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Wellspring of Guidance
MESSAGES 1963-1968
The Universal House of Justice
Wherever a Bahá'í community exists, whether large or small, let it be
distinguished for its abiding sense of security and faith, its high
standard of rectitude, its complete freedom from all forms of prejudice,
the spirit of love among its members, and for the close knit fabric of
its social life.
The Universal House of Justice
BAHÁ'Í PUBLISHING TRUST
—
WILMETTE, ILLINOIS
Copyright 1969, 1976 by the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of the United States
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First Revised Edition 1976
ISBN 0-87743-032-2 (cloth)
ISBN 0-87743-033-0 (paper)
Library of Congress Catalog card No. 76-129996
Proofreader's note: The body of the text was scanned from the first edition, published in
1969. The title and copyright pages are reproduced from from the 1976 edition. Messages
dated after April 22, 1968 were removed from the 1976 edition and were included instead
in Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-73. — TL
page v
Preface
On April 21, 1963, the momentous first International Bahá'í Convention
yielded the long-awaited crown of the Bahá'í Administrative Order: the
Universal House of Justice. This institution came into being at an
unprecedented landmark in Bahá'í history known as the Most Great
Jubilee, which, all at once, displayed the rich harvest of the Ten Year
World Crusade inaugurated by the beloved Guardian of the Cause of God,
Shoghi Effendi, in 1953; brought to an auspicious conclusion at the
Bahá'í World Congress in London the dynamic ninth part of the spiritual
evolution of man that began with the Adamic Cycle; and ushered mankind
to the threshold of the tenth part of that divine process destined to
culminate in the Christ-promised Kingdom of God on earth.
Although the Guardian had passed away at the midway point of the Ten
Year Crusade, the Bahá'ís executed with unflagging determination the
goals of the Crusade in keeping with his explicit instructions. The
Hands of the Cause of God, the "Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's
embryonic World Commonwealth," impelled by the impending necessity to
restore unerring guidance to the day-to-day affairs of the swelling
Bahá'í community, called for the election of the supreme legislative
institution of the Faith as set forth in the Will and Testament of
'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Ever since its first reassuring message to the believers from the
platform of the Jubilee celebration in London, the Universal House of
Justice has been communicating its guidance to the Bahá'í world through
letters and
page vi
cablegrams. This volume contains major messages from April 1963 through
October 1968, six months following the second election of the Universal
House of Justice. Except for eight, these messages are addressed to all
national spiritual assemblies or to the Bahá'ís of the world, in such
terms as "Bahá'ís of the East and West," "Followers of Bahá'u'lláh
throughout the world," etc. Those addressed to the national spiritual
assemblies are marked by an asterisk (*) beside each date.
Three messages are addressed to conferences; two to the Bahá'í youth in
every land; one to a specific national spiritual assembly; and two to an
individual believer. The latter three have been made available to the
Bahá'ís throughout the world by special permission of the Universal
House of Justice.
These messages enunciate the Nine Year Plan, analyze its progress, and
reflect the attention the Universal House of Justice has given to the
development of the institutions of the Faith and individual believers to
better equip them for the worldwide tasks of the Nine Year Plan.
|
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES
|
[The titles and subtitles of messages other than those entitled
"Teaching the Masses" and "Universal Participation" do not form part of
the original messages.]
page vii
Contents
(Click here to go to a specific page.)
page viii
page ix
WELLSPRING OF GUIDANCE
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page 1
First Statement from the Universal House of Justice
Presented April 30, 1963, at the World Congress
"All praise, O my God, be to Thee Who art the Source of all glory and
majesty, of greatness and honor, of sovereignty and dominion, of
loftiness and grace, of awe and power. Whomsoever Thou willest Thou
causest to draw nigh unto the Most Great Ocean, and on whomsoever Thou
desirest Thou conferrest the honor of recognizing Thy Most Ancient Name.
Of all who are in heaven and on earth, none can withstand the operation
of Thy sovereign Will. From all eternity Thou didst rule the entire
creation, and Thou wilt continue for evermore to exercise Thy dominion
over all created things. There is none other God but Thee, the Almighty,
the Most Exalted, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise."
Beloved friends:
On this glorious occasion, the celebration of the Most Great Jubilee, we
raise our grateful thanks to Bahá'u'lláh for all His bounties showered
upon the friends throughout the world. This historic moment marks at one
and the same time the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, the hundredth
anniversary of the Declaration of the Promised One of all ages, the
termination of the first epoch of the Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
designed to establish the Faith of God in all the world, and the
successful conclusion of our beloved Guardian's world-encircling
Crusade, enabling his lovers and loved ones everywhere to lay this
glorious harvest of victory in his name at the feet of the Blessed
Beauty. This Most Great Jubilee is the crowning victory of the life work
page 2
of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Cause of God. He it was, and he
alone, who unfolded the potentialities of the widely scattered,
numerically small, and largely unorganized Bahá'í community which had
been called into being during the Heroic Age of the Faith. He it was who
unfolded the grand design of God's Holy Cause; set in motion the great
plans of teaching already outlined by 'Abdu'l-Bahá; established the
institutions and greatly extended the endowments at the World Center,
and raised the Temples of America, Africa, Australasia, and Europe;
developed the Administrative Order of the Cause throughout the world;
and set the ark of the Cause true on its course. He appointed the Hands
of the Cause of God.
The paeans of joy and gratitude, of love and adoration which we now
raise to the throne of Bahá'u'lláh would be inadequate, and the
celebrations of this Most Great Jubilee in which, as promised by our
beloved Guardian, we are now engaged would be marred, were no tribute
paid at this time to the Hands of the Cause of God. For they share the
victory with their beloved commander, he who raised them up and appointed
them. They kept the ship on its course and brought it safe to port. The
Universal House of Justice, with pride and love, recalls on this supreme
occasion its profound admiration for the heroic work which they have
accomplished. We do not wish to dwell on the appalling dangers which
faced the infant Cause when it was suddenly deprived of our beloved
Shoghi Effendi, but rather to acknowledge with all the love and
gratitude of our hearts the reality of the sacrifice, the labor, the
self-discipline, the superb stewardship of the Hands of the Cause of
God. We can think of no more fitting words to express our tribute to
these dearly loved and valiant souls than to recall the words of
Bahá'u'lláh Himself: "Light and glory, greeting and praise be upon the
Hands of His Cause, through whom the
page 3
light of long-suffering hath shone forth, and the declaration of
authority is proven of God, the powerful, the mighty, the independent;
and through whom the sea of bestowal hath moved, and the breeze of the
favor of God, the Lord of mankind, hath wafted."
The members of the Universal House of Justice, all being in Haifa at the
time of the election, were able to visit the Holy Shrines of
Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
where they prostrated
themselves at the Sacred Thresholds and humbly sought strength and
assistance in the mighty task before them. Later, in London, they have
paid homage at the resting-place of Shoghi Effendi, the blessed and
sacred bough of the Tree of Holiness.
As soon as the House of Justice is able to organize its work and deploy
its forces, it will examine carefully all the conditions of the Cause of
God, and communications will be made to the friends. At this time we
call upon the believers everywhere to follow up vigorously the
opportunities opened up by the World Crusade. Consolidation and
deepening must go hand in hand with an eager extension of the teaching
work so that the onward march of the Cause may continue unabated in
preparation for future plans. Now that the attention of the public is
becoming more and more drawn to the Cause of God, the friends must brace
themselves and prepare their institutions to sustain the gaze of the
world, whether it be friendly or hostile, eager or idle.
The Universal House of Justice greets you all lovingly and joyfully at
this time, and asks you to pray fervently for its speedy development and
the spiritual strengthening of its members.
page 4
Message to National Conventions — 1963
The marvelous happenings which have transpired during and immediately
after the twelve days of Ridván attest the greatness of the Cause of
God, and fill every Bahá'í heart to overflowing with joy and gratitude.
It was in obedience to the summons of the Lord of Hosts Himself that the
elected representatives of the fifty-six national and regional
communities of the Bahá'í world were called to elect, in the shadow of
God's Holy Mountain and in the house of the Center of His Covenant, the
members of the Universal House of Justice. It was the Sign of God on
earth, the Dayspring of Divine Guidance, the Guardian of the Cause of
God, who gathered more than six thousand Bahá'ís from all parts of the
earth to the celebration of the Most Great Jubilee in London.
The first of these historic occasions was marked by events of extreme
spiritual and administrative significance at the World Center of the
Faith. The daily visits of large groups of believers, of many varying
backgrounds, to the sacred shrines in the twin holy cities; the holding
of the first International Bahá'í Convention and the successful
accomplishment of its main task; the celebration of the Ridván Feast by
some three hundred believers in the company of the Hands of the Cause of
God in the precincts of the Haram-i-Aqdas, are events of unique
character and untold significance in the history of our beloved Faith.
The celebration of the Most Great Jubilee in London must be described
elsewhere. Suffice it to say now that this greatest gathering of Bahá'ís
ever held in one place was
page 5
permeated by a spirit of such bliss as could only have come from the
outpourings of the Abhá Kingdom. The review of the progress of the
Cause; the presentation of believers from the new races and countries of
the world brought within the pale of the Faith during the beloved
Guardian's Ten Year Crusade, of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, those
valiant souls who carried the banner of Bahá'u'lláh to the unopened and
often inhospitable regions of the earth; the spontaneous outbursts of
singing of "Alláh-u-Abhá," the informal gatherings, the constant
greetings of Bahá'u'lláh's warriors known to each other only by name and
service; the youth gatherings; the unprecedented publicity in the press,
on radio and television; the daily stream of visitors to the beloved
Guardian's resting-place; the radiant faces and heightened awareness of
the true and real brotherhood of the human race within the Kingdom of
the Everlasting Father, are among the outstanding events of this supreme
occasion, the crowning victory of the life work of Shoghi Effendi.
REAFFIRMING A TRIBUTE
The Universal House of Justice wishes to reaffirm at this time the
tribute which it felt moved to pay to the Hands of the Cause of God at
the World Congress, those precious souls who have brought the Cause
safely to victory in the name of Shoghi Effendi. We wish also to
remember the devoted work of their Auxiliary Board members, as well as
the services of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, of the army of pioneers, the
members of the national and regional spiritual assemblies, the services
and prayers and sacrifices of the believers everywhere, all of which in
the sum total have attracted such bounties and favors from Bahá'u'lláh.
