1952

1952

— 402 —

JANUARY 10, 1952

APPRECIATE NOBLE SENTIMENTS URGE PREPARE CAREFULLY [pg 329]     LIST UNOPENED STATES DEPENDENCIES ISLANDS AIRMAIL HOLY LAND. CONSULT AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

SHOGHI

— 403 —

APRIL 28, 1952

ASSURE DELEGATES LOVING FERVENT PRAYERS OFFERED SUCCESS DELIBERATIONS. URGE REDOUBLE EFFORTS REINFORCE UNITY REDEDICATE HEARTS URGENT SACRED MANIFOLD TASKS CONFRONTING BELIEVERS AT HOME ABROAD PREPARATION GLORIOUS FUTURE MISSION AFRICA SOUTHEAST ASIA.

SHOGHI

— 404 —

June 15, 1952

[To The National Spiritual Assembly][pg 330]

Dear Bahá’í friends,

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to write you on his behalf, to request that the information relating to India, Pakistan and Burma and their activities, contained in the booklet “The Bahá’í Faith, Information, Statistical and Comparative,” be brought up to date as of May 1, 1952, and sent to him here by the first possible air mail post.

One of the features of the Holy Year will be the reissuance of this important book; inasmuch as the Holy Year is fast approaching, the Guardian wishes the information as quickly as possible.

Briefly, the information which your National Spiritual Assembly is to provide, brought up to date of May 1, 1952, is as follows:

Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies in India, Pakistan and Burma, showing each country with its Local Assemblies separated.

Bahá’í Centres in India, Pakistan and Burma, showing if possible the division between Local Spiritual Assemblies, Groups and Isolated Believers.

Any information not immediately available, should be handled by telegraph, but such information as is available should not be delayed for any one or two delinquents. You can appreciate that if the booklet is to be published early in the Holy Year, the information should reach the Guardian at a very early date.

The Guardian sends his loving greetings to the National Assembly and its devoted members.

P.S. The Guardian will appreciate your sending him a list of the Princely States which have been dissolved and have been incorporated in the various countries of India, Pakistan and Burma. He understands there is quite a large number, and he wishes to include this information in the new issue of this important book.

— 405 —

June 30, 1952

[To Mr. ‘Abbás ‘Alí Butt, Secretary, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India, Pakistan and Burma][pg 331]

Dear Bahá’í Brother,

Your letters of August 23, September 25 and 29, October 3 and 8, November 13 and December 3, 1951 and January 3, 7, 9, 16, February 8 (2), February 15, March 14 and 15, April 9, 17, 18, 23 and May 16, and June 6, 1952, have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf. Your letter of May 21st has likewise come to hand.

It has been a great pleasure to the beloved Guardian to welcome recently in Haifa the first pilgrims from India; their love and devotion to the Faith have brought their brethren in that far off land very close, and he hopes that they, in turn, will carry back to the friends there a new sense of nearness to the World Centre at Haifa and thus serve to create greater unity and dedication amongst the believers.

The Guardian attaches the greatest possible importance to the forthcoming Intercontinental Conference to be held during the Holy Year in New Delhi; as the National Assemblies of Persia, United States, Canada, Central and South America, Iráq, Australia and New Zealand, as well as your own body, are to send representatives to it, it will, through having eight National Spiritual Assemblies pooling their thoughts and suggestions, be, no doubt, the most important of the four Intercontinental Conferences to be held. Also, aside from the numerical importance of the participating bodies, the vast field their plans must embrace is truly awe-inspiring. In view of this, he feels that the members of your Assembly have very heavy responsibilities to discharge during the coming months, and that all petty details and misunderstandings must be put aside, once and for all, in order to ensure a brilliant success, a success whose repercussions must be felt during ten years of Bahá’í history between this coming great jubilee and the Most Great Jubilee which will take place in

As convenor of this great Conference you must lay your plans very carefully to ensure that the representatives of the various National Spiritual Assemblies, the visiting Hands of the Cause, the many Bahá’ís attending, are properly accommodated, the sessions of the Conference held in an efficient manner, and suitable publicity [pg 332]  given to this event. The Guardian also suggests that one or two private sessions could be held at which the National Spiritual Assembly representatives and the Hands of the Cause could meet to better and more effectively suggest plans for the future campaign. There will, naturally, be no delegates to the Conference as it is in no sense a convention, but more concentrated consultation can be obtained through a smaller number being present. No doubt you will also, without sacrificing the interests of the Conference, make good use of any visiting teachers and lecturers.

