6 November 1925: To the Baha’is Worldwide

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the East and throughout the West.

Dearly-beloved friends:

The sad and sudden crisis that has arisen in connexion with the ownership of Bahá’u’lláh’s sacred house in Baghdád has sent a thrill of indignation and dismay throughout the whole of the Bahá’í world. Houses that have been occupied by Bahá’u’lláh for well nigh the whole period of His exile in ‘Iráq, ordained by Him as the chosen and sanctified object of Bahá’í pilgrimage in future, magnified and extolled in countless Tablets and Epistles as the sacred centre “round which shall circle all peoples and kindreds of the earth”—lie now, due to fierce intrigue and ceaseless fanatical opposition, at the mercy of the declared enemies of the Cause.

I have instantly communicated with every Bahá’í Centre in both East and West, and urgently requested the faithful followers of the Faith in every land to protest vehemently against this glaring perversion of justice, to assert firmly and courteously the spiritual rights of the Bahá’í community to the ownership of this venerated house, to plead for British fairness and justice, and to pledge their unswerving determination to ensure the security of this hallowed spot.

Conscious of the fact that this property has been occupied by Bahá’í authorised representatives for an uninterrupted period of not less than thirty years, and having successfully won their case at the Justice of Peace and the Court of First Instance, the Bahá’ís the world over cannot believe that the high sense of honour and fairness which inspired the British Administration of ‘Iráq will ever tolerate such grave miscarriage of justice. They confidently appeal to the public opinion of the world for the defence and protection of their legitimate rights now sorely trampled under the feet of relentless enemies.

Widespread and effective publicity along these lines, in well-conceived and carefully-worded terms, is strongly recommended for it will undoubtedly serve to facilitate the solution of this delicate and perplexing problem.

Having exerted ourselves to the utmost of our ability, let us rest assured in the power of the Lord, Who keepeth watch over His house, and Who will, no matter how dark present prospects appear, assure for generations yet unborn His cherished and holy edifice.

Your brother and fellow-worker,

Shoghi

(‘Unfolding Destiny’)

27 May 1925: To the Baha’is of Germany

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout Germany.

My dearly-beloved friends:

Our well-beloved brother and fellow-worker Dr. Esslemont acting on medical advice is proceeding to the Black Forest for treatment and recuperation. He has been suffering of late from ill-health which has interfered with the unique and most valuable work he has been doing in Haifa. His past services, his selflessness and devotion, his book of unsurpassed excellence, his noble character and great industry entitle him to the highest esteem and warmest affection of every true Bahá’í.

He has been advised to spend the hot summer months in a dry and cool climate and to secure proper medical treatment in a quiet and restful place. I am sure that the German friends who have already learned to love and admire such a precious and capable servant of the Cause will do all in their power to extend to him every facility and ensure his full and speedy recovery.

He will be accompanied by our dear Bahá’í sister, Mrs. Lowell, who is returning to America via Germany and whom you will be glad to welcome in your midst.

Assuring you of my affection and prayers,

I am your brother in His service

Shoghi

(‘The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1’)

7 March 1925: To the Baha’is of Vienna

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Vienna.

My dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

Your joint letter dated February 13th, 1925 has rejoiced my heart and has served to deepen my admiration for the splendid efforts displayed by your spiritual teacher, our never to be forgotten Bahá’í brother Mr. Herrigel. As I read the full list of your beloved names, I could not but feel a thrill of joy and gratitude for the manifold blessings of our departed Master who has graciously called upon you and chosen you to carry on the great work to which He dedicated His whole life. It is indeed a great privilege for you all to be able to labour in this Divine Vineyard, and to lay down the basis of the spiritual as well as the material development of your ancient and beloved country.

I shall be so glad to receive frequent and detailed reports on the progress of your activities individually and collectively, and assure you of my ardent desire to help you in any way I can for the expansion and advancement of your work.

