The Unfolding Destiny of the British Bahai Community Part 87

Letter of 2 June 1955

2 June 1955

APPROVE PUBLICISING WORLD PROTEST DO NOT ATTACK GOVERNMENT APPROVE APPEAL AFRICAN COMMUNITIES.

SHOGHI

Letter of 10 July 1955

10 July 1955

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to inform you that he feels the time has come for the British N.S.A. to follow the procedure laid down by him as a general rule, namely that Spiritual a.s.semblies should adhere to the civil limits of their respective towns. All other National a.s.semblies are following this procedure and he feels yours should too.

The events in Persia have, naturally, distressed him greatly, particularly anxiety for the safety of the Holy House in _Sh_iraz. However, the publicity will do the Faith a great deal of good....

Letter of 26 July 1955

26 July 1955

Dear John:

Just a line to inform you, and naturally through you the National a.s.sembly, that the Beloved Guardian has instructed Varga to send you five hundred pounds for your National Fund, to be expended as the a.s.sembly thinks best.

Regarding ... legacy he wishes your a.s.sembly to hold this sum in trust for him until he gives directions for its use.

The beloved Guardian is most anxious that the representations to be made to UNO regarding the bitter and cruel persecutions in Persia at present should meet with success. I do hope all goes well....

Letter of 5 August 1955

5 August 1955

Dear Baha'i Brother,

Your letters of July 7, 13 and 15, August 19, 20 (three) and 31, September 17 (two) and 27, October 13, 16 (two) and 26, November 4, 15, 16 and 20, and December 8 (four) and 18, 1954, and January 6 (two), 10 and 25, February 7, 11, 14, 21 and 28, March 11 (two), 16 and 23, April 4, 7, 15, 19, 22 and 27, May 9, 12 and 27, June 8 and 9, July 5 (four), 11 and 14, 1955, with enclosures, also the material sent separately, have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

The matters taken up by cable I will not go into again here in detail.

It has been a great source of satisfaction to him to receive here last winter two members of the National Body, Mr. and Mrs. John Ferraby, as well as more than one believer from England. The contact with the British Baha'is always pleases him greatly. As you know, he admires many of the staunch British qualities very much, and is proud of the accomplishments of this community during recent years.

He has been pleased over the progress made in the teaching field abroad and at home; in the publication of Baha'i literature in African languages; and, above all, by the purchase of the National Headquarters in London, and the formal dedication of the building, recently held. He feels sure that, now that the National a.s.sembly has a befitting seat for its national affairs-a building which at the same time will solve the problem of the London Spiritual a.s.sembly, through giving them a meeting-place-the work in both London and throughout the country will receive a new impetus. With every important step forward there is a new release of spiritual energy; and the founding of the National Haziratu'l-Quds is certainly a most important milestone in the progress of the Cause in the British Isles.

As regards various questions raised in your correspondence with him, he sees no reason why the Publishing Trust should have a separate legal status, as long as it is not essential for it to do so.

He approves of returning to Ronga as one of the languages into which Baha'i literature should be translated, according to the provisions of the Ten Year Plan, and giving up Shangaan.

He would like very much to receive photostats of the actual Certificates of Incorporation issued to the London and Manchester and Liverpool a.s.semblies, to be placed in the Mansion of Baha'u'llah.

He does not think your a.s.sembly need take any action about removing archives or other material from London. If, at a future date, the world situation reaches the point where it is obvious that things in London are in great danger, then your a.s.sembly should consider the matter.

Fortunately, that is not the case at present.

Any monies received from the sale of the property bequeathed by Mrs. B ...

can be used by your a.s.sembly as it sees fit.

As he already pointed out to the Secretary, when he was in Haifa, a National Endowment is at the present time to be considered more in the nature of a token endowment. It need not be in the capital, and can represent a very small investment; indeed as little as one thousand dollars, if a suitable piece of property for that price should be found, would be acceptable.

He was very sorry to hear of the tragic death of Mrs. Langdon-Davies. She was a capable, staunch and devoted member of the community and of the National a.s.sembly as well; and her services will be missed by her co-workers, and particularly the friends in Oxford. He prays for the progress of her soul in the Abha kingdom, and that she may be rewarded for her labours in this world, performed with so much zeal and steadfastness.

