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|
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Lastly the Holy Seed of infinite preciousness, holding within
itself incalculable potentialities representing the culmination of the
centuries-old process of the evolution of humanity through the energies
released by the series of progressive Revelations starting with Adam and
concluded by the Revelation of the Seal of the Prophets, marked by the
successive appearance of the branches, leaves, buds, blossoms and
plucked, after six brief years by the hand of destiny, ground in the
mill of martyrdom and oppression but yielding the oil whose first
flickering light cast upon the somber, subterranean walls of the Síyáh-Chál
of Ṭihrán, whose fire gathered brilliance in Baghdád and shone
in full resplendency in its crystal globe in Adrianople, whose rays
warmed and illuminated the fringes of the American, European,
Australian continents through the tender ministerings of the Center
of the Covenant, whose radiance is now overspreading the surface
of the globe during the present Formative Age, whose full splendor
is destined in the course of future milleniums to suffuse the entire
planet.
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Already the crushing of this God-imbued kernel upon the anvil of
adversity has ignited the first sparks of the Holy Fire latent within it
through the emergence of the firmly knit world-encompassing community
constituting no less than twenty-five hundred centers established
throughout a hundred countries representing over thirty races and
extending as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as the Straits
of Magallanes, equipped with literature translated into sixty languages
and possessing endowments nearing ten million dollars, enriched
through the erection of two Houses of Worship in the heart of the
Asiatic and North American continents and the stately mausoleum
reared in its World Center, consolidated through the incorporation of
over a hundred of its national and local assemblies and reinforced
through the proclamation of its independence in the East, its recognition
in the West, eulogized by royalty, buttressed by nine pillars
sustaining the future structure of its supreme administrative council,
energized through the simultaneous prosecution of specific plans conducted
83
under the aegis of its national councils designed to enlarge the
limits and extend the ramifications and consolidate the foundations of
its divinely appointed Administrative Order over the surface of the
entire planet.
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I appeal on this solemn occasion, rendered doubly sacred through
the approaching hundredth anniversary of the most devastating holocaust
in the annals of the Faith, at this anxious hour in the fortunes of
this travailing age, to the entire body of the American believers, the
privileged occupants and stout-hearted defenders of the foremost citadel
of the Faith, to rededicate themselves and resolve, no matter how
great the perils confronting their sister communities on the European,
Asiatic, African and Australian continents, however somber the situation
facing both the cradle of the Faith and its World Center, however
grievous the vicissitudes they themselves may eventually suffer, to hold
aloft unflinchingly the torch of the Faith impregnated with the blood of
innumerable martyrs and transmit it unimpaired so that it may add
luster to future generations destined to labor after them.
[July 4, 1950] A Worthy, Five-Fold Offering |
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The first half of the two-year austerity period, inaugurated at so
anxious an hour in the fortunes of the Second Seven Year Plan, has
been successfully traversed, and deserves to be regarded as a memorable
episode in the history of the Faith and the unfoldment of the Plan in
the North American continent. An effort, prodigious, nation-wide,
sustained, and reminiscent in its heroism and consecration of the
immortal exploits of the dawn-breakers of the Apostolic Age of the
Bahá’í Dispensation, has been exerted by their spiritual descendants, in
circumstances which, though totally different in character, are yet no
less challenging and for a cause as meritorious—an effort that has
indeed outshone the high endeavors that have distinguished for so long
the record of service associated with the American Bahá’í Community.
All of its members who have participated in this collective undertaking
should be heartily congratulated, particularly those who, by their acts of
self-abnegation, have emulated the example of the heroes of our Faith
at the early dawn of its history. The entire Bahá’í world is stirred when
84
contemplating the range of such an effort, the depth of consecration
reached by those who have participated in it, the results it has achieved,
the noble purpose it has served. My heart overflows with gratitude for
the repeated evidences of worthiness demonstrated by this generous-hearted,
valiant and dedicated community which has, no matter how
onerous the task, how challenging the issue, how distracting the
external circumstances with which it has been surrounded, never
shirked its duty or hesitated for a moment.
