Letter of 17 December 1922

17 December 1922

Blest and beloved ones of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

To have been unable, owing to sad circumstances over which I have had no control, to keep in close and constant touch with you, the beloved children of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, since His passing from this world, is to me a cause of sad surprise and deep and bitter regret. To say that ever since the Dawn of a New Day has broken upon me I have in the least felt reluctant or disinclined to enter into relationship with every one of you, or felt indifferent to a Cause which is so close and dear to your hearts, would indeed betray every sentiment of love and fellowship which animates every one of us in our servitude to His Holy Threshold. It was rather my utter exhaustion, my profound feelings of sorrow, the overwhelming sense of my own position and responsibilities and the extreme pressure of work that have caused me to maintain such a long silence and seem forgetful of those brave and valiant lovers of the Master in that land.

Of the thoughts that sustained and comforted me during my hours of restful retirement was the realization, never dismissed from my mind, that in the German friends the Master will surely find loyal and grateful children who will repay the tender love and paternal care which He had for them with a devotion and service, so profound and lasting that will prove worthy of the many blessings that have been theirs in the past.

The news of your most spiritual gatherings, since the Great Plan of the Master as revealed in His Testament has been unfolded to our eyes; the formation and functioning of the National Body with efficiency and harmony; the extension of your activities; the widening of your correspondence; the generous and spontaneous help you have extended us in connection with our difficulties in the Holy Land and above all the spirit of ready devotion and ever-increasing zeal which is back of it all—these are sweet thoughts that cheer the bereaved Ladies of the Holy Household and encourage here and abroad the many friends who look forward to the hour when all the Master has promised His friends in Germany will come to be fulfilled.

Having returned to the Holy Land with a renewed vigour and a refreshed spirit, I shall not fail with the help of the Master to do my part in enabling you to carry on further and still further the Glorious Standard of Bahá to the very heart and uttermost confines of Germany and thus hasten the Day when the Spirit of Faith and Peace as revealed in the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh will fill the world and the darkness of strife be no more.

In sweet remembrance at the Three Holy Shrines of your labours of love for His Cause, I am and remain your brother and coworker in His service.

Letter of 19 January 1923

19 January 1923

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout Germany,
Care of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

My dearly-beloved friends!

Ever since I have resumed my work in the Holy Land I have been awaiting with eager and particular interest the detailed letters, individual as well as collective, of my loved ones in Germany, who, I am sure are arduously, devotedly and efficiently carrying on the Great Work which the Master has destined for them in this world.

Much as I desire to correspond individually with every one of you, yet I find that in view of the marvellously rapid extension of the Movement all over the world to start and maintain individual correspondence with the vast and ever-increasing number of Bahá’ís in the East and the West would entail so much time and energy on my part as to prevent me from paying adequate attention to my other duties that are so urgent and vital in these days.

I shall therefore very regretfully and reluctantly have to content myself with direct correspondence with every Bahá’í group in each locality, be it a city or hamlet, keeping in constant touch with them directly and through their respective local assemblies and co-ordinating their spiritual efforts and activities through the National Spiritual Assembly (National Body), representative of all the believers and local assemblies throughout the land.

I am exceedingly anxious, as a preliminary to the faithful execution of this plan, to receive as soon as it is convenient an official, comprehensive and detailed report from the National Spiritual Assembly, stating accurately the actual standing of the Cause in Germany, describing the progress of the activities of the friends throughout that land and the adjoining countries such as Austria and Northern Switzerland, and setting forth the names, the numerical strength, the history, the needs and the activities of every locality throughout these regions, however small in size, where the Light of the Cause has so far been able to penetrate.

I hope by this measure to enter into direct and constant communication with every locality, however small it may be, where a single friend or more is striving to teach the Cause and establish a Bahá’í centre.

It has been my great pleasure to read some of the letters addressed during the past months by the German friends to the Greatest Holy Leaf, and their perusal, I assure you, has filled me with intense satisfaction and made me still more confident of that glorious era of spiritual reawakening which the unseen Hand of our Master is sure to unfold to our eyes in the near future.

Your labours are unceasing, your effort knows no bounds, your devotion and selflessness are indeed worthy of the many blessings our Beloved has bestowed upon you and the Guidance of Bahá’u’lláh and His unfailing assistance will, I am certain, enable you to crown your ceaseless endeavours with glorious and well-deserved success.

