Shoghi Effendi

“ As the country is so very vast meetings cannot be very frequent and well attended, and this ultimately leads to misunderstandings and lack of faith in each other. Shoghi Effendi knows the different individuals involved, he knows their integrity and faith in the Cause and its spirit. He is sure that they, each and all, have no other purpose but to serve the progress of the movement and uphold its interests. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi is pleased to learn, from your letters of June 11th and 16th, of the new possibilities for the publication of Canon Townshend’s book. Realising the number and force of the difficulties which have thus far stood in your way, he cannot indeed but feel gratified that you have at last been able to overcome some of them. He hopes that through your determination to have this valuable booklet published without any further delay some valuable and permanent result will be achieved, and that a few people of capacity and influence will be attracted to the Faith. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi’s earnest hopes in England are very great, and I am sure that the sincere and true-hearted efforts of his fellow-workers, will spread the principles of this great Revelation as never before. Hard though it be to get access to the more intellectual circles in England, he firmly believes that through persistence, the obstacles will be soon overcome and they, with their own accord, will welcome you in their midst, turning a sympathetic ear to all that you have to share with them. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi has read with much pleasure your welcome message of the 23rd of May last, and has learned with deep satisfaction of the success of the meeting you have held on the occasion of the anniversary of Báb’s Declaration. He feels, indeed, so happy to realize how unitedly and harmoniously your community is discharging its activities, and is certain that, as years go by, it will increasingly manifest a zeal and ardour that will enable it to achieve accomplishments that will not only be unique but which will have far-reaching effects upon the progress of the Cause throughout Germany. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi will remember in his prayers all those who are working in this noble field of service.
Shoghi Effendi desires that you should extend his loving greetings to all the friends in Auckland. He hopes that through their endeavours and the Master’s invisible guiding hand they will succeed to raise the standard of the Cause in that land to such heights that it will arouse the interest of all the seeking souls and in due time win their support. ”

“ Nothing Must Dampen Our Zeal Nothing, I dare say, can be more encouraging and gladsome to Shoghi Effendi than the news of the activities of the friends in such a vast and promising field as India. In the last few years the harvest of the friends’ endeavours was not as rich and abundant as we all would wish and undoubtedly the political throes through which India has been passing and the general unrest which such conditions have brought about, account to a large measure for this comparative unfruitfulness in the self-sacrificing efforts of the Indian Baha’is. ”

“ I believe the Guardian has already intimated his approval of this pamphlet and the desire that the friends in Australia publish and circulate it among the Maoris.
As regards the passages in the sacred writings indicating the wrath of God; Shoghi Effendi says that the Divinity has many attributes: He is loving and merciful but also just. Just as reward and punishment, according to Bahá’u’lláh, are the pillars upon which society rests, so mercy and justice may be considered as their counterpart in the world to come. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi was very sad to hear of your difficulties, especially as they have encompassed you at an age when you cannot confront them but must have comfort and peace. You should, however, take courage and resign to the will of God when you see what the Greatest Holy Leaf had to face during her life. All you may suffer is nothing compared to what she had to endure; and yet how joyous and hopeful she used always to be!
This is the way of the world. The greatest among us seems to be the one who has suffered most and withstood best the battles of life. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi has gladly received the names of the elected body for the London Assembly and he wishes them all success from the bottom of his heart. That they may all help to vindicate still more strongly the great claim of our dear Cause in England, that they may succeed to increase daily the numbers of earnest Bahá’í workers and that they may mirror forth the great spirit of our beloved Master, is the fondest hope and the fervent prayer of our dear Guardian. ”

“ An adventurous and enquiring soul, she undertook her first pilgrimage to Haifa in 1938, arriving there shortly after the marriage of Shoghi Effendi and, after living for two years in Australia, she returned to New Zealand where she embarked on a life of service to the Cause. Towards the end of the Second World War, she willingly made available her premises (a counter lunch-shop) in Anzac Avenue as a venue for the Auckland Bahá’í community and, in the 1950’s, responded to the call by travel teaching in Mangakino and Whangarei. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi has been deeply touched by your very cordial message of the 31st December, and is moved to write to you again and to assure you of his best wishes, and of his continued prayers for your protection and guidance in those hard and trying times.
His thoughts often turn to you and to our well-beloved German brethren in dear remembrance and loving appreciation of your services to the Cause. He is daily supplicating the Beloved to cheer and comfort your hearts, strengthen and guide your steps, and keep you ever steadfast and loyal in His path. ”

“ Step by step, Shoghi Effendi guided the Community on how to plan and organize a comprehensive teaching plan.
As far back as 1933, the beloved Guardian summoned the Baha’is of India to teach among the masses, and to reach persons of capacity in every strata of society. He guided us in every accomplishment, pointing out the objectives, counselling and urging the completion of goals set for the Community.
The reader will find for himself what great victories still remain to be won and what great potentialities still remain hidden in India—“a vast country and an excellent field of service”. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi is very glad the friends have taken the necessary step to assist Mrs. Ransom Kehler by appointing Professor Pritam Singh to accompany her in her trip through India. May God help her and help you in proclaiming the Word of God through the length and breadth of that vast land. ”

“ May it prove a prelude to an intensive and fruitful teaching campaign that shall bring in its wake enlightenment, peace and hope to the distracted multitudes of that agitated country.
April 12, 1932
Even though we can refer to a non-Baha’i when we have no one among the friends to undertake a proper work of translation, yet it is always preferable to have it accomplished by a person who is imbued with the spirit and is already familiar with the different expressions of Baha’i conceptions unfamiliar to a non-Baha’i. Shoghi Effendi wishes him success and will pray for his guidance. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi fully realises the strain which those who are so actively bearing the weight of Bahá’í responsibility are subjected to in these days, when already, as private individuals, the events of the world are affecting their lives and drawing on their strength. It makes the quality of Bahá’í service so much finer, that it should entail on the part of all definite self-sacrifice. ”