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The high watermark of so gigantic an exertion, however, still
remains to be reached. The year now entered, ushered in and consecrated
by the Centenary of the tragic execution of the Martyr-Prophet
of our Faith, and packed with poignant memories of the persecutions of
Zanján which stained its history a hundred years ago and carried its
fortunes to almost its lowest ebb, and were a prelude to the most ghastly
holocaust ever experienced by its followers, must witness as it rolls
forward to its close, a still more striking demonstration of the tenacity of
the members of this community, a still nobler display of acts of
self-sacrifice, a still more inspiring manifestation of solidarity, and
evidences of a grimmer determination, of a greater courage and perseverance
in response to the triple call of this present hour.
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The vital needs of the most holy House of Worship reared in the
service and for the glory of the Most Great Name, though virtually
met, still require the last exertions to ensure its completion as the hour
of its Jubilee approaches. The Latin-American enterprise, initiated
thirteen years ago, and marking the initial collective undertaking
launched by the American Bahá’í Community beyond the confines of
the great republic of the West, and under the mandate of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
Divine Plan, still in a state of emergency and rapidly advancing
towards its initial fruition, demands unrelaxing vigilance, and calls for
still more strenuous exertions and self-sacrifice on the part of those who
have so enthusiastically embarked upon it, who have so conscientiously
and painstakingly shepherded it along its destined course and throughout
the early stages of its unfoldment, and who are now, as a result of
their ceaseless exertions, witnessing the first efflorescence of their
mammoth pioneer labors. The construction of the superstructure of the
Holy Sepulcher of the Blessed Báb, now, at this anxious and urgent
hour, superimposed on the manifold responsibilities shouldered by
members of the American Bahá’í Community, affording them the first
85
historic opportunity of directly sustaining, through their contributions,
the most sacred enterprise ever undertaken in the history of the Faith,
the first and most holy edifice reared at its World Center, and the initial
international institution heralding the establishment of the supreme
legislative body at the World Administrative Center, requires the
immediate and sustained attention of the members of a community
whose destiny has been linked, ever since its inception, with the various
stages marking the rise and consolidation of this divinely appointed,
unspeakably holy enterprise.
AN HOUR LADEN WITH FATE |
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The hour is critical, laden with fate. Responsibilities numerous and
varied, as well as urgent and sacred, are crowding, in quick succession,
upon a community youthful and valorous in spirit, rich in experience,
triumphant in the past, sensible of its future obligations, keenly aware
of the sublimity of its world mission, inflexibly resolved to follow with
unfaltering steps the road of its destiny. The world situation is perilous
and gloomy. Rumblings from far and near bode evil for the immediate
fortunes of a sadly distracted society. The Second Seven Year Plan is
now approaching its conclusion. The Centenary of the Martyrdom of
the Báb with all its poignant memories is upon us. We are entering a
period crowded with the centenaries of the direst calamities—massacres,
sieges, captivities, spoliations and tortures involving thousands
of heroes—men, women and children—the world’s greatest Faith has
ever experienced. Another centenary commemorating an event as tragic
and infinitely more glorious is fast approaching. Time is short.
Opportunities, though multiplying with every passing hour, will not recur,
some for another century, others never again. However severe the
challenge, however multiple the tasks, however short the time, however
somber the world outlook, however limited the material resources of a
hard-pressed adolescent community, the untapped sources of celestial
strength from which it can draw are measureless, in their potencies, and
will unhesitatingly pour forth their energizing influences if the necessary
daily effort be made and the required sacrifices be willingly
accepted.
