The Unfolding Destiny of the British Bahai Community Part 4

(Enclosure)

Bahiyyih _Kh_anum, Haifa

ARTICLE MAILED ELEVENTH BOTH HAIFA LONDON GLADLY ACT CONFERENCE.

MILLS

Letter of 16 July 1924

16 July 1924

My dear Baha'i Brother,

...I have to write you and inform you that only yesterday I had the privilege of receiving a letter from our dear Guardian who is still away from Haifa ... he wishes me to write you, in answer to your letter to him, that he very much regrets to be unable to be present in London and represent a Cause to which he has ... dedicated his heart and soul. Were it at all possible for me to send you his short note, you would see for yourself with what a spirit he expresses his deep regret.... Although he realises your disappointment at his inability to go to London, he wishes me to a.s.sure every one of you that his eager prayers for you all is unfailing and that it is with a glad heart that he cherishes the fondest hopes in the effort that the proceedings of the religious Conference shall have on the audience. May I also add that this is a hope in which everybody shares especially the Greatest Holy Leaf and the members of the family.

I presume by now you have already received a copy of the address that is to be read...

You might be interested to know that the news of the progress of the Cause among the Kadiani sect in India is quite surprising and two of their chief leaders have not only become Baha'is, but have started an admirable little weekly, I think, through which they hope to bring many of their colleagues over. By the way, I believe the leader of the sect who is himself a young man is coming over to London to represent his sect at the Conference.

The confusion and disorder in Persia which had aroused so much apprehension on the part of the helpless Baha'is and had even led in one case to actual martyrdom, has apparently subsided for the moment.

Here in Haifa everybody is in good health. With heartfelt greetings to all the friends in London....

Letter of 23 September 1924

23 September 1924

MAY WEMBLEY (sic CONFERENCE) FULFIL YOUR FONDEST HOPES PRAY CONVEY AUTHORITIES MY SINCERE REGRET AT INABILITY TO BE PRESENT I WISH THEM FULL SUCCESS IN THEIR n.o.bLE ENDEAVOURS.

SHOGHI

Letter of 24 September 1924

24 September 1924(4)

The beloved of the Lord and the hand-maids of the Merciful in Great Britain.

Care of the National Spiritual a.s.sembly.

Dear Friends,

I return to the Holy Land with an overpowering sense of the gravity of the spiritual state of the Cause in the world. Much as I deplore the disturbing effect of my forced and repeated withdrawals from the field of service, I can unhesitatingly a.s.sure you that my last and momentous step was taken with extreme reluctance and only after mature and anxious reflection as to the best way to safeguard the interests of a precious Cause.

My prolonged absence, my utter inaction should not, however, be solely attributed to certain external manifestations of unharmony, of discontent and disloyalty-however paralysing their effect has been upon the continuance of my work-but also to my own unworthiness and to my imperfections and frailties.

I venture to request you to join me in yet another prayer, this time more ardent and universal than before, supplicating with one voice the gracious Master to overlook our weaknesses and failings, to make us worthier and braver children of His own.

Humanity, through suffering and turmoil, is swiftly moving on towards its destiny; if we be loiterers, if we fail to play our part surely others will be called upon to take up our task as ministers to the crying needs of this afflicted world.

Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and n.o.ble principles, not by an organised campaign of teaching-no matter how worldwide and elaborate in its character-not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and sceptical age the supreme claim of the Abha Revelation. 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 splendour of those eternal principles proclaimed by Baha'u'llah.

Looking back upon those sullen days of my retirement, bitter with feelings of anxiety and gloom, I can recall with appreciation and grat.i.tude those unmistakable evidences of your affection and steadfast zeal which I have received from time to time, and which have served to relieve in no small measure the burden that weighed so heavily upon my heart.

I can well imagine the degree of uneasiness, nay of affliction, that must have agitated the mind and soul of every loving and loyal servant of the Beloved during these long months of suspense and distressing silence. But I a.s.sure you such remarkable solicitude as you have shown for the protection of His Cause, such tenacity of faith and unceasing activity as you have displayed for its promotion, cannot but in the end be abundantly rewarded by 'Abdu'l-Baha, who from His station above is the sure witness of all that you have endured and suffered for Him.

And now as I look into the future, I hope to see the friends at all times, in every land, and of every shade of thought and character, voluntarily and joyously rallying round their local and in particular their national centres of activity, upholding and promoting their interests with complete unanimity and contentment, with perfect understanding, genuine enthusiasm, and sustained vigour. This indeed is the one joy and yearning of my life, for it is the fountain-head from which all future blessings will flow, the broad foundation upon which the security of the Divine Edifice must ultimately rest. May we not hope that now at last the dawn of a brighter day is breaking upon our beloved Cause?

Shoghi

Letter of 10 October 1924

10 October 1924

My dear good brother,

Your letter of Sept. 30th written to our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, arrived and rejoiced his dear heart with its very interesting contents.

Yesterday he instructed me to translate a great part of it into Persian so that it may be inserted in the circular of the Haifa Spiritual a.s.sembly and also to convey to you his great affection for you and the dear English friends who so splendidly laboured towards the dignified representation of the Cause of G.o.d at the Conference on Religions.

We have already the reports given in "The Times" from the two sessions of the Conference allotted to the A?madiyyih people and to us. Both are very interesting indeed....

Shoghi Effendi prays for the success and confirmation of you and all the dear and n.o.ble English friends whose earnestness of efforts towards the welfare of the Cause of G.o.d he highly admires and appreciates with profound love....

Letter of 10 October 1924

10 October 1924

My dearly-beloved brother,