The Universal House of Justice, in several sessions held in the Holy
Land and in London, has been able to initiate
page 6
its work and to make arrangements for the establishment of the
institution in Haifa. It has no officers and henceforth its
communications to the Bahá'í world will be signed UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF
JUSTICE over an embossed seal.
The Cause of God, launched on the sea of the Divine Plan of
'Abdu'l-Bahá, has achieved, under the superb leadership of its beloved
Guardian, a spread throughout the world and a momentum which must now
carry it forward on the next stage of its world-redeeming mission, the
second epoch of the Divine Plan. The Universal House of Justice, in
close consultation with the Hands of the Cause, is examining the vast
range of Bahá'í activity and growth in order to prepare a detailed plan
of expansion for the whole Bahá'í community, to be launched at Ridván
1964. But there are some objectives to be achieved at once.
IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES
The consolidation of the goals and new communities of the Bahá'í world
is an urgent and immediate task facing the fifty-six national spiritual
assemblies, and an essential preparation for the launching of the new
plans. Pioneers must be maintained at their posts and all the local
spiritual assemblies strengthened through a firm establishment of Bahá'í
community life and an active teaching program. Those national spiritual
assemblies which rest on the basis of a small number of local spiritual
assemblies must make great efforts to insure that this number will be
increased at Ridván 1964. Pioneers ready to go to consolidation areas,
as well as those eager to open new territories, should make their offers
through their national spiritual assembly.
The great work of teaching must be extended, not only in those areas
where mass conversion is beginning, but everywhere. The high intensity
of teaching activity reached at the end of the World Crusade, far from
slackening, must
page 7
now be increased as the friends everywhere draw on the vast spiritual
powers released as a result of the celebration of the Most Great Jubilee
and the emergence of the Universal House of Justice.
The Ten Year Crusade witnessed the completion of the structure of the
Mother Temple of Europe. It is now imperative to complete, without
delay, the interior decoration, to install utilities and lay access
roads, to landscape grounds, and to construct the caretaker's house.
This work will cost not less than $210,000, but if delayed it will cost
considerably more. The House of Justice calls upon the national
spiritual assemblies to allocate substantial budgets for the immediate
completion of this work.
PROJECTS TO BE EMBARKED UPON
The plan to be embarked upon next Ridván, the details of which will be
announced during the coming year, will include such projects as the
extension and embellishment of the endowments at the World Center;
collation of the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi
Effendi; continual reinforcement of the ties binding the Bahá'í world to
the United Nations; formation of many more national spiritual
assemblies, both by division of existing regional spiritual assemblies
and the development of new Bahá'í communities, together with the
purchase of national Hazíratu'l-Quds, Temple sites, and national
endowments; the opening of new territories to the Faith; detailed plans
for national spiritual assemblies involving, in some areas,
consolidation goals, in others the multiplication of Bahá'í institutes
and schools, in others a great enrichment of Bahá'í literature, and in
all a vast increase in the number of Bahá'ís, and the holding of oceanic
and intercontinental conferences.
All such expansion and development of the Faith will
page 8
be dependent upon the Bahá'í Fund. The Universal House of Justice calls
the attention of every believer to this vital and pressing matter, and
asks the national spiritual assemblies to pay special attention to the
principle of universal participation, so that every single follower of
Bahá'u'lláh may make his offering, however small or great, and thereby
identify himself with the work of the Cause everywhere. It is our hope
that a constant flow of contributions to the International Fund will
make it possible to build up sufficient reserves for the launching of
the new plan in 1964.
Beloved friends, we enter the second epoch of the Divine Plan blessed
beyond compare, riding the crest of a great wave of victory produced
for us by our beloved Guardian. The Cause of God is now firmly rooted in
the world. Forward then, confident in the power and protection of the
Lord of Hosts, Who will, through storm and trial, toil and jubilee, use
His devoted followers to bring to a despairing humanity the life-giving
waters of His supreme Revelation.
May 7, 1963 — (London)
page 9
Seat of the Universal House of Justice;
New Arrangements for Pilgrims
The Universal House of Justice has been deeply moved and its hopes have
been raised high by the many messages of love, devotion, and eager
anticipation which have been received from national conventions and
national spiritual assemblies.
Two decisions have been taken by the Universal House of Justice
involving a further development of the institutions at the World Center.
The former offices of the International Bahá'í Council at 10 Haparsim
Street being inadequate for the far greater volume of work facing the
Universal House of Justice, it has been decided to take over the whole
of this building (until now called the Western Pilgrim House) as the
seat, for the present time, of the Universal House of Justice.
This decision made it necessary to find other accommodation for the
western pilgrims and led directly to the second decision. After careful
consideration of the alternatives, the House of Justice has decided that
the time has come to take the significant step, anticipated by our
beloved Guardian, of housing all pilgrims in one place. It was found
possible, by slight alterations, to accommodate all pilgrims, without
lessening the number, in the former Eastern Pilgrim House and its
adjacent buildings. We have therefore established one Pilgrim House, at
the Bahá'í gardens on Mount Carmel. The friends should note that this is
where they should go on arrival.
All friends whose pilgrimages have been confirmed for
page 10
1963-64 are therefore expected. There are still vacancies after December
1963, but only a very few before that date.
We have asked the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land to
continue to be responsible for the program of the pilgrims while they
are here, but letters requesting permission to come should be addressed
to the Universal House of Justice.
June 16, 1963*
In April 1969 a new action was taken by the Universal House of Justice
to open the door of pilgrimage to a greater number of believers, and
instructions were given the national spiritual assemblies concerning
procedures to be followed.
page 11
The Guardianship
We wish to share with you the text of the following resolution:
"After prayerful and careful study of the Holy Texts bearing upon the
question of the appointment of the successor to Shoghi Effendi as
Guardian of the Cause of God, and after prolonged consultation which
included consideration of the views of the Hands of the Cause of God
residing in the Holy Land, the Universal House of Justice finds that
there is no way to appoint or to legislate to make it possible to
appoint a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi."
Please share this message with the friends in your jurisdiction.
October 6, 1963*
page 12
Second World-Encircling Enterprise
Six years ago when nearing the midway point of the Ten Year Crusade, the
Bahá'í world found itself abruptly deprived of the guiding hand of its
beloved Guardian. The anguish which then seized our hearts, far from
paralyzing the progress of the Cause, stiffened our resolve and fired
our zeal to complete the tasks which God, through His Chosen Branch, had
laid upon us. The august institution of the Hands of the Cause of God,
which he had, but recently, in compliance with the instruction of the
Master's Will, raised up, kept the people of this Cause faithfully to
the path which had been shown to us by the pen of Divine guidance, and
brought us not only to the triumphal conclusion of that Crusade but to
the culminating point of the construction of the framework of
Bahá'u'lláh's World Order.
In March 1930 Shoghi Effendi wrote that Bahá'u'lláh and
'Abdu'l-Bahá had
"in unequivocal and emphatic language, appointed those twin institutions
of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship as Their chosen
successors, destined to apply the principles, promulgate the laws,
protect the institutions, adapt loyally and intelligently the Faith to
the requirements of progressive society, and consummate the
incorruptible inheritance which the Founders of the Faith have
bequeathed to the world." After long and prayerful consultation, the
House of Justice, as the friends have already been informed, found that
there is no way in which it can legislate for a second Guardian to
succeed Shoghi Effendi. The Universal House of Justice has therefore
begun, in humble obedience to the will of God,
page 13
and strengthened by daily prayer in the holy shrines, to undertake the
heavy tasks laid upon it. In the words of our beloved Guardian it "will
guide, organize, and unify the affairs of the Movement throughout the
world" and "will have to consider afresh the whole situation, and lay
down the principle which shall direct, so long as it deems advisable,
the affairs of the Cause."
COVENANT OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH
The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh is unbroken, its all-encompassing power
inviolate. The two unique features which distinguish it from all
religious covenants of the past are unchanged and operative. The
revealed Word, in its original purity, amplified by the divinely guided
interpretations of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, remains immutable,
unadulterated by any man-made creeds or dogmas, unwarrantable
inferences, or unauthorized interpretations. The channel of Divine
guidance, providing flexibility in all the affairs of mankind, remains
open through that institution which was founded by Bahá'u'lláh and
endowed by Him with supreme authority and unfailing guidance, and of
which the Master wrote: "Unto this body all things must be referred."
How clearly we can see the truth of Bahá'u'lláh's assertion: "The Hand
of Omnipotence hath established His Revelation upon an enduring
foundation. Storms of human strife are powerless to undermine its basis,
nor will men's fanciful theories succeed in damaging its structure."
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INSTITUTIONS
As the significance of the Cause of God continues in the years ahead to
become more clearly apparent to the eyes of men, a great responsibility
to watch over its security rests upon all of its institutions. The
institution of the Hands of
page 14
the Cause of God, charged in the Sacred Texts with the specific duties
of protecting and propagating the Faith, has a particularly vital
responsibility to discharge. In their capacity as protectors of the
Faith, the Hands will continue to take action to expel Covenant-breakers
and to reinstate those who sincerely repent, subject in each instance to
the approval of the Universal House of Justice. Exercising their
function of propagating the Faith, the Hands of the Cause will inspire,
advise, and assist the national spiritual assemblies in the work as they
did in the time of our beloved Shoghi Effendi, assisted by the members
of their Auxiliary Boards, who will continue to fulfill those functions
outlined for them by him.
We stand now upon the threshold of the second epoch of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's
Divine Plan, with the outposts of the Cause established in the remotest
corners of the earth, and having already witnessed the beginnings of
that entry into the Faith by troops promised by the Master Himself. The
foundation of the Kingdom has been securely laid, the framework has been
raised. The friends must now consolidate these achievements, safeguard
their institutions, and gather the peoples and kindreds of the world
into the ark which the Hand of God has built.
SECOND WORLD-ENCIRCLING ENTERPRISE
Next Ridván will be launched the second of those world-encircling
enterprises destined in the course of time to carry the Word of God to
every human soul. The standard bearers of this Nine Year Plan are the
Hands of the Cause of God. The responsibility for directing the work
will rest upon the shoulders of the national spiritual assemblies, the
generals of the army of Light, under the guidance of the Universal House
of Justice.
