Title: Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand
Author: Shoghi Effendi, 1897-1957
Language: English
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Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand


by Shoghi Effendi



Edition 1, (September 2006)



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                                 CONTENTS


Baha’i Terms of Use
Letter of December 2, 1923
Letter of May 15th, 1934
Letter of July 26th, 1934
Letter of October 17th, 1934
Letter of January 16th, 1935
Letter of April 24th, 1935
Letter of June 19th, 1935
Letter of September 26th, 1935
Letter of January 3rd, 1936
Letter of April 15th, 1936
Letter of April 26th, 1936
Letter of June 10th, 1936
Letter of September 23rd, 1936
Letter of September 25th, 1936
Letter of November 17th, 1936
Letter of December 1st, 1936
Letter of February 4th, 1937
Letter of March 18th, 1937
Letter of August 29th, 1937
Letter of August 30th, 1937
Letter of January 31st, 1938
Letter of March 30th, 1938
Letter of June 22nd, 1938
Letter of November 2nd, 1938
Letter of February 15th, 1939
Letter of March 17th, 1939
Letter of July 12th, 1939
Letter of November 4th, 1940
Letter of January 3rd, 1941
Letter of April 19th, 1941
Letter of July 30th, 1941
Letter of December 26th, 1941
Letter of Feb. 23rd, 1942
Letter of April 18th, 1942
Letter of March 19th, 1943
Letter of March 14th, 1944
Letter of Oct. 17th, 1944
Letter of Dec. 12th, 1944
Letter of March 13th, 1945
Letter of May 13th, 1945
Letter of Aug. 8th, 1945
Letter of March 25th, 1946
Letter of May 25th, 1946
Letter of July 16th, 1946
Letter of July 31st, 1946
Letter of March 14th, 1947
Letter of April 7th, 1947
Letter of July 22nd, 1947
Letter of May 11th, 1948
Letter of Dec. 30th, 1948
Letter of August 22, 1949
Letter of 4 September, 1949
Letter of June 28, 1950
Letter of 11 September, 1950
Letter of Nov. 14, 1950
Letter of Jan. 21, -51
Letter of March 1, 1951
Letter of March 8th, 1951
Letter of Sept. 7, 1951
Letter of Sept. 29, 1951
Letter of Nov. 20, 1951
Letter of December 2, 1951
Letter of February 24, 1952
Letter of April 12, 1952
Letter of April 30, 1952
Letter of June 3, 1952
Letter of June 15, 1952
Letter of November 29, 1952
Letter of November 30, 1952
Letter of May 3, 1953
Letter of May 7, 1953
Letter of June 14, 1953
Letter of June 23, 1953
Letter of January 24, 1954
Letter of June 16, 1954
Letter of July 24, 1955
Letter of Oct. 30th, 1955
Letter of November 29, 1955
Letter of June 13th, 1956
Letter of October 27, 1956
Letter of May 7, 1957
Letter of July 19, 1957



LETTER OF DECEMBER 2, 1923


Fellow-labourers in the Divine Vineyard!

Upon my return, after a forced and prolonged absence, to the Holy Land, it
is my first and most ardent wish to renew and strengthen those ties of
brotherly love and fellowship that bind our hearts together in our common
servitude to His Sacred Threshold.

The two years that have elapsed since the passing of our beloved Master
have been for the Cause, as well as for mankind, years of deep anxiety and
strain. The momentous changes that are taking place in the history of both
have proved so swift and far-reaching as to arouse in certain hearts a
strange misgiving as to their stability and future.

On one hand the remarkable revelations of the Beloved’s Will and Testament
so amazing in all its aspects, so emphatic in its injunctions, have
challenged and perplexed the keenest minds, whilst the ever-increasing
confusion of the world, threatened as never before with disruptive forces,
fierce rivalries, fresh commotions and grave disorder, have well-nigh
overwhelmed the heart and damped the zeal of even the most enthusiastic
believers in the destiny of mankind.

And yet, how often we seem to forget the clear and repeated warnings of
our beloved Master, who in particular during the concluding years of his
mission on earth, laid stress on the severe mental tests that would
inevitably sweep over his loved ones of the West ... tests that would
purge, purify and prepare them for their noble mission in life.

And as to the world’s evil plight, we need but recall the writings and
sayings of Bahá’u’lláh, who, more than fifty years ago, declared in terms
prophetic the prime cause of the ills and sufferings of mankind, and set
forth their true and divine remedy. “Should the lamp of Religion be
hidden”, He declared, “chaos and confusion will ensue.” How admirably
fitting and applicable are these words to the present state of mankind!

Ours then is the duty and privilege to labour, by day, by night, amidst
the storm and stress of these troublous days, that we may quicken the zeal
of our fellow-man, rekindle their hopes, stimulate their interests, open
their eyes to the true Faith of God and enlist their active support in the
carrying out of our common task for the peace and regeneration of the
world.

Let us take heart and be thankful to our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as we
remember his manifold blessings and unfailing care and protection, ever
since the hour of his departure from our midst. The flames of sedition, so
maliciously kindled in the past by those who have dared to flout his will,
are gone out for ever, and the fondest hopes of these evil plotters are
now abandoned, doomed never to revive. He has indeed redeemed his promise!

It seemed not a long time ago that their agitation, so violently renewed
immediately after the passing of our Beloved, would for a time confuse the
Divine Message of Bahá’u’lláh, obscure His Covenant, retard the progress
of His Cause, and shatter its unity; and yet how well we see them all
today, not through our efforts, but by their own folly, and above all, by
the intervention of the hidden hand of God, reduced to the vilest and most
humiliating position.

And now, with the Cause purified and inwardly victorious, Its principles
vindicated, Its enemies silenced and sunk in unspeakable misery, may we
not, henceforth, direct all our efforts to collective action and
constructive achievement; and in utter disregard of the flickerings of
their fast-fading light, arise to carry out those urgent measures that
will secure the outward and complete triumph of the Cause?

I for my part, as I look back to the unfortunate circumstances of
ill-health and physical exhaustion that have attended the opening years of
my career of service to the Cause, feel hardly gratified, and would be
truly despondent but for the sustaining memory and inspiring example of
the diligent and ceaseless efforts which my fellow-workers the world over
have displayed during these two trying years in the service of the Cause.

I cherish the hope that, from now on the Beloved may bestow upon me all
the strength and vigour that will enable me to pursue over a long and
unbroken period of strenuous labour the supreme task of achieving, in
collaboration with the friends in every land, the speedy triumph of the
Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. This is the prayer I earnestly request all my fellow
brethren and sisters in the Faith to offer on my behalf.

Let us pray to God that in these days of world encircling gloom, when the
dark forces of nature, of hate, rebellion, anarchy and reaction are
threatening the very stability of human society, when the most precious
fruits of civilization are undergoing severe and unparalleled tests, we
may all realize, more profoundly than ever, that though but a mere handful
amidst the seething masses of the world, are in this day the chosen
instruments of God’s Grace, that our Mission is most urgent and vital to
the fate of humanity and, fortified by these sentiments, arise to achieve
God’s holy purpose for mankind.

Your brother in His service
Shoghi
for my beloved brethren and sisters in Australia and New Zealand—Shoghi.

Haifa, Palestine,
December 2, 1923.



LETTER OF MAY 15TH, 1934


May 15th, 1934

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

The Guardian has deeply appreciated your message dated April 10th, and he
has asked me to convey to you once more his grateful thanks for the
services you are so continually rendering the Faith in your centre. The
gratifying news has just reached him of the opening of the first
Convention of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New-Zealand, and needless to
say how deeply he was moved by this historic step you have been inspired
to take for the consolidation of the Administration in your country. He
feels confident that through such remarkable evidences of the
self-sacrificing, heroic and united efforts of the Australian and New
Zealand believers an increasing number of hitherto skeptical and
unfriendly people will be gradually attracted to the Faith, and some of
them will eventually join the ranks of the faithful.

Assuring you again of the Guardian’s fervent prayers for the continued
expansion of your Bahá’í activities, and with his best wishes and
greetings to you and to all the friends in Adelaide,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I rejoice to learn of the momentous step the Bahá’ís of Australia and
New-Zealand have taken. They will surely be reinforced by the hosts of the
Kingdom, and deserve the praise and admiration of their fellow-believers
throughout the world. Constancy, co-operation, unity and steadfast
adherence to the spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith are
essential during these days when the foundations of the Universal House of
Justice are being laid through your devoted efforts in your own country. I
will continue to pray for you from the depths of my heart.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JULY 26TH, 1934


July 26th, 1934.

Dear Miss Brooks,

I am directed by the Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
June 6th, written on behalf on the N.S.A. of the Bahá’ís of Australia and
New-Zealand, and to convey to you, and to your collaborators on that
Assembly his grateful appreciation of the stupendous efforts you have
unanimously exerted for making your first Convention such a sucessful and
promising meeting. Your collective and continued sacrifices, as well as
the assistance and guidance of Bahá’u’lláh have surely been responsible
for this historic triumph which you have been able to achieve in the
administrative field of the Cause—a triumph which will inevitably bring
about a renewed and deeper spiritual consciousness to all the believers in
these far-off lands.

Shoghi Effendi is praying from the very depths of his heart for your
guidance and assistance, and hopes that as a result your National Assembly
will be soon enabled to take such steps as would enable it to extend and
to further consolidate its national as well as international activities.

With warm greetings to you and to all the friends in Adelaide,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

My heart is filled with joy and gratitude as a result of the perusal of
your letter. I long to be in close and constant touch with your
newly-formed national assembly—the first of your administrative activities
and the herald of one of the most fruitful and stirring periods of the
history of the Faith in that promising continent. I will be so glad to
receive copies of the minutes of your gatherings, and urge you to keep in
close touch with your sister assemblies throughout the Bahá’í world. I
will assuredly pray for you and your dear and devoted collaborators from
the depths of my heart.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF OCTOBER 17TH, 1934


October 17th, 1934

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

I am directed by the Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
dated August 31st with its most interesting enclosures, all of which he
has carefully read and considered. It is with deep gratification that he
follows the progress and extension of the work of your N.S.A., and he
hopes and prays that through the confirmations of the Almighty it will
serve to give an increasing impetus to the progress of the Faith in your
land.

The Guardian has read with particular interest the minutes of the meetings
of your N.S.A. He hopes to receive them regularly, and thus to be in close
and constant touch with your national activities.

In regard to your question as to whether it is permissible to substitute
the plural pronoun for the singular in prayers worded in the singular, the
Guardian would strongly urge your N.S.A. to inform the friends to strictly
adhere to the text of the Holy Writings, and not to deviate even a
hair-breadth from what has been revealed by the Holy Pen. Besides, it
should be noted that congregational prayer has been discouraged by
Bahá’u’lláh, and that it is allowed only in the case of the prayer for the
dead.

Concerning the Healing Prayer, the Guardian wishes me to inform you that
there is no special ruling for its recital. The believer is free to recite
it as many times and in the way he wishes. There are also no obligatory
prayers for the Fast. But there are some specific ones revealed by
Bahá’u’lláh for that purpose.

As to the instructions given in the little black covered Prayer Book, they
are by no means complete and are only tentative. When the Book of Aqdas is
published, the believers will have then full and authoritative
prescriptions about the form of prayer, and other instructions and rulings
of a spiritual character.

With loving greetings to you and to the members of the N.S.A.,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly beloved co-worker:

My constant prayers for the extension of the activities in which you and
your dear fellow-labourers are so stenuously engaged will be offered on
your behalf that the splendid era which you have inaugurated may redound
to the glory and honour of the Most Great Name. I am truly proud of the
manner in which my loved friends in Australia and New-Zealand have arisen
to discharge their sacred and pressing responsibilities. Great triumphs, I
feel convinced, are in store for them if they persevere in their mighty
task. May the Almighty bless their high endeavours and enable them to
achieve His purpose.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JANUARY 16TH, 1935


January 16th, 1935.

Dear Bahá’í Sister,

Your welcome letter of the 13th of December, together with the
accompanying message of December 11th addressed to the Guardian by “The
General Purposes and Business Committee” of the N.S.A. have all been duly
received and deeply appreciated by him.

He has also received and read with great care and interest the enclosed
copy of the minutes of the above-mentioned committee, and was pleased to
realize that, despite the various impediments standing in the way of your
Assembly, that body is functioning smoothly and with one accord. He hopes
that the various steps taken by your Committee in connection with the
publication of the “Herald of the South” will all materialize and meet
with success.

May I also in closing express the Guardian’s appreciation of your efforts
in connection with the management and direction of this monthly review,
and also with regard to your activities in the field of teaching.

With his loving greetings to you and to your co-workers in the “Herald of
the South” Committee, and with the assurance of his prayers for you all.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The repeated evidences of the strenuous efforts exerted by the believers
in Australia and New-Zealand for the spread of the Cause and the rise and
consolidation of its institutions have brought me intense joy and excited
my deepest admiration. I urge them to persevere, to remain united, not to
relax in their determination, and to strive with all their might to extend
the scope of their meritorious activities. I will continue to pray for
them from the bottom of my heart.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF APRIL 24TH, 1935


April 24th, 1935

Dear Bahá’í Sister,

The Guardian has read with great care and interest your letter of the 24th
of March last, and has noted with deep satisfaction the steady progress
which your N.S.A. is making since its formation last year. He is
particularly pleased and encouraged to realise how wisely and effectively
your Assembly is adjusting itself to the general conditions and specific
requirements of the Cause in Australia and New-Zealand, to such an extent
that obstacles which a year ago seemed to be insurmountable have now,
through the sustained and earnest efforts of the friends, been partially
if not completely removed. Your Assembly has, indeed, truly vindicated its
ability and power to function as a well-organized and united body, and
this in the face of manifold difficulties which the all-conquering spirit
of the Faith could alone overcome. Nothing short of this Divine spirit, as
expressed through the self-sacrificing and confident labours of the
Australian and New-Zealand friends, could have so effectively subdued
those forces which every now and then threatened to undermine the
foundations of your Assembly, and thus overthrow the entire system of the
Administration in your land.

Now that the N.S.A. has successfully emerged out of these difficulties and
trials, the Guardian has every reason to believe that the progress thus
far achieved will continue undiminished and undeterred by any obstacle,
however formidable it may seem to appear.

In his moments of meditation and prayer at the Holy Shrines he will
specially supplicate for the guidance and assistance of the N.S.A. and
will supplicate Bahá’u’lláh to inspire its members in all their
deliberations.

With his warmest and most loving appreciation and greetings to them and to
all the friends in Adelaide.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I fully approve of the decisions arrived at by your assembly regarding the
various issues referred to in your letter, and feel gratified to learn of
the zeal, the constancy, the loyalty and the determination with which the
national representatives of the believers in Australia and New-Zealand are
prosecuting the noble work entrusted to them by the Almighty. I would urge
you to take the necessary steps for the incorporation of your national
assembly as soon as you adopt your Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, and I
pray that the almighty hand of Bahá’u’lláh may guide and sustain you in
your high and historic endeavours.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JUNE 19TH, 1935


June 19th, 1935

Dear Bahá’í Sister,

The Guardian has received your letter dated May 8th, and has carefully
read and considered its contents. He wishes me to thank you for it, and
specially to convey to you, as well as to the other members of your
N.S.A., his hearty congratulations over the success that has attended your
national elections this year. He hopes and prays that as years go by your
Assembly will increasingly grow in unity and strength, and will
demonstrate its capacity to cope with the manifold problems and
difficulties with which it will be inevitably confronted as it forges
ahead in its slow though steady progress towards the firmer establishment
of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order throughout Australia and New-Zealand.

With regard to your question as to the advisability of disclosing to an
individual believer the contents of the N.S.A.’s correspondence. The
Guardian thinks that although this cannot be considered as constituting an
obligation which a believer can impose upon the national body, yet, it
would seem highly advisable that the N.S.A. should give a sympathetic
consideration to any such request made to it by a believer. This, he
feels, would avoid giving the impression that the assembly is working in
an atmosphere of complete secrecy, and that it is motivated by dictatorial
motives. The final decision in such matters; however, is entirely left to
the discretion of the N.S.A. The basic principle that should always be
remembered is that the N.S.A. cannot be required to reveal to any outsider
all the details concerning its work. It may choose to do so if it wishes,
but nobody has the right to enforce upon it any such action: This is, of
course the purely legal side of the question. But a purely legalistic
attitude in matters affecting the Cause, particularly now that the Faith
is still in a state of infancy, is not only inadequate but fraught with
unforeseen dangers and difficulties. The individuals and assemblies must
learn to cooperate and to cooperate intelligently, if they desire to
adequately discharge their duties and obligations towards the Faith. And
no such cooperation is possible without mutual confidence and trust.

With loving greetings from the Guardian to you and to the members of the
N.S.A. and with the assurance of his prayers on behalf of you all,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I cannot refrain from expressing in person my deep sense of gratitude and
indebtedness to the beloved co-workers in that land for their splendid
achievements in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í
activity. I feel truly proud of your accomplishments. I will continue to
supplicate for every one of you the Beloved’s imperishable blessings.

Rest assured and persevere.
Shoghi.



LETTER OF SEPTEMBER 26TH, 1935


September 26th, 1935.

Beloved Bahá’í co-worker,

On behalf of the Guardian I wish to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of the 8th of July last, with the enclosed copy of the minutes of the
N.S.A. of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New-Zealand. I wish, in particular,
to express his gratification at the news of the success of the last
meeting of your N.S.A. held in Sydney. It gives him, indeed, much pleasure
and encouragement to realize that your Assembly meetings are conducted
with such a good deal of order and efficiency, and above all, in such a
perfect spirit of unity and fellowship—the few other obstacles and
difficulties left, he feels confident, will in due time disappear. The
foundation has been now firmly laid down, and the work is bound to develop
and expand. The friends should, therefore, be confident, and should exert
their utmost that the institutions they have so painstakingly and
laboriously established should flourish and yield their fruit.

In connection with the N.S.A.’s decision regarding the appointment of Mrs.
Axford and Mr. Inman to keep records of Australian and New-Zealand
activities for the “Bahá’í World”; the Guardian wishes you to assure your
fellow-members in the assembly that he fully endorses their choice. He
also wishes you to impress the newly-appointed correspondents with the
vital importance of their task, and to urge them to acquit themselves of
it with thoroughness, efficiency and vigour.

Regarding dear Mr. Hyde Dunn’s health; Shoghi Effendi is grieved beyond
words to learn that he is growing so weak physically. Will you kindly
assure him, as well as Mrs. Dunn, of his supplications for the
amelioration of his health and for the complete restoration of his forces.

In closing will you also convey his love and greetings to the members of
the N.S.A. and assure them once more of his continued prayers for their
welfare, protection and guidance,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

The detailed report of the activities of the national assembly—the
furthermost pillar of the Universal House of Justice which the high
endeavours of the believers of Australia and New-Zealand have reared—has
filled my heart and soul with immense joy and gratitude. The Beloved is
surely watching over and continually blessing your splendid
accomplishments, the plans you have conceived, the methods you have
devised, the efforts you are exerting, the services which you have
rendered. I will continue to pray for the consolidation and uninterrupted
expansion of your laudable activities in the service of so glorious and
mighty a Cause. Never relax nor despair. The tender plant which your hands
have raised and nurtured shall grow and will ultimately gather beneath its
shadow the whole of that far-off and promising continent.

Persevere and be happy.
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JANUARY 3RD, 1936


January 3rd, 1936.

The N.S.A. of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New-Zealand

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

Miss Effie Baker is leaving for Australia with the consent and full
approval of the Guardian.

As you know for over ten years she has been devotedly working for the
Cause in Haifa, as keeper of the Western Pilgrim House and also as the
custodian of the International Bahá’í Archives. During this long period of
service she has accomplished much for our beloved Cause, and she is now in
need of some rest after so many years of strenuous labours. She is going
to join her mother, and will, it is hoped, prove of great help to the
friends throughout Australia and New-Zealand in both their teaching and
administrative activities.

The Guardian hopes, therefore, that the friends will give her all the
opportunity she needs to help in the extension and consolidation of the
Cause throughout Australia and New-Zealand.

He is entrusting Miss Baker with a beautiful and most precious present for
the friends; it is one of the finest photographs of the Master which, he
wishes your N.S.A. to place in your National Bahá’í Archives. He is, in
addition, sending through her for the believers a bottle of attar of rose
extracted by the friends in Persia.

With loving greetings and all good wishes for a most happy and prosperous
New Year.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.



LETTER OF APRIL 15TH, 1936


April 15th, 1936

Dear Miss Brooks,

On behalf of the Guardian I acknowledge with thanks and appreciation the
receipt of your letter of March 12th with enclosure. He is grateful for
the warm assistance extended by your N.S.A. to Miss Effie Baker, and hopes
that she will be of valuable assistance to you all, specially to the
friends in Melbourne. The task of organizing the believers in that center
is no doubt a very responsible one, and the Guardian trusts that she will
be able to fully acquit herself of it.

Regarding the “Herald of the South” magazine, Shoghi Effendi very much
appreciates the fact that in spite of the many difficulties that your
Assembly had to overcome this review is being regularly published, and
that its standard is gradually improving. He would call upon all the
English-speaking friends to contribute, as often as they can, such
articles for publication in that magazine as would serve to make it a more
direct and effective teaching medium for the spread of the Cause
throughout Australia and New-Zealand. He is advising the American N.S.A.
to specially ask the cooperation of the American believers for that
purpose, and hopes that the response they will make to this call will be
such as to further encourage you in your splendid efforts for the
publication of this national organ of the Faith in Australia.

The Guardian would appreciate receiving detailed reports of the activities
of the local assemblies, and would be very thankful if you send these to
him as regularly as you can.

In closing may I ask you to convey his loving greetings to your
distinguished fellow-members in the N.S.A. and to assure each and all of
them of his supplications for their welfare and guidance. He also wishes
you to express his best wishes to dear Father and Mrs. Dunn, and tell them
how happy he is to learn that they are keeping in good health.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I am so glad to have received your letter and to have realised the
progress of your activities. I trust and pray that the work in which the
National Assembly is so energetically and devotedly engaged may steadily
expand and be further consolidated. The teaching work is the corner-stone
of its activities, the sole basis on which the administrative structure
can flourish. A strenuous, systematic and continuous effort should, both
individually and collectively, be now exerted to attain this supreme
objective. With a heart full of gratitude I will pray for the success of
your endeavours.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF APRIL 26TH, 1936


April 26th, 1936

Beloved Bahá’í Sister,

I am directed by the Guardian to thank you for your letter of the 30th
March informing him of the date of Miss Kitty Carpenter’s arrival in
Port-Said. You can be sure that the friends will be most delighted to meet
her, and to render her journey to Haifa as safe and comfortable as
possible.

The Guardian himself is eagerly looking forward to the pleasure of meeting
her, and cherishes the hope that through this pilgrimage she may receive a
renewed stimulus to better work for the promotion of the Faith upon her
return home.

The Guardian has also noted with deep satisfaction the preparations made
by your N.S.A. for this year’s meeting in Melbourne. He is praying that in
spite of the difficulties you have encountered in carrying out your plans
this important gathering of the Australian and New-Zealand believers may
prove another landmark in the history of the Cause throughout that
Continent.

With loving greetings to you and your dear fellow-members,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[Appended by the Guardian]

May the Almighty bless you and your dearly-loved co-workers and
fellow-members, and enable you all to proclaim far and wide the essential
truths of this glorious Revelation and to lay unassailable foundations for
its institutions.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JUNE 10TH, 1936


June 10th, 1936

Dear Miss Brooks,

I am instructed by our beloved Guardian to acknowledge with deepest thanks
the receipt of your letter of March 30th written on behalf of the N.S.A.
of Australia and New-Zealand.

He is rejoiced to learn of the projected formation of a Spiritual Assembly
in Perth, and hopes that by the time this letter reaches you the assembly
will have been duly constituted and will be functioning with the utmost
unity, efficiency and vigour.

In this connection he wishes me to bring to your Assembly’s attention the
necessity of their taking the necessary steps for the incorporation of the
N.S.A.. This step, he feels, is of a vital importance to the further
development of your Assembly, and will no doubt give it more stability and
an added influence, specially in the eyes of the general public.

The Guardian would also advise that the local assemblies take a similar
step, and obtain official recognition from the authorities. In case the
Auckland assembly has been registered in the government, will you be so
kind as to send him photostatic reproductions of any registration papers
or documents that the Auckland friends may have obtained from the
authorities, as he wishes to have them published in the next “Bahá’í
World”.

As regards the photograph of your N.S.A; the Guardian wishes me to inform
you that in going over the manuscript of the “Bahá’í World”, which was
sent to him from the States, he found your Assembly’s picture already
incorporated in it. The manuscript has now been sent back to America and
is awaiting publication.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

The incessant efforts so devotedly exerted by the members of your
distinguished assembly are assets that I greatly value and of which I am
truly proud. I will fervently pray for the extension of your activities
and the fulfilment of your dearest hopes. Rest assured and persevere.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF SEPTEMBER 23RD, 1936


September 23rd, 1936

Dear Miss Brooks,

Your detailed communication of July 14th written on behalf of the N.S.A.
of Australia and New-Zealand, together with its enclosures have all duly
arrived, and their contents read with deepest interest and appreciation by
our beloved Guardian. Also the photographs and blocks have duly reached
him, as well as the local Assembly reports sent under separate cover.
Please accept his most sincere and grateful thanks for them all.

Regarding the proposed News Letter to be issued every three months by your
N.S.A; this, the Guardian feels, is a splendid idea and can render a
unique and much-needed help to your Assembly in its efforts for the
establishment of the Administration, and the more effective functioning of
its institutions throughout Australia and New-Zealand. Not only it has the
great advantage of keeping the friends well-informed about the events and
developments in the Cause, but in addition can help in consolidating the
organic unity of the believers by bringing them within the full orbit of
the N.S.A.’s jurisdiction. It is hoped that this body will do its utmost
to maintain the publication of this bulletin, and will make full use of
this splendid medium for the further widening and consolidation of the
foundations of the local as well as national assemblies.

As regards Mrs. ...’s request that you assist her in her project of
uniting the believers through correspondence; this is of course a task
which is quite secondary compared to the duties and responsibilities you
are called upon to discharge as secretary of the N.S.A. Your secretarial
work in that body imposes upon you a paramount obligation which no other
service can equal in importance. All your other Bahá’í activities should
be subordinated to your work in the N.S.A. which is, undoubtedly, the most
vital and urgent among them all.

Concerning the Greatest Name; this term refers both to “Alláh-u-Abhá” and
to “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá”. The first is a form of Bahá’í greeting and should
be used, while the other is an invocation, meaning “O Thou Glory of
Glories!” These two words are both referred to as the Greatest Name.

The Guardian, while fully aware of the difficulties, both financial and
otherwise which your N.S.A. is facing in connection with the publication
of the “Herald of the South”, feels nevertheless the urge to advise you to
continue with this magazine and not to feel in the least discouraged if
your efforts for meeting the expenses incurred for its printing and
circulation, and for raising its literary standard, do not bring the
expected results. He very deeply values the self-sacrificing and sustained
efforts exerted by your Assembly in this connection. May Bahá’u’lláh
richly reward you for all your meritorious endeavours.

With warmest Bahá’í Greetings,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

The work in which your National Assembly is engaged, and which it is
prosecuting with such fidelity, diligence and perseverance is near and
dear to my heart. You are laying an unassailable foundation for the
erection of mighty Bahá’í institutions which future generations are
destined to extend and perfect. Your pioneer work is arduous and highly
meritorious. I feel proud of your achievements, realizing as I do the
circumstances in which you labour. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is watching over you and
is well-pleased with your services. Persevere and rest assured.

Affectionately,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF SEPTEMBER 25TH, 1936


September 25th, 1936

Dear Miss Brooks,

Our able and indefatigable co-worker Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher is on a
tour to Australia, India and the Near East, and by the time this letter
reaches you he may be already in your midst.

The Guardian wishes your N.S.A. to arrange for him to visit all the
centers in Australia and if possible in New-Zealand too, and to make every
effort to render his stay amongst you as abundant in its results as
possible.