Persevere in your task, endeavour by every means at your disposal to add to your numbers, study profoundly the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, devote a special attention to the proper education of your children, and arise to start and maintain constant correspondence with the various Bahá’í centres throughout the East and the West. Be assured of the emphatic never-failing promise of our dear Master that whoso ariseth to deliver this Message with purity of heart and sincerity of purpose the hosts of the Supreme Concourse will enable him to achieve in a short period of time what all the nations of the world combined can never accomplish.

I will specially pray for you at the Three Holy Shrines that the All-Bountiful may bless richly your efforts, that the seeds sown by our Beloved in Vienna may germinate through your persevering efforts and usher in the era of true felicity and peace for your sorely-tried and illustrious fatherland.

Awaiting eagerly the glad-tidings of the progress of your work, and assuring you of my brotherly love,

I am your true brother

Shoghi

(‘The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1’)

2 February 1925: To the Baha’is of Germany

To my well-beloved Bahá’í brethren and sisters throughout Germany.

Care of the German National Spiritual Assembly.

Loyal and capable children of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

I have received with the greatest pleasure from the National Spiritual Assembly, through our dearly-beloved Consul Schwarz, the report of your activities that reflect so vividly the unquenchable spirit of love and self-sacrifice which animates you in your service for the Beloved’s Cause. Your unremitting labours are worthy of the highest praise, the success you have so far achieved is well deserved. The refreshing vitality of your work, the unity of purpose and the concerted action attained recently by your fast-growing community are resplendent features of your activity. They continually remind us of the Master’s intense love for you, His high hopes in you, His often expressed admiration for the ardent devotion, the unquestioned sincerity, the unrivalled capacity of His loved ones in Germany. By what you have already accomplished, and by what you are determined to achieve in times to come, you have merited His abundant blessings and proved in the highest sense worthy of the unsurpassed affection He had for you.

The signs of the promised revival of your sorely-tried Fatherland can now be easily discerned. In material prosperity it is steadily advancing, its power and worldly prestige are being fast regained, and above all the dawn of a spiritual awakening, unparalleled in your history, seems at last to have broken upon it. His sure and often repeated promise will erelong be fulfilled.

Let your National Assembly, therefore, redouble its efforts, inaugurate a fresh campaign of ever-expanding activity, and make a solemn determination not to relax till their one aim is attained. Let them, with the full and sustained support, moral as well as financial, of the vast company of the believers throughout your land, send forth their teachers far and wide, that they may scatter to the very confines of Germany and endeavour by every intelligent and effective method to lend a fresh impetus to the newly-established centres, add to their number, satisfy their needs and coordinate their efforts.

Let him who desires to hasten the advent of the day when all Germany will waken to the recognition of this one Message of Universal Salvation arise to contribute his share to the work, so gloriously begun, so effectively pursued. Let him by his written and spoken word, in private as well as in public, in the course of his travels and in his association with all sorts and conditions of men teach the Cause of God with purity of heart, with unflinching determination and complete understanding.

I assure you, dear friends, we shall all remember you most tenderly, most affectionately, whenever we visit the Three Holy Shrines. We will supplicate for you the aid and assistance from on high. We will implore Him Who loved you most dearly to bless you even more richly than before, shield you from the malice of the ungodly, bind you closer one to the other, deepen your faith, clarify your vision, widen the scope of your activities, and reinforce your noble endeavours.

We all love you, we all pray for you, we all await the joyful tidings of your land.

Your true brother,

Shoghi

(‘The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1’)

27 November 1924: To the Baha’is of Germany

To my dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

My most precious brothers and sisters in the love of God!

Your most welcome letter bearing the signatures of those who have attended your Annual Bahá’í Congress recently held in Stuttgart filled my heart with a joy that I cannot express. As I read it over and over again I could feel from every word, nay every syllable, of that soul-stirring message of yours the promised quickening power of the Word of Bahá’u’lláh and the love of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which will, in time, I am certain, achieve the most far-reaching transformation throughout Germany.

