Haifa, Israel, June 26, 1956.
National Spiritual a.s.sembly of the Baha"is of Canada.
Your 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...
PIONEER REACHES ANTICOSTI
The recent news that Anticosti had at last received a pioneer(50) was immensely welcome, and enabled the Guardian to take off his list one of the few remaining virgin territories (aside from those under Soviet domination) on the list of countries to be opened to the Faith under the Ten Year Plan.
The remarkable achievements of the friends during the last three years in opening the virgin areas no doubt will be looked back upon by posterity with astonishment and admiration; and the Canadian friends have certainly played an active part in this process and forged ahead in carrying out their own Plan.
He is particularly eager that Iceland should have a Baha"i nucleus formed, a country which has for many years had the blessing of knowing about the Faith(51), but never the blessing of resident local Baha"is. It deserves particular attention at this time.
The achievement of the friends in the far northern territories is a source of great pride to him; and his warm admiration surrounds the valiant pioneers who, forgetful of self, have arisen to follow "Abdu"l-Baha"s expressed wishes.
Another achievement during the past year of the Canadian friends has been the publication of literature in Ukrainian and in some of the Indian languages. He feels sure that this will speed up their teaching work immensely amongst both of these minorities; and he hopes that more of the Baha"is will make a special effort to get jobs in the reservations or amongst Indian people, so that they can carry to them the Message of Baha"u"llah.
He was glad to know that a number of Spiritual a.s.semblies have been incorporated, and hopes that this process will also be accelerated during the coming months, and that all of the a.s.semblies that seem to have a firm foundation, however small the community may be, will take out their incorporation papers.
GRAVE OF MARION JACK
He hopes that it has been possible to make the arrangements to have Miss Jack"s(52) grave built. This is a task which is indeed a precious trust for your a.s.sembly. When the friends realize that her grave will become in the future a place of visitation, they will appreciate the bounty bestowed upon the Canadian Community through being able to claim one of the most distinguished of all pioneers as a member of their community.
It was a great pleasure to him to have Mr. Raynor(53), a member of your a.s.sembly, as his guest here in the Holy Land, and he feels sure that this contact has forged yet another link between the Canadian Baha"is and the World Centre.
Regarding various matters raised in your letters: there is nothing in the Teachings to prevent a Baha"i from willing his body for medical research after death. However, it should be made clear that the remains must be buried eventually and not cremated, as this is according to Baha"i law.
He was very sorry to hear of the prolonged inharmony in the ... Baha"i community.... Some of the ... believers, from letters and reports received here, seem to lack a firm grounding on such matters as the Will and Testament and the deeper spiritual teachings of the Faith. Whenever the grasp of these fundamentals is weak, the friends are almost sure to pay undue attention to secondary procedures, to quibble over details, to lose themselves in personalities, and to founder in a sea of unnecessary inharmony. This has nothing to do with their devotion, their loyalty, their zeal, their eagerness to serve. It is merely a question of not having received, perhaps through lack of sufficient teachers to carry on the all-important work of deepening the friends in their own faith, a strong enough education in the Covenant before the duties and responsibilities of the Administrative Order were thrust upon them.
He has the greatest confidence in the abilities, and the loyalty and devotion of the Canadian friends. They have proved themselves over and over again, and distinguished their community through acts of great sacrifice, vision, courage and devotion. He hopes that, during the coming year, your a.s.sembly will be able to send out more teachers, to a.s.sist the friends in grasping the fundamentals of the Faith, in uniting them, and stimulating their desire to do more in the teaching field. If the supply of teachers is limited in Canada-and the area to be covered is certainly vast!-perhaps your Sister a.s.sembly in the United States can help through lending visiting teachers.
He a.s.sures all the members of the National a.s.sembly of his loving prayers for the success of your indefatigable labours.
With warm Baha"i love, R. RABBANI.
P.S.-As regards the question about a person who is mentally ill attending the Feasts, anybody who is well enough mentally to attend a Baha"i Feast and understand what it is all about is certainly well enough to be a voting member. Only people who are very seriously deranged mentally and confined to inst.i.tutions or under constant supervision should be deprived of their voting rights.
BAHa"i MARRIAGE LAW
Regarding your question of applying the sanction of suspension of voting rights to people who marry without the consent of parents, this should be done from now on. The law of the Aqdas is explicit and not open to any ambiguity at all. As long as the parents are alive, the consent must be obtained; it is not conditioned on their relationship to their children.
If the whereabouts of the parents is not known legally, in other words, if they are legally dead, then it is not necessary for the children to obtain their consent, obviously. It is not a question of the child not knowing the present whereabouts of its parents, it is a question of a legal thing-if the parents are alive, they must be asked.
As regards the question of alcohol, the Guardian explained this to Mr.
Raynor(54), and he feels that his understanding of it is quite correct.
The a.s.semblies must be wise and gentle in dealing with such cases, but at the same time must not tolerate a prolonged and flagrant disregard of the Baha"i Teachings as regards alcohol.