In my hours of prayer and meditation, I remember you most tenderly and beseech every time I visit the Sacred Shrines a fresh outpouring of His Grace and Spirit upon your efforts for the spread and triumph of His Cause.

As I was the other day studying various Bahá’í documents I came across a most inspiring and encouraging message from our Beloved written in his own handwriting and bearing no date and sign as to the place and circumstances in which it was revealed. I enclose a copy of its translation together with various Bahá’í prayers and Tablets all of which I trust will be of great help and assistance to you in your work of service to the Cause. I submit them all to the members of the National Spiritual Assembly for translation into German and circulation among the friends.

I have asked a very experienced Persian teacher, by the name of Jináb-i-Avárih, who is at present in England, to pay a special visit to the various Bahá’í centres in Germany and endeavour with the hearty cooperation of every one of you to arouse deep and widespread interest in the Movement throughout that land.

I am eagerly anxious to receive a copy of your Bahá’í organ which I trust you will be able to publish both in German and in English and which I hope will truly and fully describe the great effort which is now being made in those regions for the diffusion of the Bahá’í principles and teachings. With the introduction of an English section into your Bahá’í Magazine the number of its subscribers will I am sure greatly increase as the many friends in America, Great Britain, France, India and Egypt would be most pleased and grateful to gather from its columns the full news of the onward march of the Cause throughout Central Europe.

It would be a great encouragement to the friends in America and India if the German friends would through their respective assemblies subscribe to the two leading Bahá’í organs in the world, namely the Star of the West and the Bahá’í News, and contribute regularly reports of their own activities and submit for publication carefully written articles, sanctioned by the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, and bearing upon spiritual matters in general, that the East and the West may be closely linked together and the friends the world over may know of one anothers activities and services to the Cause.

The time is sure to come and the signs are already apparent, when the various and distant members of this great world community will find their activities co-ordinated, their purpose unified, their efforts re-inforced and the effect of their combined efforts manifest throughout the world. May the Power of Bahá’u’lláh breathe the dynamic spirit of Life into the combined and systematized efforts of the friends the world over and revive through them the body of stricken humanity and give it the peace which it yearns for and which the world cannot give.

Your devoted brother

Letter of 16 February 1923

16 February 1923

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout Germany,
Care of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

My dearest brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

I have received with mixed feelings of sadness and gratitude your longexpected letter, sent on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly (National Body), and written by our sincere and devoted brother Consul Schwarz. It made me feel relieved and grateful at receiving at last the news of your safety and the assurance of your unwavering determination to serve with heart and soul and to the very end the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh; and it filled me with sorrow to hear of the grievous calamity that has befallen your land and the hardships that are afflicting your country.

Let me assure you, at the outset, of the deep sympathy of the Ladies of the Household, of the friends the world over, and of myself, in your great suffering, and our unfailing prayers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that He may dissipate these gathering clouds of animosity and strife, and relieve your great and beloved country from its present state of uncertainty and peril.

Why fear and sorrow? Have we not the express promise of the Master, uttered after the termination of the Great War, that Germany, now humbled and weakened, will no doubt be freed from its fetters and will develop, materially and spiritually, and shall one day emerge from this sad turmoil strong, united and prosperous, ready to take her place in the great Family of the advanced nations of the world?

I am enclosing for you all my translation of a number of selections from the Master’s soul-stirring and comforting words, revealed some twentyfive years ago, and during the darkest days of his incarceration in the prison-city of Akká. You will I hope translate them and publish them in your Bahá’í organ the “Sun of Truth”, copies of which I shall be most pleased to receive and share with my friends in the Holy Land.

I am enclosing also a copy of my last letter to you, wherein I have asked you, among other things, to send me a detailed report of your activities, and I sincerely hope that I shall soon be in receipt of a detailed answer from you on all the points which I have raised in my last letter.

I am also enclosing my revised translation of the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, both Arabic and Persian, and hope to send you more of His Words and Teachings in future.

Awaiting your news, and wishing you the highest success in your glorious work of service,

I am your devoted brother

Letter of 4 December 1923

4 December 1923

To the dearly-beloved friends throughout Germany.
Care of the National Spiritual Assembly

My well-beloved friends:

What a joy to correspond with you again, and express, after a long and unbroken silence, my warm sentiments of love and affection for those tried, yet steadfast, lovers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! Your trials and sufferings have been a constant source of anxiety and painful sorrow, not to me alone, but to the Ladies of the Household as well as to the friends at large.