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Nor should it be forgotten that in the hour of adversity and in the
very midst of confusion, peril and uncertainty, some of the most superb
86
exploits, noising abroad the fame of this community have been
achieved. The construction of the superstructure of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
during one of the severest depressions experienced by the
people of the United States in this century; the inauguration of the first
Seven Year Plan on the eve of and during the anxious years preceding
the second world conflagration; its vigorous prosecution during its
darkest days and its triumph before its conclusion; the launching of the
European campaign on the morrow of the most devastating conflict that
rocked the continent of Europe to its foundation—these stand out as
shining evidences of the unfailing protection, guidance and sustaining
power vouchsafed its members, so readily and so abundantly, in the
hour of their greatest need and danger.
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To consolidate the victories won, and reinforce the foundations of
the unnumbered institutions so diligently established, in the North
American continent; to rear the twin pillars of the Universal House of
Justice in Latin America, with their concomitant administrative agencies
functioning in no less than twenty republics of Central and South
America; to maintain in their present strength the strongholds of the
Faith in the ten goal countries of Europe; to complete the interior
ornamentation of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West, and its
Mother Temple, in preparation of its Jubilee; to assist in the erection of
the superstructure of a still holier edifice, envisaged by its Founder and
established by the Center of His Covenant on God’s holy mountain, at
the very heart and center of our beloved Faith, would indeed constitute,
by virtue of their scope, origin and character, embracing three
continents and including within their range the World Center of the
Faith itself, a worthy, befitting five-fold offering placed on the altar of
the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, on the occasion of the Centenary of the birth
of His Mission by a community which, more than any sister community,
in East or West, has contributed, since the inception of the
Formative Age of His Faith to the enlargement of its limits, the rise and
establishment of its Administrative Order and the spread of its fame,
glory and power.
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That this community may, in the course of these three coming
years, discharge its five-fold task—now assuming, through the stress of
circumstances, still vaster proportions, and investing itself with still
greater blessedness and merit, than originally envisaged—with a spirit
outshining any hitherto shown in the course of its half-century stewardship
87
to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, is my most fervent wish and the object
of my special and ardent prayers at this time when my heart and mind
are fixed upon the sufferings and passion of the Báb on the occasion of
the Centenary of His Martyrdom.
[July 5, 1950] Ruhi and Family Show Open Defiance |
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Inform friends that Ruhi, his mother, with Ruha, his aunt, and
their families, not content with years of disobedience and unworthy
conduct, are now showing open defiance. Confident that exemplary
loyalty of American believers will sustain me in carrying overwhelming
burden of cares afflicting me.
[July 15, 1950] Non-Bahá’í Gifts |
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Feel moved to appeal to gallant, great-hearted American Bahá’í
Community to arise on the eve of launching the far-reaching, historic
campaign by sister Community of the British Isles to lend valued
assistance to the meritorious enterprise undertaken primarily for the
illumination of the tribes of East and West Africa, envisaged in the
Tablets of the Center of the Covenant revealed in the darkest hour of
His ministry.
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I appeal particularly to its dearly beloved members belonging to the
Negro race to participate in the contemplated project marking a
significant milestone in the world-unfoldment of the Faith, supplementing
the work initiated fifty years ago on the North American
continent, forging fresh links binding the American, British and
Egyptian Communities and providing the prelude to the full-scale
88
operations destined to be launched at a later period of the unfoldment
of the Divine Plan aiming at the conversion of the backward, oppressed
masses of the swiftly awakening continent.
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Though such participation is outside the scope of the Second Seven
Year Plan, I feel strongly that the assumption of this added responsibility
for this distant vital field at this crucial challenging hour, when
world events are moving steadily towards a climax and the Centenary
of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission is fast approaching, will further
ennoble the record of the world-embracing tasks valiantly undertaken
by the American Bahá’í Community and constitute a worthy response
to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s insistent call raised on behalf of the race He repeatedly
blessed and loved so dearly and for whose illumination He
ardently prayed and for whose future He cherished the brightest hopes.
[August 5, 1950] Comforted by Messages of Devotion |
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My anguished heart is comforted by the unnumbered messages
from communities, assemblies, groups, committees and individual
American believers, replete with expressions of loving devotion,
pledges of loyalty to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Covenant, prayers on my behalf
and assurances of rededication in service to the precious Faith.