Mr. Schopflocher is surely known to you and to many friends in Australia.
He is truly one of the most distinguished believers in the West. He has a
deep knowledge of the Cause, and specially of the Administration, and has
contributed a unique share towards its establishment and consolidation in
the States. For many years a member of the American N.S.A., he revealed
such great qualities of heart and mind as very few of his fellow-members
were able to manifest. He supported valiantly and generously, and through
both moral and financial means, the various institutions of the Cause, and
in particular the institution of the Bahá’í Fund which, as you can well
realize, is the foundation stone of every phase of Bahá’í activity.

In this connection it should be remembered that it was mainly due to his
unfailing and most generous assistance that the Temple in Wilmette was
built. The friends owe him indeed a great debt, and can never be too
grateful for what he has accomplished, and is still so splendidly
accomplishing, for the Faith in the West.

The Guardian hopes, nay he feels confident, your Assembly, as well as all
the friends will extend a most cordial welcome to this dear and
distinguished Servant of the Cause, and will fully avail yourselves of
this splendid opportunity that has been offered you to further enrich the
field of your experiences in the Faith.

With warmest greetings,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.



LETTER OF NOVEMBER 17TH, 1936


November 17th, 1936

Dear Miss Brooks,

On behalf of the Guardian I acknowledge with deepest thanks the receipt of
your letter of the 17th October, and wish also to thank your Assembly for
forwarding to him the photostatic reproduction of the registration
certificate of the Assembly of Auckland. He fervently hopes that the
formation of the Declaration of Trust of the N.S.A. will also be completed
very soon, and that the difficulty you have encountered in this connection
will be satisfactorily met and settled. He also trusts that the delay
caused in registering the Sydney local assembly will be overcome, and that
you will immediately proceed with the formation of your National
Declaration of Trust. It is splendid, and a matter of deep satisfaction to
our Beloved Guardian that in all these steps that you are taking for the
administrative development and consolidation of the Faith in Australia and
New-Zealand you are closely and faithfully following the example of
America which, it should be admitted, occupies a pre-eminent rank among
its sister communities in both the East and the West.

As regards the problem facing the N.S.A. in connection with the
representation of Perth at the next Annual Convention; the Guardian
believes that the fact that a certain assembly or community is not in a
financial position to defray the expenses of its delegate or delegates
does not constitute sufficient justification for depriving it from its
sacred right of participation in the national elections and other
activities of the Convention. Every assembly, no matter how poor, is
entitled to take part in the Convention proceedings by sending one or more
delegates to that meeting. It is absolutely essential that this principle
be clearly understood and faithfully applied by the friends. Financial
considerations can under no circumstances invalidate it, or allow the
least compromise in its application. It is the duty of every N.S.A. to
ensure that it will be carried out whenever the Convention elections are
held.

With loving greetings,

Yours in the Guardian’s Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I would be very pleased to receive two more copies of the registration
form of the Auckland Assembly and three copies of the form of the Adelaide
Assembly some of which I shall place in the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh at
Bahjí. Will you also send me three copies of the registration form of
every Assembly which will be incorporated in the future. The foundations
which your National Assembly is now laying with such assiduous care and
exemplary loyalty constitute a service that is truly historic and is
highly meritorious in the sight of God. I feel deeply indebted to you for
such splendid achievements. Persevere and never lose heart.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF DECEMBER 1ST, 1936


December 1st, 1936

Dear Miss Brooks,

The Guardian has just received the first issue of the newsletter published
by the N.S.A. of the Bahá’í’s of Australia and New-Zealand, and has read
it all through with deepest pleasure and satisfaction. He wishes me to ask
you to transmit to your fellow-members in that body his warmest thanks for
this new step they have taken for the further consolidation of the
Administration in their country, as well as his most hearty
congratulations upon the ever-increasing success that is attending their
labours in this field.

It is his fervent hope that this organ your Assembly has initiated will
fully serve its purpose by intensifying the spirit of cooperation between
the N.S.A. and all local assemblies, groups and isolated believers
throughout Australia and New-Zealand. Such a medium, if properly utilized,
can be of inestimable value to the believers, by further enriching their
knowledge and understanding of the principles and actual functioning of
the Administrative order of the Faith, and by maintaining alive, nay
intensifying in them the desire to promote and safeguard its interests.

He would, therefore, earnestly appeal to every believer in Australia and
New-Zealand to make full and continued use of this bulletin, and consider
it as a most effective means to closer fellowship and to a deeper
understanding of his duties and responsibilities as builder of the New
World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.

He is ardently praying to the Almighty to ever bless and guide your
Assembly’s endeavours in this connection,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.



LETTER OF FEBRUARY 4TH, 1937


February 4th, 1937

Dear Miss Brooks,

I am instructed by the Guardian to inform you of the receipt of your
letter of the 2nd January, and of the enclosed reports of the Adelaide and
Auckland spiritual assemblies, and to renew to you, and through you to
your fellow-members in the N.S.A., his grateful appreciation of the warm
welcome you have so lovingly extended to that dear and distinguished
servant of the Cause Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher during his visit to
Australia and New-Zealand. It is his fervent hope that the spirit his
visit has released will long serve to sustain the friends in their heavy
task of expanding the foundations of the Administrative Order throughout
that continent.

Regarding Mr. Bolton’s question as to whether the Guardian has given any
instructions to the friends as to the best way to make their investments
secure during the coming world crisis; I am instructed to inform you that
no such directions have been given either to any individual believer or to
any assembly. The only advice which the Guardian wishes to give is that
whatever investment the friends make they should do it with the utmost
caution, as economic and financial conditions are at present most unstable
and even precarious.

Shoghi Effendi has been very deeply grieved to learn of Mr. ...’s
resignation from both the N.S.A. and the Sydney local Assembly, and of his
request to leave altogether the Cause. He wishes me, however, to assure
your Assembly not to feel discouraged at this truly sad happening, but to
confidently strive to bring him back into the community. Should he
persistently refuse to return, the best thing would be to leave him to
himself, and to pray for him that Bahá’u’lláh may, in His infinite mercy
and love, open again his eyes, and lead him out of the state of spiritual
lethargy into which he has so sadly fallen.

With the assurance of the Guardian’s best wishes, and of his continual
prayers for you, and for your distinguished fellow-members in the N.S.A.,

Yours Sincerely in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and prized co-worker:

I am delighted with the progress of your activities and with your splendid
achievements in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í
service. The National Spiritual Assembly is laying a firm and unassailable
foundation for the administrative Order of the Faith, and I wish to
congratulate all its members and committees on the marvellous progress
thus far achieved. I will continue to pray for them from all my heart. I
will specially supplicate for the success of this coming Convention. May
your hopes be fulfilled in every respect.

Gratefully and affectionately,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 18TH, 1937


March 18th, 1937

Dear Miss Brooks,

On behalf of the Guardian I acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your
letter of the 17th February with the enclosed report of the Sydney local
assembly, and wish to express his gratification at the news of the
progress which that community is making in the teaching work. He has noted
with deep satisfaction that two new names have been added to their
membership roll, and hopes that this step will mark the beginning of a new
era of teaching expansion throughout that center. He wishes you to kindly
congratulate the Sydney Assembly for this splendid success which their
teaching efforts have won, and to urge them to continue in their
endeavours for the attraction and confirmation of New Souls. May the
Beloved aid, sustain and ever bless them in His service.

The Guardian is delighted to learn that the necessary arrangements for the
holding of your next Annual Convention have been completed, and while he
deplores the fact that owing to the long distances that separate the
centers full attendance at this national gathering would not be feasible,
he nevertheless hopes that it will be a most successful meeting, and will
be marked all through by a perfect spirit of unity and fellowship. He
wishes you to assure the delegates of his prayers for the success of their
deliberations, and to convey to them his warmest greetings and best wishes
for a happy Ridván.

Yours ever in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

P.S. Shoghi Effendi wishes me to express his thanks for the four
reproductions of the Adelaide Assembly registration form and trust which
you had enclosed in your letter, one of which he has ordered to be placed
in Bahá’u’lláh’s Mansion at Bahjí, and another one he wishes to
incorporate in the manuscript of the next “Bahá’í World” (vol. VII).

H.R.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I am truly gratified and delighted to receive so many evidences of the
zeal, the loyalty and the devotion with which the believers in Australia
and New-Zealand are extending the range of their historic activities. I
feel deeply grateful to them. I will most assuredly pray for them that the
Beloved may bless their high endeavours and aid them to establish His
Cause and proclaim far and wide its verities and teachings.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF AUGUST 29TH, 1937


August 29th, 1937

Beloved Bahá’í Sister,

Your welcome communication of June 30 written on behalf of the N.S.A., as
well as the accompanying papers and reports have all been received, and
their contents read with keenest interest and appreciation by our beloved
Guardian.

How rejoiced he feels to witness the increasing evidences of the growing
progress of the community of the Australian and New-Zealand believers. The
considerable work that they have accomplished during the last few years,
in both the teaching and the administrative fields, could not indeed have
been carried out without the wise and effective leadership of your N.S.A.
who, ever since its inception, has been functioning with a loyalty and
efficiency that are truly remarkable.

The success of this year’s Convention, as evidenced by the report of the
proceedings you had sent, marks a further step in the process of steady
consolidation through which the N.S.A. is passing, and indicates how
strong are the loyalty and attachment which it has awakened among the body
of the believers throughout Australia and New-Zealand.

It is the Guardian’s fervent hope that this confidence which your Assembly
has inspired will be further strengthened during the course of this year,
and that this in turn will deepen in the members the sense of the heavy
responsibility they have to shoulder for the extension and consolidation
of Bahá’í work throughout that continent.

Now as regards your Assembly’s question concerning a tie vote; as the
point raised is a secondary matter it is left to the discretion of your
N.S.A.

In the case of voting for less than nine individuals; it is not compulsory
that a ballot paper should contain necessarily nine votes. The individual
voter may record less than nine names, if he chooses to do so.

With renewed greetings and thanks from the Guardian to you and your
fellow-members in the N.S.A.,

Yours ever in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I am delighted with the manifold evidences of the progress achieved
through the concerted efforts of the Australian and the New-Zealand
believers under the able direction of their elected national
representatives. I feel proud of their accomplishments, highly approve of
their plans and projected enterprises, feel grateful for the spirit that
animates them, and cherish bright hopes for the extension of their
activities. May the Beloved guide their steps, cheer their hearts and
enable them to diffuse far and wide the teachings and spirit of His Cause.

Gratefully and affectionately,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF AUGUST 30TH, 1937


August 30th, 1937

Dear Miss Brooks,

Your letter of the 17th July enclosing Miss Ethel Dawe’s communication
requesting permission to visit the Holy Land has been duly received by our
beloved Guardian, and he has directed me to inform you that, at your
suggestion, he has cabled Miss Dawe directly to London, extending to her a
hearty welcome to visit the Holy Shrines in the next fall.

He hopes that in the meantime nothing will happen to alter or upset her
plans, and that she will be given the privilege and joy of undertaking
this much-desired pilgrimage to Haifa.

Hoping this will find you and all the Adelaide friends in the best of
health, and with loving greetings to you and to them,

Yours ever in the Cause,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Wishing you success from all my heart, and assuring you of my continued
prayers for the realisation of your highest hopes,

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JANUARY 31ST, 1938


January 31st, 1938

Dear Miss Brooks,

The Guardian wishes me to express his loving thanks for your letter of the
third instant, enclosing the half-yearly reports of the Perth and Auckland
Spiritual Assemblies, all of which he has been delighted to read.

He wishes you to write the Auckland Assembly assuring them of his approval
of the request they have made on behalf of Miss Kitty Carpenter for
permission to visit Haifa. He has every hope that through this pilgrimage
she will be greatly refreshed and strengthened spiritually, and will upon
her return home impart to the friends in New-Zealand some measure of the
inspiration she will gain through close contact with the Holy Shrines.

Before closing the Guardian also wishes me to express the hope that your
N.S.A.’s plan of holding a meeting in Melbourne during the course of this
year may be realized, and that the occasion may serve to lend a fresh
impetus to the growth of the Cause in that city. He is fervently praying
for the success of your Assembly’s efforts in this connection.

Reciprocating your greetings and with renewed and warmest thanks,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-worker:

The work in which you and your dear fellow-members are so devotedly, so
loyally and diligently engaged, is progressing in a manner that is highly
gratifying and merits the highest praise. I feel increasingly proud of,
and thankful for the achievements that signalize the rise of the
administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in Australia and
New-Zealand. Generations yet unborn will extol those qualities and virtues
that have enabled you all to render such great services to our beloved
Cause. Persevere, be happy and confident.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 30TH, 1938


March 30th, 1938

Dear Miss Brooks,

The Guardian was indeed pleased to receive your letter of the 16th ins.
informing him of Miss Dawe’s safe arrival in Australia, and of the receipt
of the precious relic which he had asked her to present to your N.S.A. for
preservation in your National Archives.

He wishes you to assure your fellow-members of his full approval of their
suggestion to place this sacred relic in a little miniature frame case,
and in such manner as to keep the paper containing it from becoming soiled
and frayed with constant handling.

In connection with the article published in the October number of the
“Herald of the South” entitled “Above the Mists”; the Guardian wishes the
believers to disregard such subjects as psychic practices and phenomena,
for these besides not being authenticated by the Writings of the Founders
of the Faith, pertain mostly to the domain of conjectures. The magazine of
the “Herald of the South” should be devoted to the study and presentation
of those subjects that reflect the spirit of the Teachings, and which as
such are worthy of consideration by the believers. As the national organ
of the Australian and New-Zealand friends its main function is to assist
in disseminating the knowledge of the Cause, and thus develop into an
effective teaching medium. This is the goal which the editors should have
constantly in mind, and which they should endeavour to attain through the
best possible means they can devise at present.

The Guardian wishes me in closing to express his thanks for sending him
the reproductions of the Declaration of Trust certificate of your N.S.A.,
and for the reports of the Adelaide and Sydney assemblies, as well as the
photograph and report of the Yerrinbool Summer-School.

With his loving greetings to you and to your fellow-members in the N.S.A.,

Yours ever in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I am so touched by the repeated and compelling evidences of the
magnificent spirit that animates my dearly-beloved co-workers in Australia
and New-Zealand. The record of their manifold accomplishments warms my
heart and cheers my spirit. The Beloved is truly pleased with them and the
Almighty will surely bless and reinforce their high endeavours. May their
highest and dearest hopes be fulfilled in His Service.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF JUNE 22ND, 1938


June 22nd, 1938.

Dear Bahá’í Sister,

I am instructed by our beloved Guardian to express his thanks for your
communication of May 14th, with the enclosed copy of the resolutions
passed by the Australian and New-Zealand N.S.A. in its April meeting held
in Melbourne. He has also noted with deep satisfaction the program of the
public meeting you had arranged on that occasion, and is very much
heartened to know that the response from the public has been most genuine
and quite beyond your expectations.

The general situation of the Cause in Melbourne, however, has caused
immense grief to his heart, specially as the believers themselves are
losing interest and seem to be drifting away. The decision taken by your
Assembly to hold the next Annual Convention there, with the view of
encouraging and guiding the friends to re-organise their activities, and
also in order to stimulate the progress of the teaching work in that
center is most splendid. The Guardian would strongly advise that in the
meantime every effort be exerted, through such means as the N.S.A. may
find feasible and effective, to bring back into the Community those
members who have already left, and to take immediate measures to
discourage those who contemplate doing so.

With reference to Miss Martha Root’s projected teaching trip to your
shores; the Guardian highly appreciates the cordial invitation extended to
her by your Assembly, and has every hope that through her splendid zeal,
mature and wide experience in the teaching field, she will be able to lend
an unprecedented impetus to the expansion and consolidation of the
teaching work throughout Australia and New-Zealand during this coming
winter.

In closing I wish to convey through you to the newly-elected N.S.A. the
Guardian’s heartfelt congratulations and sincere greetings, and to assure
them of his prayers, that throughout their new term of office, they may be
assisted in acquitting themselves befittingly of their task.

Also kindly extend to them his loving thanks for the expression of deep
sympathy which they have conveyed to him on their behalf, and in the name
of the believers in New-Zealand and Australia, in the passing away of the
Holy Mother, Munírih _Kh_ánum.

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I truly admire the manner in which the national representatives of the
believers of Australia and New Zealand are discharging their
responsibilities and fulfilling their vital and manifold functions. I,
moreover, feel eternally thankful for the spirit which the believers
themselves manifest, the support they extend to them, the vigilance,
steadfastness and self-sacrifice that distinguish the record of their
services. The foundations they are laying will endure and broaden as the
days go by, and the institutions they are erecting will multiply a
thousandfold if they persevere in the path they are now treading. The
blessing of the Abhá Beauty will enable them to achieve still greater
victories if they refuse to hesitate and falter.

Gratefully,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF NOVEMBER 2ND, 1938


November 2nd, 1938

Dear Miss Brooks,

I am directed by the Guardian to acknowledge with thanks your Assembly’s
communication of October 6th.

Regarding the need you have expressed for a small, inexpensive prayer book
for use by the friends in Australia and New Zealand; he views with favour
this idea, but does not advise the use of the translations given in the
Bahá’í Prayer Book, as these are mostly incorrect and inadequate
renderings. He wishes you to preferably select from the book “Prayers and
Meditations”, recently published in America, suitable prayers for a small
edition.

The Guardian wishes me to express his gratification at the news of the
enrolment of three new members in the Sydney Bahá’í group, and of two
others in the Auckland community. He will pray that these new believers
may continue deepening in their faith, and in their understanding of the
Teachings, and that each of them may arise and lend every assistance in
his power to the further expansion and firmer consolidation of the Faith
in that far-off continent.

The three reproductions of the Sydney Registration Certificate which you
have mailed under separate cover have been duly received, and one of them
will shortly be placed in the Mansion at Bahjí.

The projected visit of Miss Martha Root to your shores next winter, the
Guardian hopes, will as on her previous journeys serve to impart a fresh
stimulus to the friends in Australia and New-Zealand and inspire them with
a renewed determination to re-consecrate themselves to the service of the
Cause. Your Assembly should extend to her a warm welcome and every support
she requires for the success of her mission. May her noble endeavours,
seconded by the energetic and diligent efforts of the believers, result in
inaugurating a new era of teaching expansion throughout the Australian
continent.

With warmest greetings from the Guardian,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The visit of our dear and cherished sister and exemplary co-worker,
Martha, to your shores is approaching and I feel confident that her
collaboration with you will lend an unprecedented impetus to the
advancement of the Faith. Laden with laurels, animated by an unquenchable
spirit, armed with a faith that none can surpass, she will, I feel sure,
contribute magnificently to the magnificent work her co-workers in
Australia and New Zealand have so valiantly achieved and are so
energetically and methodically extending. My prayers for you and for her
will continue to be offered with a heart filled with pride, joy and
gratitude.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF FEBRUARY 15TH, 1939


February 15th, 1939.

Dear Miss Brooks:

Your letter of January 17th, enclosing one addressed to the Guardian by
the Sydney Spiritual Assembly, have both duly arrived, and their contents
read by him with deepest satisfaction and with feelings of unbounded
gratitude.

He is writing the Sydney Assembly separately, assuring them that Miss
Davis who is on a world tour, would be most welcome to visit the Holy
Shrines in Haifa and Bahjí, but he himself is exceedingly sorry not to be
able to meet her, as he is at present away from the Holy Land, and may not
be back to Haifa before some time. He hopes, nevertheless, Miss Davis will
benefit from her close contact with the Sacred Places of the Faith, and
will gain such experiences as will stimulate still further her interest in
the Cause, and lead her gradually to fully and unreservedly embrace its
truth.

Regarding the extensive preparations made by the N.S.A. in connection with
the teaching travels of our indefatigable and highly-esteemed Bahá’í
sister Miss Martha Root throughout Australia and New-Zealand; the Guardian
feels truly delighted and profoundly grateful to your Assembly for the
befitting welcome you have extended to her, and for the arrangements you
have made for her to broadcast her speeches, and to contact as many
individuals and organisations as her time and health permit. You are
certainly fully availing yourself of the opportunity of her presence in
your midst to further intensify the campaign of teaching throughout
Australia, and you can rest assured that Bahá’u’lláh will reinforce and
bless your endeavours for the accomplishment of so vital and so sacred a
task.

The draft for thirty pounds which you had enclosed in your letter,
representing the contribution of the believers of Australia and
New-Zealand toward the International Fund of the Cause, has been received
with grateful appreciation by our beloved Guardian, and he wishes your
Assembly to kindly convey to all the friends his deep sense of gratitude,
as well as his profound admiration, for the exemplary devotion and loyal
attachment to the Cause that has prompted them to make such generous
donations.

With renewed and heartfelt thanks for your very kind letter, and
reciprocating your greetings,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-beloved co-workers:

I am so glad and grateful for the plans you have conceived for the
reception, and organisation of the work, of Martha during her visit to
your shores. The community of the believers in Australia and New Zealand
is making remarkable progress in every phase of its activities, and
deserves the highest praise in its magnificent and incessant labours. I am
proud of the quality of its faith and the range of its achievements. May
the Beloved infuse into each one of its members a greater measure of His
power and of His spirit that will enable them to seek nobler heights in
their historic service to His Cause!

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 17TH, 1939


March 17th, 1939.

Dear Miss Brooks,

Your communication of February the 12th addressed to our beloved Guardian,
informing him of Martha’s safe arrival in Australia, has been received,
and he was made truly happy to know how cordially and befittingly she had
been welcomed by the friends. The wide acclamation with which you have
greeted her upon her arrival, and the kind solicitude and warm affection
you have displayed towards her by arranging for dear Dr. Bolton to give
her the necessary treatment soon after her landing in Adelaide—such
spontaneous expressions of your deep set admiration and love for this
valiant and indefatigable star-servant of the Cause must have surely
greatly warmed and touched her heart.

Your N.S.A., no less than the local assemblies of Perth and Adelaide, has
undoubtedly spared no effort to use her presence as an opportunity for
giving the Faith every publicity possible through both the radio and the
press. It is to be hoped that before long the results of this campaign of
publicity will be made apparent, and a good number of sincere and
intelligent inquirers will be led to investigate and seriously study the
Teachings, and enrol later on in the Community.

While the Guardian wishes the friends to take full advantage of Martha’s
presence and invite her to speak and teach as frequently as her energies
permit, yet he would advise that they should also take great care lest her
health be seriously impaired through overwork, specially as she is already
so frail, having extensively travelled and tirelessly laboured for a whole
year throughout India. He would further entreat the believers to join him
in ardently supplicating Bahá’u’lláh to continue bestowing upon our
well-beloved and distinguished sister all the strength and energy that she
requires for the continuation and successful termination of her teaching
tour throughout Australia and New-Zealand.

With reference to Mr. and Mrs. Bolton’s request for permission to visit
Haifa during next October or November, the Guardian wishes you to assure
them that they would be most welcome to undertake this pilgrimage through
which, he hopes, they will get refreshed spiritually and filled with
renewed vigour and added determination to labour for the further promotion
of the Faith upon their return home.

With the season’s best greetings to you and all the friends,

Yours ever in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

How deeply I appreciate what you and your dear collaborators are achieving
for the success of Martha’s work amidst you. My heart brims over with
gratitude for the manner in which you approach your task, discharge your
duties and extend the range of your local and national activities. With
your deeds you are demonstrating in that far-off continent what the power
of the Greatest Name can achieve when it operates through channels that
are pure, and receptive to its outpouring grace. My prayers are being
continually offered for you all. Rest assured and be happy.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JULY 12TH, 1939


July 12th, 1939.

Dear Miss Brooks,

On behalf of our beloved Guardian I acknowledge with thanks the receipt of
your deeply-appreciated message written on behalf of our Australian
N.S.A., and of various materials, including Assembly reports and
photographs of the Yerrinbool Summer-School, mailed under separate cover,
all of which reached him safely, and for which kindly convey his heart’s
deepest gratitude to your Assembly.

He has read with great pleasure the account of Miss Root’s last few weeks
in Australia, and feels exceedingly gratified and thankful at this renewed
evidence of the loving hospitality so spontaneously and generously
extended to her by all the friends in each center she visited, and wishes
me, in particular, to convey to you and to dear Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne his
special thanks for having kindly offered to accompany our precious and
well-beloved sister throughout the last stages of her journey to Melbourne
and Tasmania. May Bahá’u’lláh richly reward you with His choicest
blessings for all the tender care and affection you lavished upon her all
through her teaching itinerary, and may He sustain, strengthen and guide
you in your endeavours to further enrich and consolidate the notable
teaching results she was able to accomplish in your midst during all these
months.

The Guardian was highly encouraged to hear of the news of the confirmation
of Miss Lamprill’s friend, and earnestly hopes and prays that through the
combined, sustained, and loving exertions of these two dear believers the
Cause will gradually make a headway in Hobart, and a group of
well-confirmed souls will soon be established in that center. Kindly
convey to these friends the expression of his warmest good wishes for the
extension and success of their labours in service to our beloved Faith,
and do urge them whole-heartedly, joyously and confidently persevere in
their task of promulgating the message in Hobart.

With regard to Mrs. Routh’s request for permission to visit Haifa; much as
the Guardian desires her to undertake such longed for visit to the Holy
Shrines, he feels that owing to the continued disturbances agitating the
Holy Land, and which give no sign of abating, it would be inadvisable for
her to come at such a dangerous time. He hopes some day when the situation
will have returned to normal in Palestine, she will have an opportunity of
undertaking this pilgrimage.

Assuring you, and your newly-elected fellow-members in the N.S.A. of his
continued prayers and best wishes, and with affectionate greetings to all
the friends,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The recent evidences of your marvellous activities in the service of our
beloved Faith have brought infinite joy to my heart. The institutions you
are so devotedly and laboriously erecting, multiplying and perfecting,
notwithstanding your limited numbers, the scarcity of Bahá’í teachers and
proper facilities, and despite your limited resources and the varied
obstacles in your way, attest the splendid progress you have achieved and
augur well for the future of your historic work in His service. The
summer-school is but one of those institutions which you have established
with such a rare spirit of devotion, such magnificent loyalty and such
assiduous care. The foundation you have laid is broad, solid and
unassailable. The rising generation who will build upon it will extol your
virtues, ennoble your task, preserve the record of your acts, and transmit
to posterity the great tradition which you are now so happily and nobly
establishing. My heart brims over with gratitude for all that you are
achieving, and is filled with hopes for all that you will achieve in the
near and distant future. Perseverance, fidelity, redoubled effort, will
enable you to reap a rich harvest and to attain your shining goal.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF NOVEMBER 4TH, 1940


November 4th, 1940

Dear Miss Brooks,

Your communications dated April 22nd and August 23rd written on behalf of
the N.S.A. of Australia and New-Zealand with the enclosed reports have all
been safely received, and their contents noted with feelings of deepest
satisfaction and gratitude by our beloved Guardian.

Also he has received the copy of the Mittagong Star, the reproduction of
registration certificate, the three snaps and the three photographs which
you had mailed under separate cover, for all of which he wishes you to
heartily thank the N.S.A. on his behalf.

He wishes you, in particular, to convey his warmest greetings and
congratulations to the members of the newly-elected N.S.A., whose names he
has been very pleased to note, and to assure them of his prayers for their
guidance and confirmation in the discharge of their heavy and sacred
duties and responsibilites throughout this year. Despite the sorrow and
distress created by the war, and the heavy sacrifices it is increasingly
imposing upon the community of the faithful throughout Australia and
New-Zealand, he confidently hopes that your Assembly, with the help and
support of all the believers in that land, will continue prosecuting, with
the same devoted zeal, resourcefulness and determination as before, its
twofold task of extending the scope of the teaching work, and of further
consolidating the foundations of the Administration. The unity and
efficiency with which it has been functioning in the past year, as
attested by the rich record of its accomplishments, indeed augur well for
the future of its activities, and it is the Guardian’s fervent hope that,
notwithstanding the delay and dislocation which the prosecution of the war
has inevitably occasioned, it will continue to advance and prosper, and
receive unforseen opportunities of spreading and of strengthening the
foundations of the Cause throughout that far-off Continent.