The Guardian was very sorry to hear of the wicked attack on Mr. Joshi, and will certainly pray for his complete recovery. He will also pray for the progress and happiness of the souls of the dear pioneers, Mrs. Daulat Saroosh Najmi, and Mr. Jamshid Z. A. Mahallati. As regards the matters you raised in your letter:

In the teachings there is nothing against dancing, but the friends should remember that the standard of Bahá’u’lláh is modesty and chastity. The atmosphere of modern dance halls, where so much smoking and drinking and promiscuity goes on, is very bad, but decent dances are not harmful in themselves. There is certainly no harm in classical dancing or learning dancing in school. There is also no harm in taking part in dramas. Likewise in cinema acting. The harmful thing, nowadays, is not the art itself but the unfortunate corruption which often surrounds these arts. As Bahá’í we need to avoid none of the arts, but acts and the atmosphere that sometimes go with these professions we should avoid.

He urges all the believers to concentrate at this time on consolidating their groups and Assemblies, on carrying out the goals of their Plan and on promoting unity and love within the communities, in this way they will befittingly prepare the way for the great honour they are shortly to have namely: the holding of the historic Conference in New Delhi, and, with it, the welcoming of so many distinguished believers from foreign countries.

He assures you all of his loving prayers for your unity, your success and that you may suitably uphold the Banner of the Faith before the eyes of the Bahá’í World.

P.S. As regards the question you asked about minorities: Because the Hindu believers are a minority at present in the Faith in India, preference should be given to them in India, where the majority of the population is Hindu. A special effort should be made to convert[pg 333]  them, so that our enemies may have no excuse for stating that the Cause has scarcely affected the largest elements in the country. There is also an added reason for encouraging the Hindu Bahá’ís because within the Faith in India they are a minority, in every country throughout the Bahá’í World the Bahá’ís must make a special effort to attract to the Faith the element which constitutes the majority, whether religious or national.

He will particularly remember in his prayers the valiant and exemplary pioneer, Mr. Badi‘-uz-Zamán! His services will never be forgotten, and his soul no doubt reaps a rich reward in the Abhá Kingdom for all he accomplished in this life for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.

Dear and valued co-workers:

The multiplicity of the vital issues that have of late confronted me at the World Centre of the Faith, the opening of the door of pilgrimage, and the unexpected problems which, by their urgency, have required my immediate and close attention have, to my extreme regret, prevented me from acknowledging, as promptly as I would have wished the communications which various Bahá’í National Assemblies have addressed me in recent months. I have followed, however, with admiration and keen interest the progress of the activities initiated under the 19 Month Plan by the valiant Bahá’í Communities of India, Pakistan and Burma. The generous, unceasing contributions made by them for the completion of the Báb’s holy Sepulchre proclaim, in unmistakable terms, their devotion to the Cause for which He laid down so heroically His life. The expansion of the activities initiated by the high minded and resolute pioneers in Ceylon, Indonesia, Siam, Malaya and Sarawak, indeed merit the highest praise. The efforts exerted for the multiplication of the institutions of the Faith and their consolidation both in the subcontinent of India and beyond its confines augur well for the future of the plan, the third of its kind embarked upon by the followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, who are destined to play a predominant part in the unfoldment of His World Order throughout the territories of South East Asia. The steady endeavours made for the translation, publication and dissemination of the literature of the Faith Lay your Assembly have greatly enriched and ennobled the record of the services you have rendered it in recent years.