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The triple cord binding me to the American Community, outstanding
in its affectionate and unfailing support in the course of my almost
thirty years’ stewardship to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, is greatly reinforced.
But for America’s multitudinous services and unparalleled
record of achievements my burden of cares both past and present would
be unbearable.
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Much as I desire to acknowledge separately all messages I regretfully
find the task beyond the limits of my overtaxed strength. I ask,
dearly beloved friends, to regard this message as addressed to each one
personally, bearing to each and every one assurance of my constant
89
awareness of their enfolding love and unfailing support as well as my
everlasting gratitude and unalterable affection and immense pride in
their unrivaled collective share in the world-wide furtherance of the
Cause so dear, so precious to us all.
[September 12, 1950] Relieved by Intensified Activity |
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My heart is greatly relieved by the splendid, welcome evidences of
the intensified activity on the home front, Europe and Latin America.
Supplicating bountiful blessings on the manifold enterprises energetically
and devotedly conducted by the exemplary American Bahá’í
Community.
[September 19, 1950] Badí’u’lláh Has Miserably Perished |
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Badí’u’lláh, brother and chief lieutenant of archbreaker of divine
Covenant, has miserably perished after sixty years’ ceaseless, fruitless
efforts to undermine the divinely-appointed Order, having witnessed
within the last five months the deaths of his nephews Shoa and Musa,
notorious standard-bearers of the rebellion associated with the name of
their perfidious father.
[November 3, 1950] Requirements for Temple Completion |
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Temple not regarded as completed until all accessories are provided,
including landscape gardening. Public announcement and worship
must coincide with termination of plan.
[November 8, 1950] Summer Schools to Reopen 90 |
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Assistance to Africa project through financial contribution, participation
of pioneers white and colored, and close consultation and
cooperation with British Assembly necessary. Independent campaign
not intended. Fervently praying the participation of British, American,
Persian, and Egyptian National Assemblies in unique, epoch-making
enterprise in African continent may prove prelude to convocation of
first African Teaching Conference leading eventually to initiation of
undertakings involving collaboration among all national assemblies of
Bahá’í world, thereby paving way to ultimate organic union of these
assemblies through formation of International House of Justice destined
to launch enterprises embracing whole Bahá’í world. Acclaim
simultaneous inauguration of crusade linking administrative machinery
of four national assemblies of East and West within four continents
and birth of first International Council at World Center of Faith, twin
evidences of resistless unfoldment of embryonic, divinely appointed
World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
[January 17, 1951] Status of Bahá’ís Regarding Military Duty |
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No change whatsoever in status of Bahá’ís in relation to active
military duty. No compromise of spiritual principles of Faith possible,
however tense the situation, however aroused public opinion.
[January 17, 1951] Spiritual Conquest of the Planet 91 |
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The virtual termination of the interior ornamentation of the first
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West; the forthcoming formation of the twin
national spiritual assemblies of Latin America, following upon the
establishment of a corresponding institution in the Dominion of Canada;
the full attainment of the prescribed goals on the European
continent in accordance with the provisions of the Second Seven Year
Plan and the consolidation already achieved in the North American
continent, do not, under any circumstances, imply that the vast
responsibilities shouldered by a valiant, an alert and resolute community,
have been fully and totally discharged, or that its members can
afford, as the plan draws to its conclusion, to sink into complacency or
relax for one moment in their high endeavors.
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The hour destined to mark the triumphant conclusion of the second
stage in their historic, divinely conferred, world-encircling mission has
not yet struck. Rumblings, loud and persistent, presaging a crisis of
extreme severity in world affairs, confront them with a challenge
which, in spite of what they have already accomplished, they cannot
and must not either ignore or underrate. The rise of the World
Administrative Center of their Faith, within the precincts and under
the shadow of its World Spiritual Center, a process that has been kept
in abeyance for well nigh thirty years, whilst the machinery of the
national and local institutions of a nascent Order was being erected and
perfected, presents them with an opportunity which, as the champion-builders
of that Order and the torchbearers of an as yet unborn
civilization, they must seize with alacrity, resolution and utter consecration.