As the first step inaugurating this great undertaking we
page 15
rejoice to announce the formation next Ridván of nineteen national
spiritual assemblies, resulting in the dissolution of six of the
existing regional national spiritual assemblies, and bringing the total
number of these pillars of the Universal House of Justice to sixty-nine.
The national and regional national assemblies now to be formed are:
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of North West Africa,
with its seat in Tunis, comprising Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spanish
Sahara, Rio de Oro, Mauritania, the Canary Is., and Madeira.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of West Africa, with
its seat in Monrovia, comprising Liberia, Senegal, Gambia, Portuguese
Guinea, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, and Cape
Verde Is.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of West Central
Africa, with its seat in Victoria, comprising Cameroon, Spanish Guinea,
St. Thomas I., Fernando Po I., Corisco I., Nigeria, Niger, Dahomey,
Togo, and Ghana.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Uganda and Central
Africa, with its seat in Kampala, comprising Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi,
the Republic of the Congo (Ex-Belgian), the Congo Republic (Ex-French),
Central African Republic, Gabon, and Chad.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kenya, with its
seat in Nairobi.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tanganyika and
Zanzibar, with its seat in Dars-es-Salaam, comprising Tanganyika,
Zanzibar, Mafia I., and Pemba I.
page 16
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South Central
Africa, with its seat in Salisbury, comprising Nyasaland, Northern
Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Bechuanaland.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South and West
Africa, with its seat in Johannesburg, comprising Angola, South West
Africa, South Africa, Zululand, Swaziland, Basutoland, Mozambique, and
St. Helena.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the Indian Ocean,
with its seat in Port Louis, comprising Mauritius, the Malagasy
Republic, Reunion I., Seychelles Is., Comoro Is., and the Chagos
Archipelago.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the Hawaiian
Islands, with its seat in Honolulu.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the South Pacific
Ocean, with its seat in Suva, comprising the Gilbert and Ellice Is.,
Nauru I., Fiji, Samoa Is., Tonga Is., and Cook Is.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the South West
Pacific Ocean, with its seat in Honiara, comprising the Solomon Is., New
Hebrides Is., New Caledonia, and Loyalty Is.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of North East Asia,
with its seat in Tokyo, comprising Japan, Formosa, Hong Kong, and Macau.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Korea, with its
seat in Seoul.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Malaysia, with its
seat in Kuala Lumpur, comprising Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, Sabah, and
Sarawak.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
page 17
Indonesia, with its seat in Djakarta, comprising Indonesia, the Mentawai
Is., Portuguese Timor, and West Irian.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Viet Nam, with its
seat in Saigon, and having jurisdiction over the Bahá'ís of Cambodia.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Thailand, with its
seat in Bangkok, and having jurisdiction over the Bahá'ís of Laos.
- The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the Philippines,
with its seat in Manila.
The detailed goals of the Plan, which will include sixty-nine national
plans, have yet to be announced, but they must be such as to develop
still further the World Center of the Faith and the work of its
institutions; to consolidate those territories which have already been
opened to the Faith; to bring God's healing Message to many more of the
peoples and territories of the world including all the unopened
territories of the Ten Year Crusade and all the remaining independent
states of the planet; and to achieve worldwide proclamation of the Faith
to mark the Centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's Proclamation to the kings and
rulers in 1867-1868.
In the spring of 1968 the next election for the Universal House of
Justice will take place.
THIRD EPOCH OF FORMATIVE AGE
Beloved friends, the Cause of God, guarded and nurtured since its
inception by God's Messengers, by the Center of His Covenant, and by His
Sign on earth, now enters a new epoch, the third of the Formative Age.
It must now grow rapidly in size, increase its spiritual cohesion and
executive ability, develop its institutions, and extend its influence
into
page 18
all strata of society. We, its members, must, by constant study of the
life-giving Word, and by dedicated service, deepen in spiritual
understanding and show to the world a mature, responsible, fundamentally
assured, and happy way of life, far removed from the passions,
prejudices, and distractions of present-day society. Relying upon God
alone, we can promote His Cause and establish His Kingdom on earth. Only
thus can we prove our love for Those Who brought this new Day into
being. Only thus can we prove the truth of Their Divine Mission and
demonstrate how valid was Their sacrifice.
October 1963
page 19
A Service Every Believer Can Render
With the rapid approach of the launching of the Nine Year Plan, the
Universal House of Justice feels that it is timely to lay clearly before
the Bahá'ís of all countries the needs of the Fund at all its levels:
local, national, continental, and international.
The continual expansion of the Faith and the diversification of the
activities of Bahá'í communities make it more and more necessary for
every believer to ponder carefully his responsibilities and contribute
as much and as regularly as he or she can. Contributing to the Fund is a
service that every believer can render, be he poor or wealthy; for this
is a spiritual responsibility in which the amount given is not
important. It is the degree of the sacrifice of the giver, the love with
which he makes his gift, and the unity of all the friends in this
service which bring spiritual confirmations. As the beloved Guardian
wrote in August 1957: "All, no matter how modest their resources, must
participate. Upon the degree of self-sacrifice involved in these
individual contributions will directly depend the efficacy and the
spiritual influence which these nascent administrative institutions,
called into being through the power of Bahá'u'lláh, and by virtue of the
design conceived by the Center of His Covenant, will exert."
Not only the individual's responsibility to contribute is important at
this time, but also the uses to which the fund is put and the areas in
which it is expended.
Much of the present rapid expansion of the Faith is taking place in
areas of great poverty where the believers,
page 20
however much they sacrifice, cannot produce sufficient funds to sustain
the work. It is these very areas which are the most fruitful in
teaching, and a sum of money spent here will produce ten times — even a
hundred times — the results obtainable in other parts of the world. Yet
in the past months the Universal House of Justice has had to refuse a
number of appeals for assistance from such areas because there just was
not enough money in the International Fund.
It should therefore be the aim of every local and national community to
become not only self-supporting, but to expend its funds with such
wisdom and economy as to be able to contribute substantially to the
Bahá'í International Fund, thus enabling the House of Justice to aid the
work in fruitful but impoverished areas, to assist new national
assemblies to start their work, to contribute to major international
undertakings of the Nine Year Plan such as oceanic conferences, and to
carry forward the work of beautifying the land surrounding the holy
shrines at the World Center of the Faith.
Nor should the believers, individually or in their assemblies, forget
the vitally important continental funds which provide for the work of
the Hands of the Cause of God and their Auxiliary Boards. This divine
institution, so assiduously fostered by the Guardian, and which has
already played a unique role in the history of the Faith, is destined to
render increasingly important services in the years to come.
In the midst of a civilization torn by strifes and enfeebled by
materialism, the people of Bahá are building a new world. We face at
this time opportunities and responsibilities of vast magnitude and great
urgency. Let each believer in his inmost heart resolve not to be seduced
by the ephemeral allurements of the society around him, nor to
page 21
be drawn into its feuds and shortlived enthusiasms, but instead to
transfer all he can from the old world to that new one which is the
vision of his longing and will be the fruit of his labors.
December 18, 1963
page 22
Call to Action — Nine Year Plan
The divinely propelled process, described in such awe-inspiring words by
our beloved Guardian, which began six thousand years ago at the dawn of
the Adamic Cycle and which is destined to culminate in "the stage at
which the light of God's triumphant Faith shining in all its power and
glory will have suffused and enveloped the entire planet," is now
entering its tenth and last part.
The Ten Year Crusade, so recently consummated in a blaze of victory and
rejoicing, constituted the entire ninth part of this process. It saw the
Cause of God leap forward in one mighty decade-long effort to the point
at which the foundations of its Administrative Order were laid
throughout the world, thus preparing the way for that awakening of the
masses which must characterize the future progress of the Faith.
From the beginning of this Dispensation the most urgent summons of the
Word of God, voiced successively by the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh,
has been to
teach the Cause. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in His own words, "spent His days and
nights in promoting the Cause and urging the peoples to service." Shoghi
Effendi, discharging the sacred mission laid upon him, raised the
Administrative Order of the Faith, already enshrined within the Sacred
Writings, and forged it into a teaching instrument to accomplish through
a succession of plans, national, international, and global, the entire
Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and he clearly foresaw in the "tremendously
long" tenth part of the process already referred to a series of plans to
be launched by the Universal
page 23
House of Justice, extending over "successive epochs of both the
Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith."
The first of these plans is now before us. Opening at Ridván 1964, while
the memories of the glorious Jubilee of 1963 still surge within our
hearts, it must, during its nine-year course, witness a huge expansion
of the Cause of God and universal participation by all believers in the
life of that Cause.
TASKS AT THE WORLD CENTER
At the World Center of the Faith the tasks of the Plan include:
Publication of a synopsis and codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the
Most Holy Book;
Formulation of the constitution of the Universal House of Justice;
Development of the institution of the Hands of the Cause of God, in
consultation with the body of the Hands of the Cause, with a view to the
extension into the future of its appointed functions of protection and
propagation;
Continued collation and classification of the Bahá'í Sacred Scriptures
as well as of the writings of Shoghi Effendi;
Continued efforts directed towards the emancipation of the Faith from
the fetters of religious orthodoxy and its recognition as an independent
religion;
The preparation of a plan for the befitting development and
beautification of the entire area of Bahá'í property surrounding the
holy shrines;
page 24
Extension of the existing gardens on Mount Carmel;
Development of the relationship between the Bahá'í Community and the
United Nations;
The holding of oceanic and intercontinental conferences;
The coordination of worldwide plans to commemorate, in 1967/68, the
centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's Proclamation to the kings and rulers which
centered round His revelation of the Súriy-i-Mulúk in Adrianople.