“ A teacher ought to remain at least a few months in the same city if he wants to really confirm souls. Mere passing and giving a lecture or two is not sufficient unless there are resident Baha’is to continue the work that was merely started. Anyhow Mrs. Ransom Kehler is expected to reach Haifa in about 3 weeks and Shoghi Effendi will hear the report of her journey from herself.
Translation of Baha’u’llah and the New Era The Guardian was very glad to learn of your quick response to his expressed desire in having Dr. Esslemont’s book translated into Urdu and Gujrati. ”

“ He hopes that it will daily progress and add to its importance in drawing the attention of the people there. A good periodical fully representative of the spirit and teachings of the Cause is the greatest help the Movement can have in establishing itself in a country. So though difficulties may be found at the outset, we should bear them patiently and await that the future should give us our reward.
Shoghi Effendi wishes me to extend to you his loving greetings and assure you, as well as your mother and Mr Brewer, of his constant prayers. ”

“ I had a long letter from Effie Baker yesterday. She is very devoted and whole-hearted and will be a valuable worker for the Cause, I think, and a great help to Father and Mother Dunn. When she wrote, Margaret Stevenson had gone to Scotland and Mrs and Miss Blundell were in Bournemouth. Effie Baker hopes to make a return visit to Haifa on her way back to Australia.
Shoghi Effendi assures you of his prayers on behalf of your mother, yourself and all the Australasian friends and his hopes that the proposed Magazine may greatly help the spread of the Glad Tidings in Australia and New Zealand. ”

“ We had a note from her from Bournemouth.
You will be glad to hear that the Greatest Holy Leaf and the Holy Mother were able to motor to Bahjí and Ridván one day during the Feast of Ridván, and that yesterday the Greatest Holy Leaf motored to the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and saw the new Gardens in which Shoghi Effendi has been taking so much interest.
Yesterday a Dutchman arrived here from Port Said, the first Dutch Bahá’í, so far as we know. He has been a sincere and earnest truth-seeker for years. ”

“ In his moments of prayer at the blessed Shrines, Shoghi Effendi will think of you all and ask God to guide and assist you in spreading His message throughout that land and the neighbouring countries. He trusts that, through your persistent efforts, innumerable souls will be guided to see the Truth and flock to its support.... ”

“ Shoghi Effendi hopes that this period he spent in America would be itself an education that would help him in his work in serving the Cause. His activities with the young people there should have made him very experienced and have deepened his understanding of the Faith. ”

“ An appreciation of these circumstances helps us to understand the magnitude of the challenge facing Shoghi Effendi at the outset of his ministry. So far as the objective condition of humankind, as he encountered it, was concerned, there was nothing that would have inspired confidence that the vision of a new world bequeathed him by the Founders of the Bahá’í Cause could be significantly advanced during whatever span of years might be allowed him. ”

“ Shoghi Effendi, as you know, has been invariably encouraging the believers, both in the East and in the West, to make an intensive study of that language, and to consider it as an important medium for the spread of the Cause in international circles. He has been specially urging the friends to have the Cause well represented in all Esperanto Congresses and associations, and by this means cultivate greater friendship and cooperation between them and the Esperantists. ”

“ He continues, “From the Land of Tá (Ṭihrán) , after countless afflictions, We reached ‘Iráq, at the bidding of the Tyrant of Persia, where, after the fetters of Our foes, We were afflicted with the perfidy of Our friends. God knoweth what befell Me thereafter!” And again: “I have borne what no man, be he of the past or of the future, hath borne or will bear.” “Oceans of sadness,” He testifies in the Tablet of Qullu’t-Tá’am, “have surged over Me, a drop of which no soul could bear to drink. Such is My grief that My soul hath well nigh departed from My body.” ”

“ As regard the chanting of Tablets in the Temple, Shoghi Effendi wishes in this connection to urge the friends to avoid all forms of rigidity and uniformity in matters of worship. There is no objection to the recital or chanting of prayers in the Oriental language, but there is also no obligation whatsoever of adopting such a form of prayer at any devotional service in the auditorium of the Temple. ”

“ They will surely appreciate, and draw great benefit from, this original and beautifully-written essay of Mr. Townshend, and they will certainly do their best to make it known by the outside world.
Shoghi Effendi wishes you to send him, as soon as the book is published, 150 copies for his library. He will also place some of them in Bahá’u’lláh’s Mansion at Bahjí for the benefit of the Bahá’í as well as non-Bahá’í visitors.
With the renewed assurance of his best wishes and of his continued prayers on your behalf. ”

“ Apart from the insincerity that marked all too many of them, the relatives of Shoghi Effendi demonstrated little or no awareness of the spiritual nature of the role conferred on him in the Will and Testament. That the Revelation of God to the age of humanity’s maturity should have brought with it, as a central feature of its mission, an authority essential for the restructuring of social order represented a spiritual challenge they seemed unable, or perhaps never sought, to understand. ”

“ Our Common Servitude May I also express my heartfelt desire that the friends of God in every land regard me in no other light but that of a true brother, united with them in our common servitude to the Master’s Sacred Threshold, and refer to me in their letters and verbal addresses always as Shoghi Effendi, for I desire to be known by no other name save the one our Beloved Master was wont to utter, a name which of all other designations is the most conducive to my spiritual growth and advancement. ”