True, humanity is to-day widely afflicted with unprecedented ills and calamities, but you, the chosen and favoured children of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, have, by some wisdom inscrutable to us all, received the fullest measure of this distress, and are carrying the burden of your cares with heroic fortitude, unflinching faith, and undaunted courage worthy of the admiration of even the most severely tried of your fellow-sufferers in far-away Persia.

Your only consolation lies in the ever-living words of our departed Master, who confidently declared that the days are not far distant when Germany, will shake off her present humiliation, and will emerge, mighty, united and glorious, not only to take her destined place in the councils of nations, but to raise high the triumphant banner of the Cause in the very heart of Europe.

Your ceaseless activities since His departure from our midst have been steadily extended as your tribulations and anxieties have multiplied, and I feel hopeful that ere long the true Faith of God will blaze worth in that land, and will herald publicly the Message of Salvation to that distracted continent.

I am so desirous to receive from the National Spiritual Assembly, frequent, comprehensive and up-to-date reports on the present position of the Cause throughout Germany, with an account of the activities of the various Bahá’í centers recently established throughout that land.

Your Bahá’í Magazine, I have regularly received and read with deep interest. I strongly urge you to devote a section of it, written both in German and English, to an account of the current activities of the Movement throughout the length and breadth of Germany, a step which I am sure will rejoice the hearts of our spiritual brethren and sisters the world over.

The members of the holy Family and myself have joined lately the resident friends in the Holy Land in contributing towards the relief of the present distress in Germany, and we trust our modest efforts will mitigate to some extent the rigours of this coming winter in that afflicted country.

Hoping to hear from you, individually and collectively, and remembering you always in my prayers,

I am your brother and co-worker

Letter of 28 December 1923

28 December 1923

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Leipzig, Germany,
Care of his honour, Mr. Herrigel.

My dearest brethren and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

I need not emphasize the deep and genuine pleasure I felt when I received and read your most welcome letter dated November 11th. 1923. With what pride and gratitude I learned from it that already, through the ever-present and omnipotent spirit of our departed Master a fresh start has been made and a promising center established in that beautiful city of yours, one of the leading centres of thought in your beloved country.

True, your fatherland is now fallen a prey to chaotic conditions and severe distress, yet in this hour of trial and suffering we should all remember the inspired words of our Beloved who, more than once, declared that out of this humiliating turmoil Germany is sure to rise again, united and mighty, ready to render her services, spiritual as well as material, to the cause of mankind.

Let these words cheer us, let them sustain us with hope and confidence, and inspire us to serve His Cause and spread His Message, however trying the conditions may be.

I await lovingly and eagerly your letters, individually as well as collectively, and will be delighted to hear of the progress of your activities, of the full account of your meetings, and of your plans for the promotion of the Bahá’í Movement.

May His spirit, amid these trying circumstances and vicissitudes of your domestic life, sustain you and guide you in rendering distinct services to our beloved Cause.

Assuring you of my earnest prayers on your behalf,

I am your brother in His love

Letter of 31 December 1923

31 December 1923

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Hamburg, Gera, Schwerin, Rostock and Wärnemunde.

My dearly-beloved brethren and sisters in the love of God!

The letter of our beloved and highly-esteemed fellow-worker, Dr. Grossmann, together with the enclosed Bahá’í leaflets and reports, as well as the most welcome and encouraging circular letters sent out by the Hamburg and Gera Bahá’í Assemblies, have all been received and read with pride and gratitude. So unexpected were these messages that were conveyed to us from those uttermost corners of Germany, and so beautiful their spirit, that we all felt at once surprised, gladdened and inspired. How wondrous, how all-conquering is the Spirit of our beloved Master which, despite the terrible distress now reigning all over Germany, and notwithstanding the confusion and the gross materialism in which mankind is now sunk, is causing these vigorous, radiant and hopeful Bahá’í centres to be established, linked together and strengthened, in even the uttermost regions of your great country.

I have shared all your news with the friends in the Holy Land, and will forward them to all the Bahá’í centres throughout the East, that the friends of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá may realize more deeply than ever how His promise is being fulfilled. The Haifa Spiritual Assembly will soon send you a special message acknowledging the receipt of your circular letters and will be glad to share your news with the friends throughout the East and the West.