In this time of world calamity his thoughts and prayers are often with our
dearly-beloved friends in Australia and New Zealand, and he is ardently
supplicating Bahá’u’lláh, on their behalf, that He may bestow upon them
such measure of His guidance, protection and strength as would enable them
to courageously and successfully meet the tests and trials of the days
ahead.

Assuring you, in closing, of his special prayers on your own behalf, and
reciprocating your greetings,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-worker:

The report of your activities and of those of your fellow-workers,
undertaken at such a time, and despite such difficulties and with such a
courage, devotion, determination, thoroughness and fidelity, deserves
indeed the highest praise and constitutes a powerful evidence of the
unconquerable Spirit and the ever-extending range, and the ever-deepening
influence of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. Your work is surely blessed by Him,
and your fellow-labourers in distant lands derive great encouragement and
inspiration from the incessant and remarkable efforts you are so devotedly
exerting. Persevere and rest assured that I will, with increasing fervour,
pray on your behalf at the Holy Shrines,

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JANUARY 3RD, 1941


January 3rd, 1941

Dear Miss Brooks,

At the Guardian’s direction I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your
communication of December 17th just arrived, together with the copy of the
resolutions passed by the N.S.A. of Australia and New-Zealand in its
August meeting, as well as the copy of the statement on the “Bahá’í
Attitude to War” recently issued by your Assembly. He found that statement
most satisfactory both in its form and in its clear and comprehensive
presentation of the underlying principles governing the collective
attitude of the believers in this vital issue of the hour.

The friends should indeed make a careful study of this statement, so as to
be able to intelligently and correctly answer any questions put to them
either by the authorities or individual inquirers.

The Guardian has been particularly pleased to note that the response of
the Prime Minister, and of the premier of Victoria and other ministers to
whom you had submitted a copy of the above statement has been so cordial,
and he feels relieved to know that through this action of your Assembly
any doubts or misapprehensions regading the attitude of the Bahá’ís to war
have been dispelled, and that the authorities feel, as a result, much more
favourable towards the Cause, now that they know for themselves that it is
entirely non-political in character and that it enjoins absolute loyalty
and obedience to the Government.

This opportunity your Assembly has had of establishing direct contact with
the authorities is indeed a step of vital significance to the Cause in
Australia and New-Zealand, and is bound to pave the way for its ultimate
recognition as an independent religious Faith, entitled to the same rights
and privileges which other religious bodies and institutions enjoy in that
land.

The Guardian wishes me in closing to express his deepfelt appreciation of
your teaching services in Melbourne and Hobart, in which cities you seem
to have accomplished such splendid work, both in introducing the Cause to
the general public and by assisting the friends in better conducting their
teaching and administrative activities.

May the Beloved ever bless and guide your efforts, and may He also
strengthen and confirm your fellow-members in the N.S.A. in the discharge
of their arduous duties and responsibilities. To you and to them all he
sends his warmest greetings,

Yours in His Service,
H. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

The manner and spirit in which the dearly-beloved friends in Australia and
New Zealand are discharging their multifarious and sacred
responsibilities, in these days of strife and peril, augur well for the
future of their mission in that far-off continent. The sound lines along
which the administration of the Faith is evolving, the courage and
fidelity with which they defend the integrity and assert the claims, and
proclaim the verities of their beloved Cause are evidences of their onward
march and the potentialities with which they are endowed. I rejoice and am
thankful. I will continue to pray and seek for them still greater
blessings.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF APRIL 19TH, 1941


Haifa, April 19th, 1941

Dear Bahá’í friends:

Shoghi Effendi has instructed me to answer your letter of March 16th,
1941.

He was very pleased to learn that Mother Dunn has accepted in such a noble
and exemplary Bahá’í spirit the loss of dear Father Dunn, and that the
friends of Sydney are preparing a full description of his death and the
funeral. The Guardian would like very much to receive all such histories
and reports for the next Vol. of “Bahá’í World”. He would also like you to
send him three good photographs of Father Dunn and some of his grave and
tombstone—whenever the latter are available.

The truly remarkable services of Hyde Dunn will never be forgotten. They
have added a golden page to the history of the Formative Period of our
Faith. The whole-hearted response to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s call, raised more than
twenty years ago, which he and Mother Dunn made; their quiet and
unassuming sacrifices for the Cause; the wisdom and permanence with which
he laid the foundations of the work in Australia and New-Zealand; and the
faithful love with which both of these noble souls tended the growing
institutions of the Faith—all constitute a landmark in the victorious
progress of the Faith. He is indeed the spiritual conqueror of that
continent!

The Guardian was very impressed by your Assembly’s recent statement
published in the January issue of “Bahá’í Quarterly”. So much so that he
felt impelled to have the American N.S.A. publish it in “Bahá’í News” and
also have it read at the annual Convention. He feels that in excellent
form you have presented the very essence of the Bahá’í attitude on these
matters. This has further strengthened his conviction that the Bahá’ís of
Australia and New-Zealand display a remarkable soundness in their views on
all matters concerning the Faith, a characteristic which greatly pleases
him.

Concerning your question whether a Bahá’í Burial Service can be conducted
for non-Bahá’ís if requested by them: if non-Bahá’ís desire that the
believers should conduct such a service there is no objection at all.

The contemplated teaching trip of Miss Brooks, Mrs Hawthorne and Mrs
Moffit to Queensland, meets with the Guardian’s whole-hearted approval. He
will pray in the Holy Shrines that its outcome will be richly blessed and
fruitful.

He was very sorry to learn that Miss Stevenson has passed on. He will pray
for her joy and advancement in the Worlds beyond. She had the great honour
and blessing of being the first New-Zealand believer and her reward must
be great.

With the assurance of Shoghi Effendi’s most loving prayers for you all and
with Bahá’í greetings,

Yours in His Service,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. He wishes me also to thank you for the Naw-Rúz and Ridván greetings
from all the dear friends in Australia and New Zealand.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The community of the Most Great Name in these far-off islands have lost a
great leader, a stalwart upholder of the new World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
The influence he has exercised will however continue to live, and the
example he has set will inspire the rising generation to perform deeds as
great and brilliant as those which will ever remain associated with his
name. Our dear friend, Mr. Hyde Dunn, will, from his exalted station
intercede on your behalf, and you should, on your part strive to emulate
one whom Bahá’í historians will recognise and acclaim as Australia’s
spiritual conqueror. I will pray for his dear spiritual children from the
depths of my heart.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.

The passing of yet another staunch and indefatigible worker, Miss
Stevenson, constitutes yet another loss to the believers in that
continent. The work which that exemplary pioneer has achieved however is
imperishable. Kindly assure her relatives of my deepfelt sympathy.

Sh.



LETTER OF JULY 30TH, 1941


July 30th, 1941

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The Guardian has instructed me to answer your welcome letter to him of
June 20th, with all its good news.

The response your teaching work met with in Brisbane is truly most
encouraging and shows a remarkable receptivity on the part of the people
of Australia to the Divine Message. Shoghi Effendi hopes that you will be
able to undertake many such trips in furtherance of the teaching work and
that an increasing number of the friends will do likewise.

Indeed all the news that comes from the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand bears witness to the soundness of their understanding of the
teachings, their loyalty and devotion to the Cause and its laws, and the
excellence of their faith itself.

The Guardian has recently written a long general letter to the Bahá’ís of
the West. Owing to its length and the difficulty of sending a large number
of manuscripts abroad at such a time, he has requested the N.S.A. of
America to forward it to the other National Spiritual Assemblies. He
trusts it will soon reach you.

The news received of the Winter session of the Yerrinbool school was very
encouraging. Shoghi Effendi hopes that many of these points of community
contact, such as school sessions, teaching conferences—whatever form of
activity is most feasible—will be increasingly inaugurated, as they are of
vital importance in fostering the work of the Cause.

He most deeply appreciates your own untiring services in promotion of the
Faith in all its branches. You may rest assured that he will often pray
for you, and he will also pray for the confirmation of those souls whom
you and Mrs. Hawthorne attracted during your recent trip.

With Bahá’í love,

Yours in His service,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. The Guardian has not yet received the record of Martha’s voice nor
photographs of Father Dunn. Will you kindly send one copy of each to him
as soon as convenient.

R. R.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

It is indeed thrilling to note the rapidity and soundness with which the
flourishing Bahá’í community in that far-off land is establishing the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, is fearlessly proclaiming its truths, upholding its
verities and standards, multiplying its institutions, defending its
interests, disseminating its literature, and exemplifying its invincible
power and spirit. I rejoice, feel proud, and am eternally grateful. I
cannot but pray, with redoubled fervour, to Him Who so manifestly guides
and sustains you, to increase your numbers, to remove every barrier that
obstructs your path, to safeguard your unity, to bless your undertakings
and to enable you to demonstrate, afresh and with still greater force, the
reality of the faith that animates you in the discharge of your sacred
duties. Be assured and persevere.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF DECEMBER 26TH, 1941


Haifa, December 26th, 1941.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The Guardian has instructed me to answer your letters dated Sep. 23rd. and
Oct. 1st, and to acknowledge the receipt of the manuscript you sent for
“Bahá’í World” vol. IX, also the photographs of Father Dunn’s home and his
own picture.

Regarding the questions you asked in your letter:

No. 1. Confucius was not a Prophet. It is quite correct to say he is the
founder of a moral system and a great reformer.

No. 2. The Buddha was a Manifestation of God, like Christ, but his
followers do not possess his authentic writings.

No. 3. Zoroaster was not Abraham; the Muslims, some of them, contend that
they were the same, but we believe they were two distinct Prophets. There
is a misunderstanding in the reference in “Bahá’í Proofs” to this matter.

No. 4. There are no Prophets, so far, in the same category as Bahá’u’lláh,
as He culminates a great cycle begun with Adam.

No. 5. The Greatest Name is the Name of Bahá’u’lláh. “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá” is
an invocation meaning: “O Thou Glory of Glories”! “Alláh-u-Abhá” is a
greeting which means: “God the All-Glorious”. Both refer to Bahá’u’lláh.
By Greatest Name is meant that Bahá’u’lláh has appeared in God’s Greatest
Name, in other words, that He is the Supreme Manifestation of God.

No. 6. Revelations 3.12, refers to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.

No. 7. References in the Bible to “Mt. Paran” and “Paraclete” refer to
Muhammad’s Revelation. Deuteronomy 33.2; Genesis 21.21.; Numbers 12.16;
Numbers 13.3.; Genesis 17.20 refers to the twelve Imams and in the
Revelation of St. John, Chap. 11.; where it mentions two witnesses, it
refers to Muhammad and ‘Alí.

No. 8. The statement in the “Gleanings”, p. 64–65, “who out of utter
nothingness..” etc., should be taken in a symbolic and not literal sense.
It is only to demonstrate the power and greatness of God.

No. 9. The Guardian considers that the gist of what Mrs. Hanford Ford
reported can be considered quite correct.

No. 10. The figures 1290 date from the declaration of Muhammad, ten years
before His flight to Medina.

No. 11. The intercalary days are specially set aside for hospitality, the
giving of gifts, etc. Bahá’u’lláh Himself specified that they be used this
way, but gave no explanation for it.

No. 12. The Bahá’í Summer-Schools were originated in America to meet the
requirements of the friends. They have been adopted by other Bahá’í
communities the world-over, but there is no reason why they should be
called “Summer Schools”. There is nothing rigid about the term, it is
purely descriptive. The Guardian feels that although you can have the
immediate affairs of your Summer-Schools managed by a convenient local
assembly, they should remain under the direct supervision of the National
Spiritual Assembly as they are national in character and not purely local.

A few days ago Mr. Jim Heggie came to see the Guardian. He was able to
visit all the shrines and archives as well. Shoghi Effendi was delighted
with him, he found him devoted, full of faith and zeal, and very well read
in the teachings. He feels that if this is a sample of the Bahá’í youth of
Australia, there is, indeed, a wonderful future ahead of that country!

He will be very pleased to receive the picture of Father Dunn’s grave as
soon as it is available.

The Guardian assures you and the members of the National Spiritual
Assembly that his prayers are constantly being offered on your behalf. He
is so very pleased with the good news he receives of your activities and
the spread of the Cause in those distant lands.

Only yesterday he was reading a most heartening and enthusiastic report of
the work in Tasmania, which greatly cheered him.

Dark as these days are he feels confident that the Australian and
New-Zealand Bahá’ís will continue with unabated devotion to carry on their
excellent and exemplary services to the Faith.

His prayers are with them all, and his loving gratitude goes out to you
who lead and co-ordinate their activities.

With warm Bahá’í greetings

Yours in the service of the beloved Faith,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-beloved co-workers:

In these days when perils are increasingly threatening that far-off
continent, the most distant outpost of our beloved Faith, my thoughts turn
with deepening anxiety, solicitude, and love to those who are so valiantly
holding aloft the banner of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. I appeal to every
one of them, and particularly to the members of the assemblies who
safeguard their interests, not to allow any disturbance, suffering, or
anxiety to dim the splendour of their faith, to deflect them from their
high purpose, to cause any division in their ranks, to interfere with the
steady consolidation and expansion of their activities and institutions. I
will specially pray that the work they have magnificently initiated, and
so marvellously and soundly developed may suffer no setback, but rather
continue to develop and yield its destined fruit. Persevere and rest
assured.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF FEB. 23RD, 1942


Haifa, Feb. 23rd, 1942.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter, with enclosures, of Nov. 8th reached the Guardian safely, and
he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

His thoughts and prayers are very often with the Australian Bahá’ís in
these difficult and dangerous times. They are now facing a much more acute
situation than hitherto. But whatever of trial and affliction the
immediate future may hold for them, we know that the destiny of mankind is
in the firm grasp of Bahá’u’lláh, and that He will guide it to its
ultimate and highest goal. This assurance is more precious than life
itself, it is our anchor in every difficulty and trial.

The Guardian was very happy to know that the work in Brisbane is
progressing, and that the Cause is more and more coming before the public
and reaching the attention of prominent people.

He feels the believers must continue to do their utmost to acquaint their
fellow-citizens with the teachings, that they may at least hear of the
Bahá’í ideals, whether they are ready to accept them yet or not.

The recent meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly must have been of
great benefit to all the members and to the work of the Cause in general.
Their responsibility in these days is greater than ever, but Shoghi
Effendi feels sure they will be guided and protected and continue to
spread and safe-guard the Faith in those distant lands.

He assures you, and all the N.S.A. members, of his deep appreciation for
your untiring services, and his loving and ardent prayers. He will beseech
for you all blessings and protection in the Holy Shrines.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Yours in His service,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

As the diffulties and problems facing the valiant and high-minded
supporters and upholders of the Faith in Australia and New Zealand
multiply, my thoughts and prayers turn increasingly towards them, in
loving admiration for the work they have performed and will continue to
perform in the future. Adversity, in whatever form, will, I feel
confident, now that they have laid an unassailable basis for the Faith, in
their hearts and through their institutions, serve to heighten the ardour
of their devotion, and reinforce the foundation of their spiritual
community life. They should persevere, redouble their efforts, close their
ranks, intensify their individual as well as collective teaching
activities, and defend even more tenaciously and courageously the tenets,
claims and institutions of their Faith. Measureless blessings will crown
their exertions if they persevere, and face heroically the challenge, the
problems, and the perplexities of the present hour.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF APRIL 18TH, 1942


Haifa, April 18th, 1942.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The Guardian has instructed me to answer your two letters of Jan. 15th and
24th, and to acknowledge the receipt of the enclosed letter of Mrs. Dunn.

He was delighted to learn that the New Zealand members were able to make
the trip to Australia, and that such a highly satisfactory N.S.A. meeting
was held, in such a spirit of love and harmony. No doubt this experience
will prove of great value, not only to the National Assembly, but also to
the work of the Cause in the days to come.

Regarding the various matters you refer to in your letters: The Guardian
highly approves of the very kind and helpful arrangements made by Dr.
Bolton, by which his property at Yerrinbool will pass to the Faith at his
death and be used, according to the requirements of a future date, as
dictated by the discretion of the N.S.A. It is better that the believers,
subject to the judgements of the N.S.A., be left free to select any spot
that will prove most convenient for the majority for their summer-schools.

Regarding the Summer-Schools in general; although there is no objection to
their being under the direct management of a special Committee elected for
that purpose, they must be generally supervised by the N.S.A. in respect
to policy, etc. In other words they must be considered as a national and
not a purely local institution.

For purposes of convenience the N.S.A. may appoint as members of such
Committees, those who are situated near the Summer-Schools and are able to
pay direct attention to their affairs.

Concerning individual Bahá’ís’ letters to the Guardian and his replies;
the friends are free to write to the Guardian when they feel the urge to
do so. However, for the believers to suppose that the Guardian’s letters
to them, however full of loving encouragement they may be, give them any
special powers or authority to go against or ignore the wishes of their
local or national assembly, is to grossly misinterpret his true meaning.
The Guardian has been at great pains to build up the administrative order
and teach the friends how to use it. How could he possibly himself act in
such a way as to ignore or belittle the functions of these bodies? He
often encourages believers to work, to teach, to pursue some plan they
propose in their letters to him but this does not mean a veto of the
assembly’s rights, or that the individual thus becomes free to ignore its
authority. He trusts this will make the matter quite plain to the friends.

Regarding the matter of Mother Dunn’s letter; the N.S.A., will, he feels
sure, do all in their power to allay the fears of Mother Dunn and smooth
out any misunderstandings that may arise. He feels, however, that you
should point out to Mother Dunn that if, at any future date, the believers
of Australia and New Zealand should wish to remove the remains of Father
Dunn and herself to a beautiful site in a Bahá’í cemetery, or any other
chosen spot, they cannot do it without some legal authorization. Just at
present, after an infinite amount of red tape being gotten through, the
Egyptian N.S.A. has at last succeeded in getting arrangements made for the
transfer of Lua Getsinger’s and Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl’s bodies to the new
Bahá’í Cemetery. It is to ensure success and save trouble in the future,
that your assembly is asking her to delegate certain powers to it in this
matter. He feels sure she will cooperate fully when she understands the
matter.

In view of the criticalness of the times, the great issues facing the
entire human race, and the uncertainty of what perils and trials may yet
remain ahead of us to be endured, the Guardian feels, that the sooner
Father Dunn’s memorial is erected the better. Mother Dunn may rest assured
in her heart that future believers of Australia will know how to honour
and cherish dear Father Dunn’s grave; for the time being, though, it seems
to him, it would be wise to complete whatever arrangements are under way
as speedily as possible, subject, of course, to her acceptance, as he does
not want her to be distressed or unhappy over this matter.

The Guardian would be very glad to receive as soon as possible photographs
of Father Dunn’s grave upon its completion, to be placed in the Mansion of
Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí.

He assures you all that he feels the greatest confidence in your ability
to aid the believers of Australia and New Zealand to weather all storms
during the dark days we are passing through. The friends of those two
countries have amply displayed their deep loyalty to the Faith, their
profound dedication to its Divine Mission, their adherence to its laws and
institutions. He always thinks of them with a heart at rest and feelings
of deep affection.

Rest assured that his loving prayers will continue to be offered on their
behalf, and for you and your fellow members of the N.S.A., who are serving
with such devotion and self-sacrifice the Holy Faith.

With warm Bahá’í Greetings and love, R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-beloved friends:

The spirit manifested by the valiant supporters of the Faith in Australia
and New Zealand is most encouraging, highly meritorious, and truly
exemplary. The work they have achieved, the plans they are devising, the
hopes they cherish for the future, fill me with admiration and evoke my
deepest gratitude. The Beloved will assuredly continue to illumine their
path, to sustain their efforts, and to bless their accomplishments in
these days of unprecedented stress, anxiety, and peril. I will continue to
supplicate for them all His abundant and imperishable blessings.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 19TH, 1943


Haifa, March 19th, 1943.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letters, written on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly, and
dated April 21st, 1942 and Nov. 18th, 1942, reached the Guardian, together
with their enclosures, and he has instructed me to answer them on his
behalf.

He regrets the delay in replying to them, but he has been, and still is,
engaged on a work which requires a tremendous amount of his time, and his
correspondence has, of necessity, suffered from it.

The Guardian would prefer sending all cables and moneys etc., to you
direct, but the war regulations, as enforced in this country, prohibit the
use of a postal address in cables or telegrams, and as he does not have
your street address, he has had to do it this way. Please forward your own
address, or the one you care to have used, and it will simplify matters in
the future.

He is delighted to hear that the friends will be able to hold a Convention
in April, and he hopes that, through its deliberations, and the meetings
of the N.S.A. members, far reaching teaching plans will be set afoot and
the Cause in New Zealand and Australia obtain a new impetus. You already
have the nuclei of a number of Spiritual Assemblies in places where there
are a group of believers, and he hopes that through following the methods,
so successful in such countries as India and the United States, of having
both travelling teachers and pioneers or settlers go out you will have a
number of new Spiritual Assemblies by 1944.

He was very pleased to see the increased interest among the friends in
their various Bahá’í Summer and Winter Schools, and hopes that these will
increasingly attract students of the Faith, anxious to deepen their
knowledge of its wonderful teachings.

The Australian and New Zealand friends, now feeling the full weight of the
war, its dangers and sorrows, are very often in his prayers. He feels
confident that they will emerge from these dark years stronger in spirit,
more united and consecrated than ever before. They have a great and
precious mission before them of rearing, albeit in miniature the pattern
of a New World Order, divine in origin, in the midst of their countrymen,
who someday are sure to turn to that pattern as the solution to their
problems and the harbinger of their happiness.

He assures you and all the members of the N.S.A. of his continued, loving
prayers, that you may be guided and aided in all your services to our
beloved Faith.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. The Guardian replied to Mr. Heggie’s letter, and he is very pleased
to hear of the fine work he is doing. He is also pleased to hear that the
work will now go on in connection with Father Dunn’s Memorial.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The constancy, the zeal, the unity and devotion which characterize the
activities of the dearly-beloved community of Australia and New Zealand
Bahá’ís evoke my heartfelt admiration, and demonstrate the power of
Bahá’u’lláh and His unfailing guidance. I will pray for them all, will
supplicate for them His richest blessings, and feel confident that if they
persevere in their noble task their mission will be crowned with glorious
success.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 14TH, 1944


Haifa, March 14th, 1944

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letters dated June 8th, Sep. 12th, Nov. 12th, Jan. 10th and 17th,
1944, together with their enclosures, have all been received, and the
Guardian has instructed me to answer them on his behalf. He has also
received the envelope of photographs you sent of N.S.A. Members, Father
Dunn’s grave and other pictures of Bahá’í friends, for which he thanks
you.

He also wishes to thank you for your manuscript for the Bahá’í World which
was also received safely.

In regard to the recently purchased National Headquaters in Sydney: He was
delighted that you were able to take possession of a house suitable to the
present requirements of the Faith, and he trusts that by the time this
reaches you all the legal steps will have been completed and the building
registered in the name of the National Spiritual Assembly. It should be
called by its proper title of “Hazíratu’l-Quds”.

The ideal to be followed, of course, is for the Secretariat, the office of
the treasurer, etc., to be in the National Headquarters. However, this can
be brought about gradually, and he leaves decisions in this matter to the
N.S.A.

He trusts that the combined Centenary Celebrations and annual Convention
will not only draw a large group of believers to Sydney to meet in their
new Hazíratu’l-Quds, but will also be a means of attracting the attention
of the public to the Faith on a wider scale than ever before. The
Australian and New Zealand friends are standing not only on the threshold
of the second Bahá’í Century but also on the threshold of a new phase of
the Cause in that part of the world. Their responsibilities are therefore
greatly increased, and he believes they will meet them unitedly, with
clear vision, and their characteristic devotion to our beloved Faith.

He assures you and the other members of the N.S.A. of his loving prayers
for the success of your labours and the fulfilment of your dearest hopes.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. He found the newspaper clippings you forwarded of great interest, and
is pleased to see that the press is being so friendly and helpful. He has
already through a cable stated that the convention should be held in
conjunction with the Centenary Celebrations which embrace the 23rd of May.
The Commemoration gathering should be held on the 22nd of May exactly at
two hours and eleven minutes after sunset, which is the time at which the
Báb declared His Mission.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The activities of the beloved friends in Australia and New Zealand during
recent troubles have been truly remarkable. Now that the Hazíratu’l-Quds
is to be established in Sydney I trust and pray that this central
administrative headquarters in the oldest and leading Bahá’í centre in
that far-off continent will act as a powerful magnet and attract the
manifold blessings of the Almighty and lend a tremendous impetus to the
organized activities of the believers in Australia and New Zealand. I will
continue to pray for them from the depths of my heart.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF OCT. 17TH, 1944


Haifa, Oct. 17th, 1944.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The Guardian has instructed me to acknowledge your letter dated June 27th
and also two previous ones from the former secretary of the N.S.A. dated
Feb. 6th and Aug. 27th, and to answer them on his behalf.

He deeply appreciates all the work done by dear Miss Brooks in the past as
Secretary of the National Assembly, and hopes that now that she is
relieved of this arduous post she will devote much of her time to teaching
and writing for the Faith.

The sacrifice you and your husband are making by moving to Sydney in order
to attend to the work of the N.S.A. is truly praiseworthy, and he hopes
the way will open for you to do so at an early date.

In connection with the incorporation of the N.S.A.: the Guardian feels
that whatever form the incorporation takes the name and seal of the Nat.
assembly must not be changed in any way, i.e. the title “National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand” should be
preserved.

The various enclosures you forwarded in your letter were all received
safely by him.

He hopes that now that the National Headquarters has been established and
you are going to take up residence there as Secretary—thus giving a new
permanence and prestige to the functions of the N.S.A.—the work of the
Faith will go ahead by leaps and bounds. The many groups now functioning
should be aided and strengthened with a view to forming new Spiritual
Assemblies as soon as possible, and the Cause should be given publicity as
much as possible, through the Press, Radio and public meetings.

You may be sure his most loving prayers will be offered for the success of
your labours as N.S.A. secretary, and for your health and guidance. Also
for the confirmation of your dear husband in the Faith.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The work accomplished by the Australian and New Zealand believers in
recent years, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í
activity, culminating in the splendid celebrations at the newly
established national headquarters in the capital city of the Australian
Commonwealth, is highly praiseworthy and augurs well for the future. The
opening years of the new century must witness a stupendous effort on the
part of the newly established community in the teaching field—an effort at
once nation-wide, systematic, strenuous and persistent. The multiplication
of Bahá’í centres in towns and villages, a greater measure of publicity, a
higher degree of unity and consecration to the Faith, a fuller measure of
self-sacrifice should distinguish the labours of the members of this
community. I will pray from the depths of my heart for the removal of
every obstacle from your path and the speedy realization of every hope you
cherish for the promotion of His Faith and the consolidation of its
institutions.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF DEC. 12TH, 1944


Haifa, Dec. 12th, 1944.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to write your National Spiritual
Assembly and inform you of his views and wishes in connection with the
Summer School in Australia:

He does not consider it either wise or necessary at the present time to
have more than one Bahá’í Summer School in Australia, and as Yerrinbool is
equipped to accommodate the friends on Bahá’í property, so to speak, he
would suggest that Yerrinbool continue to be used as the Australian Bahá’í
Summer School.

He pointed out this same principle of not multiplying the number of Summer
Schools some time ago in connection with the Adelaide Assembly’s purchase
of a building and property.

He has also done the same thing in America—limited the number of Summer
Schools—as the friends in their enthusiasm to inaugurate new institutions
wanted to have very many summer schools which would have not only
weakened, instead of strengthening, the older schools, but also would have
dissipated the energy of the friends.

Assuring you and all the members of your Assembly of his loving prayers on
your behalf and for the success of your work,
Yours in His Service,
R. Rabbani.



LETTER OF MARCH 13TH, 1945


Haifa, March 13th, 1945.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of Feb. 9th has been received (written on behalf of the
N.S.A.), and the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer it on his
behalf and to also acknowledge receipt of the copy of the resolutions
which you forwarded in it.

The news you conveyed was all very encouraging and pleased him greatly.