Great as have been the victories already won in its service, the work that still remains to be accomplished under this same Plan during the fleeting months that lie ahead is still formidable, and demands unrelaxing vigilance, heroic self sacrifice, and inflexible resolve on the part of not[pg 334]  only the elected representatives of these communities but of all their members as well. The uninterrupted and rapid multiplication of Bahá’í administrative centres; the conversion of groups into assemblies; the development of isolated centres into groups; a marked increase in the number of incorporated Local Assemblies; the early completion of the’ highly important task assumed in connexion with the translation and publication of the “New Era” in the remaining languages already selected for that purpose; the despatch, without further delay, of no more than one pioneer for the present to Nepal and Indo China, as well as to Zanzibar and Madagascar, in pursuance of the Plan initiated in both Africa and South East Asia; the maintenance, at any cost, of the present status of the newly formed Assemblies; the concentration of effort for the promotion of unity and cooperation among the divers elements that constitute the warp and woof of these communities-these stand out as the predominating obligations facing the entire body of the followers of the Faith in the subcontinent of India and its neighbouring territories.

Nor must the privileged members of these communities, and particularly their elected representatives, neglect for a moment, the paramount duty, of preparing, by every means at their disposal, for the historic and in some respects, the most vital, Conference to be held in the course of the Holy Year which the entire Bahá’í’ world will soon befittingly celebrate. As the Convenor of such a fate-laden Conference, whose task is to facilitate the execution of the most far reaching, the most challenging, and the most dramatic of all the enterprises destined to be launched by the followers of the Faith throughout the whole planet, your Assembly assumes a responsibility at once immense, soul stirring and inescapable. In providing adequate fact cities for the accommodation of the Hands of the Cause and of the official representatives of no less than eight National Spiritual Assemblies and of the large number of visitors who will participate in its proceedings; in ensuring wide publicity through the press and radio for such a unique gathering; in exerting their utmost for the maintenance of harmony and for full consultation on the weighty issues that will face its attendants; in fostering the spirit of heroic adventure and noble resolve on the part of the members of the communities that are to act as hosts to the honoured participants of such an epoch making assemblage, which will, God willing, enable them to play a notable role in the Crusade destined to embrocate the continents of Asia and Australasia and of the Pacific Islands, in all these the members of your assembly, supported by the rank and file of the faithful, must display a determination, a valour and consecration that will excite the admiration of [pg 335]  the entire Bahá’í world.

The work that calls for unswerving fidelity, urgent attention and continuous vigilance, daring the swiftly passing months ahead, is immense, truly sacred and infinitely meritorious. The consummation of the plan already initiated would constitute the best preparation for the assumption of the still greater functions, and the discharge of still weightier responsibilities, that await the patiently labouring, the steadfast, the loyal and devoted followers of the Most Great Name in India, Pakistan and Burma. That they may victoriously discharge their present responsibilities, that they may befittingly embark on the glorious Mission that lies ahead of them, that they may distinguish themselves through their collective contribution to the success of the World Crusade soon to be inaugurated by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in both the East and the West, is the object of my constant prayer and one of the most cherished desires of my heart.

Shoghi

— 406 —

JUNE 30, 1952

APPROVE ELECTION PRAYING HARMONY SUCCESS.

SHOGHI

— 407 —

OCTOBER 4, 1952

ADVISE ARRANGE SMALLER PUBLICATION KACHIN IN   INDIA. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THOSE DEPRIVED VOTING   RIGHTS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

SHOGHI

— 408 —

OCTOBER 12, 1952

DELIGHTED URGE DESPATCH PIONEERS ZANZIBAR MADAGASCAR    DELAY WILL MAR NOBLE RECORD SERVICES.

SHOGHI

— 409 —

OCTOBER 17, 1952

DEEPLY APPRECIATE MESSAGE. PRAYING GREAT VICTORIES.

SHOGHI

— 410 —

OCTOBER 17, 1952

ASSURE SUMMER SCHOOL PARTICIPANTS LOVING PRAYERS.[pg 336]

SHOGHI

— 411 —

OCTOBER 18, 1952

APPRECIATE MESSAGE PRAYING GREAT VICTORIES.

SHOGHI

— 412 —

OCTOBER 18, 1952

APPROVE PERSIAN ASSISTANCE FOR PIONEERING.

SHOGHI

— 413 —

OCTOBER 21, 1952

APPRECIATE GREETINGS PRAYING MIGHTY VICTORIES.   REMOVAL APPROVED PROVIDED JOURNEY NOT EXCEEDING   ONE HOUR.

SHOGHI

— 414 —

DECEMBER 28, 1952

PRAYING BLESSINGS PANCHGANI INSTITUTION.

SHOGHI