31 December 1923: To the Baha'is of Hamburg, Gera, Schwerin, Rostock and Wärnemunde, Germany

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Hamburg, Gera, Schwerin, Rostock and Wärnemunde.

My dearly-beloved brethren and sisters in the love of God!

The letter of our beloved and highly-esteemed fellow-worker, Dr. Grossmann, together with the enclosed Bahá’í leaflets and reports, as well as the most welcome and encouraging circular letters sent out by the Hamburg and Gera Bahá’í Assemblies, have all been received and read with pride and gratitude. So unexpected were these messages that were conveyed to us from those uttermost corners of Germany, and so beautiful their spirit, that we all felt at once surprised, gladdened and inspired. How wondrous, how all-conquering is the Spirit of our beloved Master which, despite the terrible distress now reigning all over Germany, and notwithstanding the confusion and the gross materialism in which mankind is now sunk, is causing these vigorous, radiant and hopeful Bahá’í centres to be established, linked together and strengthened, in even the uttermost regions of your great country.

I have shared all your news with the friends in the Holy Land, and will forward them to all the Bahá’í centres throughout the East, that the friends of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá may realize more deeply than ever how His promise is being fulfilled. The Haifa Spiritual Assembly will soon send you a special message acknowledging the receipt of your circular letters and will be glad to share your news with the friends throughout the East and the West.

28 December 1923: To the Baha’is of Leipzig, Germany

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Leipzig, Germany, Care of his honour, Mr. Herrigel

My dearest brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

I need not emphasize the deep and genuine pleasure I felt when I received and read your most welcome letter dated November 11th. 1923. With what pride and gratitude I learned from it that already, through the ever-present and omnipotent spirit of our departed Master a fresh start has been made and a promising center established in that beautiful city of yours, one of the leading centres of thought in your beloved country.

True, your fatherland is now fallen a prey to chaotic conditions and severe distress, yet in this hour of trial and suffering we should all remember the inspired words of our Beloved who, more than once, declared that out of this humiliating turmoil Germany is sure to rise again, united and mighty, ready to render her services, spiritual as well as material, to the cause of mankind.

Let these words cheer us, let them sustain us with hope and confidence, and inspire us to serve His Cause and spread His Message, however trying the conditions may be.

I await lovingly and eagerly your letters, individually as well as collectively, and will be delighted to hear of the progress of your activities, of the full account of your meetings, and of your plans for the promotion of the Bahá’í Movement.

May His spirit, amid these trying circumstances and vicissitudes of your domestic life, sustain you and guide you in rendering distinct services to our beloved Cause.

Assuring you of my earnest prayers on your behalf,

I am your brother in His love.

Shoghi

(The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1)

5 December 1923: To the Baha’is of India and Burma

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout India and Burma.  Care of the National Spiritual Assembly.

My dearest friends:

It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to renew the bonds of fellowship and affection that have always united our hearts in the service of our beloved Master.  I need not recall to your minds the warm and abiding place which that gifted Dominion has always occupied in our Beloved’s heart, and the high hopes He cherished for its future contribution towards the triumph of the Movement in those distant regions of the earth.

I am sure the hour has struck when those dearly-beloved pioneers of the Master’s Cause, scattered throughout the length and breadth of that vast and promising land, should unite, consolidate their forces, and effectively combine for the laying of a firm foundation for the future progress of their noble task.  It is my earnest hope and my most cherished desire that at the forthcoming convention the vigour and enlightened efforts of the Bahá’í youth of India, coupled with the generous support and devotion of the old beloved Parsee friends, and reinforced by the vast numbers of the ardent followers of the Faith in Burma, may, by imparting power and brilliancy to its proceedings, herald an era of unprecedented activity for the ultimate recognition of the Cause by the peoples of that country.

I shall welcome with genuine satisfaction every effort which that talented and untiring servant of Bahá’u’lláh, our highly esteemed sister Mrs Stannard, may exert in this connection, and would feel truly gratified to learn of her determination to play a conspicuous part in the presentation of the Cause in the eyes of the enlightened public.  May the sustaining grace of God, the power of Bahá’u’lláh, and the loving counsels of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá guide you and aid you in your mighty endeavours for the accomplishment of your task.

I shall eagerly await any particulars you might wish to send me regarding your various activities in the service of the Cause, and I trust that during the interval between now and Riḍván a complete and careful arrangement for the successful conduct of the coming Convention will have been drawn by all the friends and assemblies of India and Burma, and to which, I assure you, I shall be most pleased to contribute my humble share of cooperation and advice.

Hoping to hear from you, individually and collectively, and assuring you of my constant prayers on your behalf, I am your brother and fellow-worker,

Shoghi

Haifa, Palestine

(‘Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent: 1923-1957’)

4 December 1923: To the Baha'is of Germany

To the dearly-beloved friends throughout Germany. Care of the National Spiritual Assembly

My well-beloved friends:

What a joy to correspond with you again, and express, after a long and unbroken silence, my warm sentiments of love and affection for those tried, yet steadfast, lovers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! Your trials and sufferings have been a constant source of anxiety and painful sorrow, not to me alone, but to the Ladies of the Household as well as to the friends at large.

True, humanity is to-day widely afflicted with unprecedented ills and calamities, but you, the chosen and favoured children of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, have, by some wisdom inscrutable to us all, received the fullest measure of this distress, and are carrying the burden of your cares with heroic fortitude, unflinching faith, and undaunted courage worthy of the admiration of even the most severely tried of your fellow-sufferers in far-away Persia.

Your only consolation lies in the ever-living words of our departed Master, who confidently declared that the days are not far distant when Germany, will shake off her present humiliation, and will emerge, mighty, united and glorious, not only to take her destined place in the councils of nations, but to raise high the triumphant banner of the Cause in the very heart of Europe.

Your ceaseless activities since His departure from our midst have been steadily extended as your tribulations and anxieties have multiplied, and I feel hopeful that ere long the true Faith of God will blaze worth in that land, and will herald publicly the Message of Salvation to that distracted continent.

2 December 1923: To the Baha’is of Australia and New Zealand

Fellow-labourers in the Divine Vineyard!

Upon my return, after a forced and prolonged absence, to the Holy Land, it is my first and most ardent wish to renew and strengthen those ties of brotherly love and fellowship that bind our hearts together in our common servitude to His Sacred Threshold

The two years that have elapsed since the passing of our beloved Master have been for the Cause, as well as for mankind, years of deep anxiety and strain. The momentous changes that are taking place in the history of both have proved so swift and far-reaching as to arouse in certain hearts a strange misgiving as to their stability and future.

On the one hand the remarkable revelations of the Beloved’s Will and Testament so amazing in all its aspects, so emphatic in its injunctions, have challenged and perplexed the keenest minds, whilst the ever-increasing confusion of the world, threatened as never before with disruptive forces, fierce rivalries, fresh commotions and grave disorder, have well-nigh overwhelmed the heart and damped the zeal of even the most enthusiastic believers in the destiny of mankind.

And yet, how often we seem to forget the clear and repeated warnings of our beloved Master, who in particular during the concluding years of his mission on earth, laid stress on the severe mental tests that would inevitably sweep over his loved ones of the West - tests that would purge, purify and prepare them for their noble mission in life.

And as to the world’s evil plight, we need but recall the writings and sayings of Bahá’u’lláh, who, more than fifty years ago, declared in terms prophetic the prime cause of the ills and sufferings of mankind, and set forth their true and divine remedy "Should the lamp of Religion be hidden", He declared, "chaos and confusion will ensue." How admirably fitting and applicable are these words to the present state of mankind!

December, 1923: To the Baha'is of India and Burma

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout India, and Burma. Care of the National Spiritual Assembly.

My dearest friends:

It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to renew the bonds of fellowship and affection that have always united our hearts in the service of our beloved Master. I need not recall to your minds the warm and abiding place which that gifted Dominion has always occupied in our Beloved's heart, and the high hopes He cherished for its future 'contribution towards the triumph of the Movement in those distant regions of the earth.

I am sure the hour has struck when those dearly-beloved pioneers of the Master's Cause, scattered throughout the length and breadth of that vast and promising land, should unite, consolidate their forces, and effectively combine for the laying of a firm foundation for the future progress of their noble task. It is my earnest hope and my most cherished desire that at the forthcoming convention the vigour and enlightened efforts of the Bahá'í youth of India, coupled with the generous support and devotion of the old beloved Parsee friends, and reinforced by the vast numbers of the ardent followers of the Faith in Burma, may, by imparting power and brilliancy to its proceedings, herald an era of unprecedented activity for the ultimate recognition of the Cause by the peoples of that country.