He hopes that Mr. John Mitch.e.l.l's condition has improved. He was very sorry indeed to hear that he had been forced to leave Malta. Please a.s.sure him of the Guardian's loving and fervent prayers on his behalf.

As regards the question of Baha'is belonging to churches, synagogues, Freemasonry, etc., the friends must realise that now that the Faith is over a hundred years old, and its own inst.i.tutions arising, so to speak, rapidly above-ground, the distinctions are becoming ever sharper, and the necessity for them to support whole-heartedly their own inst.i.tutions and cut themselves off entirely from those of the past, is now clearer than ever before. The eyes of the people of the world are beginning to be focussed on us; and, as humanity's plight goes from bad to worse, we will be watched ever more intently by non-Baha'is, to see whether we do uphold our own inst.i.tutions whole-heartedly; whether we are the people of the new creation or not; whether we live up to our beliefs, principles and laws in deed as well as word. We cannot be too careful. We cannot be too exemplary.

There is another aspect to this question which the friends should seriously ponder, and that is that, whereas organisations such as Freemasonry may have been in the past entirely free from any political taint, in the state of flux the world is in at present, and the extraordinary way in which things become corrupted and tainted by political thought and influences, there is no guarantee that such an a.s.sociation might not gradually or suddenly become a political instrument.

The less Baha'is have to do, therefore, with such things, the better.

He wishes you to thank ... on his behalf for the spirit of devotion to the Faith which he has shown in connection with this matter. He feels sure that he will see the necessity to sever himself from his previous a.s.sociation with Freemasonry. The older Baha'is, through their example in such matters, form rallying points around which the younger Baha'is, not so steady yet on their spiritual legs, so to speak, can cl.u.s.ter.

If you send him five copies of everything published in the British Isles, it will be sufficient for the libraries here at the World Centre....

The Africa Committee should carefully consider such problems as that of the Negro pioneers being too long apart from their wives; and, if no other solution is feasible, the pioneer will have to return to his family. In the case of some of the very distinguished servants of the Faith who have arisen and gone forth from Uganda to pioneer, this would indeed be a loss to the work. If their wives could go and join them, it would naturally be preferable. This is a matter for the committee in consultation with your a.s.sembly and the Hand of the Cause, Musa Banani, to decide.

Undoubtedly the most important task facing the British community at the present time, is to increase its membership. It has performed miracles during the past ten years, through shifting around devoted volunteers from one centre to another, in order to maintain or to create Spiritual a.s.semblies; but, efficacious as this has been in the past, it is certainly not a permanent solution to the problem. The only solution is to bring in more Baha'is. This requires patient, prayerful, ceaseless efforts on the part of, not only the Baha'i teachers and pioneers, but every single member of the community. The British people are traditionally slow to move. Fortunately, once they do move, it's almost impossible to stop them; but to overcome the inertia requires great effort. In bringing new people into the Faith, the friends always come up against this problem. He urges all the Baha'is, however, not to become discouraged, but to persevere and redouble their efforts, knowing that they can and must succeed in the end.

He, on his part, will reinforce their efforts with his prayers in the Holy Shrines....

As regards your question about depleted a.s.semblies, as there is nothing in the const.i.tution of the National Spiritual a.s.sembly covering these matters, every National Body is free to make its own decision as to what the status of an a.s.sembly is from one annual election to the next, if they fall below nine for any reason.

As regards certain matters raised in your recent letters:

Your a.s.sembly is free to choose the place for the endowment for the East and Central N.S.A. if you feel Uganda inadvisable.

The delegates reaching the Conventions in Africa is a matter for each N.S.A., from whose area of jurisdiction they are elected, to arrange and provide financial help if needed.

A prisoner, showing sincere faith in the Cause, may be accepted as a Baha'i on the same basis of investigating his qualifications as to belief as any other individual outside prison. Each case should be carefully considered on its own merits. Naturally, a person in confinement cannot be active in any community and administrative work. When he gets out, he becomes part of the community in which he resides. No new ruling is required in this matter. All other details in relation to prisoners can be decided by the N.S.A. concerned as they arise.