Germany is at present in the throes of unprecedented afflictions, and the immediate future may seem still dark and disquieting, yet we, who follow in the Master’s footsteps will ever bear in mind His sure and emphatic promise that your fatherland’s present plight will erelong be turned into a material prosperity and a spiritual regeneration more glorious than ever before, and will offer to the eyes of the world a vast, rich, and ready field for the propagation of the Bahá’í principles.

Let us then take heart, and endeavour to deepen in spirit, to reinforce our numbers, so that, however depressing and distracting the conditions around us may be, we may persevere, with clear vision, steadfast hope, and united effort to achieve the triumph of the Bahá’í Revelation throughout the world.

I am eagerly awaiting every news you may wish to send me, for I thirst after the glad tidings of the progress of the Cause in your mighty and promising land.

Your fellow-worker,
Shoghi

Letter of 27 November 1924

27 November 1924

To my dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

My most precious brothers and sisters in the love of God!

Your most welcome letter bearing the signatures of those who have attended your Annual Bahá’í Congress recently held in Stuttgart filled my heart with a joy that I cannot express. As I read it over and over again I could feel from every word, nay every syllable, of that soul-stirring message of yours the promised quickening power of the Word of Bahá’u’lláh and the love of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which will, in time, I am certain, achieve the most far-reaching transformation throughout Germany.

Your great and promising country, dear to you all, blest by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sacred feet, and the object of the hope and affection of Bahá’ís in every land, is in a most startling manner rising phoenix-like from the ashes of humiliation and despair, determined now to raise aloft victoriously and serene the Standard of Bahá’u’lláh and with His love set all the world aflame.

From the reports of the marvellous progress of your work leading to the establishment of an ever-increasing number of Bahá’í Centres and Assemblies in the North, South and Center of Germany I can well realize how faithful and loyal you have been to the last wishes of our departed Master, how the showers of His promised help have rained upon you, how gloriously triumphant you must feel now that the hour of a re-awakened Germany has struck. I should be so pleased to receive a general and up-to-date report on the present activities, position, and strength of the Cause in Germany together with a list of the various Bahá’í centres recently established.

Persevere in your task, redouble your efforts, spread on to the remotest corners of your vast and mighty land, approach fearlessly both the high and the low, infuse deeper and deeper the Bahá’í Spirit into every heart, and do not for a moment relax till all your land may from end to end throb with the joy of the recognition of this Most Great Cause.

Behold what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá saith: “The triumphant hosts of the Celestial Concourse, arrayed and marshalled in the Realms above, stand ready and expectant to assist and assure victory to that valiant horseman who with confidence spurs on his charger into the arena of service. Well is it with that fearless warrior, who armed with the power of true knowledge hastens unto the field, disperses the armies of ignorance, and scatters the hosts of error, who holds aloft the Standard of Divine Guidance, and sounds the Clarion of Victory...”

Be assured my dearest friends of my unfailing prayers. On this day when with bleeding hearts we commemorate the passing of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá we remember you most tenderly, we pray for your success at His Holy shrine, and feel confident that you will soon achieve the greatest victory.

Awaiting eagerly your joyful news,
Your true brother

Letter of 2 February 1925

2 February 1925

To my well-beloved Bahá’í brethren and sisters throughout Germany.
Care of the German National Spiritual Assembly.

Loyal and capable children of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

I have received with the greatest pleasure from the National Spiritual Assembly, through our dearly-beloved Consul Schwarz, the report of your activities that reflect so vividly the unquenchable spirit of love and self-sacrifice which animates you in your service for the Beloved’s Cause. Your unremitting labours are worthy of the highest praise, the success you have so far achieved is well deserved. The refreshing vitality of your work, the unity of purpose and the concerted action attained recently by your fast-growing community are resplendent features of your activity. They continually remind us of the Master’s intense love for you, His high hopes in you, His often expressed admiration for the ardent devotion, the unquestioned sincerity, the unrivalled capacity of His loved ones in Germany. By what you have already accomplished, and by what you are determined to achieve in times to come, you have merited His abundant blessings and proved in the highest sense worthy of the unsurpassed affection He had for you.

