1928

1928

— 43 —

January 17, 1928

My Dear Mr. Vakíl,[pg 41]

The Guardian has just received a letter from the Brahma Samaj Centenary Committee above the signature of H.C. Sarkar inviting him to attend their Centenary in Calcutta.  

Naturally enough he can not attend in person as he is much too busy, but he would want you to make sure that you send your delegates, and thus keep up the most cordial relations between you and the Brahma Samaj. You will, he hopes, make all the necessary arrangements to send your duly authorized delegates in proper time.

The connections with them may prove to be valuable and helpful, and Shoghi Effendi would be much interested to know what would be the outcome.

— 44 —

January 24, 1928

My Dear Mr. Vakíl,

I am instructed by our dear Guardian to thank you for your[pg 42] letter of the 13th instant which he was very glad to receive.

He learns with extreme pleasure of your visit to the Calcutta friends and the bright outlook there — a thing that must be continued and made good of. He hopes that Dr Simha will in time become an ardent and devoted friend and through him other people of capacity will be drawn in. Perhaps Calcutta will in future turn into a flourishing Bahá’í Centre and a place from which can be directed the efforts and services of the friends throughout India and Burma. At any rate you must always be sure that you have Shoghi Effendi’s prayers and good wishes to help and strengthen you. Do please assure your dear wife, Miss Sushila and Miss Kapila of our Guardian’s many good wishes and the love of the entire family.

With best wishes and the assurance of my continued prayers for you.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

— 45 —

May 6, 1928

[To N.R. Vakíl]

My Dear Bahá’í Brother,

I am instructed by our dear Guardian to thank you for your letters of January 26th, February 10th and April 18th.

He was greatly pleased with the news of the work of Prof. Pritam Singh in Karachi and Lahore and he read his well-worded lectures with interest. It gives him immense pleasure to keep in touch with his activities and he prays for the success of his efforts from the bottom of his heart. He is confident that when his plans are carried out and he does travel throughout the whole of India in the interests of the Cause, he will show a record of constant progress and will render valuable services to the Bahá’í Faith. Please assure him of our Guardians unfailing prayers and good wishes and also kindly convey to the Amritsar Bahá’ís the loving greetings of Shoghi Effendi.

Shoghi Effendi is grateful for your arrangements as regards the centenary of the Brahma Samaj. Of course if as you have intimated in your letter, you yourself might be one of the delegates, it would be splendid.

I am sure it will interest you to know that we have had during the Riḍván festivals the first Bahá’í pilgrim from Tunis. The representative of the Tunis Assembly is a young man full of hopes and schemes for the future…[pg 43]

The family all join in heartfelt Bahá’í greetings to you and Mrs. Vakíl — two dear and devoted and valuable servants of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

My very dear co-worker:

I will specially supplicate, on behalf of my dear brethren in India and Burma, at the Beloved’s Shrine, that they may arise with heart and soul and in perfect harmony and understanding to extend the scope of their activities, to consolidate the foundations of their work, to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the Faith, and to carry out the Beloved’s explicit instructions for the establishment of Bahá’u’lláh’s undisputed sovereignty on this earth. May they be richly blessed and guided in their endeavours.

Shoghi

— 46 —

June 22, 1928

The Secretary, The National Assembly, India, Burma.

Dear Friend,

I am directed by our dear Guardian to thank you for the two copies of your circular letters which you had kindly sent him.

He was very glad to hear the news of your duly elected National Assembly for whose success, development and usefulness he cherishes the fondest hopes and prays continually.

He was also interested in the proposition that had been brought to the attention of your members. Among the subjects that the Guardian would expect your body to take are a coordination of the various efforts and endeavours throughout India and Burma, an acceleration — and increase in the number of Bahá’ís and fellow workers, ways and means to attract the attention of Indians from every class and creed to the message and vital dynamic spirit of the Bahá’í Faith and as a cumulative and culminating step the find] recognition of the[pg 44] Bahá’í Community as a separate religious organization similar to what has been already achieved in America.

With the Guardian’s good wishes for the success of your labours.

— 47 —

August 21, 1928

Dear Mr. Vakíl,

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letters both dated July 13th, 1928… 

He was also glad to hear of your re-election to the National Assembly for the coming year, and hopes that this year, as previously, you would be guided in your activities in promoting the interests of the Movement.

The news that we obtain from the various parts of the world are most gratifying, for though there are some great problems to solve, yet no one can fail to see the constant realization of those ideals we cherish. May that day soon dawn when the source of this spiritual power, which is permeating the whole of society, will be appreciated and venerated.

Please convey to all the friends, specially the members of your family, Shoghi Effendi’s loving greetings.

With the assurance of my continued prayers for the success of the Bahá’í’ representatives attending the Centenary Congress and with my appreciation of your unsparing efforts in that connexion.

I am your true and grateful brother.
Shoghi

— 48 —

October 10, 1928

Dear Mr. Vakíl,

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 7-9-28, reporting the events of the Brahma Samaj Centenary gathering to Shoghi Effendi. Such meetings are wonderful occasions for showing the spirit and teachings of the Cause… Shoghi Effendi’s hope is that at such Conventions and gatherings the friends would present the teachings to persons otherwise inaccessible for individual contact.

Please convey to Mrs. Vakíl and all the friends Shoghi Effendi’s hearty greetings.[pg 45]

My dear co-worker:

I heartily approve the project of a Bahá’í Convention and would leave the choice of the site and other arrangements to the National Assembly. The Cause in various countries is making a great headway and the reference of the case of the Bag̱hdád Houses to the Mandate’s Commission of the League of Nations is a greet step forward. Do not lose heart and persevere in your splendid labours.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi

— 49 —

November 15, 1928

My Dear Mr. Vakíl,

I am directed by our Guardian to thank you for your letter of November 2nd with enclosures.

