The Light of Divine Guidance Volume I Part 41

On April 21st we will enter the last year of the second phase of the Ten Year Crusade. As you know, one of the objectives of this second phase is the rapid multiplication of a.s.semblies, Groups and Centres throughout the world.

During the past year, a great deal has been accomplished by the friends in their efforts to disperse from the large centres of population in order to build up the goal cities and establish new centres. However we have not accomplished a great deal in the way of increasing the number of Baha'is, nor the number of Spiritual a.s.semblies.

The beloved Guardian sincerely hopes you will make it a point of major study and consideration on the part of your a.s.sembly, so that the entire Community may lend itself to the accomplishment of this great goal during the coming year. Foundations must be laid for many more a.s.semblies. The friends must disperse from the large centres of population. Our teaching work must become so sanctified and penetrating that many, many souls will be confirmed. The friends should go forward on this great task in a very determined manner in order to establish as many new a.s.semblies during the coming year as are possible.

In letters which have come to the beloved Guardian, he has noted the friends feel there is no need to establish new a.s.semblies until 1963.

The Ten Year Crusade ends in 1963; but as many of the goals should be won as quickly as is possible. It should certainly be clear to all of the friends that we cannot hold off on winning the various goals of our tasks until the last year of the Crusade. They should be won just as quickly as possible. Furthermore, there are many tasks of the Crusade which the Guardian is not launching until preliminary goals have been won. For instance, it would be impossible to establish National a.s.semblies in all of the areas proposed until there are more Baha'is, more Groups and more a.s.semblies in those countries.

On the home front, further tasks are dependent upon the winning of victories now. The Guardian hopes the keynote of the teaching work on the home front during the current year will be the dispersion of the friends on an unprecedented scale, and the winning of as many a.s.semblies as is possible....

LETTER OF 20 APRIL 1955

20 April 1955

Dear Ugo:

I have your favor of April 10th, telling of your visit with the German Architect, Prof. Dr. Bartning, and his explanation to you of the elements to be incorporated in the new Temple for Germany.

The Beloved Guardian explains that there is no requirement for one window to be oriented toward the East. In fact, he feels this should not be done; otherwise it will take on a practice of the Moslems with regard to their prayer niche, etc. I am sending a copy of this note to the German NSA, so they will understand.

The Guardian has also indicated that there is nothing in the teaching requiring one dome for the building, in fact, any dome. It is of course more beautiful, generally to have a dome, or even domes, but that is not a necessary requirement of the Temple.

Likewise the Guardian indicates, it is not essential that there be nine doors.

The real requisite is that the building should be circular in shape, having nine sides; that there should be nine gardens, walks, etc....

LETTER OF 1 MAY 1955 (CONVENTION)

1 May 1955 (Convention)

DEEPLY APPRECIATE MESSAGE. URGE DELEGATES ROUSE ALL COMMUNITIES EXERT SUPREME EFFORT COURSE LAST YEAR SECOND PHASE CRUSADE MULTIPLICATION CENTERS a.s.sEMBLIES CONSOLIDATION ALLOTED NEWLY OPENED TERRITORIES INTENSIFICATION TEACHING ACTIVITIES INCORPORATION a.s.sEMBLIES ESTABLISHMENT ENDOWMENTS PUBLISHING TRUST. URGE CONCENTRATION EXTENSION WORK AUSTRIA EXPEDITE PRELIMINARIES CONSTRUCTION TEMPLE SUPPLICATING ABUNDANT BLESSINGS

SHOGHI

LETTER OF 1 JULY 1955

1 July 1955

Dear Baha'i Friends:

The beloved Guardian was very happy indeed to learn of the confirmation of an additional Baha'i in the Island of Crete.

The Guardian is very anxious to know the racial background of the new Baha'is in these new areas. I am wondering therefore if you could let me know what the nationality is of the first new Baha'i in Crete, as well as this second Baha'i.

The Guardian is anxious to know if either one of these two are pure Greek stock....