I shall welcome with genuine satisfaction every effort which that talented and untiring servant of Bahá'u'lláh, our highly esteemed sister Mrs Stannard, may exert in this connection, and would feel truly gratified to learn of her determination to play a conspicuous part in the presentation of the Cause in the eyes of the enlightened public. May the sustaining grace of God, the power of Bahá'u'lláh, and the loving counsels of our beloved 'Abdu'1-Baha guide you and aid you in your mighty endeavours for the accomplishment of your task.

2 June 1923: To the Baha’is in Mandalay, Daidanaw-Kalazoo, and Tanbingyanng

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Mandalay, Daidanaw-Kalazoo, and Tanbingyanng . Care of Aga Seyed Mustapha, Mandalay, Burma.

Dearly beloved brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

The detailed report I have recently received from the tried and faithful servant of Bahá’u’lláh, Aqa Seyed Mustapha, regarding the progress of your labours in those remote regions of the world has filled my heart with hope and gladness, and has served to fortify the ties of loving fellowship that bind our hearts together in the service of His Cause.

I have read and re-read the account of your activities with profound interest, and have been deeply touched to realize how constantly and fervently you are carrying on the work entrusted to your charge. May His Spirit guide you, sustain you and protect you in all your endeavours, and make of you the vanguard of His Host that shall conquer the world.

I shall await the joyful news of the expansion of your work, the establishment of your Magazine, the consolidation of your Assemblies, the increase of your numbers, with keen interest, and wish to assure you again and again of my readiness and desire to help you and serve you in your efforts to promote the Cause in even the uttermost corners of the world.

By day and by night, in my hours of prayer and meditation, I tenderly remember every one of you, and pray from the bottom of my heart, for your spiritual happiness, material prosperity, and ultimate success in your sacred mission in this world.

I shall be most pleased to receive frequent and direct letters from every Bahá’í locality in Burma, and will not fail to do all I can to stimulate your work, and extend your activities throughout that distant province.

May the day be not far distant when the few and ardent followers of the Faith in that land, will have increased a hundred fold, and the promises of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá strikingly and speedily fulfilled.

Your brother and fellow-worker,

Shoghi

Haifa, Palestine

(Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent 1923-1957)

1 June 1923: To the Baha’is in Rangoon

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Rangoon.  Care of the members of the Spiritual Assembly.

Dearly beloved brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

Your most welcome letter has rejoiced my heart, and has redoubled my confidence and hope in that little band of earnest and ardent followers of the Bahá’í Faith who labour so devotedly for the diffusion of the Light of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the world.

The glowing account you give me of your recent efforts and activities to extend and consolidate the Campaign of Service in that land has been shared with the resident friends and pilgrims in the Holy Land, and incorporated in the circular letter which the Haifa Spiritual Assembly addresses to the Bahá’í world. It will send, I am sure, a thrill of enthusiasm and courage throughout the body of the friends the world over, and will serve to strengthen the ties that bind us all to you, our beloved co-workers in that far-eastern land!

I am looking forward with the greatest interest, to the time when your high hopes will have been fully realized, your plans fulfilled and your selfless efforts crowned with glorious success. It is my fervent hope and prayer that your endeavours to constitute a Central Council for all Burma, and establish a Bahá’í Magazine, exclusively devoted to the progress of the work in that province, will soon bear abundant fruit, and will stand a testimony to the efficiency, the energy and the zeal of the beloved Burmese friends.

May our loving and ever-watchful Master, guide and protect you in all the services you are so whole-heartedly tendering to His sacred Threshold, and may He enable you to contribute your full share in carrying out His Great Purpose for mankind!  This is my prayer for you all whenever I visit the Three Holy Shrines, and I feel certain that He will not fail to answer it, if we but hold fast to those principles for which He lived, laboured and died.

Awaiting your joyful news, I am your devoted brother,

Shoghi

Haifa, Palestine

(Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent 1923-1957)

7 May 1923: To the Baha’is in New South Wales, New Zealand and Victoria

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in New South Wales, New Zealand and Victoria. Care of Mr and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, Victoria.