Your great and promising country, dear to you all, blest by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sacred feet, and the object of the hope and affection of Bahá’ís in every land, is in a most startling manner rising phoenix-like from the ashes of humiliation and despair, determined now to raise aloft victoriously and serene the Standard of Bahá’u’lláh and with His love set all the world aflame.

From the reports of the marvellous progress of your work leading to the establishment of an ever-increasing number of Bahá’í Centres and Assemblies in the North, South and Center of Germany I can well realize how faithful and loyal you have been to the last wishes of our departed Master, how the showers of His promised help have rained upon you, how gloriously triumphant you must feel now that the hour of a re-awakened Germany has struck. I should be so pleased to receive a general and up-to-date report on the present activities, position, and strength of the Cause in Germany together with a list of the various Bahá’í centres recently established.

Persevere in your task, redouble your efforts, spread on to the remotest corners of your vast and mighty land, approach fearlessly both the high and the low, infuse deeper and deeper the Bahá’í Spirit into every heart, and do not for a moment relax till all your land may from end to end throb with the joy of the recognition of this Most Great Cause.

Behold what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá saith: “The triumphant hosts of the Celestial Concourse, arrayed and marshalled in the Realms above, stand ready and expectant to assist and assure victory to that valiant horseman who with confidence spurs on his charger into the arena of service. Well is it with that fearless warrior, who armed with the power of true knowledge hastens unto the field, disperses the armies of ignorance, and scatters the hosts of error, who holds aloft the Standard of Divine Guidance, and sounds the Clarion of Victory…”

Be assured my dearest friends of my unfailing prayers. On this day when with bleeding hearts we commemorate the passing of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá we remember you most tenderly, we pray for your success at His Holy shrine, and feel confident that you will soon achieve the greatest victory.

Awaiting eagerly your joyful news,

Your true brother,

Shoghi

(‘The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1’)

24 November 1924: To the Baha'is Worldwide

To my dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: care of the English National Spiritual Assembly

Dearest friends:

The day is drawing near when, for the third time, we shall commemorate the world over the passing of our well-beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. May we not pause for a moment, and gather our thoughts? How has it fared with us, His little band of followers, since that day? Whither are we now marching? What has been our achievement?

We have but to turn our eyes to the world without to realize the fierceness and the magnitude of the forces of darkness that are struggling with the dawning light of the Abhá Revelation. Nations, though exhausted and disillusioned, have seemingly begun to cherish anew the spirit of revenge, of domination, and strife. Peoples, convulsed by economic upheavals, are slowly drifting into two great opposing camps with all their menace of social chaos, class hatreds, and worldwide ruin. Races, alienated more than ever before, are filled with mistrust, humiliation and fear, and seem to prepare themselves for a fresh and fateful encounter. Creeds and religions, caught in this whirlpool of conflict and passion, appear to gaze with impotence and despair at this spectacle of unceasing turmoil.

Such is the plight of mankind three years after the passing of Him from whose lips fell unceasingly the sure message of a fast-approaching Divine salvation. Are we by our thoughts, our words, our deeds, whether individually or collectively, preparing the way? Are we hastening the advent of the Day He so often foretold?

None can deny that the flame of faith and love which His mighty hand kindled in many hearts has, despite our bereavement, continued to burn as brightly and steadily as ever before. Who can question that His loved ones, both in the East and the West, notwithstanding the insidious strivings of the enemies of the Cause, have displayed a spirit of unshakable loyalty worthy of the highest praise? What greater perseverance and fortitude than that which His tried and trusted friends have shown in the face of untold calamities, intolerable oppression, and incredible restrictions? But such staunchness of faith, such an unsullied love, such magnificent loyalty, such heroic constancy, such noble courage, however unprecedented and laudable in themselves, cannot alone lead us to the final and complete triumph of such a great Cause. Not until the dynamic love we cherish for Him is sufficiently reflected in its power and purity in all our dealings with our fellow-men, however remotely connected and humble in origin, can we hope to exalt in the eyes of a self-seeking world the genuineness of the all-conquering love of God. Not until we live ourselves the life of a true Bahá’í can we hope to demonstrate the creative and transforming potency of the Faith we profess. Nothing but the abundance of our actions, nothing but the purity of our lives and the integrity of our characters, can in the last resort establish our claim that the Bahá’í spirit is in this day the sole agency that can translate a long-cherished ideal into an enduring achievement.