The initiation of momentous projects in other continents of the
globe, and particularly in Africa, as a result of the growing initiative
and the spirit of enterprise exhibited by their fellow-workers in East
and West, cannot leave unmoved the vanguard of a host summoned by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, its Divine Commander, and in accordance with the
provisions of a God-given Charter, to play such a preponderating role in
the spiritual conquest of the entire planet. Above all, the rapid
prosecution of an enterprise transcending any undertaking, whether
national or local, embarked upon by the followers of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh, destined to attain its consummation with the erection of
the dome of the Báb’s holy Sepulcher, imposes an added obligation,
92
owing to unforeseen circumstances, on the already multitudinous
duties assumed by a community wholly absorbed in the various tasks it
shoulders. In fact, as the Centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s
prophetic Mission approaches, His American followers, not content
with the successful conclusion, in their entirety, of the tasks assigned to
them, must aspire to celebrate befittingly this historic occasion, as
becomes the chosen recipients, and the privileged trustees, of a divinely
conceived Plan, through emblazoning with still more conspicuous
exploits, their record of stewardship to a Faith whose Author has issued
such a ringing call to the rulers of the American continent, and the
Center of Whose Covenant has entrusted the American Bahá’í Community
with so glorious a mission. Indeed the present stage in the
construction of the superstructure of so holy a shrine imperatively
demands a concentration of attention and resources commensurate
with the high position occupied by this community, with the freedom it
enjoys and the material means at its disposal. The signing of two
successive contracts, for the masonry of the octagon, the cylinder and
the dome of the edifice, necessitated by a sudden worsening of the
international situation, which might cut off indefinitely the provision
of the same stones used for the erection of the arcade and the parapet of
that Sepulcher, and amounting to no less than one hundred and ninety
thousand dollars; the subsidiary contracts for the provision of steel and
cement for the erection of the wrought iron balustrade and the metal
window frames of both the octagon and the cylinder, involving an
additional expenditure of no less than twenty thousand dollars, to
which must be added the cost of the excavation for and the sinking of
the eight piers designed to support the weight of the dome and the
immediate construction of the octagon—these call for a stupendous
effort on the part of all Bahá’í communities and a self-abnegation
unprecedented in Bahá’í history. A drastic reduction of national and
local budgets; the allocation of substantial sums by all national assemblies;
the participation of individuals through sustained and direct
donations to the first international and incomparably holy enterprise
synchronizing with the birth of the International Bahá’í Council at the
very heart and center of a world-encircling Faith can alone insure the
uninterrupted progress of an undertaking which, coupled with the
completion of the Mother Temple of the West, cannot fail to produce
tremendous repercussions in the Holy Land, in the North American
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continent and throughout the world. A period of austerity covering the
two-year interval separating us from the Centenary celebrations of the
Year Nine, prolonging so unexpectedly the austerity period already
traversed by the American Bahá’í Community, and now extended to
embrace its sister communities throughout the Bahá’í world, is evidently
not only essential for the attainment of so transcendent a goal,
but also supremely befitting when we recall the nature and dimensions
of the holocaust which a hundred years ago crimson-dyed the annals of
our Faith, which posterity will recognize as the bloodiest episode of the
most tragic period of the Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation,
which involved the martyrdom of that incomparable heroine Táhirih,
which was immediately preceded by the imprisonment of Bahá’u’lláh
in the subterranean dungeon of Ṭihrán, and which sealed the fate of
thousands of men, women and children in circumstances of unspeakable
savagery and on a scale unapproached throughout subsequent
stages of Bahá’í history.
NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT |
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No sacrifice can be deemed too great, no expenditure of material
resources, no degree of renunciation of worldly benefits, comfort and
pleasures, can be regarded as excessive when we recall the precious
blood that flowed, the many lives that were snuffed out, the wealth of
material possessions that was plundered during these most tumultuous
and cataclysmic years of the Heroic Age of our Faith.
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Nor will the sacrifices willingly and universally accepted by the
followers of the Faith in East and West for the sake of so noble a Cause,
so transcendent an enterprise, fail to contribute their share towards the
upbuilding of the World Administrative Center of that Faith, and the
reinforcement of the ties already linking this Center with the recognized
authorities of a state under the jurisdiction of which it is now
functioning, ties which the newly formed International Bahá’í Council
are so assiduously striving to cement.
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Already the completion of the construction of the arcade of this
majestic Sepulcher and of its ornamental parapet has excited the
admiration, stimulated the interest, and enlisted the support, of both
the local authorities and of the central government, as evidenced by the
series of acts which, ever since the emergence of that state, have
proclaimed the good will shown and the recognition extended by the
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various departments of that state to the multiplying international
institutions, endowments, laws and ordinances of a steadily rising
Faith.
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The recognition of the sacred nature of the twin holy Shrines,
situated in the plain of ‘Akká and on the slopes of Mount Carmel; the
exemption from state and civic taxes, granted to the mansion of Bahjí
adjoining the Most Holy Shrine, to the twin houses, that of Bahá’u’lláh
in ‘Akká, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa, to the twin archives, adjoining
the Shrine of the Báb and the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf,
and the twin pilgrim houses constructed in the neighborhood of that
Shrine, and of the residence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; the delivery of the
mansion of Mazra’ih by the authorities of that same state to the Bahá’í
Community and its occupation after a lapse of more than fifty years; the
setting apart, through government action, of the room occupied by
Bahá’u’lláh in the barracks of ‘Akká, as a place of pilgrimage; the
recognition of the Bahá’í marriage certificate by the District Commissioner
of Haifa; the recognition of the Bahá’í holy days, in an official
circular published by the Ministry of Education and Culture; the
exemption from duty accorded by the Customs Department to all
furniture received for Bahá’í holy places as well as for all material
imported for the construction of the Báb’s Sepulcher, the exemption
from taxes similarly extended to all international Bahá’í endowments
surrounding the holy tomb on Mount Carmel, stretching from the
ridge of the mountain to the Templar colony at its foot, as well as to the
holdings in the immediate vicinity of the resting-place of the Greatest
Holy Leaf and her kinsmen—all these establish, beyond the shadow of
a doubt, the high status enjoyed by the international institutions of a
world Faith, in the eyes of this newborn state.
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The construction of the mausoleum of the Báb, synchronizing with
the birth of that state, and the progress of which has been accompanied
by these successive manifestations of the good will and support of the
civil authorities will, if steadily maintained, greatly reinforce, and lend
a tremendous impetus to this process of recognition which constitutes
an historic landmark in the evolution of the World Center of the Faith
of Bahá’u’lláh—a process which the newly formed Council, now established
at its very heart, is designed to foster, which will gather
momentum, with the emergence in the course of time of a properly
recognized and independently functioning Bahá’í court, which will
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attain its consummation in the institution of the Universal House of
Justice and the emergence of the auxiliary administrative agencies,
revolving around this highest legislative body, and which will reveal
the plenitude of its potentialities with the sailing of the Divine Ark as
promised in the Tablet of Carmel.
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I cannot at this juncture over emphasize the sacredness of that holy
dust embosomed in the heart of the Vineyard of God, or overrate the
unimaginable potencies of this mighty institution founded sixty years
ago, through the operation of the Will of, and the definite selection
made by, the Founder of our Faith, on the occasion of His historic visit
to that holy mountain, nor can I lay too much stress on the role which
this institution, to which the construction of the superstructure of this
edifice is bound to lend an unprecedented impetus, is destined to play
in the unfoldment of the World Administrative Center of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh and in the efflorescence of its highest institutions constituting
the embryo of its future World Order.
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