He was glad to hear from you and he has read with deep satisfaction the account of the good work of Siyyid Ilmi in Burma Shoghi Effendi has always wondered as to the reasons why despite so many years of effort and activity, the Cause has not spread more rapidly either in India or Burma, perhaps the latter can be more proud of its results. He would in fact appreciate your own personal opinion, although God’s ways are often hard to understand. We have lately had a remarkable illustration in Turkey where the Bahá’ís were an insignificant little group. Suddenly accused of constituting a secret political society the members of the National Spiritual Assembly in Constantinople and the Spiritual Assembly in Smyrna were dragged to the police and kept for one night pending the formation of the Board of Inquiry. The next day the court sat and the president of the National Spiritual Assembly was cross-examined for eight consecutive hours. The result was that they were all dismissed, with the members of the Court deeply influenced and impressed by the teachings and principles which the President baldly and eloquently described. They asked for literature and many of them carried from that session much food for thought. Furthermore every paper in Turkey filled its freest pages with the incident and a repetition of the teachings and good many a[pg 46] Turk heard of the Cause in a way that Bahá’ís could never bring about.

Will India have a similar awakening and will it suddenly arise to the significance of the message?

My dear a precious co-worker.

I trust and pray that circumstances will be favourable and the means provided for the holding of a Bahá’í Convention this year representative of India and Burma. A closer touch and more frequent interchange of thought among the Bahá’í centres in those lands are absolutely essential. I am sending you a copy of the recently issued “Bahá’í World,” and wish you to urge the National and Local Assemblies in India and Burma to order as many copies as they possibly can from America for distribution among the enlightened public as well as a means for the assistance and encouragement of the Bahá’í Publishing Committee in New York which is doing excellent service at the present time.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

— 50 —

November 26, 1928

Dear Mr. Vakíl,

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated November 9th. He will always remember you and the other friends of India in his prayers, and implore for you Divine guidance and help. He hopes that the Convention for which you are preparing will turn out to be a very important move in the history of the Cause in India and lead to great and wonderful results..

My dear and valued co-worker,

I am deeply touched by the repeated evidences of your self-sacrificing love for our beloved Cause. I will continue to supplicate our Beloved to bestow upon yogi His manifold and richest blessings that you may fulfil in every field of activity your most cherished desire. I trust that through the efforts of the National Assembly a great impetus may be given to the spread of the Cause this winter in India and Burma, and that the friends[pg 47] may increasingly realize the sacredness and pressing nature of their obligations and responsibilities…

Wishing you happiness and success from all my heart.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

— 51 —

December 11, 1928

Dear Mr. Valid,

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge be receipt of your very kind letter dated November 30th

He will surely join in your prayers that the coming Convention may bear two principal fruit. First, that it may re-establish among the friends in India and Burma that sense of Jove and harmony which is the prerequisite for true service in the Cause. Without this internal unity and peace we cannot hope to preach the gospel of love among mankind. Then we all hope that the Convention will turn out to be a milestone in the history of the progress of the Cause as far as its teaching work is concerned. We have so few Bahá’í in India, if we take into consideration the number of the inhabitants there, the number of years that the Bahá’í Movement has been existing there, and the freedom that its adepts have enjoyed. It is surely high time that a real move be made.

Shoghi Effendi would be very glad to welcome you and your family to Haifa. He hopes, however, that you would so arrange your trip as to be here the beginning pr middle of May for after that the climate of Haifa becomes too hot and unhealthy. Moreover Shoghi Effendi would be here. As to the course of your trip here, perhaps you could find out yourself which way gets you here sooner. Maybe you could leave your trip to Persia on your way back.

My dear co-worker:

I am delighted with the prospect of your journey to the Holy Land as I have always cherished deep-felt sentiment of affection for you and your dear family. I will specially supplicate at the Sacred Threshold for the success of the forthcoming Bahá’í Convention, and I trust it will be fully and widely represented by the divers elements that constitute the[pg 48] Bahá’í community in India and Burma. May the spirit of Bahá’u’lláh guide and bless your deliberations and may unprecedented results be achieved by the assembled delegates.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

— 52 —

December 19, 1928

My dear Mr. Vakíl,

I am directed by our Guardian to thank you for your letter of December 7th.

Although I had never meant that my enquiry from you as to the reasons of lack of progress of the Cause in India, should be asked from every individual Bahá’í, yet I am sure, our Guardian will be interested to know the ideas and opinions of various sections of the friends both in India and Burma.

The expression of our views in written form sometimes helps us to think better and deeper and often brings various matters into proper perspective, enabling us thereby to disregard what is extraneous and unimportant. The answers to the question put forth, would, I feel, be extremely valuable to the National Spiritual Assembly in India, and with the proper backing, respect and support of the entire friends, they should not lose a minute in an endeavour to remedy and inspire what ought not and what should be done, in an effort to spread the Cause.

Good faith in Local and National Assemblies is something that the friends must learn everywhere, if they are to follow at all the teachings of the Master, but these Assemblies must also endeavour to inspire confidence and help remove misunderstandings.

Assuring you always of the Guardian’s good wishes and prayers and with greetings to your wife and children.

My dear co-worker:

I trust that the forthcoming Convention will remedy most if not all the present deficiencies in the Cause and lend an unprecedented impetus to the progress of the Faith. The Teaching work should be stressed as it is the Fountainhead from which all future blessings will flow. We must first and foremost add to our small numbers, and introduce fresh blood into[pg 49] the organic life of the community. I will specially supplicate this bounty for the representative delegates to be assembled at Convention this year.

Your true brother,
Shoghi