Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand Part 6

Reciprocating your greetings and with renewed and warmest thanks,

Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-worker:

The work in which you and your dear fellow-members are so devotedly, so loyally and diligently engaged, is progressing in a manner that is highly gratifying and merits the highest praise. I feel increasingly proud of, and thankful for the achievements that signalize the rise of the administrative Order of the Faith of Baha'u'llah in Australia and New-Zealand. Generations yet unborn will extol those qualities and virtues that have enabled you all to render such great services to our beloved Cause. Persevere, be happy and confident.

Shoghi.

LETTER OF MARCH 30TH, 1938

March 30th, 1938

Dear Miss Brooks,

The Guardian was indeed pleased to receive your letter of the 16th ins.

informing him of Miss Dawe's safe arrival in Australia, and of the receipt of the precious relic which he had asked her to present to your N.S.A. for preservation in your National Archives.

He wishes you to a.s.sure your fellow-members of his full approval of their suggestion to place this sacred relic in a little miniature frame case, and in such manner as to keep the paper containing it from becoming soiled and frayed with constant handling.

In connection with the article published in the October number of the "Herald of the South" ent.i.tled "Above the Mists"; the Guardian wishes the believers to disregard such subjects as psychic practices and phenomena, for these besides not being authenticated by the Writings of the Founders of the Faith, pertain mostly to the domain of conjectures. The magazine of the "Herald of the South" should be devoted to the study and presentation of those subjects that reflect the spirit of the Teachings, and which as such are worthy of consideration by the believers. As the national organ of the Australian and New-Zealand friends its main function is to a.s.sist in disseminating the knowledge of the Cause, and thus develop into an effective teaching medium. This is the goal which the editors should have constantly in mind, and which they should endeavour to attain through the best possible means they can devise at present.

The Guardian wishes me in closing to express his thanks for sending him the reproductions of the Declaration of Trust certificate of your N.S.A., and for the reports of the Adelaide and Sydney a.s.semblies, as well as the photograph and report of the Yerrinbool Summer-School.

With his loving greetings to you and to your fellow-members in the N.S.A.,

Yours ever in His Service, H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I am so touched by the repeated and compelling evidences of the magnificent spirit that animates my dearly-beloved co-workers in Australia and New-Zealand. The record of their manifold accomplishments warms my heart and cheers my spirit. The Beloved is truly pleased with them and the Almighty will surely bless and reinforce their high endeavours. May their highest and dearest hopes be fulfilled in His Service.

Shoghi.

LETTER OF JUNE 22ND, 1938

June 22nd, 1938.

Dear Baha'i Sister,

I am instructed by our beloved Guardian to express his thanks for your communication of May 14th, with the enclosed copy of the resolutions pa.s.sed by the Australian and New-Zealand N.S.A. in its April meeting held in Melbourne. He has also noted with deep satisfaction the program of the public meeting you had arranged on that occasion, and is very much heartened to know that the response from the public has been most genuine and quite beyond your expectations.

The general situation of the Cause in Melbourne, however, has caused immense grief to his heart, specially as the believers themselves are losing interest and seem to be drifting away. The decision taken by your a.s.sembly to hold the next Annual Convention there, with the view of encouraging and guiding the friends to re-organise their activities, and also in order to stimulate the progress of the teaching work in that center is most splendid. The Guardian would strongly advise that in the meantime every effort be exerted, through such means as the N.S.A. may find feasible and effective, to bring back into the Community those members who have already left, and to take immediate measures to discourage those who contemplate doing so.

With reference to Miss Martha Root's projected teaching trip to your sh.o.r.es; the Guardian highly appreciates the cordial invitation extended to her by your a.s.sembly, and has every hope that through her splendid zeal, mature and wide experience in the teaching field, she will be able to lend an unprecedented impetus to the expansion and consolidation of the teaching work throughout Australia and New-Zealand during this coming winter.

In closing I wish to convey through you to the newly-elected N.S.A. the Guardian's heartfelt congratulations and sincere greetings, and to a.s.sure them of his prayers, that throughout their new term of office, they may be a.s.sisted in acquitting themselves befittingly of their task.

Also kindly extend to them his loving thanks for the expression of deep sympathy which they have conveyed to him on their behalf, and in the name of the believers in New-Zealand and Australia, in the pa.s.sing away of the Holy Mother, Munirih _Kh_anum.

Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I truly admire the manner in which the national representatives of the believers of Australia and New Zealand are discharging their responsibilities and fulfilling their vital and manifold functions. I, moreover, feel eternally thankful for the spirit which the believers themselves manifest, the support they extend to them, the vigilance, steadfastness and self-sacrifice that distinguish the record of their services. The foundations they are laying will endure and broaden as the days go by, and the inst.i.tutions they are erecting will multiply a thousandfold if they persevere in the path they are now treading. The blessing of the Abha Beauty will enable them to achieve still greater victories if they refuse to hesitate and falter.

Gratefully, Shoghi.

LETTER OF NOVEMBER 2ND, 1938

November 2nd, 1938

Dear Miss Brooks,

I am directed by the Guardian to acknowledge with thanks your a.s.sembly's communication of October 6th.

Regarding the need you have expressed for a small, inexpensive prayer book for use by the friends in Australia and New Zealand; he views with favour this idea, but does not advise the use of the translations given in the Baha'i Prayer Book, as these are mostly incorrect and inadequate renderings. He wishes you to preferably select from the book "Prayers and Meditations", recently published in America, suitable prayers for a small edition.

The Guardian wishes me to express his gratification at the news of the enrolment of three new members in the Sydney Baha'i group, and of two others in the Auckland community. He will pray that these new believers may continue deepening in their faith, and in their understanding of the Teachings, and that each of them may arise and lend every a.s.sistance in his power to the further expansion and firmer consolidation of the Faith in that far-off continent.

The three reproductions of the Sydney Registration Certificate which you have mailed under separate cover have been duly received, and one of them will shortly be placed in the Mansion at Bahji.

The projected visit of Miss Martha Root to your sh.o.r.es next winter, the Guardian hopes, will as on her previous journeys serve to impart a fresh stimulus to the friends in Australia and New-Zealand and inspire them with a renewed determination to re-consecrate themselves to the service of the Cause. Your a.s.sembly should extend to her a warm welcome and every support she requires for the success of her mission. May her n.o.ble endeavours, seconded by the energetic and diligent efforts of the believers, result in inaugurating a new era of teaching expansion throughout the Australian continent.

With warmest greetings from the Guardian,

Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani.