Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand Part 6

_Your true brother, _ _ Shoghi_

(21) May 18th, 1931

My dear Baha'i Sister:

I thank you on behalf of the Guardian for your letter of April 16th.

He was very glad to know that you are now on your way to England by way of America and he hopes that you will find the occasion and the means of visiting the friends and making permanent connections with them. Bertram will of course be delighted to meet you and we hope he is successful in his work there.

I suppose you have all the London addresses as the friends there would be delighted to meet you. Of course if you do decide to visit Haifa on your way back, Shoghi Effendi wishes me to a.s.sure you of a most hearty welcome.

With his loving greetings to you all and to the young couple in England and with much love from all here.

Sincerely yours, Soheil Afnan

[From the Guardian:]

_My dear co-worker:_

_I was so pleased to hear from you and of your plans. I do hope you will be able to visit the Holy Land where you would be most welcome in 'Abdu'l-Baha's home. I will pray for the success of your efforts from the depths of my heart when I visit the holy shrines. May the Beloved enable you to render distinguished services to His Cause and remove every obstacle from your path._

_Your true brother, _ _ Shoghi_

(22) December 17th, 1931

Dear Baha'i Sister:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated Dec. 2nd 1931. He is very sorry that you cannot on your way to New Zealand, break your journey and come over for a short visit to Haifa. But these are such difficult days that we should not be astonished and discouraged if our plans fail. He hopes however that on your way you will meet the friends, especially those in Port Said, for we have no centers in Haifa and Colombo.

He was also very sorry to hear that Bertram has to give up his studies and return home. Shoghi Effendi hopes that this period he spent in America would be itself an education that would help him in his work in serving the Cause. His activities with the young people there should have made him very experienced and have deepened his understanding of the Faith.

I believe Mrs Dunn is planning to come this spring for a visit to Haifa.

Perhaps you will meet her before she starts, Shoghi Effendi is eagerly waiting to see this n.o.ble soul who introduced the Cause into Australia and has been so self-sacrificing in her services.

Shoghi Effendi hopes that on returning home you will start again to serve the Cause and attract new souls. The world is in great distress and its only salvation is in the spirit and teachings of the Blessed Beauty. Let us not, we who are the trustees of that divine message, fail in accomplishing our task and fulfilling our purpose.

a.s.suring you of Shoghi Effendi's best wishes I remain

Yours ever sincerely, Ruhi Afnan

[From the Guardian:]

_Dear and valued co-worker:_

_I am wiring the friends in Port-Said to meet you on your arrival and I very much regret your inability to come to Haifa and visit the holy shrines. I will continue to pray for you, for your son-in-law and for your dear and promising son for whose future work in the Cause I cherish the brightest hopes. I will also remember in my prayers the friends in far-away Australia and New Zealand and will supplicate for them all the Master's richest blessings and unfailing guidance._

_Shoghi_

(23) April 29th, 1933

Dear Baha'i Sister:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to thank you[+E8] for your kind letter of March 16th 1933, as well as the enclosed article which has been translated by Mr. Paul into the Maori language.

The Guardian has already written Mr. Paul and expressed to him his deep appreciation for the service he has rendered to the Faith, but especially to his own people who through the means of such literature will be acquainted with the teachings and will receive the light of guidance brought to the world by Baha'u'llah.

I believe the Guardian has already intimated his approval of this pamphlet and the desire that the friends in Australia publish and circulate it among the Maoris.