TASKS FOR THE WORLD COMMUNITY
In the world community the Plan involves:
The opening of seventy virgin territories and the resettlement of
twenty-four;
The raising of the number of national spiritual assemblies, the pillars
sustaining the Universal House of Justice, to one hundred and eight,
nine times the number which embarked on the first historic World Crusade
in 1953;
Increasing the number of local spiritual assemblies to over thirteen
thousand seven hundred, scattered throughout the territories and islands
of the world, at least one thousand seven hundred of them to be
incorporated;
The raising of the number of localities where Bahá'ís reside to over
fifty-four thousand;
The building of two more Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs, one in Asia and one in
Latin America;
The acquisition of:
Thirty-two teaching institutes,
page 25
Fifty-two national Hazíratu'l-Quds,
Fifty-four national endowments, and
Sites for sixty-two future Temples;
Wide extension of recognition by civil authorities of the Bahá'í holy
days and Bahá'í marriage certificates;
The translation of literature into one hundred and thirty-three more
languages, and its enrichment in major languages into which translations
have already been made;
The establishment of four new Bahá'í publishing trusts, and
A vast increase in the financial resources of the Faith.
THE ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL
The healthy development of the Cause requires that this great expansion
be accompanied by the dedicated effort of every believer in teaching, in
living the Bahá'í life, in contributing to the Fund, and particularly in
the persistent effort to understand more and more the significance of
Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation. In the words of our beloved Guardian, "One
thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted
triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner
life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the
splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh."
TWIN OBJECTIVES OF THE NINE YEAR PLAN
Expansion and universal participation are the twin objectives of this
initial phase of the second epoch of the Divine Plan, and all the goals
assigned to the sixty-nine national communities are contributory to
them. The process
page 26
of cooperation between national spiritual assemblies, already initiated
by the beloved Guardian, will, during the course of this Plan, apply to
over two hundred specific projects and will further strengthen this
process which may well assume great importance in future stages of the
Formative Age.
Once more, dear friends, we enter the battle, but with an incomparably
greater array than that which embarked upon the World Crusade in 1953.
To that small force of twelve national communities, now veteran
campaigners, have been added fifty-seven new legions, each under the
generalship of a national spiritual assembly, each destined to become a
veteran of this and future campaigns. That Crusade began with slightly
more than six hundred local spiritual assemblies, the greater part of
which were situated in Persia, North America, and Europe; the home
fronts now comprise nearly four thousand six hundred local spiritual
assemblies scattered throughout the continents and islands of the world.
We begin this Plan with a tremendous momentum, exemplified by the
addition, since last Ridván, of over four thousand new centers and
thirteen national spiritual assemblies, and by the beginning, in several
countries, of that entry by troops into the Cause of God prophesied by
'Abdu'l-Bahá and so eagerly anticipated by Him.
The standard bearers of this Nine Year Plan are those same divinely
appointed, tried, and victorious souls who bore the standard of the
World Crusade, the Hands of the Cause of God, whose advice and
consultation have been invaluable in the working out of this Nine Year
Plan. Supported by their "deputies, assistants, and advisers," the
members of the Auxiliary Boards, they will inspire and protect the army
of God, lead through every breach to the limit of available resources,
and sustain those communities struggling over intractable or stony
ground, so that by 1973
page 27
the celebrations befitting the centenary of the revelation of the Most
Holy Book may be undertaken by a victorious, firmly established,
organically united world community, dedicated to the service of God and
the final triumph of His Cause.
Therefore let each of the sixty-nine communities seize its tasks, at
once consider how best to accomplish them within the allotted span,
raise its band of pioneers, consecrate itself to unremitting labor, and
set out on its mission. Now is the golden opportunity. For whatever
convulsions the waywardness of a godless and materialistic age may yet
precipitate in the world, however grievous may be the effects of the
rolling up of the present order on the plans and efforts of the
community of the Most Great Name, we must seize the opportunities of the
hour and go forward confident that all things are within His mighty
grasp and that, if we but play our part, total and unconditional victory
will inevitably be ours.
Ridván 1964
page 28
Dedication of the Mother Temple of Europe
We have just witnessed the dedication of the Mother Temple of Europe — a
project of untold significance and tremendous potential for the spread
of the light of God's Faith in that continent. One of the major
achievements called for by our beloved Guardian at the outset of the Ten
Year Crusade, this Mashriqu'l-Adhkár was triumphantly raised during its
closing years as the fruit of long and arduous labors in the face of
determined opposition and upon the sacrificial gifts of believers from
all parts of the world. Now dedicated in the opening months of the Nine
Yea Plan, it forms a striking link between these two great crusades,
demonstrating afresh the organic progress of the Cause whereby the
efforts exerted in one period bear fruit in the next, which in turn
endow the Bahá'í community with new and greater capacities for the
winning of still greater victories.
You are now gathered in this conference to deliberate on ways and means
of accomplishing the goals which are set before you. Let every believer,
as he considers in detail these various goals, bear in mind four supreme
objectives: to carry the Message of Bahá'u'lláh to every stratum of
society, not only in the towns and cities but also in the villages and
country districts where the virus of materialism has had much less
effect on the lives of men; to take urgent, wise, and well-considered
steps to spread the Faith to those countries of Eastern Europe in which
it has not yet become established; to reinforce strongly the heroic band
of pioneers
page 29
in the islands of the Mediterranean and the North Sea — islands which are
to play such an important role in the awakening of the entire
continent — as well as to prosecute energetically the goals you are
called upon to achieve in other continents and oceans; and to foster the
cooperation between national communities and between national spiritual
assemblies and the Hands of the Cause of God which has contributed, so
markedly to the work of the Faith on that continent and is so essential
for its future development.
Above all, let every European Bahá'í have ever-present in his mind that
these are the five years during which Bahá'u'lláh sojourned on the soil
of that continent a century ago. Let him resolve so to deepen his
knowledge of the Faith and so to increase his standards of
self-sacrifice and dedication to the Cause as to play his part in
building a community which will be worthy of this supreme bounty and
which will be a beacon light to the peoples of this fear-wracked world.
In 1953 Shoghi Effendi wrote that the continent of Europe had "at last
at this critical hour — this great turning point in its fortunes entered
upon what may well be regarded as the opening phase of a great spiritual
revival that bids fair to eclipse any period in its spiritual history."
Those who have been privileged to witness the extraordinary
strengthening and consolidation of the Cause in Europe during the course
of the last eleven years are well aware of the reservoir of spiritual
potential that has been building up and the transformation of the life
of the European Bahá'í community that has ensued. May the completion and
dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár be the signal for the unleashing of
this potential, bringing about on the European mainland and in the
islands around its shores a quickening of the process of individual
conversion comparable to those
page 30
events which have transpired with such astonishing suddenness in other
continents of the globe.
July 1964
The above message was addressed to those gathered in the European
Teaching Conference called on the occasion of the dedication of the
Mother Temple of Europe.
page 31
Teaching the Masses
When the masses of mankind are awakened and enter the Faith of God, a
new process is set in motion and the growth of a new civilization
begins. Witness the emergence of Christianity and of Islám. These masses
are the rank and file, steeped in traditions of their own, but receptive
to the new Word of God, by which, when they truly respond to it, they
become so influenced as to transform those who come in contact with
them.
God's standards are different from those of men. According to men's
standards, the acceptance of any cause by people of distinction, of
recognized fame and status, determines the value and greatness of that
cause. But, in the words of Bahá'u'lláh: "The summons and Message which
We gave were never intended to reach or to benefit one land or one
people only. Mankind in its entirety must firmly adhere to whatsoever
has been revealed and vouchsafed unto it." Or again, "He has endowed
every soul with the capacity to recognize the signs of God. How could
He, otherwise, have fulfilled His testimony unto men, if ye be of them
that ponder His Cause in their hearts." In countries where teaching the
masses has succeeded, the Bahá'ís have poured out their time and effort
in village areas to the same extent as they had formerly done in cities
and towns. The results indicate how unwise it is to solely concentrate
on one section of the population. Each national assembly therefore
should so balance its resources and harmonize its efforts that the Faith
of God is taught not only to those who are
page 32
readily accessible but to all sections of society, however remote they
may be.
The unsophisticated people of the world — and they form the large
majority of its population — have the same right to know of the Cause of
God as others. When the friends are teaching the Word of God they should
be careful to give the Message in the same simplicity as it is
enunciated in our teachings. In their contacts they must show genuine
and divine love. The heart of an unlettered soul is extremely sensitive;
any trace of prejudice on the part of the pioneer or teacher is
immediately sensed.
When teaching among the masses, the friends should be careful not to
emphasize the charitable and humanitarian aspects of the Faith as a
means to win recruits. Experience has shown that when facilities such as
schools, dispensaries, hospitals, or even clothes and food are offered
to the people being taught, many complications arise. The prime motive
should always be the response of man to God's Message, and the
recognition of His Messenger. Those who declare themselves as Bahá'ís
should become enchanted with the beauty of the teachings, and touched by
the love of Bahá'u'lláh. The declarants need not know all the proofs,
history, laws, and principles of the Faith, but in the process of
declaring themselves they must, in addition to catching the spark of
faith, become basically informed about the Central Figures of the Faith,
as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an administration
they must obey.
After declaration, the new believers must not be left to their own
devices. Through correspondence and dispatch of visitors, through
conferences and training courses, these friends must be patiently
strengthened and lovingly helped to develop into full Bahá'í maturity.
The beloved Guardian, referring to the duties of Bahá'í assemblies in
assisting the
page 33
newly declared believer, has written: ". . . the members of each and every
assembly should endeavor, by their patience, their love, their tact and
wisdom, to nurse, subsequent to his admission, the newcomer into Bahá'í
maturity, and win him over gradually to the unreserved acceptance of
whatever has been ordained in the teachings."
Expansion and consolidation are twin processes that must go hand in
hand. The friends must not stop expansion in the name of consolidation.
Deepening the newly enrolled believers generates tremendous stimulus
which results in further expansion. The enrollment of new believers, on
the other hand, creates a new spirit in the community and provides
additional potential manpower that will reinforce the consolidation
work.
We would like to share with you some of the methods by national
assemblies in various continents that have proved useful in teaching the
masses, and attach a list. Certain of these may be valuable in your
area, in addition to any methods you may yourself devise.
We are fervently praying that all national and local spiritual
assemblies, supported by the individual believers, will achieve
outstanding success in the fulfillment of this glorious objective.
July 13, 1964*
Teaching the Masses — Annex
1. Materials are sent at once to the new believers. In some places this
material is in the form of printed cards, mainly in color, portraying a
Bahá'í theme or principle. This helps the new believer to know that his
declaration
page 34
has been accepted and to feel that he now belongs to the new Faith.