He was particularly happy to hear of the formation of a new Spiritual
Assembly at Caringbah as this marks an important step forward in the
growth of the Cause and its administrative institutions in Australia. He
hopes that the N.S.A. will, through travelling and visiting teachers, and
Bahá’í settlers and pioneers, be able to speedily ensure the establishment
of further assemblies; wherever the conditions for their development seem
most promising, the efforts should be concentrated.

He was also very glad to hear that the Hazíratu’l-Quds has been
successfully transferred to the name of the National Assembly. He is
looking forward to receiving the photographs of its opening, and of the
Centenary dinner, which you are sending him. Likewise he was pleased to
see it is being put to such active use and teaching classes, public
meetings, etc. being held in it.

He cannot stress too much the vital importance of the teaching work, and
he hopes that all the believers, however circumscribed their means,
however unqualified they may feel themselves to be, will arise and
contribute their share to this all-important work. The Cause has, all
things considered, made remarkable progress in Australia and New Zealand
of late; but the united efforts of all the friends are required to spread
the Divine Message during these moving and dark times the world is passing
through. They must fix their eyes on the abject misery of humanity and,
forgetful of their own limitations, deliver the Teachings to their fellow
countrymen.

He assures you and your co-workers that he deeply appreciates your devoted
services, and will constantly pray for the progress of the Faith in those
distant and important lands.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. He hopes that the N.S.A. watches over dear Mother Dunn. She is now
advancing in years and deserves the greatest love and consideration in
view of the imperishable services she and Father Dunn rendered the Cause
there.

P.P.S. Your previous letter, dated Aug. 18th as well as the photostat
copies connected with the incorporation of the N.S.A. reached him. He was
delighted at this further evidence of the efficiency of that body and the
manner in which it is consolidating its foundation.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The teaching responsibilities confronting the Australian and New Zealand
believers are of supreme importance and of extreme urgency. Now that the
basis of the Administrative Order has been firmly laid, and fully
understood, and the national Hazíratu’l-Quds established in the leading
city of the Australian Commonwealth, the attention of the members of the
entire community must be focussed on the teaching work—the promotion of
which is the ultimate object of the entire machinery of the Administrative
Order and its subsidiary institutions and agencies. The multiplication of
Bahá’í groups, the steady increase in the number of local assemblies, the
dissemination of literature, the dispersal of the believers, no matter how
small their number, to important centers throughout the continent
constitute the vital task of the infant community which has, despite its
limited resources and isolated situation, demonstrated its capacity to
establish on a sound basis the primary institutions of its Faith, to
safeguard its unity and promote its vital interests. That it may forge
ahead and overcome every obstacle in its path and fulfil its high destiny
is my fondest hope and constant prayer.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MAY 13TH, 1945


Haifa, May 13th, 1945.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer your letters dated April
12th, 13th (two) and 14th, and to acknowledge receipt of the enclosures
forwarded with them.

Regarding the matter of Mrs. ... and the inharmony that seems to exist
among certain of the friends in ...: when Bahá’ís permit the dark forces
of the world to enter into their own relationships within the Faith they
gravely jeopardise its progress; it is the paramount duty of the
believers, the local assemblies, and particularly the N.S.A. to foster
harmony, understanding and love amongst the friends. All should be ready
and willing to set aside every personal sense of grievance—justified or
unjustified—for the good of the Cause, because the people will never
embrace it until they see in its community life mirrored what is so
conspicuously lacking in the world: love and unity.

The Bahá’ís are fully entitled to address criticisms to their assemblies;
they can freely air their views about policies or individual members of
elected bodies to the assembly, local or national, but then they must
whole-heartedly accept the advice or decision of the assembly, according
to the principles already laid down for such matters in Bahá’í
administration.

Shoghi Effendi has repeatedly stated, to believers in every part of the
world, that the individual Bahá’ís are entirely free to write to him on
any matter they please; naturally he is equally free to answer in any
manner he pleases. At the present time, when the institutions of the Cause
are just beginning to function, he considers it essential to keep up this
large correspondence, much as it adds to his many other burdens. It is
sometimes the case that the very first intimation he receives of some
important step influencing the interests of the Faith, one way or another,
comes from an individual’s letter instead of from an assembly; it would
naturally be preferable for the information to come from an administrative
body, but whatever the source, the Guardian is solely concerned with the
welfare of the Faith, and when he deems a certain step detrimental he
states his views in his reply. This he is at entire liberty to do.

Just as the National Assembly has full jurisdiction over all its local
Assemblies, the Guardian has full jurisdiction over all National
Assemblies; he is not required to consult them, if he believes a certain
decision is advisable in the interests of the Cause. He is the judge of
the wisdom and advisability of the decisions made by these bodies, and not
they of the wisdom and advisability of his decisions. A perusal of the
Will and Testament makes this principle quite clear.

He is the Guardian of the Cause in the very fullness of that term, and the
appointed interpreter of its teachings, and is guided in his decisions to
do that which protects it and fosters its growth and highest interests.

He always has the right to step in and countermand the decisions of a
national assembly; if he did not possess this right he would be absolutely
impotent to protect the Faith, just as the N.S.A., if it were divested of
the right to countermand the decisions of a local assembly, would be
incapable of watching over and guiding the national welfare of the Bahá’í
Community.

It very seldom happens—but it nevertheless does happen—that he feels
impelled to change a major (as you put it) decision of an N.S.A.; but he
always unhesitatingly does so when necessary, and the N.S.A. in question
should gladly and unhesitatingly accept this as a measure designed for the
good of the Faith which its elected representatives are so devotedly
seeking to serve.

Regarding the position of Summer Schools in Australia: much of what you
are at present going through has already been experienced by the American
Bahá’í Community, and he sympathises with your views and problems; however
he wishes to state the following:

Whatever the history of the Yerrinbool School may be, the fact remains it
is now in existence, is owned by believers ready to have it used as such,
and is known as a Bahá’í Summer School all over the world. The Guardian is
not the least concerned with personalities in this matter, but with
principles. He feels at the present time that one Bahá’í Summer School is
enough for the believers of Australia to maintain. In the future, as
assemblies and groups multiply, the question will naturally have to be
reconsidered.

Bahá’í Summer Schools in the United States originated in the same informal
manner as Yerrinbool; they were (and some still are) the property of
individual believers who resided on them, but they are administered by
Committees appointed by the N.S.A. and which usually include, out of
courtesy and consideration, the owners. The American friends also desired
to have many more Summer Schools, but the Guardian has so far not
permitted them to add to the number, as it dissipates the energy and funds
of the believers and would at present weaken those already existing.

He feels that the duty of your Assembly is to not give up Yerrinbool
because of any inharmony over it, but to administer and support it
properly and remove the inharmony. You should appoint a Committee for the
School, purchase any extra equipment needed for the comfort and
accommodation of the attendants, and he feels sure the Boltons will
cooperate with you in this matter, as they are eager to have the property
be used by the believers.

Generally speaking he does not encourage the erection of buildings in
memory to individual believers at the present time. But as those at
Yerrinbool serve a useful purpose and that the memory of dear Father Dunn
commemorates the life of the man who brought the Faith to the Continent of
Australia, we may welcome it in the spirit it was given.

As to what uses should be made of the building purchased by the S.A. of
Adelaide, he leaves the decision to your body and that Assembly. He hopes
that at a future date it can be used as a Summer School.

It is the duty of the N.S.A. to exercise the greatest wisdom, forbearance
and tact in handling the affairs of the Cause. Many of the differences
which arise between the believers are due to their immaturity, their
extreme zeal and sincerity.

He will pray for you all in the Holy Shrines, that the Beloved may assist
and strengthen you in the discharge of your sacred duties to the Faith and
its adherents in Australia and New Zealand.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Read and approved,

Shoghi.



LETTER OF AUG. 8TH, 1945


Haifa, Aug. 8th, 1945.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer your letters dated June
12th, 15th and 25th, and to acknowledge receipt of the numerous enclosures
you forwarded with them.

As he has already expressed to you in his recent messages he greatly
regretted the tone of certain recent communications from the N.S.A.

He cannot too strongly point out to you all that any condition of
inharmony places in jeopardy the wonderful achievements recently made in
the spread and consolidation of the Cause in Australia and New Zealand.
The beloved Master pointed out over and over again that unity and love
among the friends promotes harmony and the rapid spread of the Faith, and
that when these are sacrificed and disputes, anger and violent criticism
take their place, the Cause cannot move forward.

The N.S.A.s the world over, owing to the spiritual immaturity of the
believers, must at the present time exert the greatest patience in dealing
with the friends; otherwise, as seems to be rapidly becoming the case in
Australia, the friends will take sides, bitterness will increase and what
started out as a small thing, (however unjustified and regrettable a
departure from the Bahá’í spirit) will become a menace to the progress of
the Faith and definitely retard its progress.

He feels that Mrs. ... and Miss ... , both of whom love their religion and
are devoted to its promotion, should be called upon to forget and forgive
the past, and concentrate on serving the Faith. These are the ways in
which the Bahá’ís can demonstrate true spiritual nobility and detachment.
In such delicate and complicated cases, the N.S.A. should appeal to the
believers to put the interests of the Cause first, regardless of any
personal sacrifice of feelings this may require.

He assures you he will pray ardently for the speedy and satisfactory
solution of this entire matter.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

It is my fervent hope and prayer that the members of the Bahá’í
communities of Australia and New Zealand, will, now that the machinery of
the Administrative Order of their Faith has been erected, redouble their
efforts to proclaim, with one voice and in a most effective manner, those
vital and healing principles for which the great mass of their war-weary
and much tested countrymen are hungering. This supreme issue must have
precedence over all other considerations, must be given immediate and
anxious attention, must be faced courageously and continually, and be
regarded by individual believers as well as their elected representatives
as the supreme objective of the manifold administrative institutions they
have reared and are still labouring to establish. Complete harmony, mutual
understanding, unity of purpose, coordination of efforts, prayerful
consideration of, and mature deliberation on, all the aspects and
requirements of this great and sacred objective can alone ensure its
triumphant consummation during these years of stress and peril through
which mankind is passing. May the national elected representatives of both
communities set a superb example to their fellow-workers throughout that
far-off continent, and enable them to win memorable victories in the
service of their glorious Faith and its God-given institutions.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 25TH, 1946


Haifa, March 25th, 1946.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letters, written on behalf of the N.S.A. and dated June 15th, and
16th, July 26th and Sep. 15th, 1945, and Jan. 7th, 1946, together with
their enclosures, have been received, and the beloved Guardian has
instructed me to answer them on his behalf.

He is very pleased to see the progress the Cause is making in Australia
and New Zealand and hopes that the N.S.A. will not only inspire and
encourage the believers in their teaching activities, but will also
constantly impress on them the need for the greatest love and unity to
prevail in their midst; the masses will only really turn to the Faith when
they see that in it true religion is practiced as well as preached!

The recent articles attacking the Cause are a sign that its influence is
sufficiently felt to be feared—a great compliment to the progress you are
making in spreading the message!

Concerning the various points raised in your letters: He noticed, from
your letter of Jan. 7th, that you were planning to hold the annual
Convention in May, and cabled you that it must be held in the Ridván
period—as are all the other National Bahá’í Conventions the world
over,—even though some other date might be more convenient locally.

He feels that the Yerrinbool Summer School should hold longer sessions; in
this respect the friends cannot do better than to pattern themselves on
the American Summer Schools, some of which now hold two or three Summer
sessions, and even a “Winter Session”. Although such a large number of
sessions may be premature for Australia at present, the goal should be
kept in mind as you seek to expand your school.

There can be no schism in the Bahá’í Faith because the Guardianship is
established on an unassailable foundation, supported by a signed, sealed
document—the Will. Schism can only flourish where there is ambiguity or no
specific proof. The New History Society is like a branch that has no
roots, and will soon dry up and wither. It has not caused, nor can it
cause, a breach among the believers.

He was very happy to see you are now establishing Regional Teaching
Com.’s, and hopes you will concentrate all your resources, and the energy
of the friends, on establishing new Assemblies and groups.

He assures you, one and all, that his loving prayers will be offered for
your guidance and for the success of your important work.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. He was very pleased to see the article on the Faith in “Truth”. The
Cause is certainly getting very good publicity out there!

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The activities initiated by the dearly beloved friends in Australia and
New Zealand, and so diligently promoted by them all are highly
meritorious; and will, no doubt, bear abundant fruit in the days to come.
The utmost effort should be exerted by individuals as well as local
assemblies to increase the number of the active supporters of the Faith
and to enable them to disperse as widely as possible, to multiply the
groups that must sooner or later evolve into assemblies, to achieve
greater publicity for the Faith through the radio and the press, to extend
the range of the activities of the Bahá’í Faith, to foster the institution
of the summer-school, and to consolidate and enlarge the scope of the
Hazíratu’l-Quds. These are the main objectives that demand the
concentrated attention of the Australian and New Zealand believers during
the months that lie immediately ahead. No sacrifice is too great to ensure
the realisation of these noble aims. All must arise and unitedly endeavour
to carry to a successful conclusion these vital tasks, with which the
immediate destinies of the Faith are so closely linked. That the Beloved
may guide and sustain you in all your undertakings, that He may crown your
assiduous labours with magnificent success is my dearest wish and ardent
prayer.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MAY 25TH, 1946


Haifa, May 25th, 1946.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter dated April 27th has been received and the beloved Guardian
has instructed me to answer it on his behalf. He also acknowledges receipt
of the enclosures forwarded with it.

He trusts that by the time this letter reaches you the complications which
arose at Convention, about the election, will have been satisfactorily
straightened out; as he already cabled you, this was a question for the
out-going N.S.A. to decide.

He feels that the National Spiritual Assembly during the coming year
should focus both its and the believers’ attention on the all-important
teaching work, and the necessity of increasing the number of groups and
assemblies throughout Australia and New Zealand. The friends should be
urged and encouraged to arise both as pioneers and travelling teachers,
and they should receive, in cases where they cannot afford it themselves,
financial aid from the National Fund. Such measures are at the present
time absolutely necessary, as the believers are few, the hour very
pressing, and most of them not sufficiently well-off to do such work
without assistance.

The Bahá’ís in the United States have just embarked on their second Seven
Year Plan; India is working hard on a Four and a half Year Plan; England
is straining every nerve to achieve, during the Six Year Plan the friends
have chosen for themselves, 19 assemblies. It is only right and proper
that such a vast and promising territory as Australia, New Zealand and
Tasmania represent, should likewise win for itself new laurels in the
Bahá’í teaching field during the next few years! He therefore suggests you
choose, after surveying your own possibilities and soliciting suggestions
from the friends, certain immediate objectives, and then work unitedly
towards achieving them.

He assures you that he will offer special prayers on your behalf, that the
N.S.A. members and the Bahá’ís they represent, may speedily forge ahead,
and enter into a new era of development of the Faith in that distant but
promising land.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The activities in which you are engaged, are the object of my fervent and
constant prayers. To teach the Faith, to stimulate the dispersal and
settlement of pioneers, to enable the existing groups to attain assembly
status, and to multiply, steadily and speedily, the number of groups in
Australia and New Zealand are the paramount tasks which demand the
constant attention, the prayerful consideration and the united and
vigorous collaboration of the believers, and particularly of their
national elected representatives. No sacrifice is too great to further
these manifold and noble aims and purposes. Effective measures,
unprecedented in scope, should be carefully and immediately devised,
proclaimed to the believers, and, through sustained and organised effort,
carried into effect. There is no time to lose. The masses, greatly tried
by the calamities of the age, restless, disappointed, and eager to obtain
real and complete relief in their hour of trial, hunger for the Message of
the new Day, and will, if properly approached and appealed to, embrace the
great verities it enshrines. Firm and unassailable unity among those who
profess to be its bearers, unshakeable fidelity to the principles on which
it is founded, generous and unfailing support of the institutions designed
to propagate it, are the vital prerequisites of their urgent and sacred
task. Every consideration, however profitable and laudable, must for the
present be subordinated to the vital needs of the strenuous task now
confronting the Australian and New Zealand Bahá’í communities. The
administrative machinery designed to provide the necessary agency for the
diffusion of the Message has been sufficiently consolidated to enable it
to perform the glorious task for which it was originally erected. It
should be utilised to the fullest possible extent. Its scope should
simultaneously be enlarged to provide a still wider basis for the future
extension of teaching activities. May the coming year witness a notable
advance in the organized activities of the community for the furtherance
of so glorious and meritorious a purpose.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JULY 16TH, 1946


Haifa, July 16th, 1946.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of June 20th has been received, and our beloved Guardian has
instructed me to answer it on his behalf, also to acknowledge receipt of
its enclosures.

He was very glad to see that amongst the actions taken by the N.S.A. at
its recent meeting was to allot sums to the Regional Teaching Committees
for them to carry on active teaching campaigns and finance travelling
teachers and settlers—if possible. He considers this all very important,
and he urges you to appeal to the Bahá’ís to arise and do pioneer work as
their fellow-believers are doing in England, India, Egypt and America.

He also feels that, if the N.S.A. considers such a course of action
feasible, definite plans should be made for carrying the Cause to certain
goal towns; in other words, a real plan with fixed objectives and a time
limit is now possible for Australia, and should be speedily set in motion.

Likewise, he feels that the N.S.A. should meet more often, even if all
members cannot always be present. Decisions by correspondence lack the
vitality of those that arise out of active consultation, and now the Faith
is progressing so well there, and has a sound administrative foundation,
more vigorous and systematic action is required.

You may be sure all the members of the assembly are remembered in his
prayers, and he is supplicating for their guidance and success in the
discharge of their sacred duties.

With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The ever-expanding activities of the Bahá’í communities of Australia and
New Zealand, so clearly reflected in the reports and minutes forwarded
recently by your Assembly, demonstrate the character of the Faith which so
powerfully animates you, testify to the loyalty, the vigour and the
devotion with which you conduct the affairs of a continually growing
Faith, proclaim the soundness of the foundation upon which you are rearing
its institutions, and augur well for their future evolution and triumph.
The attention of the believers throughout all centres in both communities
should now be focussed on the steady multiplication and consolidation of
these institutions which constitute the bedrock of the Administrative
Order of which your Assembly is the appointed trustee and chief promoter.
No sacrifice is too great for the promotion of such an urgent and vital
task. A supreme effort, on the part of all, young and old alike,
individuals, assemblies and communities, is absolutely essential in the
course of the present year, and as a prelude to the initiation of future
plans aiming at a still greater development and further enrichment of the
life of both communities. All secondary matters should be subordinated to
the primary requirements of the present day. The futherance of this noble
objective should be made the object of the anxious and sustained
deliberations of your Assembly. The resources of both communities should
be devoted to such a purpose. Nothing should be allowed to deflect them
from this course. If they persevere the blessings of the Almighty will
enable them to achieve exploits far exceeding their fondest expectations.
That they may be graciously aided, in their labours, by Bahá’u’lláh is my
fervent hope and prayer. I feel confident that they will respond to my
plea, and arise unitedly to achieve their immediate goal.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JULY 31ST, 1946


Haifa, July 31st, 1946

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

Your letter—with check enclosed—dated 15th of July was received and our
beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer it on his behalf.

He is very sorry that from here he is unable owing to existing
regulations, to forward this loving contribution made by both the
believers and the N.S.A. to Persia for the Relief Fund. He suggests you
try to send it direct to Tehran to the treasurer of this Fund, Mr. Varga.
If you are able to do so, and will arrange to send the money to Mr. Daoud
Toeq, he will see it reaches Mr. Varga in Tehran.

Please assure the members of the N.S.A., and all the friends, of his deep
appreciation of this gift to their sorely tried brethren in other lands.

You may be sure he often prays for the success of your work and that of
all the N.S.A. members.

With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Assuring you of my loving prayers for the success of your efforts in the
service of our beloved Faith and of its divinely appointed insitutions,

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 14TH, 1947


March 14th, 1947.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer your letters dated Sep.
2nd and 16th, and Oct. 22nd and 25th, 1946, and to acknowledge receipt of
enclosures sent in some of them, and also material forwarded under
separate cover. He regrets very much the delay in replying to these N.S.A.
communications, but he has been very preoccupied with various pressing
matters the last few months, and his mail has consequently had to wait.

In regard to the various points you raised in your letters: There is no
objection to individual Bahá’ís sending Naw-Rúz cards if they want to;
also the N.S.A. can send them out occassionally, but it should not become
a fixed custom.

He has already cabled you that he approves of increasing the delegates to
the Annual Convention to 19.

He feels that Committees should be left free to elect their own officers.

Prayers translated by other people may be used and memorized by the
friends; they need not be confined to his translations.

He considers that the N.S.A. has every right to examine the ballots if
there is some doubt as to the election having been properly conducted. By
“preservation” of the ballots is meant that they are preserved in the
National files.

A Convention delegate should certainly be given an opportunity to report
to the community his or her experiences at Convention and impressions.

As to the whole matter of the incorporation of assemblies: he cannot go
into the details of such things, as this is the work of the N.S.A. What he
wants is that the spiritual assemblies in New Zealand and Australia should
be legally empowered to hold property in their own names; how this can be
done, the best way of doing it, are matters for your Assembly and its
legal advisers to decide.

He feels very strongly that the main thing for your Assembly and all the
believers of both Australia and New Zealand to concentrate on are teaching
plans. The United States, India, Persia and England are all embarked on
ambitious and bold teaching campaigns, and it is a great pity that
Australasia, where the Cause is now firmly established and boasts an
active National Assembly, should not have a definite plan, with fixed
goals, of its own.

When the believers are embarked on a definite teaching schedule there will
be less time for them to constantly occupy themselves with purely
secondary administrative points of procedure. Teaching is their need, and
the solution to any problems they may feel they have.

He was delighted over the report of the work in Brisbane; this is a step
in the right direction, and should be followed through vigorously. Please
convey to those who have devotedly served there and brought this group
into being his warm thanks and his admiration for their services.

You may be sure he deeply values the loyal and persevering efforts of your
Assembly to promote the Faith in all its aspects in Australia and New
Zealand. His loving prayers are offered on your behalf and for the success
of your labours.

With Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

I wish to appeal, through you, to the members of the entire community in
both Australia and New Zealand, to arise, in these opening years of the
Second Bahá’í century, and lend, through their concerted, their sustained,
and determined efforts, an unprecedented impetus to the growth of the
Faith, the multiplication of its administrative centers, and the
consolidation of its nascent institutions. The initiation of a Plan,
carefully devised, universally supported, and designed to promote
effectively the vital interests of the Faith, and attain a definite
objective within a specified number of years, would seem, at the present
hour, highly desirable and opportune, and will, as a magnet, attract, to
an unprecedented degree, the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh on the members of
both communities, both individually and collectively.

Now that the structural basis of the Bahá’í Administrative Order has been
firmly and definitely laid in those far-away lands, and the National
Headquarters of that Order established, a systematic effort must be
exerted to widen the basis of that Order, by multiplying the
Administrative institutions and forming the necessary nucleii, which, as
they develop and are consolidated, will have to be utilized as the
divinely ordained and most effectual instruments for the proclamation of
the Faith to the masses.

I fully realize how small are your numbers, how circumscribed are your
means, how vast the distances that separate the centres already
established. But I firmly believe that the initiation of a Plan to remedy
the very deficiencies from which the infant Administrative Order is now
suffering, and a firm resolve to carry out its provisions, as well as a
sustained effort to make the necessary sacrifices for its consummation,
will set in motion forces of such magnitude, and draw upon both
communities blessings of such potency, as shall excite the wonder of the
believers themselves, and cause their Faith to enter an era of
unprecedented expansion and marvellous and fruitful development.

The concluding years of the first Bahá’í century have witnessed a notable
progress in the development and consolidation of both communities. The
first decade of the succeeding century must synchronize with a no less
remarkable extension of that essential administrative foundation on which
the future institutions of a flourishing Faith must repose, and on which
its destinies and security must ultimately depend.

May the Spirit of Bahá’u’lláh guide, sustain and inspire you in the
discharge of the noble and formidable tasks which will face you in the
years to come.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF APRIL 7TH, 1947


Haifa, April 7th, 1947.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Our beloved Guardian has instructed me to write and ask you to please
forward to him copies of the letters of acknowledgement written by the
Bishops who received copies of “God Passes By”.

He read in the British News Letter that such letters had been received by
your Assembly, and he feels that such material should always be forwarded
(in copy) to Haifa, as it is of more than mere local importance.

He hopes the N.S.A. is progressing with its teaching plans, and assures
you all of his loving prayers.

With Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.



LETTER OF JULY 22ND, 1947


Haifa, July 22nd, 1947.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

The letters from the N.S.A. (some written by the former Secretary) dated
Sep. 2nd, 1946, Feb. 10th, March 9th, April 27th (two of this date), June
13th and July 10th have been received, as well as their enclosures, and
the beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.

He is very anxious that your Assembly should devote its energies and
resources to prosecuting the teaching work and stimulating and encouraging
the believers to devote their thoughts and time to it. This is really the
solution to all the small problems and differences of opinion that arise
in Australia. It is the sacred duty of the believers to teach, and one of
the reasons for so painstakingly building up Assemblies is for them to
promulgate the Cause of God, and not to lose their time in discussing
details, settling disputes which should not have arisen between Bahá’ís,
and generally losing themselves in personalities.

He urges your Assembly to try and create as many local assemblies as
possible; large suburbs, if outside the city limits and possessing their
own administration should—if 9 Bahá’ís reside in them, form separate
assemblies. This may at first seem to weaken the larger communities; but
it will also challenge all concerned to renew their labours to expand the
local communities and increase their numbers.

Enclosed is a letter to Mr. Featherstone in connection with his letter
sent to the Guardian by your Assembly.

Regarding Mr. ...’s appeal: the Guardian feels the best course of action
in this matter is to ask both of the believers concerned to forgive and
forget the entire matter.

He does not want the friends to form the habit of taking up a kind of
Bahá’í litigation against each other. Their duties to humanity are too
sacred and urgent in these days, when the Cause is struggling to spread
and assert its independence, for them to spend their precious time, and
his precious time, in this way. Ask them, therefore, to unite, forget the
past, and serve as never before.

His loving prayers are offered for you and the other members of the
Assembly, for your guidance and success.

With warm greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The Plan, on which the National elected representatives of the Bahá’í
communities of Australia and New Zealand have spontaneously embarked marks
a turning-point, of great spiritual significance, in the evolution of the
Faith in those far-off lands, and is an evidence of the truly remarkable
spirit that animates them as well as the communities they represent. I
welcome this mighty step they have taken with joy, pride and gratitude,
and have hastened to transmit to them my contribution as a token of my
keen appreciation of their high endeavours, of my confidence in their
ability, and of my admiration for their zeal and noble determination in
the service of the Faith. The attention of the members of both communities
must henceforth be focused on the Plan, its progress, its requirements,
its significance and immediate objectives. All must participate without
exception without reserve, without delay. The Administrative Order which
they have laboured to establish must henceforth, through its organs and
agencies be utilized for the promotion of this vital purpose, this supreme
end. For no other purpose was it created. That it may serve this end, that
the Plan may speedily develop and yield its destined fruit and demonstrate
through its consummation the worthiness, the capacity and high-mindedness
of the organized body of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in those distant
lands are the objects of my fervent and constant prayers at the Holy
Shrines.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MAY 11TH, 1948


The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand,

Mr. James Heggie, sec.

Haifa, May 11th, 1948.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

Your letter to our beloved Guardian, dated Dec. 11th, 1947, has been
received, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

The devotion and perseverance of the believers in seeking to meet the
requirements of their Plan pleases and touches him immensely, and although
he fully realizes that the fewness of their numbers and the great
distances involved in such a vast country as Australia, form serious
handicaps in the progress of their teaching work, he, nevertheless, feels
confidant that they can achieve their goals in time, and raise their heads
proudly in the galaxy of their fellow-pioneers the world over.

We can truly say that this Cause is a cause that enables people to achieve
the impossible! For the Bahá’ís, everywhere, for the most part, are people
with no great distinguishments of either wealth or fame, and yet once they
make the effort and go forth in the name of Bahá’u’lláh to spread His
Faith, they become, each one, as efficacious as a host! Witness what
Mustafa Raumie accomplished in Burma, and a handful of pioneers achieved,
in a decade, in Latin America! It is the quality of devotion and
self-sacrifice that brings rewards in the service of this Faith rather
than means, ability or financial backing.