The signs of the promised revival of your sorely-tried Fatherland can now be easily discerned. In material prosperity it is steadily advancing, its power and worldly prestige are being fast regained, and above all the dawn of a spiritual awakening, unparalleled in your history, seems at last to have broken upon it. His sure and often repeated promise will erelong be fulfilled.

Let your National Assembly, therefore, redouble its efforts, inaugurate a fresh campaign of ever-expanding activity, and make a solemn determination not to relax till their one aim is attained. Let them, with the full and sustained support, moral as well as financial, of the vast company of the believers throughout your land, send forth their teachers far and wide, that they may scatter to the very confines of Germany and endeavour by every intelligent and effective method to lend a fresh impetus to the newly-established centres, add to their number, satisfy their needs and coordinate their efforts.

Let him who desires to hasten the advent of the day when all Germany will waken to the recognition of this one Message of Universal Salvation arise to contribute his share to the work, so gloriously begun, so effectively pursued. Let him by his written and spoken word, in private as well as in public, in the course of his travels and in his association with all sorts and conditions of men teach the Cause of God with purity of heart, with unflinching determination and complete understanding.

I assure you, dear friends, we shall all remember you most tenderly, most affectionately, whenever we visit the Three Holy Shrines. We will supplicate for you the aid and assistance from on high. We will implore Him Who loved you most dearly to bless you even more richly than before, shield you from the malice of the ungodly, bind you closer one to the other, deepen your faith, clarify your vision, widen the scope of your activities, and reinforce your noble endeavours.

We all love you, we all pray for you, we all await the joyful tidings of your land.

Your true brother

Letter of 7 March 1925

7 March 1925

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful in Vienna.

My dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

Your joint letter dated February 13th. 1925 has rejoiced my heart and has served to deepen my admiration for the splendid efforts displayed by your spiritual teacher, our never to be forgotten Bahá’í brother Mr. Herrigel. As I read the full list of your beloved names, I could not but feel a thrill of joy and gratitude for the manifold blessings of our departed Master who has graciously called upon you and chosen you to carry on the great work to which He dedicated His whole life. It is indeed a great privilege for you all to be able to labour in this Divine Vineyard, and to lay down the basis of the spiritual as well as the material development of your ancient and beloved country.

I shall be so glad to receive frequent and detailed reports on the progress of your activities individually and collectively, and assure you of my ardent desire to help you in any way I can for the expansion and advancement of your work.

Persevere in your task, endeavour by every means at your disposal to add to your numbers, study profoundly the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, devote a special attention to the proper education of your children, and arise to start and maintain constant correspondence with the various Bahá’í centres throughout the East and the West. Be assured of the emphatic never-failing promise of our dear Master that whoso ariseth to deliver this Message with purity of heart and sincerity of purpose the hosts of the Supreme Concourse will enable him to achieve in a short period of time what all the nations of the world combined can never accomplish.

I will specially pray for you at the Three Holy Shrines that the All-Bountiful may bless richly your efforts, that the seeds sown by our Beloved in Vienna may germinate through your persevering efforts and usher in the era of true felicity and peace for your sorely-tried and illustrious fatherland.

Awaiting eagerly the glad-tidings of the progress of your work, and assuring you of my brotherly love,

I am your true brother

Letter of 27 May 1925

27 May 1925

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout Germany.

My dearly-beloved friends:

Our well-beloved brother and fellow-worker Dr. Esslemont acting on medical advice is proceeding to the Black Forest for treatment and recuperation. He has been suffering of late from ill-health which has interfered with the unique and most valuable work he has been doing in Haifa. His past services, his selflessness and devotion, his book of unsurpassed excellence, his noble character and great industry entitle him to the highest esteem and warmest affection of every true Bahá’í.

He has been advised to spend the hot summer months in a dry and cool climate and to secure proper medical treatment in a quiet and restful place. I am sure that the German friends who have already learned to love and admire such a precious and capable servant of the Cause will do all in their power to extend to him every facility and ensure his full and speedy recovery.

He will be accompanied by our dear Bahá’í sister, Mrs. Lowell, who is returning to America via Germany and whom you will be glad to welcome in your midst.

Assuring you of my affection and prayers,

I am your brother in His service

Letter of 26 October 1925

26 October 1925

To the esteemed editor of the “La Nova Tago”, the International Bahá’í Esperanto Gazette

My dear fellow-worker:

It has given me the greatest pleasure to receive the first issues of the Bahá’í Esperanto Gazette, and to learn of the splendid start you have made along a path which I am certain will lead you ultimately to glorious and abiding success.