Dearly beloved brethren and sisters in the Love of God!

The two letters which I have recently received from our active and devoted brother, Mr Hyde Dunn, dated April 1st and 5th, have given me the greatest pleasure, as they indicated the growth of a deepfelt interest in the Movement, throughout those outlying regions of the earth.

How great is your privilege to labour in this Day in the Divine Vineyard! How sweet and encouraging the thought that the seeds you now scatter will soon germinate and yield an abundant harvest! It is my prayer and hope that your energy may never slacken, your faith and courage never fade, that you may advance, steadily and peacefully, and attain your heart’s desire.

It is of the utmost importance that those friends whose souls have been illumined by the Light of this Divine Revelation, should if possible scatter over that vast continent, establish themselves in various localities, and from there as their permanent headquarters, travel in the vicinity and endeavour to win to this Cause the most able, the most enlightened of all men

I shall be most happy to learn of the address of these various permanent residences, that I may immediately communicate with them all, and do all that I can to consolidate their respective centres, and promote the work of Teaching. I would welcome also the permanent postal and telegraphic address of Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, which will enable me to keep in constant touch with the progress of the Work in that part of the world.

20 April 1923: To the Baha'is of Canada

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the Dominion of Canada, c/o the secretary of the Montreal Spiritual Assembly

My dearly beloved friends!

I was deeply interested and immensely grateful to read the newly received messages and letters from that distant land, all testifying to the growth of a new spirit of enthusiasm and fellowship recently kindled in the hearts of those few, yet earnest, workers for the Cause of Baha’u’llah. The report sent to me recently by the Secretary of the Montreal Spiritual Assembly, as well as the letters which our beloved spiritual sister, Mrs. Scbopflocherber, has received from America, all gave me the assurance that a new era of spiritual activity is dawning upon the people of that land. May the repeated promises of 'Abdu'l-Baha regarding the ultimate religious revival of that spiritually conservative country, and the universal and whole-hearted response of its people to the Call of Ya'-Baha’u’l-Abha' be speedily fulfilled.

It behoves us, now that the signs of that glorious and promised Day are fast appearing, to arise, with utter selflessness, unity and determination, to promote and consolidate the Work which He has Himself established in the heart of that vast Dominion, and prove ourselves, by our wisdom, moderation, and constancy, worthy of the many bestowals He has showered upon us in the past. If we but follow in His Way, regard at all times the dignity of the Cause, guard sedulously its unity and vital principles, and exercise the utmost endeavour to keep its Spirit pure, effective, and unobscured, then, and only then, can we hope to achieve the immediate spread and triumph of the Cause.

Our beloved Baha’i sister, Mrs. May Maxwell, the pioneer of the Cause in Cause in Canada, will soon be with us in the Holy Land, and I trust that after her visit to the Three Holy Shrines, she may be enabled to return, invigorated and refreshed, ready to continue, in collaboration with you all, the mission which the Master has destined her to fulfill in this world. May l assure you again of my constant prayers for your success, and of my desire to bear from you all, individually and collectively, regarding the progress of your labours, and the plans you contemplate for the further advancement of the Movement in those regions.

l am your brother and co-worker,

Shoghi

Haifa, Palestine

April 20, 1923

(‘Messages to Canada’)

13 March 1923: To the Baha’is in Australasia

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful, throughout Australasia

Dearly beloved brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu'l-Baha!

I have been deeply touched by the welcome letter which our beloved friends, Mr. and Mrs Dunn, have sent me from that faraway land, and I am delighted to hear of the deep and widespread interest that they have awakened in the hearts of its people in the truths of this glorious Revelation. Their marvellous energy, their unwavering determination, their devoted labours to spread the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh far and wide have excited the admiration of all the resident friends in the Holy Land and have revived my hopes for the glorious future of that distant continent. I have incorporated the contents of that encouraging letter in the circular letter which is sent once every nineteen days by the Spiritual Assembly of Haifa to all the various Spiritual Assemblies throughout the East and I am confident that your news will be received by all of them with intense delight and gratitude.