2. Training courses of about two weeks duration are held. To facilitate
attendance and reduce cost, a number of villages are grouped together as
one zone in which the course is held. The students to the courses are
usually selected, so that the more capable participate and teaching is
facilitated. Transportation expenses, feeding, and accommodation are
provided if it is found that the participants are unable to cover such
expenses themselves. The material to be taught is prepared ahead of
time, presented in simple language, and translated into the vernacular.
After the course, the more promising students are picked out and with
their consent, are requested to undertake teaching projects for a
limited period. It is sometimes found that long-term projects are also
useful. These projects generally are carefully planned as to their
duration, places to be visited, and material to be taught. If the
traveling teachers are not able to cover their expenses, traveling and
living expenses are provided by the Fund for the execution of a given
and temporary teaching project.
3. Shorter training courses in the form of conferences over a long
weekend are held.
4. These activities — training courses and conferences — are repeated as
frequently as possible and are not dependent upon the acquisition of
teaching institutes. In the absence of such institutes, these courses
and conferences are normally held in Bahá'í homes or hired quarters,
such as schools, etc. In order to facilitate the physical catering and
accommodation of the participants, they are sometimes asked to come to
the course with their eating utensils and bedding.
5. In the visits made to the villages, the visiting teacher meets with
the local communities to give them basic Bahá'í
page 35
knowledge, such as living the Bahá'í life, the importance of teaching,
prayer, fasting, Nineteen Day Feasts, Bahá'í elections, and
contributions to the Fund. The question of contributions to the Fund is
of utmost importance, so that the new believers may quickly feel
themselves to be responsible members of the community. Each national
assembly must find ways and means to stimulate the offering of
contributions, in cash or kind, to make it easy for the friends to
contribute and to give proper receipts to the donors.
These are but suggestions based on experience which may help you in your
efforts to teach and deepen the spiritually starved multitudes in your
area.
In the course of carrying out such a tremendous spiritual campaign among
the masses, disappointments may well be encountered. We tabulate a few
instances that have been brought to our notice:
a) Visiting pioneers or teachers may find, in some places, newly
enrolled believers not so enthusiastic about their religion as expected,
or not adjusting to standards of Bahá'í life, or they may find them
thinking of material benefits they may hope to derive from their new
membership. We should always remember that the process of nursing the
believer into full spiritual maturity is slow, and needs loving
education and patience.
b) Some teaching committees, in their eagerness to obtain results, place
undue emphasis on obtaining a great number of declarations to the
detriment of the quality of teaching.
c) Some teaching teachers, in their desire to show the result of their
services, may not scrupulously teach their contacts, and in some rare
cases, if, God forbid, they are insincere, may even give false reports.
Such irregularities have happened and can be repeated, but must not be a
source of discouragement. By sending a
page 36
team of teachers to an area, or by sending at intervals other teachers
to those areas, and through correspondence and reports, such situations
can be detected and immediately adjusted. The administration of the
Faith must at all times keep in close touch with the teaching work.
To sum up:
1. Teaching the waiting masses is a reality facing each national
assembly.
2. The friends must teach with conviction, determination, genuine love,
lack of prejudice, and a simple language addressed to the heart.
3. Teaching must be followed up by training courses, conferences, and
regular visits to deepen the believers in their knowledge of the
teachings.
4. The close touch of the national office or teaching committees with
the work is most essential, so that through reports and correspondence
not only is information obtained and verified, but stimulation and
encouragement is given.
5. Expansion and consolidation go hand in hand.
page 37
Universal Participation
In our message to you of April 1964, announcing the Nine Year Plan, we
called attention to two major themes of that Plan, namely ". . . a huge
expansion of the Cause of God and universal participation by all
believers in the life of that Cause."
The enthusiastic vigor with which the believers throughout the world,
under the devoted guidance of their national spiritual assemblies, have
arisen to meet the challenge of the Plan, augurs well for the huge
expansion called for. We now ask you to bend your efforts and thoughts,
with equal enthusiasm, to the requirements of universal participation.
In that same message we indicated the meaning of universal
participation: ". . . the dedicated effort of every believer in teaching,
in living the Bahá'í life, in contributing to the Fund, and particularly
in the persistent effort to understand more and more the significance of
Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation. In the words of our beloved Guardian, 'One
thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted
triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner
life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the
splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh.' "
"Regard the world as the human body," wrote Bahá'u'lláh to Queen
Victoria. We can surely regard the Bahá'í world, the army of God, in the
same way. In the human body, every cell, every organ, every nerve has
its part to play. When all do so the body is healthy, vigorous, radiant,
ready for every call made upon it. No cell, however humble,
page 38
lives apart from the body, whether in serving it or receiving from it.
This is true of the body of mankind in which God "has endowed each
humble being with ability and talent," and is supremely true of the body
of the Bahá'í world community, for this body is already an organism,
united in its aspirations, unified in its methods, seeking assistance
and confirmation from the same Source, and illumined with the conscious
knowledge of its unity. Therefore, in this organic, divinely guided,
blessed, and illumined body the participation of every believer is of
the utmost importance, and is a source of power and vitality as yet
unknown to us. For extensive and deep as has been the sharing in the
glorious work of the Cause, who would claim that every single believer
has succeeded in finding his or her fullest satisfaction in the life of
the Cause? The Bahá'í world community, growing like a healthy new body,
develops new cells, new organs, new functions and powers as it presses
on to its maturity, when every soul, living for the Cause of God, will
receive from that Cause, health, assurance, and the overflowing bounties
of Bahá'u'lláh which are diffused through His divinely ordained Order.
In addition to teaching, every believer can pray. Every believer can
strive to make his "own inner life and private character mirror forth in
their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles
proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh." Every believer can contribute to the Fund.
Not all believers can give public talks, not all are called upon to
serve on administrative institutions. But all can pray, fight their own
spiritual battles, and contribute to the Fund. If every believer will
carry out these sacred duties, we shall be astonished at the accession
of power which will result to the whole body, and which in its turn will
give rise to further growth and the showering of greater blessings on
all of us.
The real secret of universal participation lies in the
page 39
Master's oft-expressed wish that the friends should love each other,
constantly encourage each other, work together, be as one soul in one
body, and in so doing become a true, organic, healthy body animated and
illumined by the spirit. In such a body all will receive spiritual
health and vitality from the organism itself, and the most perfect
flowers and fruits will be brought forth.
Our prayers for the happiness and success of the friends everywhere are
constantly offered at the holy shrines.
September 1964
page 40
Development of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God
Once again the World Center of our Faith has been the scene of historic
events, affecting profoundly the immediate prosecution of the Nine Year
Plan and the future development of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. The
occasion was the gathering in the Holy Land, for a period of fourteen
days, of the Hands of the Cause of God to discuss their vital
responsibilities, and particularly as standard bearers of the Nine Year
Plan.
The Universal House of Justice took advantage of this opportunity not
only to receive the advice, opinions, and views of the Hands on the
progress of the Nine Year Plan, but to consult them on the highly
important goal announced by Ridván 1964 under World Center goals as
"Development of the institution of the Hands of the Cause of God, in
consultation with the body of the Hands of the Cause, with a view to the
extension into the future of its appointed functions of protection and
propagation."
It was apparent that the elucidation of this vital goal, affecting as it
does the relationship of the Hands of the Cause of God to all other
institutions of the Cause, was imperative to the prosecution of the
all-important teaching work and the development of the Bahá'í World
Order.
Accordingly, the Universal House of Justice gave its full attention to
this matter and, after study of the Sacred Texts and hearing the views
of the Hands of the Cause themselves, has arrived at the following
decisions:
page 41
There is no way to appoint, or to legislate to make it possible to
appoint, Hands of the Cause of God.
Responsibility for decisions of matters of general policy affecting the
institution of the Hands of the Cause, which was formerly exercised by
the beloved Guardian, now devolves upon the Universal House of Justice
as the supreme and central institution of the Faith to which all must
turn.
It is with great joy that we are able to share with you the initial
steps now taken to attain the goal.
The assignment of the Hands to various continents remains unchanged,
but, in order to expedite the work, the continents of Asia and the
Western Hemisphere will each be divided into zones for the day-to-day
work of the Hands, one or more Hands being responsible for each zone.
Asia will consist of two zones: the Middle East, comprising the
countries from and including Pakistan westwards and also Asiatic
U.S.S.R.; and South and East Asia, comprising the remainder of the
continent. The Western Hemisphere will consist of three zones: North
America, Central America (including Mexico) and the Antilles, and South
America. The Hawaiian friends will be included in the Australasian
continental area, as listed in the recently issued statistical summary.
MEMBERS OF AUXILIARY BOARDS INCREASED
The number of members of the Auxiliary Boards for the propagation of the
Faith will be increased in every continent, raising the total number of
Auxiliary Board members in Africa from eighteen to twenty-seven; in Asia
from fourteen to thirty-six; in Australasia from four to nine; in Europe
from eighteen to twenty-seven; and in the Western Hemisphere from
eighteen to thirty-six.
page 42
The Hands of the Cause in each continent are called upon to appoint one
or more members of their Auxiliary Boards to act in an executive
capacity on behalf of and in the name of each Hand, thereby assisting
him in carrying out his work.
The exalted rank and specific functions of the Hands of the Cause of God
make it inappropriate for them to be elected or appointed to
administrative institutions, or to be elected as delegates to national
conventions. Furthermore, it is their desire and the desire of the House
of Justice that they be free to devote their entire energies to the
vitally important duties conferred upon them in the Holy Writings. The
importance of close collaboration between the Hands of the Cause and
national spiritual assemblies cannot be overstressed, and a separate
communication is being addressed to national assemblies on this subject,
supplementing guidance given in earlier letters.
We anticipate announcing at Ridván 1965 plans for oceanic and
intercontinental conferences, an overall plan for worldwide proclamation
of the Faith during 1967-68, the centenary year of the revelation of the
Súriy-i-Mulúk, involving cooperation of national and local assemblies
throughout the world, and conditions of entry for a competition for the
design of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of Panama.