I hail the inauguration of an international Bahá’í Organ, so vitally needed at the present stage of our work, and destined to render services that are unique in their character to the component parts of the ever-expanding Bahá’í world.

Though limited in its sphere of influence, and modest in features, yet it shall, due to the vital position it fulfills, grow from strength to strength and vindicate its claim as the one medium of international Bahá’í intercourse. That it may achieve this purpose, it is incumbent upon those who are responsible for its publication and development to devise ways and means for the establishment and maintenance of regular and frequent communications with the various Bahá’í National Spiritual Assemblies, that in time this promising Magazine may faithfully portray with force and beauty the diverse achievements of Bahá’í communities throughout the world.

I assure you of my deepest interest in this fresh field of Bahá’í enterprise, and of my great desire to promote in such parts of the Bahá’í world as present circumstances permit the study of an international language which is of such an obvious and practical utility to our steadily advancing Cause.

May ‘Abdu’l-Bahá bless richly your efforts,

Your brother and fellow-worker

Letter of 5 November 1925

5 November 1925

To my dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the members of the National Spiritual Assembly,
Care of the Secretary, Mrs. Consul Schwarz, Stuttgart, Germany.

My dear fellow-workers:

It is always a great pleasure to us all to receive from the German National Spiritual Assembly, in whose members we have the greatest hopes, detailed and frequent reports regarding the work entrusted to their charge. I shall always welcome with the greatest joy and satisfaction any suggestions you may wish to offer, would be gratified to share in the study of your plans, in the consideration of your manifold difficulties and problems as well as in the joy of your individual as well as collective accomplishments. I therefore earnestly request you to inform me as regularly and as frequently as possible of the various features of your work, of the plans and schemes which you have in mind, of the various obstacles in your path, and of whatever is needed to ensure the peaceful and steady progress of your work and the consolidation of your devoted labours.

An active, united, and harmonious National Spiritual Assembly, properly and conscientiously elected, vigorously functioning, alert and conscious of its many and pressing responsibilities, in close and continuous contact with the international center in the Holy Land, and keenly watchful of every development throughout the length and breadth of its ever-expanding field of work—is surely in this day of urgent necessity and paramount importance, for it is the corner-stone on which the edifice of Divine administration must ultimately rest. It is my hope and prayer that the ever-watchful Spirit of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá will guide, reinforce, and bless your unceasing and unsparing efforts, and crown with brilliant success the services which His well-beloved and loyal German friends are rendering to His Cause.

I am enclosing a general letter of appeal addressed to the declared believers throughout the Bahá’í world, acquainting them with the present situation of the land in close proximity to the Shrines of Mount Carmel and urging them to do all in their power to safeguard for the future the surroundings of this cherished and sacred Spot.

I am also enclosing a copy of the list of transliterated terms commonly used in Bahá’í Literature, and ask you to distribute them throughout the various Bahá’í centres in Germany and Austria, that the friends the world over may adopt in their writings one common, authoritative, and uniform system of spelling and thus avoid inevitable confusion in future.

I have already acquainted you by cable of the sad and grave situation in Baghdád in connection with the House of Bahá’u’lláh, wherein He passed the greater part of His sojourn in ‘Iráq, which He explicitly designated as sacred, object of Bahá’í veneration and pilgrimage, and of the future of which He spoke and wrote with glowing praise and majestic confidence. I am certain that every true believer in Germany and Austria, conscious of the gravity of the present situation, will after due consultation and deliberation, do all in his power to safeguard such an infinitely precious and sacred edifice.

The publication of “La Nova Tago” the first International Esperanto Gazette, has given me genuine and deep satisfaction and I trust that this promising Magazine, properly directed and nurtured, will achieve great things for the Cause in future. I strongly urge you to support it, guide it and direct it along the most profitable channels, and make of it in time a true mirror reflecting the world-wide activities of the Bahá’í Cause. May it achieve its great and laudable purpose!

In my hours of prayer and meditation at the three holy Shrines, I particularly and most tenderly remember my unforgettable German friends, in whose ability, ardour, thoroughness, sagacity and constancy our Beloved had the greatest belief and confidence, of whose land He spoke so highly, and on whom He lavished His lovingkindness and blessings. We follow your present activities with no less admiration and affection, and feel certain that you are destined to play your part in securing the ultimate and universal recognition of the Bahá’í Faith.