This has again, during the last few years, been demonstrated even more
remarkably by the British Bahá’ís, who have not only had to contend with
very limited means and a small community to draw from, but have also had
infinite restrictions and privations to put up with—and, in spite of this,
they are steadily gaining on the requirements of the Plan they have set
for themselves, and, indeed, are startling and inspiring their
fellow-Bahá’ís everywhere by their spirit and achievements!

He hopes that now, from “down under”, news will begin to flow out to the
Bahá’í World of the remarkable accomplishments of the Australians and New
Zealanders!

Regarding the question you asked him about the Bahá’í sacred writings:
these should be regarded as the writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and
‘Abdu’l-Bahá and only these should be read during the purely devotional
part of the Feast.

He wishes to assure you, and all the other members of the N.S.A., of his
most loving and ardent prayers for the success of your various
undertakings and above all, for the success of your teaching Plan.

With warmest greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The Plan launched by the small yet highly promising community of devoted
believers in Australia and New Zealand constitutes a landmark of unusual
significance in the history of the evolution of the Faith in that far-off
continent. It opens a new chapter, rich in promise, momentous in the
events which it must record, and destined to be regarded as a prelude to
still more glorious chapters in the annals of the Faith in the Antipodes.

The limited resources at the disposal of the prosecutors of the Plan, the
vastness of the territory in which it must operate, the fewness of the
numbers of those participating in its execution, offer a mighty challenge
which no loyal follower of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh can either ignore or
minimize. Indeed the greater the challenge, the more bountiful the
blessings which will be vouchsafed from on high, and the richer the reward
to be won by its triumphant executors.

The successful termination of this Plan, the first fruit of the newly
established and properly functioning Administrative Order in those distant
lands, will pave the way for the launching of still greater enterprises,
destined to carry the message of Bahá’u’lláh to the Islands of the Pacific
in the vicinity of that continent. For the mission entrusted to the care
of the adherents of the Faith in Australia and New Zealand is by no means
confined to the mainland of Australia and the islands of New Zealand, but
should embrace, as it unfolds, in the years to come, the islands of the
Antipodes, where the banner of the Faith still remains to be unfurled and
its Message is as yet undelivered.

It is not for them, however, at the present stage of their evolution, to
probe into the future, and seek to evaluate the range of their future
achievements. They must concentrate every ounce of their energy, and focus
their entire attention, on the tasks immediately ahead, resolved to work
unremittingly and unflinchingly until the goals of the present Plan are
achieved.

Whatever the situation that may develop in the years to come, however
great the obstacles by which a nascent community may yet be faced, no
matter how arduous the task now confronting its members, it must persevere
until the historic work is accomplished.

I will, from the depths of my heart, supplicate the Beloved to reinforce
the noble exertions of this community, guide its steps, clarify its
vision, deepen its understanding of the requirements of the present hour,
and aid it to extend continually the scope of its meritorious
achievements.

My heart longs to receive the news of the progress of this first
collective enterprise on which the community has embarked, and I feel
confident that its stalwart members will not allow the hopes that animate
me to be frustrated.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF DEC. 30TH, 1948


N.S.A. of Australia and New Zealand, Secretary, Mrs. Mariette G. Bolton.

Haifa, Dec. 30th, 1948.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The letter written by our dear Bahá’í brother, Mr. Jim Heggie, as
secretary at that time, and dated May 5th, as well as those written by
you, and dated July 17th, Dec. 4th, 6th (two of this date), and 9th,
together with their various enclosures, have been received, and our
beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer your assembly on his behalf.

He was very happy to hear of your meeting held in Melbourne, as he feels
sure this was a great stimulus to the local community, and he hopes that
circumstances will permit the N.S.A. to meet in other communities and
inspire and encourage the friends in different parts of the country by
this personal contact with them and their work.

In regard to the various matters raised in your letters: He would be
pleased to receive reports of the Teaching Work, the Annual Convention and
Annual Reports, and, of course, the minutes of your N.S.A. meetings.

He does not feel it advisable to combine more than one town area in an
Assembly, as you have suggested might be done. It is better for the
friends to move, if possible, into one town’s limits, and form their
Assembly that way, or concentrate on their teaching work and wait until
they have the requisite 9 members.

Unfortunately it is not feasible for the believers to elect or constitute
an Assembly and also elect and send delegates to the Annual Convention of
the same year, as both events take place in the Ridván period.

The Guardian is striving to build up uniformity in essentials all over the
Bahá’í World, and this frequently involves a small measure of delay in
achieving our various goals set locally. But he considers it sufficiently
important to warrant the sacrifices it sometimes involves:

In this connection he would like to mention your Local By-Laws: He feels
that they should conform much more closely to the original one of the New
York Assembly. What is absolutely essential was incorporated in those, and
all other local assemblies being incorporated should follow this pattern
as closely as local legal technicalities permit. This again is in order to
maintain international uniformity in essentials. It is not a question here
of whether the By-Laws drawn up by your Legal Committee are not more up to
date and do not represent the last word, undoubtedly they are and do, but
if every country, when drawing up its Local By-Laws, continue this process
of elaboration, in the end uniformity will be lost. The Eastern Assemblies
have adhered to the original By-Laws so carefully that they have
practically translated them word for word and adopted them. He feels sure
Mr. Dive will understand this, and he would like you to please express to
him his deep appreciation of the excellent work he has done in this
connection, truly a labour of love to the Faith.

There is also another, perhaps even more pertinent reason, why he does not
want anything more added to these New York By-Laws, and that is that he is
everywhere urging the believers—the Americans included—to not add
procedures and rulings to the Cause. He considers that what he has laid
down in Bahá’í Administration is essential, but that practically
everything else is secondary and he wishes the Assemblies, your own
included, to deal with things with elasticity, as they come up, case by
case, and not by continually passing new rulings to cover all similar
cases.

The efforts being made by your Assembly to carry out the Teaching Plan for
Australia and New Zealand, and the ever-increasing response of the
believers in both places to this all-important work, greatly encourage and
cheer him. He feels sure a very great future lies in store for our beloved
Faith in those distant regions, but much more still remains to be done by
the friends in order to complete this first, historic and vital, organized
Plan of theirs. He feels sure they will see it through to victory; just as
their brothers and sisters in other lands, working also on Plans of their
own, are determined to achieve all their goals at the appointed time, so
must they persevere and ensure a resounding victory for the Faith there in
the Antipodes.

His loving prayers are offered in the Holy Shrines very often for the
success of your work, and that God may bless you and all the members of
the National Assembly in the discharge of your important duties.

With Bahá’í love,

Yours in His Service,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. I wish to also acknowledge receipt of the letter of your Assembly’s
Treasurer, dated Dec. 23rd, and to thank you, on behalf of the Guardian,
for your loving contribution to the International Fund here in Haifa. He
regrets the delay in getting this off to you, but has been too busy to
attend to it owing to work in connection with the Shrine here. Kindly give
the enclosed receipt to Mr. Tunks.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

Recent communications and reports from your Assembly have revealed, in a
very striking manner, the magnificent progress achieved by the alert, the
faithful, and truly distinguished communities of the followers of the
Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. The range of
their labours, the rapid consolidation of their swiftly multiplying
institutions, the soundness and solidity of the foundations, on which they
are erecting these institutions, the exemplary loyalty they demonstrate,
the solidarity and self-sacrifice, the courage and confidence they display
in their incessant and manifold activities, prove, beyond the shadow of a
doubt that the Faith they love and serve so nobly and efficiently has at
last been firmly and unassailably established in the Antipodes, and that
its upholders and defenders in those far-away yet highly promising islands
are contributing a notable and never-to-be-forgotten share to the onward
march and unfoldment of its world Administrative Order.

I desire to offer the members of this high-minded, this resolute and
dearly-beloved community, and particularly its elected representatives, my
heartfelt congratulations on their splendid achievements which posterity
will recognize as deeds that have truly enriched and adorned the annals of
the Faith in the opening years of the second Bahá’í century.

As the processes impelling a rapidly evolving Order on the highroad of its
destiny multiply and gather momentum, attention should be increasingly
directed to the vital need of ensuring, by every means possible, the
deepening of the Faith, the understanding and the spiritual life of the
individuals who, as the privileged members of this community, are called
upon to participate in this glorious unfoldment, and are lending their
assistance to this historic evolution. A profound study of the Faith which
they have espoused, its history, its spiritual as well as administrative
principles; a thorough understanding of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh and of
the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, a deeper realization of the implications of the
claims advanced by the Founders of the Faith; strict adherence to the laws
and principles which they have established; a greater dedication to the
fundamentals and verities enshrined in their teachings—these constitute, I
feel convinced, the urgent need of the members of this rapidly expanding
community. For upon this spiritual foundation must depend the solidity of
the institutions which they are now so painstakingly erecting. Every
outward thrust into new fields, every multiplication of Bahá’í
institutions, must be paralleled by a deeper thrust of the roots which
sustain the spiritual life of the community and ensure its sound
development. From this vital, this ever-present need, attention must at no
time be diverted; nor must it be, under any circumstances, neglected, or
subordinated to the no less vital and urgent task of ensuring the outer
expansion of Bahá’í administrative institutions. That this community, so
alive, so devoted, so strikingly and rapidly developing, may maintain a
proper balance between these two essential aspects of its development, and
march forward with rapid strides and along sound lines toward the goal of
the Plan it has adopted, is the ardent hope of my heart and my constant
prayer.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF AUGUST 22, 1949


The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand.

August 22, 1949

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your letters dated February 23; March 14, 16; April 4, 5, 11; May 2, 13,
27; June 1, 7, 21 (3 of this date), 24; have all been received, as well as
their enclosures, and the material sent under separate cover, and our
beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

He has gone over the copy of the By-Laws of a local assembly which you
sent him, and he approves of the slight changes you have made in the
wording, as well as the additions at the very beginning, providing you
consider the addition essential in order to secure the government
recognition you are going to seek in the future. However, he feels that
Article VI is not correct in the form you have given it, because you state
“all persons resident ... who have attained the age of 15 years”. The
original New York By-Laws are more correct, because they differentiate
clearly between all members of the Community and voting members who are 21
years of age or more. In other words children under 15 are Bahá’ís
according to the New York version, which is correct, but according to your
version only people over 15 years are Bahá’ís which is not correct. He
thinks you should go back to the New York version. The declaration of
faith by children when they reach the age of 15 in the United States is in
order to enable the American Youth to apply for exemption, under the
American laws, from active military service. It has no other purpose, but
in that country is expedient. It is not necessary to add such a clause to
your By-Laws.

Other points which he feels are not necessary and should be deleted are
those heavily underlined portions in Section 5 of Article XII and Article
XIII. In both these cases the New York By-Laws should be followed and not
added to. Likewise he feels that in Article XIV, under the heading “These
By-Laws” (on page 11) B and C should be deleted as they are not in the New
York original and not necessary. Naturally, all Assemblies are under
N.S.A. jurisdiction, but this need not be included.

He wishes the essentials to be maintained as per the New York By-Laws, but
not amplified and added to, as this will gradually lead, all over the
Bahá’í world, to a steady addition of unessential rules and restrict the
freedom and plasticity of the Cause. As he has repeatedly told the
American and other National assemblies, it is much better to deal with
situations and new requirements as they arise, and not to have it all down
in black and white and rigid before hand.

He is very happy to see you are steadily working towards the goal of
having local assemblies empowered to hold property legally and to perform
Bahá’í marriages. No doubt the act of the Canadian Parliament recently
passed, and giving the Canadian N.S.A. legal status will act as an
important precedent when the time is ripe for you to present your own
petitions to your Government.

The news that there is now a spiritual assembly in every capital city of
the various states in Australia pleased him immensely. This is an historic
land-mark in your progress out there, and must act as a keen incentive to
further exploits on the part of the Australian Bahá’ís.

He was also delighted to see that certain of the Bahá’ís have received
official permission not to work on Bahá’í Holy Days. He admires the
initiative these believers have shown, and hopes many others will follow
their example.

Likewise, he was very pleased to see you are holding your N.S.A. meetings
in various centers, as this will greatly stimulate the local work, draw
the friends closer to your body, and promote unity and enthusiasm amongst
them.

The Act of your Assembly in depriving Mr. ... of his voting rights was
wise and correct. Unless he demonstrates an entire change of character he
certainly cannot claim to be a member of any Bahá’í Community.

He appreciated the Secretary’s forwarding to him copies of the Bishop’s
letters acknowledging receipt of “God Passes By”—though their answers in
no way imply any spiritual wakefulness on their parts, alas!

He was very happy to see that New Zealand friends were present at the
Convention. In general the work in New Zealand is certainly progressing,
and beginning to show really promising signs for the immediate future.

The generous donation of land to Yerrinbool School by Mr. Styles will
certainly re-inforce that valuable Bahá’í property, and the Guardian very
much appreciated this act of his.

His confidence in, and admiration for, the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand is steadily increasing, as he witnesses the enthusiasm and
self-confidence of the believers out there, and the increased capacity of
their National Body to handle wisely and capably the affairs of the Cause.

He assures you all, and through you the believers, of his loving prayers
for your success and the attainment of all the goals of your historic
Plan.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The notable progress achieved in recent months, in so many fields and in
spite of adverse circumstances, demonstrates afresh the vitality of the
faith and the soundness of the outlook, of the members of the
fast-advancing and steadily consolidating community of the followers of
the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. This
remarkable process of expansion and consolidation augurs well for the
ultimate success of the Plan to which the combined resources of this
community are committed. The various reports, both local and national
which I have perused with sustained interest and quickened admiration,
attest the rapid and sound development, of the institutions of a Faith
that is so rich in promise, and whose interests are being promoted with
such devotion, energy, loyalty and consecration by the members of this
community.

What has been achieved, in both the teaching field and in the
administrative sphere of Bahá’í service, however is but a stepping stone
to the still greater victories which the gradual unfoldment of the Plan
must inevitably produce. The multiplication of the groups and assemblies
that constitute the bedrock of the Faith, must accompany the consolidating
process which must bring in its wake, on the one hand, the incorporation
of these assemblies and their recognition by the civil authorities, and
the establishment, on the other, of Bahá’í local endowments and the right
of these assemblies to execute, officially, the fundamental laws of the
Most Holy Book regarding both marriage and divorce that constitute the
distinguishing feature of this most holy and august Dispensation.

The task undertaken is immense, fraught with momentous possibilities,
highly delicate in nature, and bound to have far-reaching repercussions,
not only in the West, and particularly in the continent of Europe, where
the institutions of Bahá’u’lláh’s Administrative Order are emerging with
such rapidity and showing such promise, but on the continent of Asia,
where the overwhelming majority of the followers of the Most Great Name,
have endured such grievous afflictions, and are faced with grave peril,
and are battling so heroically against the forces of darkness with which
they are encompassed.

The nature of the work in which this wide-awake, untrammelled
unprejudiced, freedom-loving community, is so energetically engaged,
cannot, therefore, be regarded as a purely local and isolated enterprise,
but is vitally linked with the fortunes of a world-encircling Order,
functioning mysteriously in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres,
highly organized in its administrative machinery, sensitive in its
mechanism, far-flung in its ramifications, challenging in its features,
revolutionizing in its implications, and destined to seek increasingly, as
it expands and develops, the good-will and assistance of the civil
authorities in every continent of the globe.

The number of pioneers, both from among the veterans of the Faith who have
participated in the early establishment of this infant Order in the
Antipodes, and the new believers who have embraced its Cause, must, if
this task is to be successfully carried out, be substantially increased.
The flow of funds to both the local and national treasuries must
correspondingly be augmented and systematically sustained. The heroism and
self-sacrifice of those who prosecute the Plan, both as administrators and
pioneers, must attain greater heights and engender still more powerful
forces in the spiritual life of this community.

The relationship binding it to the civil authorities of the Australian
Commonwealth, the Dominion of New Zealand and the Island of Tasmania, must
be assiduously fostered. The ties linking it with the members of the
world-wide community of the adherents of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, must be
rapidly strengthened and multiplied. The unity and solidarity of its
constituent members must be simultaneously reinforced, its roots
permanently planted in the soil of the Covenants of both Bahá’u’lláh and
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, its branches spread out irresistibly to the furthest ends of
that far-off continent, its vision clarified, its determination reaffirmed
and its consecration deepened.

Obstacles, varied and numerous, will no doubt arise to impede the onward
march of this community. Reverses may temporarily dim the radiance of its
mission. The forces of religious orthodoxy may well, at a future date, be
leagued against it. The exponents of theories and doctrines fundamentally
opposed to its religious tenets and social principles may challenge its
infant strength with persistence and severity. The Administrative
Order—the Ark destined to preserve its integrity and carry it to
safety—must without delay, without exception, claim the attention of the
members of this community, its ideals must be continually cherished in
their hearts, its purposes studied and kept constantly before their eyes,
its requirements wholeheartedly met, its laws scrupulously upheld, its
institutions unstintingly supported, its glorious mission noised abroad,
and its spirit made the sole motivating purpose of their lives.

Then and only then, will this community, so young, so vibrant with life,
so rich in promise, so dedicated to its task, be in a position to
discharge adequately its weighty responsibilities, to reap the full
harvest it has sown, acquire still greater potentialities for the conduct
of subsequent stages in the crusade on which it has embarked, and
contribute, to a degree unsuspected as yet by its members, its full share
to the World-wide establishment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, the
emancipation of its Oriental followers, the recognition of its
independence, the birth of its World Order and the emergence of that world
civilization which that Order is destined to create.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF 4 SEPTEMBER, 1949


N.S.A. of Australia and New Zealand, Mrs. Mariette Bolton, Secretary.

4 September, 1949.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

This is just a little note to ask you, on behalf of our beloved Guardian,
to please make the following corrections in a quotation of his words,
published in the August number of your Bahá’í News Bulletin, on page 5:
“As the processes impelling” (not “in filling”); in the sentence lower
down, reading: “the deepening of the faith, understanding and spiritual
life...” both “faith” and “spiritual” should not be capitalized, but be
printed as I have written them above; after the words “this historic
evolution” there should be a period, as it is the end of the sentence.

Hoping you received the long letter recently mailed you, and with loving
Bahá’í greetings,

Yours,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. He wishes to thank you and dear Mr. Bolton for the loving gift of
Bolton Place to the Bahá’í Community of Australia. This is an excellent
example, and befitting gesture, for it has many associations with the
spread and development of the Faith in Australia, and has further enriched
the record of your historic services to the Faith.



LETTER OF JUNE 28, 1950


The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand.

June 28, 1950.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your letters of August 9, 19; September 14, 22; November 7, 10, 21; of
1949; January 19; February 28; March 8, 31; April 11; May 2 (two), 1950,
have been received by our beloved Guardian and he has instructed me to
answer them on his behalf. The many enclosures and material forwarded
have, likewise, been safely received.

It has been impossible for our Guardian to keep abreast of his
correspondence and other work this Winter and Spring. It is only during
the last week that he has been able to turn to the mountain of mail,
representing the correspondence of the various National Assemblies, and
commence replying. The reason for this regrettable delay is that in order
to get the arcade of the Shrine of the Báb finished in time for the
centenary of His Martyrdom he had to undertake extensive excavations into
the solid rock of the mountain behind the Shrine—the new edifice being
much larger than the precious original building it is designed to enshrine
and protect. This work he personally supervised in order to ensure the
Shrine was in no way damaged, and to see the cost was kept within bounds.
You can imagine this was a very exacting and tiring ordeal for him.

Then, just as he had hoped to take up his overburdening correspondence,
Mr. Maxwell, the architect of the Shrine, at the beginning of April became
desperately ill, and for ten weeks absorbed the anxious care and attention
of us all, as his condition was seemingly hopeless. Thanks to the Mercy of
Bahá’u’lláh and the determination of the Guardian, he is recovering, and
our lives are getting back to normal routine.

The Guardian regrets very much the conduct of Mr. ...; it seems now fairly
clear that he is a former Bahá’í from India who misconducted himself there
over a period of years and then showed up, under a different name, in
Australia. No one who conducts himself as he has can remain a voting
member of the Bahá’í Community for—in spite of his wide knowledge of the
Faith and his belief in it—his acts are contrary to its teachings and
bring not only confusion into the Community and create inharmony, but
disgrace the Cause in the eyes of non-Bahá’ís.

The Guardian fully realizes that the process of splitting up large
communities into smaller ones, each existing within its own civil units,
has been difficult for the Australian friends. What they do not seem to
fully appreciate is that this has been done in Canada and the United
States as well, and is only in order to organize the assemblies on a
logical basis, and one with a firmer legal foundation. The fact that this
may create more assemblies in the end, and that it sometimes breaks up
existing ones, is only incidental; the important point is to consolidate
the communities on a sound basis, i.e. every assembly within the limits of
the Municipality its members reside in.

As Mrs Axford requested Mrs Thomas to write about her Bahá’í life there is
every reason to respect her wishes. This in no way precludes the New
Zealand Community from writing about her services and life and keeping
this record in the National archives. The Guardian feels the Auckland
Assembly should be consulted, as her, (Mrs Axford’s), home community, by
Mrs Thomas. He hopes this In Memoriam article, about so dear and tireless
a servant of the Faith, will produce a spirit of love and co-operation
amongst all concerned.

The gift by Miss Perks of an additional piece of land to the Yerrinbool
School is deeply appreciated. It enriches the endowments already held by
your Assembly. Please thank Miss Perks, on behalf of the Guardian, for
this generous contribution, to the institutions of the Faith in Australia,
and tell her he does not feel any name should be given the property other
that of Yerrinbool School, of which it will form a part, and that she will
always be remembered as the donor of it.

The acquisition of the site for the New Zealand Summer School was a great
step forward in the progress of the Faith there, and he was very pleased
about it. He was also delighted to hear of the formation of the Devonport
Assembly, and he hopes next year there will be still more.

I would also like to answer here a question raised in Mrs Bolton’s letter
of March 8: the Guardian feels that no annual fixed pilgrimage should be
made to the grave of Father Dunn. The friends will naturally always want
to go there, when and how they like, but it must not become a ceremony,
otherwise it will contitute a precedent for similar things in the future.

It is premature, and will weaken the national and local work, for
delegates to be elected by State elections rather than by assemblies.
There is no question involved about believers losing their voting rights:
all the time believers are gaining and losing their voting rights by
becoming members of communities with assemblies or moving out into places
where they are isolated believers. The friends should not dwell on these
minor details, but concentrate on teaching the Cause and exemplifying the
Bahá’í life. Voting is a purely administrative detail, but teaching and
serving are vital spiritual obligations. Regarding the change of the
By-Laws: the Guardian considers the letter he wrote you about this subject
is final. He is considerably surprised by the fact that of all the
National Bodies in the Bahá’í World, operating under these By-Laws, it is
only the Assembly of Australia and New Zealand, evidently acting under
pressure from their legal committee, that constantly raises the question
of changing them. This he considers is going too far, and is not
necessary. He holds very bright hopes for the future of your work, and
urges you, and through you all the believers, to concentrate on your
glorious teaching tasks and forge ahead to win new victories for the
beloved Faith.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. Your letter of June 9 has been received, and the Guardian deeply
appreciates the contribution you sent. Please find receipt enclosed. The
map you forwarded will be published in the next volume of “Bahá’í World”
as the progress it shows will be of great interest to all readers.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The remarkable progress achieved by the Bahá’í communities in Australia,
New Zealand and Tasmania in promoting the Plan, designed to further the
interests of the Faith in the Antipodes, is most encouraging, and will,
when consummated, mark the opening of a new and glorious chapter in the
history of the Faith in that continent. The varied and welcome evidences
of the steady extension in the range of the manifold activities of these
communities, the multiplication of Bahá’í institutions and their rapid
consolidation, are particularly gratifying and merit the highest praise.

The territories in which these communities conduct their meritorious,
strenuous and highly promising activities with such diligence, resolution,
fidelity and devotion, are admittedly vast and constitute a direct
challenge to those who are called upon to diffuse the light of the Faith,
and lay an unassailable foundation for its rising administrative Order,
throughout the length and breadth of these territories.

The Plan, now operating with increasing momentum in that far-off
continent, is designed to enable its prosecutors to lay the first
foundations of the structure which the members of these communities must
rear in the years to come. As these primary pillars of a divinely ordained
steadily evolving, spiritually propelled order are successively erected
and sufficiently consolidated, and the agencies designed for the launching
of a systematic campaign aiming at the future proclamation of the Faith to
the masses inhabiting these far-flung territories multiply, a simultaneous
effort should be exerted, and measures should be carefully devised, by the
national elected representatives of these same communities, for the
launching of the initial enterprises destined to carry the Message of the
Faith, beyond the confines of these territories, to the Islands of the
Pacific, lying in their immediate neighbourhood.

For whatever may be the nature of the future successive crusades which the
American and Canadian Bahá’í communities, may, under the Divine Plan of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, launch in the course of the opening decades of the second
Bahá’í century, and however extensive the range of their operations, and
no matter how far-reaching the future campaigns which the Bahá’í
community, centered in the heart of the British Isles, may undertake
throughout the widely-scattered dependencies of the British Crown, the
responsibility devolving upon the National elected representatives of the
Bahá’ís of the Australasian continent for the introduction of the Faith
and its initial establishment in the Islands of the Pacific, linking them,
on the one hand, with their sister communities in the American continents
and on the other hand, with the communities in South-Eastern Asia, remains
clear and inescapable.

As the various Bahá’í national communities, labouring directly as well as
indirectly, under the impulse of a Divine Plan, broaden and consolidate
the base of their operations in their respective homelands, and acquire
the potentialities that will empower them to lend, in an ever-increasing
measure, their share, and participate in the world-wide propagation of the
Faith, the Australian and New Zealand believers must, for their part,
contribute worthily to the overseas teaching activities and
accomplishments of these communities. Already the Bahá’í community in the
Great Republic of the West, the vanguard of the irresistibly marching army
of Bahá’u’lláh, has launched its twin crusades in Latin America and the
continent of Europe. Its collaborator in the execution of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
Divine Plan, the Canadian Bahá’í community is busily engaged in
establishing the Faith beyond the Canadian mainland and further north in
the vast territory of Greenland. The Persian and Iraqi Bahá’í communities
are, moreover, assiduously labouring in the adjacent territories of the
Arabian Peninsula and the Kingdom of Afghanistan, while their
sister-communities in the sub-continent of India are pushing the frontiers
of the Faith as far as Ceylon in the South and Siam and Indonesia to the
North and Southeast of that subcontinent. More recently the members of the
British Bahá’í community, having brought to a successful conclusion their
first historic Plan, are devising the necessary measures for the launching
of a teaching enterprise in the heart of Africa, supplementing the work
already accomplished by the Egyptian Bahá’í community in that continent.
Shortly, and at its appointed time, yet another national community,
already established in the heart of the European continent, will, as soon
as the present obstacles are removed, and its internal activities are
sufficiently consolidated, embark on a campaign, beyond the borders of its
homeland, that will carry the light of the Faith to the adjoining Balkan
territories, the Baltic states and, across the eastern frontiers of
Europe, into Asia.

In this stupendous and laudable collective enterprise, world-wide in its
range, divinely propelled, world-redemptive in its purpose, in which
National Bahá’í communities, already sufficiently consolidated from
within, are participating, each in accordance with the provisions of its
own specific plan and constituting, in its proportions and potentialities,
the mightiest spiritual crusade launched since the inception of the
Formative Age of the Faith,—in such an enterprise the Bahá’í communities
of Australia and New Zealand can neither afford to remain inactive or play
a negligible part. The situation they occupy, the unnumbered virgin
territories lying in their neighbourhood, the vitality and adventurous
spirit the members of these communities have so strikingly manifested—all
demand that they arise, as soon as the process of internal consolidation
is sufficiently advanced, to play their part in this world-encompassing
crusade now unfolding itself in, and constituting the brightest feature
of, the opening years of the second Bahá’í century.