Teaching the masses is the greatest challenge now facing the followers
of Bahá'u'lláh. No work is more important than that of carrying His
Message with utmost speed to the bewildered and thirsting peoples of a
spiritually parched world. Now, as the Hands return to their various
continents, reinforced by a wider and more efficient organization of
their work, we are confident that the whole Bahá'í world will, with
rising enthusiasm and ever-increasing success, press forward with the
teaching work, greatly increase
page 43
the flow of pioneers, more widely participate in the financial support
of the work of the Cause, and add rapidly to the list of goals already
accomplished.
November 1964
page 44
Unassailable Foundation of the Cause of God
The following letter concerning questions about the Universal House of
Justice was addressed to a National Spiritual Assembly and made
available for the edification of the Bahá'ís throughout the world.
We are glad that you have brought to our attention the questions
perplexing some of the believers. It is much better for these questions
to be put freely and openly than to have them, unexpressed, burdening
the hearts of devoted believers. Once one grasps certain basic
principles of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh such uncertainties are
easily dispelled. This is not to say that the Cause of God contains no
mysteries. Mysteries there are indeed, but they are not of a kind to
shake one's faith once the essential tenets of the Cause and the
indisputable facts of any situation are clearly understood.
The questions put by the various believers fall into three groups. The
first group centers upon the following queries: Why were steps taken to
elect a Universal House of Justice with the foreknowledge that there
would be no Guardian? Was the time ripe for such an action? Could not
the International Bahá'í Council have carried on the work?
THE BASIS FOR ELECTION
At the time of our beloved Shoghi Effendi's death it was evident, from
the circumstances and from the explicit requirements of the Holy Texts,
that it had been impossible for him to appoint a successor in accordance
with the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This
page 45
situation, in which the Guardian died without being able to appoint a
successor, presented an obscure question not covered by the explicit
Holy Text, and had to be referred to the Universal House of Justice. The
friends should clearly understand that before the election of the
Universal House of Justice there was no knowledge that there would be no
Guardian. There could not have been any such foreknowledge, whatever
opinions individual believers may have held. Neither the Hands of the
Cause of God, nor the International Bahá'í Council, nor any other
existing body could make a decision upon this all-important matter. Only
the House of Justice had authority to pronounce upon it. This was one
urgent reason for calling the election of the Universal House of Justice
as soon as possible.
Following the passing of Shoghi Effendi the international administration
of the Faith was carried on by the Hands of the Cause of God with the
complete agreement and loyalty of the national spiritual assemblies and
the body of the believers. This was in accordance with the Guardian's
designation of the Hands as the "Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's
embryonic World Commonwealth."
From the very outset of their custodianship of the Cause of God the
Hands realized that since they had no certainty of Divine guidance such
as is incontrovertibly assured to the Guardian and to the Universal
House of Justice, their one safe course was to follow with undeviating
firmness the instructions and policies of Shoghi Effendi. The entire
history of religion shows no comparable record of such strict
self-discipline, such absolute loyalty, and such complete
self-abnegation by the leaders of a religion finding themselves suddenly
deprived of their divinely inspired guide. The debt of gratitude which
mankind for generations, nay, ages to come, owes to this handful of
grief-stricken, steadfast, heroic souls is beyond estimation.
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The Guardian had given the Bahá'í world explicit and detailed plans
covering the period until Ridván 1963, the end of the Ten Year Crusade.
From that point onward, unless the Faith were to be endangered, further
Divine guidance was essential. This was the second pressing reason for
the calling of the election of the Universal House of Justice. The
rightness of the time was further confirmed by references in Shoghi
Effendi's letters to the Ten Year Crusade's being followed by other
plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice. One such
reference is the following passage from a letter addressed to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles on February 25, 1951,
concerning its Two Year Plan which immediately preceded the Ten Year
Crusade:
"On the success of this enterprise, unprecedented in its scope, unique
in its character, and immense in its spiritual potentialities, must
depend the initiation, at a later period in the Formative Age of the
Faith, of undertakings embracing within their range all national
assemblies functioning throughout the Bahá'í world, undertakings
constituting in themselves a prelude to the launching of worldwide
enterprises destined to be embarked upon, in future epochs of that same
age, by the Universal House of Justice, that will symbolize the unity
and coordinate and unify the activities of these national assemblies."
Having been in charge of the Cause of God for six years, the Hands, with
absolute faith in the Holy Writings, called upon the believers to elect
the Universal House of Justice, and even went so far as to ask that they
themselves be not voted for. The sole, sad instance of anyone succumbing
to the allurements of power was the pitiful attempt of Charles Mason
Remey to usurp the Guardianship.
The following excerpts from a Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
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state clearly and emphatically the principles with which the friends are
already familiar from the Will and Testament of the Master and the
various letters of Shoghi Effendi, and explain the basis for the
election of the Universal House of Justice. This Tablet was sent to
Persia by the beloved Guardian himself, in the early years of his
ministry, for circulation among the believers.
". . . for 'Abdu'l-Bahá is in a tempest of dangers and infinitely abhors
differences of opinion . . . Praise be to God, there are no grounds for
differences.
"The Báb, the Exalted One, is the Morn of Truth, the splendor of Whose
light shineth through all regions. He is also the Harbinger of the Most
Great Light, the Abhá Luminary. The Blessed Beauty is the One promised
by the sacred books of the past, the revelation of the Source of light
that shone upon Mount Sinai, Whose fire glowed in the midst of the
Burning Bush. We are, one and all, servants of Their threshold, and
stand each as a lowly keeper at Their door.
"My purpose is this, that ere the expiration of a thousand years, no one
has the right to utter a single word, even to claim the station of
Guardianship. The Most Holy Book is the Book to which all peoples shall
refer, and in it the Laws of God have been revealed. Laws not mentioned
in the Book should be referred to the decision of the Universal House of
Justice. There will be no grounds for difference . . . Beware, beware lest
anyone create a rift or stir up sedition. Should there be differences of
opinion, the Supreme House of Justice would immediately resolve the
problems. Whatever will be its decision, by majority vote, shall be the
real truth, inasmuch as that House is under the protection, unerring
guidance, and care of the one true Lord. He shall guard it from error
and will protect it
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under the wing of His sanctity and infallibility. He who opposes it is
cast out and will eventually be of the defeated.
"The Supreme House of Justice should be elected according to the system
followed in the election of the parliaments of Europe. And when the
countries would be guided the Houses of Justice of the various countries
would elect the Supreme House of Justice.
"At whatever time all the beloved of God in each country appoint their
delegates, and these in turn elect their representatives, and these
representatives elect a body, that body shall be regarded as the Supreme
House of Justice.
"The establishment of that House is not dependent upon the conversion of
all the nations of the world. For example, if conditions were favorable
and no disturbances would be caused, the friends in Persia would elect
their representatives, and likewise the friends in America, in India,
and other areas would also elect their representatives, and these would
elect a House of Justice. That House of Justice would be the Supreme
House of Justice. That is all."
(Persian and Arabic Tablets of
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Vol. III, pp. 499-501)
The friends should realize that there is nothing in the Texts to
indicate that the election of the Universal House of Justice could be
called only by the Guardian. On the contrary, 'Abdu'l-Bahá envisaged the
calling of its election in His own lifetime. At a time described by the
Guardian as "the darkest moments of His (the Master's) life, under
'Abdu'l-Hamíd's regime, when He stood to be deported to the most
inhospitable regions of Northern Africa," and when even His life was
threatened, 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to Hájí Mírzá
Taqí Afnán, the cousin of
the Báb and chief builder of the 'Ishqábád Temple, commanding him to
arrange for the election of the Universal House of Justice
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should the threats against the Master materialize. The second part of
the Master's Will is also relevant to such a situation and should be
studied by the friends.
THE INFALLIBILITY
The second series of problems vexing some of the friends centers on the
question of the infallibility of the Universal House of Justice and its
ability to function without the presence of the Guardian. Particular
difficulty has been experienced in understanding the implications of the
following statement by the beloved Guardian:
"Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that
hereditary principle which, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written, has been
invariably upheld by the Law of God. 'In all the Divine Dispensations,'
He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia,
'the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the
station of prophethood hath been his birthright.' Without such an
institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the
stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige
would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an
uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely
lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the
legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally
withdrawn."
("The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh,"
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 148)
Let the friends who wish for a clearer understanding of this passage at
the present time consider it in the light of the many other texts which
deal with the same subject, for example the following passages gleaned
from the letters of Shoghi Effendi:
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"They have also, in unequivocal and emphatic language, appointed those
twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship as
their chosen successors, destined to apply the principles, promulgate
the laws, protect the institutions, adapt loyally and intelligently the
Faith to the requirements of progressive society, and consummate the
incorruptible inheritance which the Founders of the Faith have
bequeathed to the world."
(Letter dated 21st March 1930,
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 20)
"It must be also clearly understood by every believer that the
institution of Guardianship does not under any circumstances abrogate,
or even in the slightest degree detract from, the powers granted to the
Universal House of Justice by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and
repeatedly and solemnly confirmed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will. It does
not constitute in any manner a contradiction to the Will and Writings of
Bahá'u'lláh, nor does it nullify any of His revealed instructions. It
enhances the prestige of that exalted assembly, stabilizes its supreme
position, safeguards its unity, assures the continuity of its labors,
without presuming in the slightest to infringe upon the inviolability of
its clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction. We stand indeed too close to
so monumental a document to claim for ourselves a complete understanding
of all its implications, or to presume to have grasped the manifold
mysteries it undoubtedly contains."
(Letter dated 27th February 1929,
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 8)
"From these statements it is made indubitably clear and evident that the
Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word and that
the Universal
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House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on
matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The interpretation of
the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and
binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose
exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the
final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not
expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred
and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the
specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely
invested."
("The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh,"
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 150)
"Each exercises, within the limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its
authority, its rights and prerogatives. These are neither contradictory,
nor detract in the slightest degree from the position which each of
these institutions occupies."
("The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh,"
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 148)
"Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent head of so
august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the right of
exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the majority
of his fellow members. . . ."
("The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh,"
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 150)
Above all, let the hearts of the friends be assured by these words of
Bahá'u'lláh:
"The Hand of Omnipotence hath established His Revelation upon an
unassailable, an enduring foundation. Storms of human strife are
powerless to undermine
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its basis, nor will men's fanciful theories succeed in damaging its
structure."