May that small and rising community in Australia raise the Call of the New Day of God in the heart of that promising continent, and set aflame the hearts of its people with the Bahá’i Spirit that alone can give the world the Peace that it craves for and which no human power can ever hope to achieve

I have also read with deep satisfaction the enclosed letters sent by my beloved Bahá’i brother and sister Mr. B. Dewing’ and Miss. Nora Lee.

12 March 1923: To the Baha’is throughout America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and Australasia

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and Australasia.

Fellow-workers in the Vineyard of God!

Over a year has elapsed since that calamitous Hour, when the glorious Person of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was veiled from mortal eyes and His Spirit ascended to the Kingdom of Glory; and I feel that the time is now ripe to take those fresh and momentous decisions which will enable us to fulfill, speedily and faithfully, the last wishes of our departed Master.

The year has been to the outside world a year of fear and suffering, of disillusion and turmoil. To us, however, the bereaved followers of a gracious and loving Master, it has been, despite the passing cares which His sudden departure must necessarily entail, a period of hope, of wholesome activity, marked throughout with a spirit of undiminished confidence in His power and of fidelity to His Cause.

From the East and from the West, from the North and from the South, the unnumbered servants of Bahá’u’lláh, disdainful of the evil machinations of the enemies of His Cause, the breakers of His behests, have rallied to His Standard, and risen with one accord to carry on the great Work He has entrusted to their charge. All-hail to that undying spirit of fidelity which burns and shall burn unceasingly, in the breasts of His loved ones! Great shall be their reward, and blissful the hour, when after a toilsome life of service, they are gathered to the glory of Bahá, and partake in their Beloved’s Presence, of the joy of eternal Reunion.

But great achievements still await us in this world, and we feel confident that, by His grace and never-failing guidance, we shall now and ever prove ourselves worthy to fulfill His great Purpose for mankind. And who can fail to realize the sore need of bleeding humanity, in its present state of uncertainty and peril, for the regenerating Spirit of God, manifested this Day so powerfully in this Divine Dispensation? Four years of unprecedented warfare and world cataclysms, followed by another four years of bitter disappointment and suffering, have stirred deeply the conscience of mankind, and opened the eyes of an unbelieving world to the Power of the Spirit that alone can cure its sicknesses, heal its wounds, and establish the long-promised reign of undisturbed prosperity and peace.

circa March 1923: To the Baha’is of Brooklyn

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.A. Care of the members of the Spiritual Assembly

Dear brethren arid sisters in 'Abdul-Baha:

In these days of world unrest, of political upheavals, of social disruption and spiritual ferment, the one Power that can bind effectively together the scattered and conflicting elements of human society and breathe into them the vivifying and eternal Spirit of Life is indeed the power of the Call of Ya Baha’u’l-Abha.

We, of this noble Faith, the chosen ones of God, who carry with us this wholesome Medicine for the ills and sicknesses of this world, must now bestir ourselves to further activity and relentless efforts in the great and urgent mission entrusted to us by Baha’u’llah, that we may minister freely and effectively to the needs of mankind.

Our primary duty is to create by our words and deeds, our conduct and example, the atmosphere in which the seeds of the words of Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha, cast so profusely during well-nigh eighty years, may germinate and give forth those fruits that alone can assure peace and prosperity to this distracted world.

Clear in our vision, broad in our, outlook, tireless in our energies and steadfast in our hopes, let us promote one and all this great work of Reconciliation of which the world stands in such great need at present.

May the Light of His Divine Guidance illumine our path and lead us to our glorious destiny.

Your brother

Shoghi.

circa March 1923

(The Star of the West, Vol. 14, April, 1923)

circa March1923: To the Baha’is of Washington, D.C.

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Care of the members of the Spiritual Assembly.

Dearest Friends:

I welcome gladly and heartily this first opportunity of expressing to you in writing what I have always felt in the depths of my heart of my confident hopes for your whole-hearted assistance in the great task that is before me.

I know too well of the spirit of ardent devotion and steadfast love that animates you in your labors for the Cause, and it is primarily upon this that I confidently rely in facing the great responsibilities of the future.

The world is sadly stricken and in a state of continuous turmoil and sigma of weariness and despondency are apparent everywhere. But we, fired with the hope of the Abba Kingdom and ever mindful of the unfailing promises of the dawn of a new and better day, must weather every storm and endeavor to impart to every earnest seeker that firm faith and inner peace which the world cannot give.