With this glorious vision before them, assured that a full measure of
Divine guidance and sustenance will be vouchsafed to them when they embark
on the second stage of their collective activities, let them concentrate,
in the years immediately ahead, on the tasks that require their earnest
and undivided attention. The prosecution of the Plan, in all its aspects,
is their primary obligation. Whatever contributes to the broadening and
reinforcement of the Administrative Base, designed to guide, coordinate
and extend the ramifications of their future enterprises overseas, should
be unhesitatingly welcomed and carried out at the present hour and during
the opening phase of their collective unified endeavour in the service of
the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.

May they seize every opportunity that presents itself, surmount every
obstacle that may confront them in the future, and pave the way for a
befitting inauguration of the subsequent phase of their historic and
rapidly unfolding mission.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF 11 SEPTEMBER, 1950


11 September, 1950

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Under separate cover the Guardian is mailing to you two enlargements of
the finished Arcade of the Báb’s Shrine. These are a gift from him to the
N.S.A. and believers, and he would like you to have them circulated as
widely as possible, for the friends to see them, and them hang them in the
National Headquarters.

Please cable receipt of these photos, so he will know they reached you
safely.

Also please inform the friends in the News Letter that copies of one of
these views may be purchased through the American N.S.A., to whom he has
sent the original film.

With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani.



LETTER OF NOV. 14, 1950


Nov. 14, 1950

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

I am replying to your letter of September 21 apart from other N.S.A.
correspondence, as the beloved Guardian wishes to assure the Assembly that
the contribution for the Shrine of the Báb has been received. (A receipt
is herewith enclosed.)

He was very touched by the exemplary sense of duty and devotion to the
interests of the Faith which this sum represents. Please, on his behalf,
thank all the donors to the Yerrinbool Dormitory Fund for their prompt
response to his appeal regarding the Holy Shrine.

Already the contract for the stone-work of the Octagon has been placed in
Italy, and he hopes soon the preliminary arrangements locally can be made
for continuing the work.

With loving Bahá’í greetings to all the Assembly members from the
Guardian,

Yours in His Service,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Assuring you of my deepfelt and abiding appreciation of the contribution
of the Australian and New Zealand believers for so great and historic an
enterprise, and of my loving and ardent prayers for their spiritual
advancement and the steady expansion and consolidation of the great and
historic work in which they are so devotedly engaged.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JAN. 21, -51


Haifa, Israel,
Jan. 21, -51

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand;

The beloved Guardian has instructed me to acknowledge on his behalf the
Nov. issue of your Bahá’í News. He is well pleased with it and commends
you.

He would like to call your attention to the statement on page 3, paragraph
3, under “Anniversaries and Festivals”, and clarify it.

The Day of the Covenant Nov. 26th, and the Day of the Ascension, Nov.
28th, anniversaries of the birth and the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá must be
observed by the friends coming together, but work is not prohibited. In
other words the friends must regard observance of these two anniversaries
as obligatory—but suspension of work not to be regarded as obligatory.

He assures you of his deep interest in all your efforts and offers prayers
on your behalf at the Holy Shrines.

With warmest love,

Sincerely yours,
Amelia Collins.



LETTER OF MARCH 1, 1951


Haifa, Israel,
March 1, 1951

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand

C/- Mrs. Mariette G. Bolton, Secretary

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your letters addressed to our beloved Guardian, and dated June 22, August
4 and 22, November 10 and December 5 and 11, of 1950 and January 30 and
Feb. 20, 22, 26, of 1951, together with their enclosures, have been
received; and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

In regard to the various matters raised in your letters:

It is indeed a great tragedy that ... should have such an utterly
despicable character, and the ability to be a teacher. He has undoubtedly
dealt with the greatest injustice with the friends in Fiji who wrote to
Mr. Blum; and the Guardian was extremely sorry to hear that this man,
attracted to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and evidently a sincere and decent
person, should have been duped by the very man who gave him this glorious
Message. It was very wise to send Mr. Blum out there; and he hopes that
your Assembly will keep in close contact with the friends who were
attracted, it would seem almost miraculously under the circumstances, to
the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in those distant islands.

It might interest your Assembly to know that since leaving Fiji, ... went
to the United States, and himself admitted in a letter to the Guardian
that he had seen Ahmad Sohrab.

The Guardian assures your Assembly, and, through you, all the believers
throughout Australasia, that he has been deeply touched by the spirit of
loyalty which you have all shown at this difficult time for him, and also
the devotion to every work which is undertaken here at the International
Center of the Faith.

The support you have given to the construction of the Shrine of the Báb
has been deeply appreciated; and he hopes that in the not distant future
it will be possible for the doors of pilgrimage to be opened once more;
and then the believers can see with their own eyes what their sacrificial
contributions have helped to erect, on Mount Carmel. It will interest the
friends to hear that we are at present busy with the preliminary work
required prior to the erection of the second story of the Holy Tomb, in
other words, the octagonal portion, which will be built on top of the roof
of the original Shrine building erected by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself. The
stones have been ordered from Italy for this next stage in our
undertaking, and soon will be coming to Haifa another 300 tons of granite,
some of it with beautiful carved ornamentation.

The Guardian would like you to please convey to the Adelaide Spiritual
Assembly his deep appreciation of the contribution they made through your
Body to the Shrine Fund here in Haifa, a contribution which represents the
sum of their Property Fund. They showed in this matter an exemplary
spirit, and placed the major issue in its true perspective, forgetting
their local hopes and aspirations in order that the work on the glorious
Shrine of the Báb might be carried forward more speedily.

In regard to your question concerning the Centenary of the birth of
Bahá’u’lláh’s mission: The Guardian, at a later date, will give
instructions concerning this commemoration to the entire Bahá’í world.

He has been particularly pleased to note, during the past year, the
increase in pioneer activity going on under your jurisdiction. As you
know, he attaches the greatest importance to this type of Bahá’í service;
and he hopes that more of the believers will arise and go forth into the
field, establishing new centers and groups, and broadcasting the Message
of Bahá’u’lláh over the face of that vast continent.

This is at once their greatest duty and privilege, and one which will
attract the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh, and enrich, not only each individual
who arises to serve, but the entire Community of which he forms a part.

Whenever the friends feel that they are small in number, and the effort
required, truly colossal, they should remember what the British Bahá’ís
accomplished during the Six Year Plan; and how, after the long and
exhaustive years of the war and all its restrictions, they succeeded, at
the point of utter exhaustion, one might say, in achieving every single
goal gloriously. The Australian and New Zealand friends, who have not been
subjected to such rigors during the last decade, who are a young and fresh
nation, so to speak, can surely accomplish as much, and one would imagine
more, than their British brethren, who labored under such great handicaps.

He assures you all that he will remember you in his prayers at the Holy
Threshold, and supplicate that your Assembly, and the Community of
believers whom you represent, may achieve great things during the coming
Bahá’í year and arise to new heights of self-sacrifice and service.

With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. I would like to add that the Guardian does not consider that it is
advisable for New Zealand to be separated in the near future from
Australia, and come under the jurisdiction of an independent National
Assembly. He considers that the present arrangement is the best one until
such time as there are more assemblies flourishing in New Zealand, and he
would consider the basis for a National Assembly strong enough there to
support such an institution.

Regarding the question of Mr. ..., the Guardian was considerably surprised
at his temerity in getting in touch with the Bahá’ís. He belongs to an old
family of Covenant-breakers from the days of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was later
pardoned by the Guardian, and a number of years ago, flagrantly disobeyed
the Guardian, and was put out of our local Community here. We all know
that he has been in constant association with the Covenant-breakers ever
since, and he even admits it in his own letter! Needless to say, the
Bahá’ís should consider him a Covenant-breaker, and shun him entirely. The
harm that he could do a Community if treated otherwise, would be very
great indeed.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The manifold and ever multiplying activities in which the Australian, New
Zealand and Tasmanian Bahá’í communities are so devotedly and unitedly
engaged are the object of my constant solicitude, and evoke, as they
steadily expand, feelings of gratitude and admiration in my heart. Though
unavoidably prevented from communicating more frequently with their
elected national representatives, who are directing with exemplary
loyalty, unrelaxing vigilance, inflexible resolve, unsparing devotion and
commendable foresight, the course of these highly meritorious and
promising activities, I follow, through the perusal of the various reports
and news letters I receive from them, every development in the unfoldment
of their work, and surround them as they labour so assiduously for their
Cause, with my fervent prayers, offered on their behalf in the holy
Shrines.

The assistance they have so spontaneously and enthusiastically extended to
the newly established centre in the Fiji Islands, constituting the opening
phase of the crusade destined to be systematically launched by them in the
Pacific Islands—a territory with which their spiritual destiny is
irrevocably linked—has been particularly gratifying and merits unstinted
praise. To have undertaken this additional task, with such determination
and fervour, while immersed in the labours associated with the prosecution
of their Plan, is surely an evidence of their youthful vitality, their
unbounded devotion to the interests of the Faith, and their eager desire
to emulate the example of their sister-communities which have initiated,
over and above their prescribed tasks, enterprises beyond the confines of
their respective homelands.

While this historic undertaking is being carried forward by their elected
national representatives, these communities must concentrate their
attention on the pressing and inescapable requirements of the Plan to
which they stand committed. The process of extending the range of their
administrative activities through the formation of groups and the
multiplication of assemblies must continue unabated until this particular
objective of the Plan is fully achieved. The proper incorporation of the
national and local assemblies, so vital and urgent at the present stage of
their evolution, must be hastened by every means in their power. The
measures required to ensure the recognition of the Faith, of its laws
regarding matters of personal status, as well as its Holy Days, by the
civil authorities, in both Australia and New Zealand, must be carefully
considered, and promptly adopted. The institutions of summer and winter
schools, so vital and beneficial at the present stage in the development
of the Faith must be continually expanded enriched and consolidated. The
national and local Funds, on which the prosperity and unfoldment of a
rising Administrative System must ultimately depend, should be assured of
an ever-increasing measure of support, whilst the contributions of the
believers for the raising of the superstructure of the Báb’s Holy
Sepulchre, constituting a sacred and added responsibility at this present
critical hour, should be constantly borne in mind and steadily maintained.
The deepening and enrichment of the spiritual life of the individual
believer, his increasing comprehension of the essential verities
underlying this Faith, his training in its administrative processes, his
understanding of the fundamentals of the Covenants established by its
Author and the authorised Interpreter of its teachings should be made the
supreme objectives of the national representatives responsible for the
edification, the progress and consolidation of these communities.

This two fold task, both at home and abroad, confronting the members of
these communities, labouring so valiantly, and holding aloft so
courageously the banner of the Most Great Name in the Antipodes, at so
crucial a stage in the evolution of the human race on this planet, can
neither be shirked nor be treated lightly for one moment. The hour is too
critical, time is too short, the requirements of an infant Faith are too
pressing, the resources at the disposal of the few into whose hands its
care has been entrusted are too circumscribed to suffer any time to be
lost in procrastination or through complacency or neglect. The prizes
destined for the heroic warriors, battling for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh
throughout the Southern Hemisphere, and particularly Australasia, are
glorious beyond compare. The assistance to be vouchsafed to them from on
high in their struggle for its establishment to recognition and triumph is
ready to be poured forth in astonishing abundance. Action immediate and
whole-hearted, coupled with unswerving fidelity and dogged perseverance,
will no doubt enable those who participate in this double crusade, to
attract the full measure of these blessings and to attain these glorious
goals.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF MARCH 8TH, 1951


Haifa, Israel,
March 8th, 1951

Beloved Friends:

In answer to your letter of Feb. 22nd, the beloved Guardian has instructed
me to assure you that the statement made in my letter to you Jan. 21st was
quite correct.

You quote from page 537 “Bahá’í World” words written by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá,—further down on the same page you will find the following
“As a corollary of this Tablet (above) it follows the anniversaries of the
birth and the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are not to be regarded as days on
which work is prohibited. The celebration of these two days is however
obligatory”.—These are the words of the Guardian. We really have eleven
Holy Days but as stated, work is only prohibited on the first nine
mentioned in the Tablet.

He follows your work with deep interest and assures you of his loving
prayers.

With warmest love,

Faithfully Yours,
Amelia Collins.



LETTER OF SEPT. 7, 1951


Sept. 7, 1951

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of July 19 has been received, as well as the contribution of
the believers to the Shrine, and the beloved Guardian sends you herewith
his receipt.

He wishes to thank all the friends, communities, and assemblies who have
contributed so lovingly to this Holy undertaking. Surely such gifts,
representing both sincere love and often real sacrifice, will add to the
preciousness of a Shrine already so dear to all Bahá’í hearts.

He wishes you every success in your own devoted services to the Cause.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Assuring you of my loving prayers for your success in the service of our
beloved Faith,

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF SEPT. 29, 1951


Sept. 29, 1951

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of August 12 has been received, and I am enclosing a receipt
from the beloved Guardian for the sum you forwarded.

He was deeply touched by this further evidence of the interest shown by
the believers in Australia and New Zealand in the Holy task now going
ahead at the World Center. Please thank all the contributors on his
behalf.

He sends you and all the members of the N.S.A. his loving greetings,

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

May the Almighty bless and reward all those who have so devotedly and
spontaneously contributed for the promotion of so holy an enterprise, and
aid them to win great and memorable victories in the service of His
glorious Faith.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF NOV. 20, 1951


Dear Bahá’í Friends: Nov. 20, 1951

Your letters to the beloved Guardian, dated April 3rd (two) 4th and 26th;
May 4th and 25th; July 13th; and Oct. 16, with various enclosures, have
been received, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

Regarding various matters raised in your letters: The Guardian feels that
as Mr. Audenwood clearly signified his belief in Bahá’u’lláh before his
passing, his name should by all means be registered in your records as a
believer. Please assure his wife of the Guardian’s prayers for the
progress and happiness of his soul, and for her own services to the Faith
to be richly blessed.

Shoghi Effendi feels it is better not to put the Greatest Name on Bahá’í
graves. It is not forbidden to do so, but inappropriate.

Regarding Mr. ... and Mr. ... we all regret exceedingly the loss he
afflicted this believer with. Your Assembly, if you have not already done
so, should write both the Persian and Indian Assemblies exposing him, and
asking if there is no way he can be reached and made to pay his debt. The
last news the Guardian had of him he was in Cyprus and planned (?) to go
on to Iran or India. It is most extaordinary to see the way this man, who
breaks all the laws of his Faith and disobeys both the Guardian and the
Assemblies, has been able to plant a firm faith in the hearts of sincere
souls in Fiji, who are now devoted believers! Your Assembly should give
this small community every aid and encouragement you can, for its members
were born with a terrific test, enough to shake the belief of old and
tried Bahá’ís.

The Guardian was very pleased to see the Racing Conference courteously
changed the name of that horse which had been called Bahá’u’lláh.

He is also very glad you are in touch with dear, faithful Mr. Auskauli.
You should keep up this contact and when you write please assure him of
the Guardian’s appreciation of his steadfastness and of his loving
prayers. He advises you to keep for your library the books sent you.

The Guardian has noted a new spirit of love and unity amongst the
Australian and New Zealand Bahá’ís, which pleases him very much, as the
atmosphere of harmony amongst the friends will attract the Divine
Blessings and enable them to achieve a great deal more for the Faith.

He strongly feels that the time has come for the believers of Australia
and New Zealand to arise as a conquering army and ensure the attainment of
their goals under their Six Year Plan. They now constitute one of the
strongest bodies of believers in the world, ranking with such active and
well established communities as those of Canada, Great Britain and India.
Their period of adolescence in the Faith has passed; they are now adults,
and they must face the problems involved in fulfilling their Plan squarely
and with maturity. The pleasant period of youthful irresponsibility, when
they could look on the work of the American and Persian Communities as the
feats of the strong, which they were not called upon to emulate, being too
young, is now passed forever. They must sacrifice, concentrate on their
tasks, plan their actions and carry on their pioneer work with
determination, realizing they will have no one to blame for any failures,
except themselves! The Guardian feels they are entirely capable of
fulfilling their Plan. He is proud of the progress they have made and
confident they can succeed if they really try.

He assures you all of his loving prayers for your guidance and for the
success of your work, the progress of which he follows with the keenest
interest.

With Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. I am enclosing a receipt herein. I do not think this sum has been
previously acknowledged, but if there is any duplication, please destroy
it.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The Six-Year Plan, formulated by the elected representatives of the
valiant Bahá’í communities in Australasia, is now entering its final and
most critical stage. If successfully terminated it will mark the
conclusion of a memorable chapter in the evolution of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh in the Antipodes, and will at the same time herald the opening
of the initial phase in the establishment of the institutions of that
Faith, beyond the borders of that far-off continent, in the numerous
diversified and widely scattered Islands of the South Pacific Ocean. It
will in fact signalize the third stage in the evolution of the Faith in
that newly opened, highly promising, far-flung continent—an evolution
which commenced, during the concluding decade of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Ministry
and of the Heroic Age of the Faith, with the birth and rise of the Bahá’í
Administrative Order, and which was subsequently accelerated through the
formulation during the opening years of the Formative Age of the Bahá’í
Dispensation, of two successive Plans, designed to broaden and reinforce
the foundations of that nascent Order in Australia, New Zealand and
Tasmania. The inauguration of the third and most glorious phase in this
historic and momentous development must now depend on the consummation of
the tasks willingly shouldered by this youthful, this virile and greatly
beloved community, which, despite its physical remoteness from the heart
and world centre of the Faith, the smallness of its size, its limited
resources and the vastness of the field under the jurisdiction of its
elected representatives, has made such great strides since its inception,
has shown such exemplary devotion and loyalty, and has preserved and
reinforced so nobly the solidity of its foundations.

This Community, which owes its birth to the revelation of the Tablets of
the Divine Plan, must now brace itself, during the fleeting months that
lie ahead, for a supreme, a concerted and sustained effort to ensure the
attainment of the objectives of the present Plan, and thereby acquire the
spiritual potentialities essential to the launching of a mighty Crusade,
in collaboration with the Trustees of the Plan, conceived by the Center of
Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, and with its neighbouring sister communities in
Latin America and in the Indian Sub-continent, destined to culminate in
the fullness of time in the Spiritual conquest of the multitudinous
islands of the South Pacific Ocean.

So exalted a mission, so strenuous a task, so weighty a responsibility
call for, while the Present Preparatory Plan speeds to its end, an
unprecedented demonstration on the part of young and old, or both men and
women, whether administrators or teachers, veterans or neophytes, of
solidarity, determination, zeal and constancy, a still greater display of
self-sacrifice, a wider dispersion of forces, a more energetic discharge
of duty, a clearer vision, a firmer grasp, of the requirements of the
present hour, and a more complete dedication to the purposes of the
present-day enterprise.

The steady multiplication of Bahá’í Administrative institutions; the rapid
consolidation of these basic agencies on which the speedy expansion of the
community beyond its borders must ultimately depend; the early
incorporation of all steadily functioning assemblies as a means of further
reinforcing a newly erected administrative structure; the systematic and
vigorous dissemination of Bahá’í literature, and the gradual proclamation
of the Faith through the Press and Radio; the initiation of measures
designed to forge friendly links between these newly-fledged assemblies
and local civil authorities, and a parallel effort aimed at the
strengthening of the ties binding the Bahá’í Supreme Administrative Body
with both the Federal and State authorities—above all the constant
deepening of the spiritual life of the individual believers, the
enrichment of community life, the promotion of greater unity, harmony and
cooperation among the rank and file of the followers of the Faith—these
are the essential prerequisites to which special attention should be
directed in preparation for the great campaign destined to be launched in
that remote corner of the globe, by one of the most youthful and promising
Bahá’í national communities, on the morrow of the world-wide celebrations
of the centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic Mission.

Afire with the vision that now opens before their eyes; conscious of the
substantial share of responsibility they must assume, in conjunction with
the Indian, the Pakistani, the North American, and the Latin American
followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, in uplifting the banner of the Most
Great Name amidst the dwellers of these scattered, distant and in some
cases isolated, Islands of the South, and in drawing them into the orbit
of His constantly evolving Administrative Order; fortified by the
magnificent progress they themselves have achieved in their own homelands;
and confident of the irresistible and mysterious power instilled by the
Hand of Providence in every agency associated with His Most Holy Name, let
the members of these rapidly maturing, fast evolving, soundly established,
Bahá’í communities throughout Australasia arise, as they have never
heretofore done, and during the concluding phase of their present
fate-laden Plan, to seal their high endeavours with total and complete
victory, and thereby open a chapter of undreamt-of glory that will add an
imperishable lustre to the annals of an immortal Faith.

Just as their first collective enterprise, through its resounding success,
contributed its particular share of tribute to the memory of the Herald of
their Faith, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of His
Revelation, may their present collective enterprise, through its
consummation, qualify and empower them to play a distinctive role in the
celebration of the Great Jubilee that will mark the hundredth anniversary
of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Prophetic Mission.

A great opportunity lies before them. Much of their present mighty task
still remains to be achieved. Immense virgin fields stretch before them,
flanked, on the one side, by a sister community in the South American
continent, and on the other by another sister community in the vast Indian
sub-continent, both ready and eager to extend their help in prosecuting a
memorable, a gigantic and supremely arduous task. May they, when the hour
strikes, be found ready and well equipped to assume the onerous
responsibilities that will fall to their share.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF DECEMBER 2, 1951


Haifa, Israel,
December 2, 1951.

Mrs. Dulcie E. Dive, Treasurer.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of October 17th has been received by the beloved Guardian, as
well as the contribution you forwarded, a receipt for which I am
enclosing.

Will you kindly assure the individuals, groups and assemblies who
contributed, of the Guardian’s very deep appreciation of this assistance
they are giving to the work of the Shrine here. The building is going
ahead rapidly; and he hopes that, within a couple of months, the octagon
will be finished, and the drum section which will support the dome, can be
commenced without any interruption.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

May the Beloved abundantly reward and bless all who have contributed for
the construction of the Shrine, sustain them in their efforts, and aid
them to win great victories in the service of our beloved Faith,

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF FEBRUARY 24, 1952


Haifa, Israel,
February 24, 1952.

Mrs. D. E. Dive, Treasurer,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of January 29th has been received; and the beloved Guardian
has instructed me to forward to you the enclosed receipt for the loving
contribution made by the Australia and New Zealand believers for the
Shrine of the Báb, as well as for the contribution made directly by your
National Body.

Please thank all the friends concerned in this contribution on his behalf;
and assure them the Shrine is growing more beautiful daily as work on it
progresses.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

May the Almighty abundantly reward, bless and sustain all those who have
contributed towards this holy Enterprise, aid and protect them, and enable
them to promote, at all times, the vital interests of His Faith.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF APRIL 12, 1952


Haifa, Israel,
April 12, 1952

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your loving letter of March 11th, addressed to the beloved Guardian has
come to hand, and he has asked me to answer it in his behalf.

The kind contribution which you made to the Shrine of the Báb fund has
been received, and receipt therefor is enclosed herewith.

After checking with our bank here, I find they feel it would be simpler if
you made future remittances on the basis of a bank transfer instead of a
draft.

Answering the specific questions which you propound, the information is as
follows:

1. The full name and address of the bank is:
Bank Leumi le Israel,
Haifa, Israel.

2. The exact name of our account is:
Shoghi Rabbani.

The beloved Guardian values very deeply the admirable manner in which the
friends in Australia and New Zealand are carrying on their teaching work.
He will pray that they will meet with every possible success, and gain new
victories for the Faith as their plan progresses.

The Guardian likewise wishes you to express to each one who joined in the
contribution you sent, his loving appreciation.

The work of the Shrine is progressing. The octagon and the pinnacles are
now completed, so far as the marble work is concerned. The Guardian is
hopeful the entire project may continue uninterruptedly so that it might
be completed by Naw-Rúz period next year.

With warm Bahá’í greetings, I am
Leroy Ioas,
Assistant Secretary.



LETTER OF APRIL 30, 1952


Haifa, Israel,
April 30, 1952

Mrs. D. E. Dive, Treasurer,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your gracious letter of April 3rd has come to hand, and the Guardian has
asked me to acknowledge it on his behalf. Enclosed is receipt for the
contribution which has been made to the Shrine of the Báb.

The unity of the friends in Australia and New Zealand is greatly valued by
the Guardian; and he appreciates the sacrifices which have been made in
sending these contributions to this Holy Undertaking on Mt. Carmel.

The Shrine is increasing in beauty from day to day. The marble work on the
octagon has been completed; the exquisite pinnacles have been put in
place; and work is under way on the extension of some of the Gardens. The
Guardian is hopeful the work may continue uninterruptedly, so as to be
completed next year.

With loving Bahá’í greetings, I am
Leroy Ioas,
Assistant Secretary.



LETTER OF JUNE 3, 1952


Haifa, Israel,
June 3, 1952

Miss Grette S. Lamprill, Secretary,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

The beloved Guardian has received your letters of December 20 and 21,
1951, February 12 and 26, March 11 and May 2, 1952, with enclosures, and
has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

As regards various matters raised in your letters, Mr. ... is now in
Khartoum, Sudan at the following address: Mr. ..., Khartoum. The reason
the Guardian knows this is that he has received a contribution from him
for the Shrine, which he has asked the Bank to trace back to the sender,
so that he can return it to him.

The Guardian suggests that you contact Mr. ..., and press him to discharge
his debt to the believer in Fiji whom he has so grievously wronged,
pointing out to him that surely, if he expects any forgiveness from God,
the first pre-requisite is to conduct himself honestly.

The Guardian was very happy to hear that as a result of Mrs. Bolton’s trip
to New Caledonia, there is now a believer in that far-off island. He was
also very happy to hear of the close contact you maintain with the friends
in Suva, and considers that this is extremely important, as of course at
the New Delhi Conference, plans will have to be made for the unfoldment of
the Faith throughout all the Pacific Islands, and the more strong centers
we have to begin with, the better.

As regards World Religion Day, the Guardian does not attach any importance
to what date the meeting is held on. World Religion Day has nothing to do
with our Faith as such, but is merely a useful means of getting the public
together and bringing the Cause to them.

He sees no reason why Mother Dunn should not have a companion in the
Hazírá, and hopes that she will settle down there comfortably and happily.

The sympathy you have expressed on the occasion of the passing of dear Mr.
Maxwell was much appreciated by the Guardian. Although Mr. Maxwell is
naturally missed very much here, the services God in His bounty enabled
him to accomplish for the Faith preclude any feelings of sadness, when we
think of the blessings showered upon him.

He urges your Assembly to constantly stimulate the believers to achieve
their goals. It would be a great pity if, after the success of their First
Plan, their Second historic Plan did not likewise culminate in victory,
more particularly in view of the fact that the New Delhi Conference will
involve the formation of work to be undertaken by eight National Bodies
during a ten year period.

Consequently all Assemblies, not only yours, but all National Assemblies
all over the world, should, so to speak, clear the decks for action, and
wind up their present business, so that they will be free to carry out the
much more important work that lies ahead of them.

The Guardian feels sure that the Australian and New Zealand Bahá’ís can
make and will make sufficient effort to consummate their Plan with
success. He is certainly sustaining them with his ardent prayers.

He assures you all that your labours are most deeply appreciated.

With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

Though extremely preoccupied, during recent months, with the constantly
expanding activities and manifold problems arising at the World Centre of
the Faith, necessitating, to my extreme regret, a considerable delay in
acknowledging your assembly’s communications, I have been watching, with
close interest and ever deepening admiration, the progressive unfoldment
of the task which the community of the believers in Australia, New Zealand
and Tasmania are so valiantly shouldering. I have noted, with particular
gratification, the simultaneous advance made in the extension of the
teaching activities of the steadfast and self-sacrificing members of this
forward-looking highly promising community, as well as in the
consolidation of the institutions which they are laboriously establishing
throughout that far-away continent and its neighbouring islands. I rejoice
at the remarkable vitality, courage and determination which they are
increasingly demonstrating in enlarging the limits of the Faith and in
implanting its banner beyond the confines of that continent, over and
above the task assigned to them in accordance with the provisions of their
Plan, and in territories where they are destined to exert a notable
influence through their collective efforts and achievements in the years
immediately ahead.