Dear and Valued Co-workers:
The Canadian Baha"i Community, whose members are so valiantly partic.i.p.ating in the furtherance of the World Spiritual Crusade, now claiming the attention of the entire body of followers of the Faith of Baha"u"llah in all continents of the globe, has ever since the inception of this world-embracing enterprise, proved itself capable of carrying its share of responsibility in the accomplishment of this collective, colossal task, and has rendered services that have enriched the annals of the Faith, not only in a land so dear to the heart of "Abdu"l-Baha, but in far-off islands and territories which it is the mission of this community to illuminate and conquer.
Ever since the emergence of this progressive, youthful and dynamic community, as an independent ent.i.ty, and particularly since the inception of the Ten Year Plan, it has demonstrated, on several occasions, those qualities which alone can provide the guarantee of success in carrying out, as a worthy ally of her sister community in the great Republic of the West, the sacred and historic mission a.s.signed to it by the Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan. The staunchness of the faith of its members, their unyielding resolve, their ceaseless efforts, their willingness to sacrifice, their exemplary loyalty, their steadfast courage, have, time and again, been strikingly displayed, and served to fortify the hopes which I have always cherished for their future destiny.
VASTNESS OF NEW FIELD PRESENTS CONTRAST WITH PAST
The vastness of the field in which this firmly knit, irresistibly advancing, steadily consolidating community now operates, stretching as it does from the Atlantic to the Pacific seaboards, and touching, on the one hand, the fringes of the Arctic Region, and extending, on the other, as far as the islands of the South Pacific, contrasts with the extremely restricted area, in which, for so many years, and until recently, the administrative activities of this community were confined. The diversity and multiplicity of the enterprises in which it finds itself now engaged, the manner in which it is consolidating its strength, enlarging its membership, safeguarding the unity of its members, and noising abroad its fame, may be regarded as additional evidences of its spiritual vigour, and of its rapid rise to maturity at so significant a period in the evolution of the Faith throughout the Western Hemisphere.
At this crucial hour, when the Plan to which this highly promising community stands committed is entering on the third phase in its unfoldment, the responsibilities confronting its members are at once manifold, pressing and inescapable. The situation on the homefront, so extensive and so varied in character, calls for careful consideration and energetic action on the part of your a.s.sembly. The steady increase in the number of those enlisted under the banner of the Faith must be paralleled by a multiplication of a.s.semblies, groups and isolated centres. The incorporation of all firmly established a.s.semblies must simultaneously be accelerated. The virgin areas now opened, and particularly Anticosti, Greenland, Iceland and Franklin, as well as those territories deprived recently of the benefits of a resident pioneer, must be made the object of the special attention and solicitude of your a.s.sembly, for upon the preservation of these hard-won prizes must depend the ultimate triumph of this community"s collective and historic task, and the enhancement of the prestige it has deservedly won in recent years throughout the Baha"i World.
Of equal importance is the strenuous yet highly meritorious obligation to add, steadily and rapidly, to the number of the American Indian and Eskimo adherents of the Faith, and to ensure their active partic.i.p.ation in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Baha"i activity-a task so clearly emphasized by the Pen of the Centre of the Covenant, and in the consummation of which the Canadian Baha"i Community is destined to play so conspicuous a part.
DEEPENING OF NEWLY-ENROLLED BELIEVERS
Above all, the utmost endeavour should be exerted by your a.s.sembly to familiarize the newly enrolled believers with the fundamental and spiritual verities of the Faith, and with the origins, the aims and purposes, as well as the processes of a divinely appointed Administrative Order, to acquaint them more fully with the history of the Faith, to instil in them a deeper understanding of the Covenants of both Baha"u"llah and of "Abdu"l-Baha, to enrich their spiritual life, to rouse them to a greater effort and a closer partic.i.p.ation in both the teaching of the Faith and the administration of its activities, and to inspire them to make the necessary sacrifices for the furtherance of its vital interests.
For as the body of the avowed supporters of the Faith is enlarged, and the basis of the structure of its Administrative Order is broadened, and the fame of the rising community spreads far and wide, a parallel progress must be achieved, if the fruits already garnered are to endure, in the spiritual quickening of its members and the deepening of their inner life.
The duties inc.u.mbent upon this community, and particularly its elected national representatives, multiply with every pa.s.sing day. Heavy is the burden they carry. Rich and immense are the possibilities stretching before them. Priceless are the rewards which a befitting discharge of their multiple responsibilities must bring in its wake. Boundless are the favours and bestowals which a loving and watchful Providence is ready to confer upon those who will arise to meet the challenge of the present hour.
May the members of this community, as well as its elected representatives, consecrate themselves anew to the mission which "Abdu"l-Baha has conferred upon them, and immortalize their stewardship to the Faith of His Father through acts which future generations will unanimously acclaim and for which they will feel eternally grateful.
SHOGHI.
Letter of December 14, 1956
December 14, 1956.
TEACHING FRENCH CANADIAN CATHOLICS
National Spiritual a.s.sembly of the Baha"is of Canada.
The beloved Guardian has directed me to write you, that he feels it is time for the Canadian Baha"is, in their teaching work, to concentrate, to the extent possible, on bringing Catholics into the Faith.
There are the vast number of French Canadians who are of Catholic persuasion. They would make fine Baha"is, and if representative members could be brought into the Faith, it will add prestige to the Faith, and help solidify its inst.i.tutions.
Thus, to the extent possible, the friends should do what they can to attract Catholics and then confirm them in the Faith.