It is our vital and most urgent duty to assure at whatever cost the safety and the unity of the Cause of God, and with harmony and concord firmly established amongst us, to arise with confidence and courage for the enlightenment of the world and the salvation of mankind.

With my best wishes and earnest prayers for your success in these noble endeavors,

I am your brother and co worker,

Shoghi

circa March, 1923

(Star of the West, Vol. 14, April, 1923)

17 February 1923: To the Baha’is of London, Manchester and Bournemouth

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout London, Manchester and Bournemouth. Care of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly. [1]

Dearest brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,

The letters that I have recently received from the friends in London and Manchester have been to me a source of great hope and encouragement, and have served to strengthen the ties that bind me to my dearly-beloved friends in that great country.

I am much pleased and gratified to hear of the wonderful progress of the work of our able and devoted brother, Jináb-i-‘Avárih, and my earnest hope and prayer is that he may, by his zeal, patience, experience and knowledge, set ablaze the fire that the Master has kindled in the heart of that land.

The supreme necessity, and the urgent need of the Cause of God at present, is the unity of the friends, and their sustained and wholehearted co-operation in their task of spreading the Divine Teachings throughout the world. It is the sacred duty of all believers to have implicit confidence in, and support heartily, every decision passed by their Spiritual Assemblies, whether local or central; and the members of these Assemblies must, on their part, set aside their own inclinations, personal interests, likes and dislikes, and regard only the welfare of the Cause and the well-being of the friends. This is surely the foundation which must be firmly laid in the hearts of all believers the world over, for upon this only can any constructive and permanent service be achieved, and the edifice of the Beloved’s last instructions, as revealed in His Will and Testament, be raised and established.

16 February 1923: To the Baha'is of Germany

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout Germany, Care of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

My dearest brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

I have received with mixed feelings of sadness and gratitude your long expected letter, sent on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly (National Body), and written by our sincere and devoted brother Consul Schwarz. It made me feel relieved and grateful at receiving at last the news of your safety and the assurance of your unwavering determination to serve with heart and soul and to the very end the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh; and it filled me with sorrow to hear of the grievous calamity that has befallen your land and the hardships that are afflicting your country.

Let me assure you, at the outset, of the deep sympathy of the Ladies of the Household, of the friends the world over, and of myself, in your great suffering, and our unfailing prayers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that He may dissipate these gathering clouds of animosity and strife, and relieve your great and beloved country from its present state of uncertainty and peril.

Why fear and sorrow? Have we not the express promise of the Master, uttered after the termination of the Great War, that Germany, now humbled and weakened, will no doubt be freed from its fetters and will develop, materially and spiritually, and shall one day emerge from this sad turmoil strong, united and prosperous, ready to take her place in the great Family of the advanced nations of the world?

I am enclosing for you all my translation of a number of selections from the Master’s soul-stirring and comforting words, revealed some twenty five years ago, and during the darkest days of his incarceration in the prison-city of ‘Akká. You will I hope translate them and publish them in your Bahá’í organ the “Sun of Truth”, copies of which I shall be most pleased to receive and share with my friends in the Holy Land.

I am enclosing also a copy of my last letter to you, wherein I have asked you, among other things, to send me a detailed report of your activities, and I sincerely hope that I shall soon be in receipt of a detailed answer from you on all the points which I have raised in my last letter.

I am also enclosing my revised translation of the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, both Arabic and Persian, and hope to send you more of His Words and Teachings in future.

Awaiting your news, and wishing you the highest success in your glorious work of service,

I am your devoted brother,

Shoghi

16 February, 1923

(The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1)

5 February 1923: To the Baha'is of Burma

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout Burma. Care of Aga Seyed Mustapha, Mandalay, Burma.

Dearly beloved brethren and sisters in 'Abdu'1-Baha:

How sweet and glorious to remember in these days of strife and turmoil how the mighty hand of our beloved 'Abdu'l-Baha has gathered together peoples of divers tongues and distant climes and united their hearts in one common spirit of love and servitude to the sacred Threshold of Bahá'u'lláh. The Spirit that has achieved so great a measure of reconciliation, is today the one Factor that can, amid the unceasing contentions of races, nations, creeds and classes, assure to this disillusioned world the reign of true felicity and peace.