As the Plan, to which they stand committed, enters upon the last stage in
its unfoldment the members of this community, however remarkable their
accomplishments have been in the past, must steel themselves and through a
supreme effort, endeavour to rise to still greater heights of dedication,
display in the pioneering field a still more compelling degree of
consecration, evince a still nobler spirit of self-abnegation, and a
greater awareness of the gravity of the issues at stake and of the
inestimable value of the prizes within their reach. That they may be
qualified to undertake a still greater mission, assume weightier
responsibilities and embark upon mightier enterprises, the adequate
discharge of their present duties and the fulfilment of their sacred
obligations is no doubt essential.

The multiplication and consolidaion of the administrative institutions of
the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh throughout Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania,
as its followers in those regions, must undoubtedly be well aware,
constitutes the primary foundation for, and the necessary prelude to, the
firm establishment of the institutions of His Administrative Order, beyond
the confines and in the neighbourhood of these territories, and amidst the
highly diversified tribes and races inhabiting the numerous and widely
scattered islands and archipelagos of the South Pacific Ocean.

The approaching Holy Year, a period of such unique significance in the
history of the Faith; the prospect of the active participation of some of
the elected representatives and members of the community holding aloft the
torch of the Faith in the Antipodes; in one of the most important
Conferences to be held during that year; their formal association with no
less than seven other National Spiritual Assemblies in the prosecution of
the colossal tasks that are to be initiated in South East Asia, in the
course of the coming decade; the manifold blessings which must assuredly
flow from the assumption of such a sacred function and in the course of
the development of so gigantic, so challenging and so meritorious an
undertaking, can surely not fail to galvanize the privileged members of
this community, constituting a vital outpost of the Faith, and occupying
such a spiritually strategic position in the world crusade soon to be
launched by itself and its sister communities in both the East and the
West, into action, at once so swift and decisive, as to add fresh lustre
to the annals of the Faith.

This community, now standing on the threshold of an era of unprecedented
expansion, and gazing towards the glorious future that awaits it, must
seize the priceless opportunities which these fast-fleeting months offer
it, and must not allow for a moment its vision to be dimmed, its
resolution to flag, its attention to be distracted or its faith in its
ultimate destiny to waver.

With a heart full of hope, and with an affection and fervour which every
forward step in the progress of its strenous labours serves to intensify,
I will supplicate at the threshold of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh to enable
His stalward followers championing His Cause in those far-away lands to
achieve a resounding success in the task they have pledged themselves to
fulfil.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JUNE 15, 1952


Haifa, Israel,
June 15, 1952

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

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

One of the features of the Holy Year will be the re-issuance of this
imnportant book; inasmuch as the Holy Year is fast approaching, the
Guardian wishes the information as quickly as possible.

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

Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies, in Australia and New Zealand.
Bahá’í Centers in Australia and New Zealand, showing if possible the
division between Local Spiritual Assemblies, Groups and Isolated
Believers.

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

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

Faithfully yours,
Leroy C. Ioas.
Assistant Secretary.



LETTER OF NOVEMBER 29, 1952


Haifa, Israel,
November 29, 1952

Mrs. D. E. Dive, Treasurer,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of September 30th has been received by the beloved Guardian,
and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

The generous contribution which Mrs. ... made towards the Shrine of the
Báb has already been acknowledged direct to her, because she mentioned it
in a recent letter.

It was indeed most kind of this dedicated believer to support this work of
the Shrine here to this extent, and was much appreciated.

The Guardian assures you your devoted labors for the Faith are much
appreciated. He will remember you in his prayers in the Shrine.

With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Assuring you of my loving prayers for your success and spiritual
advancement,

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF NOVEMBER 30, 1952


Haifa, Israel,
November 30, 1952

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand,
Mrs. D. E. Dive, Treasurer,

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your loving letter of September 14th has been received by the beloved
Guardian, and he has asked me to acknowledge it on his behalf.

The Guardian will greatly appreciate your thanking each one of the
contributors to this fund.

He is very appreciative of the outstanding services and sacrifices of the
friends in Australia and New Zealand. He feels they are bringing renown to
the Faith, and laying a firm foundation for the great Crusade ahead.

The Guardian will pray for the success of all the activities of the
friends, and for the guidance and confirmation of the National Assembly.

The funds representing the proceeds of sale of the shares, given by Mrs.
... have come to hand, amounting to 346.9.10 Sterling. The Guardian has
asked that you express his deep appreciation to Mrs. ... for this loving
contribution, which will be used in the construction of the Shrine of the
Báb.

The construction work on the drum of the Shrine is going forward quite
rapidly. The tall columns between the windows are rapidly nearing
completion, adding to the beauty of this glorious structure. The Guardian
is hopeful that this work can continue until the building is completely
finished.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
Leroy C. Ioas
Assistant Secretary.



LETTER OF MAY 3, 1953


Haifa, Israel,
May 3, 1953

Mrs. D. E. Dive, Treasurer,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Friend:

The beloved Guardian has received your letter of April 14th, and has
instructed me to acknowledge it on his behalf.

The contribution which has been made by the friends in Australia and New
Zealand for the construction work on the Shrine of the Báb, is very deeply
appreciated. Receipt is enclosed herewith.

Will you please extend to all the Assemblies, Groups and individual
believers who have joined in this contribution, the Guardian’s heartfelt
appreciation.

Shoghi Effendi was delighted to learn that the Six Year Teaching Plan was
successfully concluded. Word coming into Haifa from all over the world
indicates the great success of the teaching plans in every country. He is
therefore encouraged to feel that the heavy tasks of the Ten Year Plan
will be easily accomplished.

You will be happy to know that the work on the dome of the Shrine is
progressing very rapidly. As the Guardian has cabled, the shutterings and
the scaffolding for the dome have been completed, and some of the golden
tiles placed on lower sections of the dome. The building achieves greater
majesty as each new height is reached.

With loving greetings, I am
Leroy Ioas
Assistant Secretary.



LETTER OF MAY 7, 1953


May 7, 1953

Dear Bahá’í Friend:

The Beloved Guardian has instructed me to write to you and ask you to
please send me the name and address of the Bahá’í in Samoa, also the name
and address of the Bahá’í in New Caledonia. And, will you please advise if
a spiritual assembly was formed in Suva on April 21st. This news has come
indirectly and he very much wants to have it confirmed by the NSA. You may
be sure his eager eyes are on these new places and any news about them
makes his heart very happy. Please send the name and address of the
secretary of Suva.

The news of the 2nd International Bahá’í Conference has been very
thrilling and the Beloved Guardian has been exceedingly happy about it
all.

If you will please send the information asked for by return AIR MAIL, I
will be very deeply grateful to you.

The work on the Shrine is going ahead very wonderfully, a few tiles have
already been placed. We hope someday you will all make the pilgrimage and
see this most beautiful Shrine in the heart of Mt. Carmel, fulfilment of
prophecy.

Devoted love and thanks

Affectionately,
Jessie E. Revell



LETTER OF JUNE 14, 1953


Haifa, Israel,
June 14, 1953.

To the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Our Beloved Guardian has been greatly encouraged by reports reaching him
from all parts of the Bahá’í World of the victories already gained, and
the plans being laid for the prosecution of the Ten Year Crusade.

They have evoked his awe-inspiring, and soul-stirring cablegram of May
28th, calling for the immediate settlement of all the 131 virgin areas of
the Plan. He is convinced that the Friends will arise and translate their
enthusiasm into Action, because the Keynote of the Crusade must be Action,
Action, Action!

The Beloved Guardian has directed me to write your Assembly to amplify
some of the aspects of his dynamic message.

The settlement of these virgin areas is of such an emergency nature, that
he feels pioneering in one of them, takes precedence over every other type
of Bahá’í service—whether it be in the teaching or administrative fields
of the Faith.

In the United States some 150 people have volunteered for pioneer service,
and some of them already are preparing to leave for their posts. The
Guardian has informed the United States National Assembly, that because of
their being the Chief Executor of the Divine Plan of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for
teaching throughout the World, their pioneers may be sent to any virgin
area in the world, regardless to which NSA it may be assigned. If any of
their pioneers wish to settle in any of the areas assigned to your
Assembly, they will communicate with you.

The Friends in Australia and New Zealand have displayed such outstanding
devotion and consecration to the Faith, that despite all obstacles they
have continuously “scattered” to various parts to spread the Divine
Teachings. The Beloved Guardian is sure they will do likewise in
connection with this great Crusade and will settle promptly many virgin
areas.

There are some general observations which the Guardian shares with you,
and then some specific suggestions which are enumerated below:

1. Every individual who offers to pioneer, should be encouraged and
assisted in every way possible by the National Assembly.

2. Every application for pioneering must be expedited, and not allowed to
drag in any way, either in the handling of the NSA, or any Committee
working out the details for the NSA.

3. The National Assembly must make the settlement of their virgin areas,
the first order of their business. In other words, nothing is more
important at this time, than settlement in the 131 virgin areas.

4. More than two pioneers should not be sent to any one place; unless, of
course, they are members of one family. In fact, what is wanted is to
settle each area with Bahá’ís, and therefore, one Bahá’í will fulfill the
initial task.

The specific suggestions which the Guardian makes, are: a. Areas close at
hand and easy of settlement should be filled first. Then the areas more
difficult, and finally, the difficult ones.

b. Whenever a pioneer enters a new territory, a cable should be sent at
once to the Beloved Guardian, giving the name, place and any pertinent
information.

c. A report should be sent each month by your Assembly to the Secretary
General of the International Bahá’í Council, giving the progress of your
teaching work in the virgin areas of the Plan, particularly the
development of your plans for settling them. This does not mean your
Assembly should correspond with the International Council concerning
administrative matters; as all administrative matters should be handled in
the usual manner, directly with the Guardian. It simply means that reports
and data concerning the development of the plan should be sent to the
International Council for consolidation with other reports, for the
Guardian.

d. The Guardian feels the following areas should be easily settled and he
would appreciate your arranging to send pioneers there at the earliest
possible date. Portugese Timor, New Hebrides Islands, Admiralty Islands;
and then the other Islands as you can place pioneers on them.

As his dramatic cable indicates, the Guardian is preparing an illuminated
“Roll of Honor”, on which will be inscribed the names of the “Knights of
Bahá’u’lláh” who first enter these 131 virgin areas. This “Roll of Honor”
will be placed inside the entrance door of the Inner Sanctuary of The Tomb
of Bahá’u’lláh.

From time to time, the Guardian will announce to the Bahá’í World, the
names of those Holy Souls who arise under the conditions outlined in his
message, and settle these areas, and conquer them for God.

Now is the time for the Bahá’ís of the World to demonstrate the spiritual
vitality of the Faith, and to arise as one soul to spread the Glory of the
Lord over the face of the Earth. The Guardian is sure the spiritual power
released with the launching of this Great Ten Year Global Crusade, will
carry the consecrated and devoted friends to complete victory.

He will pray for the members of your Assembly, whose sacrificial services
he greatly values.

Faithfully yours,
Leroy Ioas

Assistant Secretary.



LETTER OF JUNE 23, 1953


Haifa, Israel,
June 23, 1953

Miss Gretta S. Lamprill, Secretary,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letters of June 18, July 29, October 7, 21 and 24 (2), November 10
and 18, 1952, and February 19, May 18 and 21, 1953 have been received by
the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his
behalf. The various enclosures as well as material forwarded under
separate cover were also received.

Owing to extreme pressure of work here, which is getting worse all the
time, he has not been able to answer any N.S.A. letters from any country
for almost a year. He regrets this but unfortunately it was unavoidable.
As you can see, all your communications reached him, but he was too busy
to reply.

He appreciated your Assembly’s gift of books gotten out by the Child
Education Committee, and assures you that the four copies of the bulletin
“Herald of the South”, “Bahá’í Youth Journal” and other material which you
sent, are quite satisfactory.

The thing that is most difficult for the Guardian is to have to read
through a sheaf of material in order to extract the salient information on
such vital subjects as pioneer activities, important decisions of the
National Assembly or the Teaching Committee etc. Two words in the text of
your letter might convey important items in a succinct and summarized
manner.

He was delighted to hear that as many as thirty of the Australian
believers are planning to attend the New Delhi Conference, and that a
large number of N.S.A. members, if not all, will be present. In a way, the
New Delhi Conference is one of the most important of all four conferences
to be held during the Holy Year, because at it, eight National Assemblies
must be represented and their joint teaching endeavor covers vast areas of
the globe, areas practically hitherto untouched by the Message of
Bahá’u’lláh.

He was glad to hear that the Convention this year and the Pacific School
held afterward had been such a success.

He was sorry to learn that after all, it was not possible for Mr. and Mrs.
Katzmann to go to New Britain. He hopes that they or others will follow
through this project, as it is an extremely important one.

The best photographs available of the Shrine of the Báb at present are to
be obtained from the American N.S.A., as films are placed at their
disposal, and they can fulfill your requirements. He suggests you get in
touch with Mr. Holley.

Shoghi Effendi hopes that at the New Delhi Conference the contribution
which the representatives from Australia and New Zealand will make will be
vital and will carry the work forward much faster. It will be a truly
unique opportunity for the representatives of so many National Assemblies
to consult about the vast pioneers regions which will be entrusted to
their care, and every advantage should be taken of it, as it may not recur
again ever.

With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

P.S. The Guardian has been greatly encouraged by the way the believers of
Australia and New Zealand succeeded in their Plan carried out the last few
years. He hopes for still greater things from them in the days to come!

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The victorious conclusion of the Plan formulated by your Assembly, which
posterity will recognize as a landmark of the utmost significance in the
development of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the Antipodes, has filled my
heart with joy and thanksgiving, has evoked profound admiration in the
hearts of the followers of the Faith in both Hemispheres, and fully
qualified the Bahá’í Communities in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania to
embark upon their Ten-Year Plan, which constitutes so important and vital
a phase of the global Crusade launched by their sister Communities in
every continent of the globe.

This new milestone in the history of the Faith in Australasia signalizes
the opening of a new chapter in the progressive unfoldment of the Mission
of these communities—a Mission that embraces both their homelands as well
as the neighbouring Island of the South Pacific Ocean and where their most
brilliant exploits, testifying to their heroism and devotion, must be
achieved and their greatest victories won.

A twofold task of far-reaching importance, at once thrilling and arduous,
now faces them, involving the steady multiplication and consolidation of
the nascent institutions of the Faith in Australia, New Zealand and
Tasmania and the erection of the Administrative structure of the Faith in
the islands and archipelagos beyond the shores of the Australian
continent.

The despatch of pioneers to the seven virgin islands assigned to the
National Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand is the first
and most vital objective of the newly launched Ten-Year Plan, requiring
urgent consideration, careful planning, and energetic action, in the
course of the current year. Every effort should be exerted and the utmost
sacrifice should be made, to ensure, ere the opening year of this great
and historic Plan draws to a close, the settlement of at least one pioneer
in each of these Islands—an achievement which will seal with success the
opening phase of the collective enterprise auspiciously launched by your
Assembly on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the birth of
Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission.

Second in importance and far-reaching in its repercussions is the
selection and purchase by your assembly—an undertaking to which Bahá’í
National Assemblies, as well as I myself, will contribute—of the site of
the first Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár in the Antipodes, to be situated either
within or in the immediate outskirts of, the city of Sydney, the leading
and oldest Bahá’í Centre in the Australian continent, and which already
houses the National Administrative Headquarters of your assembly.

These two essential obligations, as well as the task of consolidating
steadily the prizes already won in the administrative field in that
continent, must take precedence over all other obligations assumed by the
prosecutors of the Plan, and will, if fulfilled in time, constitute a
splendid prelude to its systematic execution and eventual consummation.

The valiant and youthful Bahá’í communities established in Australia, New
Zealand and Tasmania, which despite their limited resources, the smallness
of their numbers, their relative inexperience, and the various obstacles
which have confronted them in the past, have proved themselves capable of
such memorable feats, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of
Bahá’í activity, will, surely, refuse to hesitate or falter at this
crucial and challenging hour in the unfoldment of their destiny, and will
never allow themselves to be outdone by their sister-communities who share
with them the high and inescapable responsibility of contributing to the
final triumph of this, the most gigantic and momentous collective
undertaking launched since the inception of the Formative Age of the
Bahá’í Dispensation.

I appeal to their elected national representatives to direct, with all the
means at their disposal, the operations of the Plan, and encourage
constantly the members of the Communities they represent to lend, each
according to his or her resources and capabilities, every possible
assistance to this common task. I entreat, moreover, all local assemblies,
groups and isolated believers to support, unstintingly, every measure
devised for the effective prosecution of this same task, and to continue
in this meritorious endeavour until every single objective of the Plan is
attained.

May the followers of the Faith in that far-off continent, who can already
boast of such a proud record of stewardship to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh,
illuminate its annals, in the course of the coming decades by deeds of
still greater renown, by acts of still more glorious sacrifice, and
prepare themselves to worthily contribute, at the appointed time, to the
world-wide celebrations which will commemorate the Centenary of His
Declaration.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF JANUARY 24, 1954


Haifa, Israel,
January 24, 1954

Mrs. Greta Lake, Secretary,
Yerrinbool Bahá’í School.

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter of January 3rd has been received by the beloved Guardian, and
he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

He was very happy that the honored Hand of the Cause, Mr. Furutan, and Mr.
Faizi, could be with you at this session of your Summer School, and he is
sure they were the cause of great happiness and deep enkindlement to the
friends present.

The Guardian has high hopes for the dear Australian and New Zealand
believers, and he urges you, one and all, to persist in your labours, no
matter at what cost, until all the goals set before you for the Ten Year
Crusade, have been attained.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

May the Almighty bless you and your dear co-workers in your highly
meritorious endeavours, and enable you to win great victories in the
service of His glorious Faith.

Your true brother,
Shoghi.



LETTER OF JUNE 16, 1954


Haifa, Israel,
June 16, 1954

Mr. James Heggie, Secretary,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

The letters from your Assembly dated July 6, September 14, November 9 and
December 18, 1953, and January 7 (2), February 28, and March 22 and 31,
1954, with enclosures, also the material sent separately, have all been
received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you
on his behalf.

Regarding the various matters you have raised, he does not know how the
galleys of the Tahitian pamphlet and letters of Louise Bosch happened to
be sent to you. He had nothing to do with it, and is perfectly satisfied
that they should remain in the hands of your Assembly.

He has been delighted over the marked progress made by your Assembly in
carrying out its own portion of the Ten-Year Crusade. The number of
members of the National Body who have gone forth as pioneers to virgin
territories which you have succeeded in opening during the first year of
the Plan, the purchase of the Temple site in Sydney—all attest the
vitality of the faith of the believers in the Antipodes. He is very proud
of their spirit and their achievements, and believes that they will go
very far in their service to the Faith on an international scale. The
initiative shown through the holding of a South Pacific School pleased him
immensely. In view of the work to be done, the number of languages into
which the literature is to be translated, the tremendous area throughout
which the Australian goals are scattered, schools and institutes of this
nature are really essential.

He is also very happy to note the increase in Bahá’í membership, a sure
sign of the virility of the faith of the believers.

He feels sure that the visit of the dear Hand of the Cause, Mr. Furutan,
accompanied by Mr. Faizi, did a tremendous amount of good. Mr. Furutan has
since made the pilgrimage to Haifa, and spoke very highly to the Guardian
of the believers in that part of the world, whom he grew to love and
admire very much during his visit.

He was very happy to see that Mrs. Dunn was able to attend the New Zealand
Bahá’í Summer School. For a woman of her age, this was surely a remarkable
achievement, and must have been a great inspiration to the New Zealand
friends, coming as she did so freshly from the last Intercontinental
Teaching Conference held in New Delhi.

Now that so many of the goals abroad have been settled, and active plans
have been laid to settle the remaining ones, he feels that your Assembly
should pay particular attention, during the coming year, to the work on
the home front. The multiplication of Local Assemblies, the incorporation
of Local Assemblies and the increase in centers throughout Australia and
New Zealand are all-important and pressing, and will require a great deal
of work. The sooner the friends “get on with it” the better!

In connection with the teaching work throughout the Pacific area, he fully
believes that in many cases the white society is difficult to interest in
anything but its own superficial activities. The Bahá’ís must identify
themselves on the one hand, as much as they reasonably can, with the life
of the white people, so as not to become ostracized, criticized and
eventually ousted from their hard-won pioneer posts. On the other hand,
they must bear in mind that the primary object of their living there is to
teach the native population the Faith. This they must do with tact and
discretion, in order not to forfeit their foot-hold in these islands which
are often so difficult of access.

Sound judgment, a great deal of patience and forbearance, faith and
nobility of conduct, must distinguish the pioneers, and be their helpers
in accomplishing the object of their journey to these far places.

He attaches great importance to teaching the aboriginal Australians, and
also in converting more Maoris to the Faith, and hopes that the Bahá’ís
will devote some attention to contacting both of these minority groups.

As he has already informed you, he approves of any surplus moneys in the
Temple fund, after having purchased the site, being diverted for the use
of the Pacific teaching work. He feels that your Assembly has shown
remarkably good judgment in handling this entire matter.

The most important thing of all in connection with the pioneer work, is to
ensure that the believers who, at such cost of sacrifice and effort, have
at last succeeded in gaining entry to these far-flung and difficult
territories, should remain there at all costs.

As regards the question of how to write some of the Oriental words, like
Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the translations which have Latin script,
he feels that at least in parenthesis a phonetical pronunciation should be
included after the name when the English transliteration is used. There is
no use giving people the Teachings, and not enabling them to pronounce
correctly the names that have the deepest association of all with our
Faith.

He urges your Body and, through you, all of the dear believers in
Australia and New Zealand, and your devoted pioneers serving so far
afield, to be of good heart, to persevere, and to rest assured that the
Beloved will watch over and protect your labours.

He will pray for all the members of your Assembly in the holy Shrines, and
for the success of your indefatigable labours.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The manifold evidences of the remarkable progress, achieved in almost
every field, by the Australian and New-Zealand Bahá’í Communities since
the launching of the Ten-Year Plan, have truly rejoiced my heart, and
served to heighten my feelings of admiration for the sterling qualities
which the members of these Communities have increasingly displayed in
recent years.

There is no doubt whatever—and I truly feel proud to place it on
record—that the community of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh labouring for
His Cause in the Antipodes now occupies, by virtue of the quality of the
faith of its members, the soundness of their judgement, the clearness of
their vision, the scope of their accomplishments, and their exemplary
loyalty, courage and self-sacrifice, a foremost position among its sister
communities in all the continents of the globe.

Far from stagnating or declining in number or in influence it has in
recent years displayed a vitality which can well excite the admiration and
envy of them all, and has demonstrated, beyond the shadow of a doubt, a
fidelity to the principles of our Faith, whether a spiritual or
administrative, and a capacity for service which all may well emulate.

Though all the goals, in the virgin areas of the globe, assigned to the
elected national representatives of these two communities have not as yet
been attained, owing solely to circumstances beyond their control, yet the
spirit evinced by the pioneers belonging to these communities, who have so
gloriously initiated this major task, constituting the foremost objective
of the opening phase of this Ten-Year Crusade, has been such as to amply
compensate for the inability of their national elected representatives to
consummate, ere the close of the first year of the Ten-Year Plan, this
initial enterprise marking the inauguration of their Mission in foreign
fields. Particularly gratifying and indeed inspiring has been the response
of the members of your assembly to the Call for pioneers—a response that
has surpassed that of any other National Body throughout the Bahá’í World.

The selection and subsequent purchase of the site of the first
Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár in the Antipodes in the outskirts of a city—the
first to receive the light of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh in
Australasia, and destined to play a predominant role in the evolution of
the Administrative Order of His Faith in that vast area—is an achievement
which I heartily welcome and for which I feel deeply grateful. This
remarkable accomplishment will, in conjunction with the establishment a
decade ago of the National Hazíratu’l-Quds in that same city, accelerate
the progress, and immensely reinforce the foundations, of the
administrative institutions inaugurated on the morrow of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s
ascension, and which are destined to yield their fairest fruit in the
Golden Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation.

The second phase of this spiritual Crusade upon which these two greatly
blessed, fast unfolding, firmly established, intensely alive communities
have now entered must witness the opening, at whatever cost, of the
remaining virgin territories allocated to their national elected
representatives. The preservation of the prizes already won in the newly
opened territories is, moreover, a task they cannot afford to neglect
under any circumstances. The multiplication of Bahá’í isolated centres,
groups and local assemblies, in both Australia and New-Zealand—a process
that has been steadily and rapidly developing since the inauguration of
the Ten-Year Plan, is likewise of paramount importance in the years
immediately ahead. The development of these institutions, particularly in
New-Zealand, will no doubt hasten the emergence of an independent National
Spiritual Assembly in that territory, and will lend a tremendous impetus
to the onward march of the Faith in those regions.

The assistance which your Assembly must increasingly extend to its sister
assembly in the Indian sub-continent, in connection with the translation
and publication of Bahá’í Literature in the languages allocated under the
Ten-Year Plan, is yet another task which, in the coming months, must be
boldly tackled and consistently carried on. The incorporation of local
assemblies moreover, is a matter of great urgency and should in no wise be
postponed or neglected. The consolidation work to be undertaken, according
to the provisions of this same Plan, is, likewise, urgent and of the
utmost importance, and will undoubtedly serve to enhance the prestige of
your assembly and enrich the record of your far-reaching accomplishments.
The purchase of a building in Auckland destined to serve as the National
Hazíratu’l-Quds of the Bahá’ís of New-Zealand, is yet another objective on
which attention should be immediately focused—in anticipation of the
erection of yet another pillar of the future House of Justice in that
remote part of the world.

Whilst these objectives are being steadily pursued by your assembly, every
effort will be exerted in the Holy Land, as a tribute to the superb spirit
animating the Australian and New Zealand believers and to their incessant
and meritorious labours in the service of the Cause they have championed,
to hasten the transfer of a part of the Bahá’í international endowments to
the name of the newly constituted Israel Branch of your Assembly—an act
that will at once bestow a great spiritual and material benefit on your
Assembly and reinforce the ties binding it to the World Centre of the
Faith in the Holy Land.

May the members of these valiant communities, whose interests you so
conscientiously serve and whom you so ably represent, continue to prosper
under your wise and loving leadership, scale loftier heights in their
collective enterprise, and win a still greater measure of fame in the
service of a Cause to which they have so nobly dedicated their resources,
and which they have served, in the past thirty years, with so rare a
spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice.

That they may bring to full and early fruition the manifold tasks they
have undertaken is the constant prayer of one who has never ceased to love
and admire them for their past and present achievements, and for whose
future accomplishments he cherishes the brightest hopes.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF JULY 24, 1955


Haifa, Israel,
July 24, 1955

Mr. James Heggie, Secretary,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

Your letters of July 27, August 5, and November 16, 1954, and January 21,
and July 5, 1955, with enclosures, have been received by the beloved
Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

He is very happy over the progress which has been made in the area under
your Assembly’s jurisdiction during the past year. The news of the
purchase of the Hazíratu’l-Quds in Auckland was most welcome. The
acquisition of this building is really one of the pre-requisites for the
formation of the National Assembly of New Zealand; he hopes that the
impetus this has given to the work of the Faith there, combined with the
devotion of the Bahá’ís will speed the formation of local Assemblies,
which alone constitute the necessary firm foundation for the National
Body, a Body which will be one of the direct pillars supporting the
International House of Justice. He urges, therefore, your Assembly to give
all the teaching help it can to New Zealand; and to encourage the
believers there to do their utmost to achieve their goals.

The wonderful spirit the pioneers from Australia and New Zealand have
shown is a source of pride to the Guardian. Aleady they have garnered many
rich prizes for the Faith in the form of such romantic, remote and
inaccessible isles as Tonga, the Solomons and the Society Islands. Their
determination, devotion and courage are exemplary in every way; and he
hopes they will persevere, and not abandon their posts.

It must be made quite clear to the Bahá’ís that opening a new territory or
a new town for that matter, meritorious as it is, is nevertheless only the
first move. The consolidation of the Bahá’í work undertaken there is the
most important thing of all. Victories are won usually through a great
deal of patience, planning and perseverance, and rarely accomplished at a
single stroke.

He was very glad to see that your Assembly had promptly gone to the aid of
Mr. Blum. Without the support you gave him so generously and quickly, he
might well have been forced to abandon this important post, which would
have indeed been a great defeat to our work.