(Quoted on p. 109 of
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh)
and these of 'Abdu'l-Bahá:
"Verily, God effecteth that which He pleaseth; naught can annul His
Covenant; naught can obstruct His favor nor oppose His Cause! He doeth
with His will that which pleaseth Him and He is powerful over all
things!"
(Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Vol. III p. 598)
It should be understood by the friends that before legislating upon any
matter the Universal House of Justice studies carefully and exhaustively
both the Sacred Texts and the writings of Shoghi Effendi on the subject.
The interpretations written by the beloved Guardian cover a vast range
of subjects and are equally as binding as the Text itself.
There is a profound difference between the interpretations of the
Guardian and the elucidations of the House of Justice in exercise of its
function to "deliberate upon all problems which have caused difference,
questions that are obscure, and matters that are not expressly recorded
in the Book." The Guardian reveals what the Scripture means; his
interpretation is a statement of truth which cannot be varied. Upon the
Universal House of Justice, in the words of the Guardian, "has been
conferred the exclusive right of legislating on matters not expressly
revealed in the Bahá'í Writings." Its pronouncements, which are
susceptible of amendment or abrogation by the House of Justice itself,
serve to supplement and apply the Law of God. Although not invested with
the function of interpretation, the House
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of Justice is in a position to do everything necessary to establish the
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh on this earth. Unity of doctrine is
maintained by the existence of the authentic texts of Scripture and the
voluminous interpretations of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, together
with the absolute prohibition against anyone propounding "authoritative"
or "inspired" interpretations or usurping the function of Guardian.
Unity of administration is assured by the authority of the Universal
House of Justice.
"Such," in the words of Shoghi Effendi, "is the immutability of His
revealed Word. Such is the elasticity which characterizes the functions
of His appointed ministers. The first preserves the identity of His
Faith, and guards the integrity of His law. The second enables it, even
as a living organism, to expand and adapt itself to the needs and
requirements of an ever-changing society."
(Letter dated 21st March 1930,
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 23)
Every true believer, if he is to deepen in his understanding of the
Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, must needs combine profound faith in the unfailing
efficacy of His Message and His Covenant with the humility of
recognizing that no one of this generation can claim to have embraced
the vastness of His Cause nor to have comprehended the manifold
mysteries and potentialities it contains. The words of Shoghi Effendi
bear ample testimony to this fact:
"How vast is the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh! How great the magnitude of
His blessings showered upon humanity in this day! And yet, how poor, how
inadequate our conception of their significance and glory! This
generation stands too close to so colossal a Revelation to appreciate,
in their full measure, the infinite
page 54
possibilities of His Faith, the unprecedented character of His Cause,
and the mysterious dispensations of His Providence."
(Letter dated 21st March 1930,
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 24)
"We are called upon by our beloved Master in His Will and Testament not
only to adopt it (Bahá'u'lláh's new World Order) unreservedly, but to
unveil its merit to all the world. To attempt to estimate its full value
and grasp its exact significance after so short a time since its
inception would be premature and presumptuous on our part. We must trust
to time, and the guidance of God's Universal House of Justice, to obtain
a clearer and fuller understanding of its provisions and implications."
(Letter dated 23rd February 1924,
Bahá'í Administration, p. 62)
"As to the order and the management of the spiritual affairs of the
friends, that which is very important now is the consolidation of the
spiritual assemblies in every center, because, on these fortified and
unshakable foundations, God's Supreme House of Justice shall be erected
and firmly established in the days to come. When this most great Edifice
shall be reared on such an immovable foundation, God's purpose, wisdom,
universal truths, mysteries, and realities of the Kingdom, which the
mystic Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh has deposited within the Will and
Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, shall gradually be revealed and made
manifest."
(Letter in Persian, dated 19th December 1922)
Statements such as these indicate that the full meaning of the Will and
Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, as well as an understanding of the
implications of the World Order
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ushered in by that remarkable Document, can be revealed only gradually
to men's eyes, and after the Universal House of Justice has come into
being. The friends are called upon to trust to time and to await the
guidance of the Universal House of Justice, which, as circumstances
require, will make pronouncements that will resolve and clarify obscure
matters.
THE AUTHORITY TO EXPEL
The third group of queries raised by the friends concerns details of
functioning of the Universal House of Justice in the absence of the
Guardian, particularly the matter of expulsion of members of the House
of Justice. Such questions will be clarified in the constitution of the
House of Justice, the formulation of which is a goal of the Nine Year
Plan. Meanwhile the friends are informed that any member committing a
"sin injurious to the common weal" may be expelled from membership of
the House of Justice by a majority vote of the House itself. Should any
member, God forbid, be guilty of breaking the Covenant, the matter would
be investigated by the Hands of the Cause of God, and the
Covenant-breaker would be expelled by decision of the Hands of the Cause
of God residing in the Holy Land, subject to the approval of the House
of Justice, as in the case of any other believer. The decision of the
Hands in such a case would be announced to the Bahá'í world by the
Universal House of Justice.
We are certain that when you share this letter with the friends and they
have these quotations from the Scriptures and the writings of the
Guardian drawn to their attention, their doubts and misgivings will be
dispelled and they will be able to devote their every effort to
spreading the Message of Bahá'u'lláh, serenely confident in the power of
His Covenant
page 56
to overcome whatever tests an inscrutable Providence may shower upon it,
thus demonstrating its ability to redeem a travailing world and to
upraise the Standard of the Kingdom of God on earth.
March 9, 1965
page 57
Majestic Process Gathering Momentum
FIRST YEAR'S VICTORIES
The tide of victory which carried the Bahá'í world community to the
celebrations of the Most Great Jubilee is still rising.
A ceaseless shower of divine confirmation rains upon our efforts, its
evidences apparent in the many noteworthy achievements of the few brief
months since the launching of the Nine Year Plan. The most spectacular
of these is the increase in the number of centers where Bahá'ís reside
from fifteen thousand one hundred and sixty-eight at Ridván 1964 to
twenty-one thousand and six at the present time, an increase of nearly
six thousand in one year. No less remarkable is the progress of the
teaching work in India where the number of believers now exceeds a
hundred and forty thousand, an increase of more than thirty thousand
since Ridván 1964. Pioneers are moving to those few remaining
territories of the earth as yet unillumined by the light of God's new
Revelation; "the vast increase" in the size of the Cause, called for at
the launching of the Plan, appears to be developing, while in country
after country the institutions and endowments of the Faith are being
steadily and firmly established.
During the past twelve months the goals assigned to the World Center
have been actively pursued. Basic decisions and actions to implement the
goal of "Development of the institution of the Hands of the Cause of
God, with a view to extension into the future of its appointed functions
of
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protection and propagation," have already been conveyed to the friends.
Following their meeting in the Holy Land last October, the members of
this august body, the standard bearers of this Nine Year Plan as well as
of the beloved Guardian's Ten Year Crusade, already laden with honors
and services, have arisen with renewed and matchless vigor to rouse the
spirits of the friends to meet the supreme teaching challenge, to lend
their counsel and assistance to the administrative bodies, and to
diffuse the divine fragrances and love of God through all the world. The
increase in the numbers of Board members and the new executive
arrangements will, it is confidently anticipated, enable the beloved
Hands to discharge their important duties with even greater
effectiveness and give them more time to travel and teach.
A preliminary survey of the conditions affecting the construction of the
first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of Latin America, one of the two edifices to be
erected during the Plan, has already been undertaken, and we now invite
Bahá'í and non-Bahá'í architects to submit designs for the Panama
Temple. The terms and conditions of the submission, and the
specifications of the structure, may be obtained from the National
Spiritual Assembly of Panama, whose choice of design will be subject to
the ultimate approval of the Universal House of Justice. It is our hope
that the construction of this sacred House of Worship, in a location
accorded such special significance by both the Master and the Guardian,
will be speedily accomplished, so that its beacon of spiritual light may
radiate to all the Americas.
During the past twelve months the following new territories have been
opened to the Faith: in the continent of Africa, Gabon, Ifni, Mali,
Mauritania, Rodrigues Island, and Upper Volta; in the continent of
America, Aruba Island, Cozumel Island, Guadeloupe, Las Mujeres Island,
Prince of Wales Island, and St. Vincent; in the continent
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of Asia, the Ryukyu Islands; in the continent of Australasia, the Line
Islands; in the continent of Europe, the Isle of Wight, the East and
West Frisian Islands. The following territories have been reopened: in
the continent of Africa, Mafia Island; in the continent of America,
Antigua, French Guiana, and Martinique; West Irian in the continent of
Asia; and Admiralty Islands in Australasia. National Hazíratu'l-Quds
have been acquired in nine places, the seats of national spiritual
assemblies, and land has been acquired in two others on which to build
this institution. Six national spiritual assemblies have become
incorporated and the Faith has been recognized in Cambodia, a country
destined to have its own national spiritual assembly during the Nine
Year Plan. National endowments have been acquired in eight countries;
six teaching institutes have been established, and land has been
acquired for six others; a Bahá'í Publishing Trust for the provision of
literature in the French language has been established in Brussels;
Bahá'í holy days have been recognized in three territories;
Bahá'í
literature has been published in the following eleven new languages:
Ibibio-Efik in the continent of Africa, Aguacateca, Athebascan, Carina,
and Motilon-Yukpa in the continent of America, Kenyah, Melanau, and
Temiar in the continent of Asia, and Ghari, Marshallese, and Motua in
Australasia. The progress of the Cause in Borneo makes possible the
achievement of a goal supplementary to the Plan, namely the
establishment at Ridván 1966 of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Brunei.
TWO CONDITIONS IN BAHÁ'Í WORLD COMMUNITY
The passage of the first year of the Plan discloses two conditions in
the Bahá'í world community. The first, within the Faith itself, is its
capacity to accomplish all and any definitive goals assigned to it,
goals such as the purchasing
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of Hazíratu'l-Quds, Temple sites, endowments, or the incorporation of
spiritual assemblies; such objective and highly important goals as
these, by which the Cause is established physically, legally, and
socially in the world, are now taken in its stride by the Administrative
Order. It should be noted, moreover, that the accomplishment of many
goals of this type involves interassembly cooperation, an international
activity vital to the development of world order.