LETTER OF 2 AUGUST 1955

2 August 1955

Dear Baha'i Sister:

Your letters of June 11, July 16 and 22, August 30, October 12 and 17, November 2 and 17 and December 10, 1954; and January 31 and February 19, April 28 and May 21, 1955, with their various enclosures, have all been recived by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

As the work of the Ten-Year Crusade steadily grows, he finds it more and more difficult to correspond with the National a.s.semblies frequently; and indeed is wondering what will be the situation in a few years' time, when we have so many additional National Bodies. This explains why you have not heard from him before.

He was very happy to hear that the Vienna Haziratu'l-Quds has been purchased, as this eliminates one of the important goals a.s.signed to your a.s.sembly under the Ten-Year Plan. He will be pleased to see photographs of the building.

He feels that your action in advising the Crete pioneers to be very discreet in all respects, and your decision to correspond with them for the time being through their parents, were very wise.

The friends who have gone forth to new lands cannot be too careful. Unless they can stay long enough to convert at least a small group of people, who will be firmly grounded in the Faith, and continue to work if they are forced to leave, a great deal of time and money will have been wasted, and the progress of the Plan suffer a serious setback.

He will certainly pray for the pioneers there, for their protection and their guidance. They should by all means persevere and act discreetly.

He was very satisfied to hear of the progress made at the Teaching Conference held in Frankfurt under the aegis of the European Hands. He feels sure that this helped to stimulate and coordinate the work.

a.s.sociation and consultation, as 'Abdu'l-Baha so repeatedly emphasized, have a great effect on the friends, and enable them to see the work of the Cause as a whole, rather than as a small local enterprise in which their personalities and other people's personalities often conflict; and challenge them to arise and go forth into new fields, in order to spread the Faith far and wide.

The Guardian attaches the greatest importance to the Temple enterprise. He feels that if, for any reason, you do not win the case and get permission to build the Temple on the land you have already chosen, a new piece of land must be speedily bought. He is hoping that the case will be satisfactorily settled, and that there will be no necessity for you to look further.

The preparation of designs for the Temple he feels, however, should not wait upon the conclusion of the court case. It is going to take some time to receive designs, to forward them to him for his advice, and to incorporate any possible changes that may be deemed necessary, if one of the designs is found satisfactory. He therefore advises you to open the compet.i.tion as soon as you can, and not lose any more time.

He wishes at this juncture to stress to your a.s.sembly the need for economy. The Temple must naturally be a dignified and worthy edifice. He does not consider that any of these modernistic experiments in architecture are at all suitable for a building of this nature, lacking as they so often do, beauty and dignity.

He also considers that the building should be a relatively small one, both because of the size of the Community in Germany, and the financial resources of the Faith at present. The most important thing of all is to build this first Temple on European soil.

In the days when 'Abdu'l-Baha was urging the American Baha'is to build the first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the western world, He repeatedly emphasized that it could be a modest building, and that the important thing was the spiritual element that this House of Worship in the name of Baha'u'llah should be raised in the heart of America. The same thing applies now to your Temple in Germany. Size and pretentiousness are not important. The important thing is that the building should be speedily erected, and be a financial possibility, not placing, as the American Temple, a terrible strain on the friends for years to come.

He is happy to see that the German friends have been able, during the last few years, to move about much more, attend conferences in other European countries, go forth as pioneers, and gradually increase the number of centres in Germany and Austria. He attaches the greatest importance to this because one of the main tasks of your a.s.sembly is to insure that Austria will have an independent National a.s.sembly by the end of the Plan; and she cannot do this unless she multiplies her Spiritual a.s.semblies in order to build a broad foundation for the National Body. He hopes you will constantly encourage the Vienna Baha'is and the isolated believers in Austria to increase their teaching activities, to strengthen the work of the Faith, to pioneer in new centres, and, above all, to be united; as unity is one of the greatest forces at our disposal for achieving the work of the Cause.