As regards the pa.s.sages in the sacred writings indicating the wrath of G.o.d; Shoghi Effendi says that the Divinity has many attributes: He is loving and merciful but also just. Just as reward and punishment, according to Baha'u'llah, are the pillars upon which society rests, so mercy and justice may be considered as their counterpart in the world to come. Should we disobey G.o.d and work against His commands He will view our acts in the light of justice and punish us for it. That punishment may not be in the form of fire, as some believe, but in the form of spiritual deprivation and degradation. This is why we read so often in the prayers statements such as "G.o.d do not deal with us with justice, but rather through thy infinite mercy." The wrath of G.o.d is in the administration of His justice, both in this world and in the world to come. A G.o.d that is only loving or only just is not a perfect G.o.d. The divinity has to possess both of these aspects as every father ought to express both in his att.i.tude towards his children. If we ponder a while, we will see that our welfare can be insured only when both of these divine attributes are equally emphasised and practiced.

In closing may I express the Guardian's loving greetings and best wishes for the progress of your work in serving the Cause.

Yours ever sincerely, Ruhi Afnan

[From the Guardian:]

_May the Almighty bless your efforts, deepen your understanding of the essentials and distinguishing features of His Faith, guide your steps, and aid and a.s.sist you to extend the range of your activities and services._

_Your true brother, _ _ Shoghi_

(24) September 1st, 1933

Dear Baha'i Friend,

Shoghi Effendi has directed me to address you these few lines, acknowledging the receipt of your welcome letter of July 20th, 33, which he has read with deepest interest. He was gratified to learn that you have newly embraced the Cause and that you are earnestly endeavouring to spread it through every possible means. It is on young and active Baha'is, like you, that the Guardian centers all his hopes for the future progress and expansion of the Cause and it is on their shoulders that he lays all the responsibility for the upkeep of the spirit of selfless service among their fellow-believers. Without that spirit, no work can be successfully achieved. With it triumph, though hardly-won, is but inevitable. You should, therefore, try all your best to carry aflame within you the torch of faith, for through it you will surely find guidance, strength and eventual success.

The Guardian is fully conscious of the difficulties that impede the progress of the Faith in your community. Chief among these, you mention the lack of courage and of initiative on the part of the believers, and a feeling of inferiority complex which prevents them from addressing the public. It is precisely these weaknesses that he wishes the friends to overcome, for these do not only paralyze their efforts but actually serve to quench the flame of faith in their hearts. Not until all the friends come to realize that every one of them is able, in his own measure, to deliver the Message, can they ever hope to reach the goal that has been set before them by a loving and wise Master. It is no use waiting for some able and eloquent teacher to take all the responsibility for the spread of the Cause. For such a thing is not only contrary to the spirit of the Teachings but to the explicit text of the writings of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha, both of whom place the obligation of teaching not on any particular cla.s.s, as in former ecclesiastical organizations, but on every faithful and loyal follower of the Cause. The teaching of the Word is thus made universal and compulsory. How long then shall we wait to carry out this command, the full wisdom of which only future generations will be able to appreciate? We have no special teachers in the Cause. Everyone is a potential teacher. He has only to use what G.o.d has given him and thus prove that he is faithful to his trust.

Visiting teachers, who are, at least in a general way, supposed to be more competent and able than the rest, are undoubtedly of a great help. But these can never replace the ma.s.s of individual believers and fulfil what must be inevitably accomplished through the collective effort and wisdom of the community at large. What visiting teachers are supposed to do is to give the final touch to the work that has been done, to consolidate rather than supplement individual efforts and thereby direct them in a constructive and suitable channel. Their task is to encourage and inspire individual believers, and to broaden and deepen their vision of the task that is to be done. And this, not by virtue of any inherent spiritual right, but in the spirit of simple and whole-hearted cooperation.

It is in this light that Shoghi Effendi views the whole problem of teaching not only in New Zealand but in all the Baha'i world. He would, therefore, encourage you to take a leading part in the carrying out of his wishes on this point, to take yourself an active interest in teaching, not only private but also public, and in this way stimulate the friends to follow your example. It is then, and only then, that there can be a need for a qualified and competent visiting teacher in order to bring to full fruition individual teaching efforts.

a.s.suring you of our Guardian's fervent prayers on your behalf, so that you may be increasingly blessed in your efforts for the spread of the Message.