The second condition apparent after the passage of the first year of the
Plan involves the relationship of the Cause to humanity. Almost
universally there is a sense of an impending breakthrough in large-scale
conversion. Reports of the Hands of the Cause and of Board members
constantly mention it; many national spiritual assemblies believe that
they have reached the shores of this ocean. And, indeed, entry into the
Cause by troops has been a fact in some areas for a number of years. But
greater things are ahead. The teaching of the Faith must enkindle a
world-encircling fire in whose light the Cause and the
world — protagonists of the greatest drama in human history — are clearly
illumined. Destiny is carrying us to this climax; we must gird ourselves
for heroism.
DISPATCH OF FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY PIONEERS
Four challenging and immediate tasks present themselves. The first is to
raise and dispatch, during the coming year, no less than four hundred
and sixty pioneers who will open the fifty-four remaining virgin
territories of the Plan, resettle the eighteen unoccupied ones,
reinforce areas where the numbers and cohesion of the Bahá'í communities
are at present inadequate to launch effective teaching plans, and
support and extend the work in the areas of mass teaching. Let every
believer consider this challenge, be he, in the words of the beloved
Guardian, "in active service or not,
page 61
of either sex, young as well as old, rich or poor, whether veteran or
newly enrolled . . ."
To assist the pioneer efforts of the friends and their transfer to their
posts during the next twelve months we announce the formation of five
continental pioneer committees, namely: Pioneer Committee for Africa
appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
British Isles; Pioneer Committee for the Americas appointed by the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States; Pioneer
Committee for Asia appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Persia; Pioneer Committee for Australasia appointed by the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia; Pioneer
Committee for Europe appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Germany.
These committees will in no way infringe upon the responsibilities of
other pioneer committees, or of national spiritual assemblies, who are
in charge of the teaching work, and under whose jurisdiction they will
function. They are established to facilitate and assist the work of
these national bodies by providing effective exchange of vital
information, both continentally and intercontinentally, by assisting in
the routing of pioneer offers, and in the transfer of pioneers to their
posts.
A careful estimate has been made of the pioneer needs of every area
during the next twelve months and the result, including those for the
seventy-two areas mentioned above, is a call for four hundred and
sixty-one pioneers; eighty-six for Africa, ninety-six for the Americas,
one hundred and ninety-one for Asia, twenty-nine for Australasia, and
fifty- nine for Europe. Each national spiritual assembly has been
consulted as to its pioneer needs and these have been made known to all
national spiritual assemblies as well as to the five continental pioneer
committees, who will be kept currently
page 62
informed of progress by the national spiritual assemblies. The friends,
therefore, are urged to consult their national spiritual assemblies for
information about pioneer needs and responsibilities both of their own
communities and in general.
For the first time in Bahá'í history, an International Deputization Fund
has been established at the World Center under the administration of the
Universal House of Justice. From it supplementary support will be given
to specific pioneering projects when other funds are not available. All
friends, and particularly those who are unable to respond to the pioneer
call, are invited to support this Fund, mindful of the injunction of
Bahá'u'lláh, "Center your energies in the propagation of the Faith of
God. Whoso is worthy of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it.
Whoso is unable, it is his duty to appoint him who will, in his stead,
proclaim this Revelation, Whose power hath caused the foundation of the
mightiest structures to quake, every mountain to be crushed into dust,
and every soul to be dumbfounded."
RAPID INCREASE IN MEMBERS AND INSTITUTIONS
The second challenge facing us is to raise the intensity of teaching to
a pitch never before attained, in order to realize that "vast increase"
called for in the Plan. Universal participation and constant action will
win this goal. Every believer has a part to play, and is capable of
playing it, for every soul meets others, and, as promised by
Bahá'u'lláh, "Whosoever arises to aid Our Cause, God will render him
victorious. . . ." The confusion of the world is not diminishing, rather
does it increase with each passing day, and men and women are losing
faith in human remedies. Realization is at last dawning that "there is
no place to flee to"
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save God. Now is the golden opportunity; people are willing, in many
places eager, to listen to the divine remedy.
The third challenge is to acquire as rapidly as possible all the
remaining national Hazíratu'l-Quds, Temple sites, national endowments,
and teaching institutes called for in the Plan. The speedy conclusion of
these projects will save tremendous expense later and endow the Faith
with increasingly valuable properties. These basic possessions are the
embryos of mighty institutions of the future, but it is this generation,
which, for its own protection and as its gift to posterity, must acquire
them. We call upon the national spiritual assemblies charged with
responsibility in this field to accord it high priority. A further, but
equally important, consideration is that the achievement of this goal in
the early years of the Plan will liberate the energies and resources of
the growing world community for a concentrated, resolute, and relentless
pursuit in its later stages of great victories whose foundations are now
being laid.
CENTENARY OF PROCLAMATION TO KINGS IN 1867
The fourth challenge is to prepare national and local plans for the
befitting celebration of the centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's Proclamation of
His Message in September/October, 1867, to the kings and rulers of the
world, celebrations to be followed during the remainder of the Nine Year
Plan by a sustained and well-planned program of proclamation of that
same Message to the generality of mankind.
A review of the historic Proclamation by Bahá'u'lláh, as described by
Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By, reveals that its "opening notes" were
"sounded during the latter part of Bahá'u'lláh's banishment to
Adrianople," and that, six years later, it "closed during the early
years of His
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incarceration in the prison-fortress of 'Akka." These "opening notes"
were the mighty and awe-inspiring words addressed by Him to the kings
and rulers collectively in the Súriy-i-Mulúk, "the most momentous Tablet
revealed by Bahá'u'lláh." It was penned sometime during the months of
September and October 1867, and was followed by "Tablets unnumbered . . .
in which the implications of His newly asserted claims were fully
expounded." "Kings and emperors, severally and collectively; the chief
magistrates of the Republics of the American continent; ministers and
ambassadors; the Sovereign Pontiff himself; the Vicar of the Prophet of
Islám; the royal Trustee of the Kingdom of the Hidden Imám; the monarchs
of Christendom, its patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, priests, and
monks; the recognized leaders of both the Sunní and Shí'ih sacerdotal
orders; the high priests of the Zoroastrian religion; the philosophers,
the ecclesiastical leaders, the wise men, and the inhabitants of
Constantinople — that proud seat of both the Sultanate and the Caliphate;
the entire company of the professed adherents of the Zoroastrian, the
Jewish, the Christian, and Muslim Faiths; the people of the Bayán; the
wise men of the world, its men of letters, its poets, its mystics, its
tradesmen, the elected representatives of its peoples; His own
countrymen;" all were "brought directly within the purview of the
exhortations, the warnings, the appeals, the declarations, and the
prophecies which constitute the theme of His momentous summons to the
leaders of mankind . . ." "Unique and stupendous as was this proclamation,
it proved to be but a prelude to a still mightier revelation of the
creative power of its Author, and to what may well rank as the most
signal act of His ministry — the promulgation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas." In
this, the Most Holy Book, revealed in 1873, Bahá'u'lláh not only once
more
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announces to the kings of the earth collectively that "He Who is the
King of Kings hath appeared" but addresses reigning sovereigns
distinctively by name and proclaims to the "rulers of America and the
Presidents of the Republics therein" that "the Promised One hath
appeared." Such was the Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh to mankind. As He
Himself testified, "Never since the beginning of the world hath the
Message been so openly proclaimed."
The celebration of this fate-laden centenary period will open with a
visit, in September 1967, on the Feast of Mashíyyat, by a few appointed
representatives of the Bahá'í world to the site of the house in
Adrianople, where the historic Súriy-i-Mulúk was revealed.
Immediately following this joyful and pious act, six intercontinental
conferences will be simultaneously held during the month of October in
Panama City, Wilmette, Sydney, Kampala, Frankfurt, and New Delhi. The
host and convenor of each conference will be the national spiritual
assembly in whose area it takes place. The following Hands of the Cause
of God will represent the Universal House of Justice at these
conferences: Panama City — Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum,
who will, on
that occasion, lay the foundation stone of the Temple; Wilmette — Leroy
Ioas; Sydney — Ugo Giachery; Kampala — 'Alí-Akbar Furútan;
Frankfurt — Paul
Haney; New Delhi — 'Abu'l-Qásim Faizí.
All national spiritual assemblies are called upon to arrange befitting
observances, on a national and local scale, of the opening of the
centenary period during September/October, 1967, and between the above
conferences and Ridván 1968, at which time the second International
Convention for the election of the Universal House of Justice will be
held at the World Center.
The successful carrying out of all these plans will
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constitute a befitting commemoration, commensurate with the resources of
the Bahá'í world community, of the sacred event they recall.
PERIOD OF PROCLAMATION
These six conferences, like the epoch-making event whose centenary they
commemorate, will sound the "opening notes" of a period of proclamation
of the Cause of God extending through the remaining years of the Nine
Year Plan to the centenary, in 1973, of the revelation of the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, an activity which calls for the ardent and imaginative
study of all national and local spiritual assemblies throughout the
world.
The international scene will witness the holding of oceanic conferences
forecast by Shoghi Effendi. The first one will be held during August
1968 on an island in the Mediterranean Sea to commemorate Bahá'u'lláh's
voyage upon that sea, a hundred years before, from Gallipoli in Turkey
to the Most Great Prison in 'Akká. In the subsequent years of the Nine
Year Plan, others will be held in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Caribbean
Sea, the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean.
In calling upon all national spiritual assemblies to consider now the
appointment of national proclamation committees charged with laying
feasible and effective plans for the proclamation of the Faith
throughout the entire centenary period, we can do no better than call
attention to the following passage from a letter written by our beloved
Guardian in connection with the celebrations of the centenary of the
birth of the Bahá'í Era:
"An unprecedented, a carefully conceived, efficiently coordinated
nationwide campaign, aiming at the proclamation of the Message of
Bahá'u'lláh, through speeches, articles in the press, and radio
broadcasts,
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should be promptly initiated and vigorously prosecuted. The universality
of the Faith, its aims and purposes, episodes in its dramatic history,
testimonials to its transforming power, and the character and
distinguishing features of its World Order should be emphasized and
explained to the general public, and particularly to eminent friends and
leaders sympathetic to its cause, who should be approached and invited
to participate in the celebrations. Lectures, conferences, banquets,
special publications should,