He was very happy to receive the Samoan and Tongan pamphlets. However
restricted in size, such pamphlets as these are a great asset to the
literature of the Faith, and enable the teaching work to progress more
rapidly. He hopes that the pioneers will bear this in mind; and if they
find any languages that would be of real use to their teaching work, and
can get a small pamphlet translated into them, they will endeavour to do
so.

As he already cabled you, of the extra 3,000 Dollars which you had left
over in the Hazíratu’l-Quds Fund for New Zealand, he wishes you to keep
half for the teaching activities carried out under your jurisdiction, and
forward the other half to England for the work there, as they are in need
of assistance in carrying forward the many important tasks allotted to the
British National Spiritual Assembly.

The purchase of the Temple site—reasonable in sum, reasonable in area, and
excellent in position—brought great joy to his heart.

He is indeed proud of the achievements of the believers of Australia and
New Zealand, and the well-balanced, intelligent and persevering manner in
which they go about their business.

He hopes that the private bill you are planning to have passed in the
Upper House, and which will give the Bahá’ís legal recognition, will go
through successfully. In view of the precedent of the Canadian Parliament
when a special Act was passed, legalizing the status of the Bahá’ís in
that country, he feels that you should not have much difficulty in
Australia.

He is hoping that, after the Ridván elections, good news will reach him of
the formation of many more new Spiritual Assemblies in both Australia and
New Zealand. The multiplication of Bahá’í Centers is, at the present stage
of the development of the Cause, of the greatest importance. In the first
place, it means that news of the coming of Bahá’u’lláh is being made
available to a greater number of the population; and in the second place,
it broadens the foundation of the national institutions which must elect
the International House of Justice. Believers in centres that possess a
relatively large voting list should bear in mind that at this time it is
highly important and acceptable in the sight of God to disperse and carry
the Message to new Centres, both outside the country and within it.

Your Assembly should bear in mind the necessity, in the future at any
rate, of having firmly grounded local Assemblies in all of the States of
Australia and New Zealand; and also the importance of increasing the
representation of the minority races, such as the Aborigines and the
Maoris, within the Bahá’í Community. Special effort should be made to
contact these people and to teach them; and the Bahá’ís in Australia and
New Zealand should consider that every one of them that can be won to the
Faith is a precious acquisition.

As he surveys the progress being made throughout the Bahá’í world, he is
particularly pleased with that achieved in the Antipodes. The soundness,
healthiness and vigour of the Bahá’í Community “down under” is a source of
great joy to him, and he feels is an example to the Bahá’ís in other
continents of the globe.

He remembers the members of your Assembly and all the dear Bahá’í pioneers
and those labouring at home in his prayers in the holy Shrines, and
supplicates that you all may be richly blessed, and render the Faith
devoted services.

With warm Bahá’í love.

R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The achievements that have distinguished and enobled the record of
services rendered by the valiant, fast expanding, steadily consolidating,
richly endowed, highly promising Bahá’í Communities in the Antipodes have
brought intense joy to my heart, and have, no doubt, excited the
admiration of the members of their sister communities throughout the
Bahá’í world. The contribution which, severally and collectively, the
organized followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the Australian
continent, in New Zealand and in Tasmania, are making towards the progress
of the Ten-Year Crusade in so many of its aspects, ever since its
inception, is truly exemplary and augurs well for their future development
and triumph under the provisions of this momentous Ten-Year Plan.

The steady increase in the number of believers, of isolated centres,
groups and assemblies evokes my deep and heartfelt admiration and
gratitude. The purchase of the site of the first Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár in
the Antipodes is a service that has greatly enhanced the prestige of the
Faith, and consitutes a historic victory worthy to rank as a distinct
milestone in the history of its progressive unfoldment throughout
Australasia. The purchase of the Hazíratu’l-Quds in Auckland, as the
future headquarters of the New Zealand National Spiritual Assembly, is
another accomplishment that merits the highest praise. The opening of the
virgin territories assigned, under the Ten-Year Plan, to the elected
representatives of these communities has, furthermore, demonstrated the
readiness of the members of these communities to speedily and worthily
achieve the goals of this dynamic Plan in this particular and vital sphere
of collective Bahá’í endeavour. The assistance extended by these same
representatives to their brethren in the Indian sub-continent in
connection with the translation of Bahá’í literature into the languages
allotted to them, under this same Plan, affords, moreover, further
evidence of their alacrity, their devotion, their watchfulness in
promoting, in every way possible, the manifold interests of their beloved
Faith at this crucial stage in its development and consolidation.

Laden with such victories, conscious of the future brightness of their
mission, fully relying in the efficacy of that celestial aid which has at
no time failed them in the past, it behoves them to rededicate themselves,
during the opening months of the last year of the second phase of this
world encompassing Crusade, to the tasks they have so splendidly
initiated. The scope of their activities, now ranging out far into the
South Pacific Ocean, must rapidly widen. Their determination to fulfil
their tasks must never for a moment falter. Their vision of the glorious
destiny bound up with the triumphant accomplishment of their collective
enterprise must remain undimmed. Their willingness to sacrifice
unstintingly until every single objective of the Plan has been achieved
must, under no circumstances, be allowed to weaken. Their unity and
solidarity in the pursuit and attainment of their immediate as well as
distant objectives must, at all times, continue unimpaired. The prizes
they have won, at the expense of so much sacrifice, in the islands
neighbouring the Australian continent, as well as in those lying further
from its shores in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans, must not, however
strenuous the effort required, be jeopardized. The opening of the one
remaining island as yet unopened among those alloted to them under the
Ten-Year Plan must be speedily undertaken. The translation of Bahá’í
literature into the few remaining languages which still require the
concentrated attention of their elected representatives must in no wise be
neglected. The process of Bahá’í incorporation, constituting one of the
most vital features of their collective enterprise, must be
accelerated—however formidable the obstacles which stand in their path.
The establishment of Bahá’í endowments in the Dominion of New Zealand is
yet another responsibility devolving upon their elected national
representatives, a responsibility which should be discharged prior to the
emergence of an independent national assembly in that distant and
promising island.

Whilst these immediate goals are being steadily and resolutely pursued,
attention should, likewise, be particularly directed to the vital need for
the constant multiplication of isolated centres, groups and local
assemblies, as well as to the necessity of increasing, to an unprecedented
degree, the number of the avowed adherents of the Faith who can directly
and effectively contribute to the broadening of its foundations and the
expansion of its nascent institutions. Particularly in the Dominion of New
Zealand, where a pillar of the future Universal House of Justice will soon
be erected, must a fresh impetus be lent to this vital process which can
alone reinforce the foundations on which this projected institution must
ultimately rest.

The Community of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the Antipodes is
approaching a milestone of great significance in the course of its
development through the emergence of this major institution, destined to
play a notable part in the evolution of the administrative Order of the
Faith in the Pacific Area.

Fully aware of their high and inescapable responsibilities at this crucial
stage in the expansion and consolidation of their institutions, challenged
and stimulated by the tragic and heartrending tidings reaching them from
Bahá’u’lláh’s native land, where a wave of persecution of uncommon
severity has swept over His followers in both the Capital and the
provinces; conscious and appreciative of the blessing of freedom so
cruelly denied their oppressed brethren in the cradle of their Faith; and
determined to offset by their exertions the losses sustained by the Faith
in that land, the members of this privileged, this valiant and forward
marching community must display, in the months immediately ahead, such a
spirit of devotion and of self-sacrifice as will outshine the brilliance
and glory of their past and present achievements.

Theirs is an opportunity which they can not ignore or neglect. Theirs is a
duty which if worthily performed will no doubt draw them closer to the
throne of Bahá’u’lláh, and considerably enrich their share of inestimable
blessings stored for them in the Abhá Kingdom. May they by their response
to the call of the present hour prove themselves worthy of the high
mission with which they have been entrusted.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF OCT. 30TH, 1955


Oct. 30th, 1955

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

At the instruction of our beloved Guardian, I am writing you this letter,
the contents of which he wishes your assembly to regard as strictly
confidential for the time being, until such time as he wishes to make it
public.

He is seriously considering the possibility of having a Bahá’í Temple
built in the Antipodes during the present 10 Year Plan, on the Temple site
already purchased in Sydney. This would ensure a House of Worship in every
Continent of the globe by 1963. Also, in view of the strong recrudescence
of persecution and hatred of the Faith in Persia he feels that to erect
Temples in Africa and Australasia—where it is possible to do so—would be a
great comfort to the Persian believers and a befitting response to their
enemies who may well make it unfeasible to build the Tehran Temple during
this Plan.

In view of this he wishes you to approach qualified architects and request
sketches—preliminary studies—for this Temple, which you can submit to him
as soon as possible and from which he can indicate the one he feels would
be most suitable. He makes this suggestion of studies first because the
recent drawings submitted in competition in Germany (and forwarded to him)
were all highly modernistic and undignified and a lot of money and time
was spent for nothing. There was only one he considered at all possible,
and this was not chosen by the judges; necessary qualifications: a
building nine sides, surmounted by a dome. Note—circular building. Seating
capacity 500 with possible additional seating in a balcony at a future
date. Height 40 to 45 meters. Note: no assembly hall is to be included,
only auditorium for worship, with no surrounding rooms, is necessary.
Extra rooms for maintenance, toilets, caretaker, can be in basement.

There is no reason why it should look like the Chicago Temple; on the
other hand, he feels these ultra-modern, often bizarre structures are not
at all in keeping with the dignity of our Faith. The type of dome on such
structures as Mason Remey’s Temple for Haifa, the Shrine of the Báb and
St. Peter’s in Rome he considers beautiful in proportion and suitable. The
style is naturally a question each architect would evolve for himself.
What interests the Guardian is the symmetry of the ensemble and dignity.

He would urge your Assembly to get preliminary studies to him at the
earliest possible date, and then he can indicate the one he feels most
suitable and the architect can work up full details later.

With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani.



LETTER OF NOVEMBER 29, 1955


Haifa, Israel,
November 29, 1955

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand,
Care of Mr. J. Heggie, Secretary.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

This is just a note, written at the instruction of our beloved Guardian,
to answer a question raised in your last letter.

As there is no definite and conclusive statement on Vivisection in the
Bahá’í teachings, this is a matter which the International House of
Justice will have to pass upon in the future.

With loving Bahá’í greetings to you all, and the assurance of the beloved
Guardian’s prayers for the success of your labours.

R. Rabbani.



LETTER OF JUNE 13TH, 1956


Haifa, Israel,
June 13th, 1956.

Mr. James Heggie, Secretary,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

Your letters of November 17, and December 12 and 31, 1955, and January 6,
February 22, April 24, and May 27, (two), with enclosures have been
received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you
on his behalf.

He was happy to receive the pamphlets which you have had translated and
forwarded to him, and which is certainly a welcome addition to the
teaching work in the Pacific area.

He was also pleased to see that you have found a friendly architect, who
will cooperate in submitting plans for the future Temple in Sydney. He is
eagerly looking forward to receiving them. Since writing this, they have
been received. He was also glad to hear that another site had been
procured.

Repercussions of the Chicago Temple are felt everywhere, and the same is
becoming increasingly true of the Shrine. One single edifice, raised to
the glory of Bahá’u’lláh, shines like a beacon and attracts the hearts of
the people; no doubt many seeds are sown just through the act of people
visiting these edifices—seeds which in the future will germinate. It is
because of this that he is very eager to have the Australian one commenced
as soon as circumstances permit.

As regards the question the Auckland Assembly has asked about vivisection,
there is nothing on this subject in the Bahá’í teachings. At a future date
such matters will no doubt be taken up by the International House of
Justice.

He is very anxious to have as many local assemblies incorporated as
possible; and was hence very pleased to hear that your Assembly is
energetically prosecuting this part of the Ten Year Plan in both Australia
and New Zealand.

The visits of the Australian friends to different centers in Australia and
New Zealand, as well as Mr. Featherstone’s trip to some of the Pacific
Islands, have been much appreciated, and he feels sure that marked results
will be forthcoming. Although you who labour in that distant continent may
often feel that your work is progressing but slowly, the Guardian, from
the prospective that he has here at the World Center, is well pleased with
the perseverance, the devotion and the achievements of the Australian and
New Zealand friends; and he is proud of their spirit, and feels sure that
they will accomplish their goals.

He was very happy to hear that Mr. Marques has obtained permission to
remain in Timor. His background makes him a very important pioneer for
that area; and he is happy that your Assembly was able to make it possible
for him to remain.

The matter of the areas under the jurisdiction of a local Spiritual
Assembly is one which the National Assembly must study, and apply the
principles laid down by the Guardian; namely, that within a municipal
area, where the people resident in the area pay taxes and vote, the
Assembly can be elected, and holds jurisdiction. Anyone living outside of
that area is not a member of that Community, and cannot enjoy the
administrative privileges of that Community. Although this will affect
your Assembly roll, it will place the work of the Faith on a much sounder
basis, and increase the number of Centers where Bahá’ís reside throughout
Australia, which is an important phase of the work in any case. It will
challenge the friends to work harder to create new Assemblies and make up
for those dissolved; and he feels sure that in the near future the Bahá’ís
will be very proud of the results they have achieved through this change.

He is delighted to hear that the New Zealand friends are so eagerly
carrying on their work in preparation for their National Assembly next
year. Their coming of age, so to speak, will be a source of pride to all
their fellow National Assemblies, and they will form a welcome addition to
the pillars which must ultimately sustain the International House of
Justice.

Regarding the question of capital punishment, provision is made for it in
the Aqdas, but this is not the time to go into details. When the Aqdas is
promulgated and the House of Justice comes into being will be the time to
go into these matters in greater detail. For the present they should be
given no publicity.

Assuring you all of his loving prayers for the success of the work you are
doing.

With warmest greetings,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

My heart overflows with gratitude, and my admiration is heightened, as I
contemplate the range and quality of the achievements of the devoted and
valiant adherents of the Faith in the Antipodes, who have in recent years
so greatly embellished the record of their services and contributed so
remarkably to the progress of the institutions of a divinely appointed
Administrative order in that far-away continent.

The entire Bahá’í world beholds with pride and admiration the great
victories won by the Australian and New-Zealand communities, both in their
homelands and in so many islands of the Pacific Ocean, and shares my
confidence that their historic accomplishments, particularly since the
inception of the Ten-Year Plan, are but a prelude to still nobler exploits
and still mightier victories.

Their exemplary loyalty to the Faith they have so eagerly embraced, their
keen enthusiasm, their persistent endeavours, their willingness to
sacrifice, their inflexible resolve to surmount every obstacle, their
unity and solidarity, their optimism and courage, are assets which I
greatly value, and for which I cannot but feel deeply grateful.

Much indeed has been achieved by these stalwart defenders and promoters of
the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh! To an extent which they themselves cannot
estimate their individual and collective achievements, in both the
teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá’í activity, have compensated
for the enforced inactivity and the disabilities suffered by their sorely
tried brethren in Persia. The first and second phases of the Ten-Year Plan
owe, to a very notable degree, their success to the impetus which the
splendid initiative and remarkable resourcefulness displayed by the
members of these communities has lent to the onward march of the Faith in
that continent. In more than one way these communities, through their
consecrated efforts and the tangible results they have achieved, have set
an inspiring example to their sister communities in both the East and the
West. The Author of the Divine Plan, Himself, who during the closing years
of His ministry, witnessed the awakening of that vast continent, rejoices
over and applauds the rapidity with which the light of His Father’s Faith
has spread over and enveloped that continent and its neighbouring islands.

Much, however still remains to be achieved before the laurels of total and
complete victory are claimed.

The precarious situation in some of the newly opened territories allotted
to your assembly must be given first consideration and should be speedily
remedied. Any, and every nucleus formed in those islands must be
vigilantly safeguarded, and, if possible, constantly enlarged and
consolidated.

Special attention, during the opening year of the third phase of the Plan,
must be prayerfully accorded to the extension and consolidation of the
homefront, with particular emphasis on the rapid increase in the number of
the adherents of the Faith, and the multiplication of isolated centres,
groups and assemblies. The process of incorporation, so long held in
abeyance, must be accelerated by every means possible.

A supreme effort must be made, in the course of the current year, in
conjunction with the Indian National Spiritual Assembly, to bring to an
early and successful conclusion the translation of Bahá’í literature into
the languages listed in the Plan, thereby assuring the attainment of one
of its vital objectives.

Particular attention should be devoted to the urgent needs of the New
Zealand Bahá’í community, through the formulation of a plan which will
enable it to swell the number of its administrative institutions,
enlarging and reinforcing thereby the foundations on which its forthcoming
National Assembly must ultimately rest.

The goals which both communities are called upon, at this crucial hour in
the evolution of the Plan, to achieve have been clearly defined and
repeatedly emphasized. The task, however, is vast and arduous. The effort
that must needs be exerted by the rank and file of the believers is
immense. The challenge that must needs be met is severe. The promise of
eventual victory, if the army of Bahá’u’lláh’s Crusaders persevere in
their mission, is clear and unmistakeable.

The need of the present hour, as these communities enter upon the third,
and, what promises to be, the most brilliant phase of a World Spiritual
Crusade, is a still greater consecration to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in
all its aspects, and a renewed dedication in all the divers fields of
Bahá’í activity.

That the members of the Australian and New Zealand communities will
unanimously rise to the present occasion, that they will not allow any
consideration whatever to deflect them from their high purpose in the days
to come, that they will expend every ounce of energy for the attainment of
these shining goals, is the deepest longing of my heart and the object of
my ardent prayers.

Shoghi.



LETTER OF OCTOBER 27, 1956


October 27, 1956

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New
Zealand.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Your Assembly will be receiving five hundred pounds sent by Mr. Varqa on
behalf of the beloved Guardian. This is a contribution for your National
Fund to help in the work you are doing.

With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani.



LETTER OF MAY 7, 1957


Haifa, Israel,
May 7, 1957

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia.

Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Under separate cover, at the instruction of our beloved Guardian, I am
mailing to you a fragment of the plaster from the Room the Báb was
confined in, in the Fortress of Máh-Kú, in Persia.

He is sending this precious memento to be placed by Mother Dunn on his
behalf in the foundations of the First Ma_sh_riqu’l-A_dh_kár which you
will shortly commence building in Sydney.

He feels sure that this precious dust, calling to mind the sacrifices of
the beloved Báb, will be a blessing for the Temple and an inspiration to
the friends.

Please acquaint Mother Dunn with his instructions, and see that she
receives the plaster safely.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,
R. Rabbani.



LETTER OF JULY 19, 1957


Haifa, Israel,
July 19, 1957

Mr. Noel P. L. Walker, Secretary,
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia.

Dear Bahá’í Brother:

Your Assembly’s communications with their enclosures and material sent
under separate cover have all been safely received by the beloved
Guardian; and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf, and to
acknowledge receipt of your letters dated: August 14, September 6, October
14 and 29, and December 3, 1956, and February 17 and March 24, May 9, June
12 and 19, 1957.

In connection with various matters raised in your letters:

The photograph of the Shrine on Mt. Carmel was sent to Dr. Brasch, and we
hope that he received it safely.

As regards the “Herald of the South” magazine, in view of the important
work lying ahead of your Assembly, and the fact that this magazine is a
drain on the limited resources of the Community, he thinks it would be
quite all right to suspend publication until a future date when the
financial situation permits such expenditures to be made with relative
ease. He leaves, however, the final decision to your Assembly.

The Committee responsible for the publication of this magazine has
certainly laboured valiantly throughout the years, and the publication
will be missed by its readers. However, it is some years since the
American Bahá’í Magazine was abandoned for similar reasons, and the
Guardian feels that you can do so in Australia, and the funds be used to
better advantage, at this time. However, now that you have found a printer
in Sydney and appointed a new committee, he thinks you should continue it
and give the new Plan a try.

The progress your Assembly has been making on the plans for the Temple, in
conjunction with the evidently very able and cooperative architect whom
you have found in Sydney, greatly pleases and encourages the beloved
Guardian. He is particularly happy to know that Mr. Brogan is pliable in
his ideas, and enthusiastic about getting the Temple constructed, even
though the original design is not his own. Unfortunately, owing to the age
of Mr. Remey and his duties at the International Center, it is impossible
for him to carry out, himself, the execution in detail of his plans or to
supervise the construction; and consequently both the Kampala Temple and
the Sydney Temple have been entrusted to reliable firms.

The influence that this Mother Temple of the whole Pacific area will exert
when constructed, is incalculable and mysterious. The beloved Master told
the American friends that their Temple would be the greatest silent
teacher, and there is no doubt that this one building has exerted a
profound influence on the spread of the Faith, not only in the United
States and the Western Hemisphere, but throughout the world. We can
therefore expect that the construction of another “Mother Temple” in the
heart of Australasia, and one in the center of Africa, as well as one in
the heart of Europe, will exert a tremendous influence, both locally and
internationally.

He is eagerly waiting to receive pictures of the inauguration of the work
on the Temple site, and has recently mailed your Assembly under separate
cover a piece of the plaster from the Room in the Fortress at Máh-Kú where
the Báb was confined, as well as a letter requesting that dear Mother Dunn
place this, as his representative, in the foundations of the Temple. He
would like very much to have a good photograph of this ceremony for
reproduction; and he also urges your Assembly to give as much publicity to
this occasion, and to the Temple work in general, as possible.

The teaching work carried on by the Australian friends throughout the
region of the Pacific under their jurisdiction, has been very
satisfactory, and he is proud of the truly immense progress which has been
made. The publication of literature in so many additional languages, the
School opened by Mrs. Dobbins in the New Hebrides, the increase in the
number of native believers throughout the islands, are all indications,
not only of the great power of this Faith to touch the hearts of those who
are spiritually receptive, but also of the consecration and devotion of
the Australian believers.

As regards various questions you asked in your letter of February 17th:

It is of the utmost importance to keep the pioneers in their goals. If,
for reasons over which you have no control, they are forced to leave a
certain pioneer area, then he would strongly recommend that, instead of
returning all the way to their home base, they be routed to another base
in the Pacific where they can serve the Faith. This is both economical,
and hastens the attainment of our goals. Matters of detail as to how these
plans are best worked out, are naturally left to the discretion of the
National Body responsible for the area in question.

In your letter of August 14th, you mention a small translation of a
Timorese language has been secured from Dili. The Guardian would like to
know what the specific name of this language is, and, if it has been
printed, he would like to receive a copy.

He was very sorry to hear that dear Mother Dunn’s son had died. This, no
doubt, in spite of her devotion and fortitude, must have been a severe
blow to her at her age; and he hopes the friends will do all they can to
comfort and take care of this precious soul—the mother of their Community.
Please assure her that he prays for the progress of the soul of her son in
the holy Shrines.

The successful culmination of the long standing partnership of the
Australian and New Zealand believers thru the emergence of the New Zealand
N.S.A. is a source of great satisfaction to the Guardian, and no doubt to
all the members of both communities. He feels sure this will mark a
turning point in the work in the Antipodes and the neighbouring islands
and give a new lease of life to the teaching work throughout that area.
Both your Assembly and that of New Zealand have now emerged into your
permanent form as pillars of the future International House of Justice.
The bones of the skeleton of the World Order are growing strong, but only
the teaching work can clothe them with flesh.

You may be sure that he will ardently pray for the success of your work,
and that you may be strengthened and guided to discharge your important
duties and to fulfil your goals under the Ten Year Plan.

With warm Bahá’í love,
R. Rabbani.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-workers:

The progress achieved in recent years, rapid and extraordinary as it has
been, by the Bahá’í Communities labouring so patiently, so methodically,
and so faithfully, for the consolidation and expansion of the institutions
of the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh in the Antipodes, has been
highly gratifying and has served to deepen my confidence in their ability
to achieve their high destiny, and to evoke sentiments of ever-increasing
admiration for the manner in which they have acquitted themselves of their
task in the face of varied and almost insurmountable obstacles.

Particularly commendable, and indeed exemplary, has been the share of the
Australian believers in enabling the New-Zealand Bahá’í Community to make
such rapid strides, in recent years, strides that have prepared it for the
assumption of its sacred and vital function as an independent community,
and which culminated in the formation of a body qualified to take its
place, and assume the weighty responsibilities incumbent on it, as a
distinct and separate member of the world-wide family of Bahá’í national
and regional Spiritual Assemblies. The great and signal honour, conferred
upon their homeland through the selection of one of the most highly
advanced, the most populous, and one of the most progressive of its
cities—enjoying already the distinction of being the first among them to
be opened to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh and to be warmed by the rising Sun
of His Revelation—as the site of the Mother Temple of the Antipodes, and
indeed of the whole Pacific area, moreover, proclaims their right to be
considered the vanguard of His hosts, and the defenders of the stronghold
of the Administrative Order of His Faith, in that vast area of the globe,
an area endowed with unimaginable potentialities, and which, owing to its
strategic position, is bound to feel the impact of world shaking forces,
and to shape to a marked degree through the experience gained by its
peoples in the school of adversity, the destinies of mankind.

The emergence of a new Regional Spiritual Assembly in the North Pacific
Area, with its seat fixed in the capital city of a country which by reason
of its innate capacity and the spiritual receptivity it has acquired, in
consequence of the severe and prolonged ordeal its entire population has
providentially experienced, is destined to have a preponderating share in
awakening the peoples and races inhabiting the entire Pacific area, to the
Message of Bahá’u’lláh, and to act as the Vanguard of His hosts in their
future spiritual conquest of the main body of the yellow race on the
Chinese mainland—the emergence of such an assembly may be said to have, at
long last, established a spiritual axis, extending from the Antipodes to
the northern islands of the Pacific Ocean—an axis whose northern and
southern poles will act as powerful magnets, endowed with exceptional
spiritual potency, and towards which other younger and less experienced
communities will tend for some time to gravitate.

A responsibility, at once weighty and inescapable, must rest on the
communities which occupy so privileged a position in so vast and turbulent
an area of the globe. However great the distance that separates them;
however much they differ in race, language, custom, and religion; however
active the political forces which tend to keep them apart and foster
racial and political antagonisms, the close and continued association of
these communities in their common, their peculiar and paramount task of
raising up and of consolidating the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh
in those regions of the globe, is a matter of vital and urgent importance,
which should receive on the part of the elected representatives of their
communities, a most earnest and prayerful consideration.

The Plan, which it is the privilege of the Australian Bahá’í community to
energetically prosecute must, simultaneously, be assured of the
unqualified, the systematic and whole-hearted support of its members.

Theirs indeed is a twofold task which must under no circumstances be
either neglected or underrated. The one aims at the consolidation, the
multiplication and expansion of the institutions so laboriously erected
throughout the length and breadth of the Australian commonwealth and in
the islands beyond its confines, in strict accordance with the provisions
of the Ten-Year Plan, while the other is designed to forge fresh links
with its sister communities, and particularly those situated in the North,
in anticipation of the Mission which the newly fledged Bahá’í communities,
now rapidly multiplying throughout the length and breadth of that area,
are destined and are collectively called upon to discharge.

Whilst addressing itself to the meritorious twofold task with which it is
now confronted, this wide-awake, swiftly expanding, steadily
consolidating, highly promising community must lend whatever assistance is
possible to its newly emerged sister community in the South, and enable
her, as her institutions develop and become firmly grounded, to share in a
befitting manner, in the collective enterprises that must, sooner or
later, be launched and carried to a successful conclusion by the island
communities situated in the Northern and Southern regions as well as in
the heart of the Pacific Ocean.

May this community which, with its sister community in the North, has had
the inestimable privilege of being called into being in the lifetime of,
and through the operation of the dynamic forces released by the Centre of
Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant, continue, with undimmed vision, with redoubled
vigour, and unwavering fidelity and constancy, to discharge its manifold
and ever increasing duties and responsibilities, and lend, as the days go
by, an impetus such as it has not lent before, in the course of almost two
score years of its existence, to the propagation of the Faith it has so
whole-heartedly espoused and is now so valiantly serving, and play a
memorable and distinctive part in hastening the establishment, and in
ensuring the gradual efflorescence and ultimate fruition, of its divinely
appointed embryonic World Order.

Shoghi.





*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand" ***

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