How great is then our privilege to labour for the diffusion of this Spirit, and how vital and urgent our task to relieve mankind from its present state of uncertainty and peril!

True, the work to be achieved is immeasurably difficult, the obstacles to be surmounted innumerable, but our reliance is in His all-conquering Spirit which has effected such a change in the past, and is sure, according to his explicit promise, to effect a still greater change in future.

I would be most pleased and gratified to receive a detailed report of your spiritual activities, and a full description of the present position of the Cause in those regions and of the plans you contemplate for progress in future. I assure you that your welfare and happiness are the objects of my deepest care and concern, and I wish you to rely on my readiness to be of any service to you in your labours for the Cause.

I shall look forward from now on to the joyful tidings which my spiritual brethren and sisters in Burma, assisted by the efforts of our devoted and able Bahá'í sister, Mrs Stannard, will send me in the near future. It is my earnest prayer, whenever I visit the Three Sacred Shrines, that the blessings of the Almighty may rest upon your efforts and make of that far-away region a radiant centre of spiritual activity and humanitarian achievements.

Your brother and co-worker,

Shoghi

Haifa, Palestine

February 5, 1923

(Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent: 1923-1957)

3 February 1923: To the Baha’is of New York city

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful, throughout the City of New York, U. S. A. Care of the members of the Spiritual Assembly.

Dear and faithful friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha!

The welcome letter which the members of your Spiritual Assembly have sent me is indeed a fresh and remarkable testimony of your wise, patient and persistent efforts to promote the Cause of God and deepen its foundations in the heart of that great city.

All throughout the various vicissitudes which the Movement has encountered during this past year of bereavement and uncertainty, the faithful lovers of the Master in New York have, by their wisdom in teaching, the range and character of their activities, their perseverance in their labors and their unity in service, proved themselves worthy of the blessings which our beloved 'Abdu'l-Baha showered upon them during his repeated visits to their city. It is my earnest hope and prayer that now at this decisive hour of the Cause of God the friends may with clear vision and redoubled energy endeavor to deepen still further the essential truths of the Cause in their own lives, and then extend the sphere of their activity, endeavoring at all times to infuse the regenerating Spirit of Baha'u'llah into the divers communities, creeds and classes that are represented in that most cosmopolitan city of the American continent.

From the leaflets, the circular letter and the pamphlet enclosed in the letter of your Spiritual Assembly, I can see clearly how well you have undertaken the task of acquainting the intellectual and religious circles of your city with the Divine Teachings, how admirably you have co-ordinated your efforts for service and how beautifully you have immortalized the memory of the Beloved's sojourn in your midst.

19 January 1923: To the Baha'is of Germany

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout Germany, Care of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

My dearly-beloved friends!

Ever since I have resumed my work in the Holy Land I have been awaiting with eager and particular interest the detailed letters, individual as well as collective, of my loved ones in Germany, who, I am sure are arduously, devotedly and efficiently carrying on the Great Work which the Master has destined for them in this world.

Much as I desire to correspond individually with every one of you, yet I find that in view of the marvellously rapid extension of the Movement all over the world to start and maintain individual correspondence with the vast and ever-increasing number of Bahá’ís in the East and the West would entail so much time and energy on my part as to prevent me from paying adequate attention to my other duties that are so urgent and vital in these days.

I shall therefore very regretfully and reluctantly have to content myself with direct correspondence with every Bahá’í group in each locality, be it a city or hamlet, keeping in constant touch with them directly and through their respective local assemblies and co-ordinating their spiritual efforts and activities through the National Spiritual Assembly (National Body), representative of all the believers and local assemblies throughout the land.

I am exceedingly anxious, as a preliminary to the faithful execution of this plan, to receive as soon as it is convenient an official, comprehensive and detailed report from the National Spiritual Assembly, stating accurately the actual standing of the Cause in Germany, describing the progress of the activities of the friends throughout that land and the adjoining countries such as Austria and Northern Switzerland, and setting forth the names, the numerical strength, the history, the needs and the activities of every locality throughout these regions, however small in size, where the Light of the Cause has so far been able to penetrate.