24 September 1924: To the Baha’is of Great Britain [1]

The beloved of the Lord and the hand-maids of the Merciful in Great Britain.

Care of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Dear Friends,

I return to the Holy Land with an overpowering sense of the gravity of the spiritual state of the Cause in the world. Much as I deplore the disturbing effect of my forced and repeated withdrawals from the field of service, I can unhesitatingly assure you that my last and momentous step was taken with extreme reluctance and only after mature and anxious reflection as to the best way to safeguard the interests of a precious Cause.

My prolonged absence, my utter inaction should not, however, be solely attributed to certain external manifestations of unharmony, of discontent and disloyalty—however paralysing their effect has been upon the continuance of my work—but also to my own unworthiness and to my imperfections and frailties.

I venture to request you to join me in yet another prayer, this time more ardent and universal than before, supplicating with one voice the gracious Master to overlook our weaknesses and failings, to make us worthier and braver children of His own.

Humanity, through suffering and turmoil, is swiftly moving on towards its destiny; if we be loiterers, if we fail to play our part surely others will be called upon to take up our task as ministers to the crying needs of this afflicted world.

Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and noble principles, not by an organised campaign of teaching—no matter how worldwide and elaborate in its character—not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and sceptical age the supreme claim of the Abhá Revelation. One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendour of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh.

26 January 1924: To the Baha’is in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and the adjoining islands of the Pacific

The dearly-beloved ones of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá throughout Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and the adjoining islands of the Pacific.

Friends and heralds of the Kingdom of Bahá’ulláh!

A fresh breeze, laden with the perfume of your love and devotion to our beloved Cause, was wafted again from your distant southern shores to the Holy Land, and has served to remind us one and all of that unquenchable spirit of service and self-sacrifice which the passing of our Beloved has in these days kindled in almost every comer of the world. The letters now and then received from those faithful untiring pioneers of the Cause of God Mr. and Mrs. H. Dunn, are in themselves not only a convincing testimony of the ever-advancing Faith of God, proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh, but set as well a magnificent example to those who yearn and endeavour to further His Cause and adhere faithfully to ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's last instructions.

The progress of your labours, however modest and inconspicuous at first, the world and all the forces therein can never resist; and the Spirit of Bahá’u’lláh working so amazingly through every one of you the changes and chances of this distracted world can never quench. You are assuredly of those few, yet highly favoured, harbingers of the new Day of God, towards the establishment of which the world in its distress and turmoil is fastly, though unconsciously, moving on, and the full triumph of which, if it be His Will and Desire, I trust, you will all witness.

I pray that your meeting and collaboration with our beloved Martha Root, that admirable and zealous disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, will stimulate and advance your work, fortify your spirit, and reinforce your endeavours to penetrate fields, hitherto unexplored, wherein you may achieve signal victories. My ardent prayer at His sacred Shrine is that your vision of so great and precious a Cause may never grow dim. that your convictions may never falter, that you may continue, steadfast, radiant and undaunted, your task so nobly begun, and achieve in the fullness of time its destined and glorious consummation.

In this prayer join me the bereaved Ladies of the holy household whose eyes are turned tenderly and expectant towards you, seeking and finding in every one of you the alleviation of their grief at the Beloved’s sudden departure, and the hope for the triumph of a Cause for which He laboured and gave His life. That you will guard His trust and achieve His victory, we are firmly convinced, and together with this expression of our confidence and firm belief may we convey to you all a measure of our undying love and deep affection.

Your devoted brother in His service,

Shoghi

(Messages to the Antipodes)