Awaiting eagerly your individual and collective letters, and assuring you of my undiminished affection,

I am your true brother and fellow-worker

Letter of 3 December 1925

3 December 1925

The beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful in Dresden. c/o Mr. Herrigel.

My Dearly-beloved friends:

I have learned with feelings of gratitude and satisfaction, the welcome news conveyed in Mr. Herrigel’s letter regarding the establishment of a Bahá’í centre in Dresden. I hasten to offer you in the name of all Bahá’ís the expression of our warmest welcome, and our best wishes for the expansion, and the consolidation of your newly-established centre.

The efforts of our indefatigable and self-sacrificing brother, Mr. Herrigel, have at last yielded the promised fruit, and we feel confident, that by the unfailing assistance of the power of Bahá’u’lláh, and the fostering care of our dear brother, your numbers will increase, your knowledge of this Most Great Cause deepen, and your opportunities for the service of mankind in accordance with the Sublime principles of Bahá’u’lláh multiply.

I assure you, one and all, of my keen interest in your work, your plans and hopes for the future and of my fervent prayers for your happiness, success and welfare whenever I visit the Holy Shrines.

I trust and pray that some day we shall meet face to face in Haifa, and visit together the various historic sites, that have been hallowed by footsteps of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

I urge you to take up earnestly the study of the Bahá’í history and teachings, and to read most carefully such parts of Dr. Esselmont’s book as have been already translated into German.

Wishing you success from all my heart, and assuring you again of our hearty welcome to the Abhá fold,

I am your brother and well-wisher
Shoghi

Letter of 1 April 1926

1 April 1926

Dear spiritual brothers and sisters:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated Bahá, 1, 83. He always looks with great expectation to the news of the progress of the Cause in Germany. That country together with the other states of central Europe have come out of the war, and the later developments of the political conditions almost ruined. They all feel the need for some new spirit which will pull the world out of the morass it is in. If the teachings of the Cause be properly set forth, if its solution of the social problems be clearly expounded, the people will undoubtedly grasp its significance and further its progress.

Shoghi Effendi prays to God that you may all be guided in your services so that the hopes of the Master may be realized in Germany even before it was expected.

There is no especial news here in Haifa. Pilgrims are coming and going, taking with them the beautiful spirit they obtain at the Blessed Shrines.

All the members of the family are well and eagerly await the news of your success....

[From the Guardian:]

My dear co-workers:

Your letter has greatly encouraged me in my work. I have great hopes in your future work and am deeply grateful for what you have already achieved. I will remember you in my prayers at the Beloved’s Shrine and will supplicate for you that you may attract many a soul to this mighty and wondrous Revelation.

Your brother and well-wisher,
Shoghi

Letter of 28 June 1926

28 June 1926

Dear Spiritual brothers and sisters:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of those few kind words of love you all signed and sent. The picture which your secretary sent under a separate cover was also received. He hopes that more of such congresses will be held in that land and the youth awakened to the duty that has been laid upon them. Unless they are aroused, unless they begin to feel their responsibility, unless they rise to active and effective service, the Cause will not really spread and quickly attain its desired aim.

The geographical position of Germany has given her a unique position in the spread of the Cause in Europe. She stands actually in the center of that continent and from it can branch out tentacles which will gradually unite the whole Europe. The signs that she can undertake such a task are clear. We see there the largest number of the European Bahá’ís most active and promising. The only thing is, that the more united they are, the more devoted and steadfast in their faith they become, the sooner they will attain their goal and bring their task to a successful and glorious ending.

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to assure you of his prayers. He hopes that the German friends will leave a memorable record on the annals of the Cause and fully justify the expectations the Master had in their spiritual future....

[From the Guardian:]

My dear fellow-workers:

Your most welcome letter has rejoiced my heart. Your magnificent endeavours, your tenacity of purpose, your firmness of faith, the ardour of your love and your grasp of the Divine Teachings are assets which I greatly prize and value. My hope and prayer is that Bahá’u’lláh may shower upon you His infinite blessings that the promise of our dear Master may erelong be fulfilled and that Germany may arise with one voice and one mind to champion the Cause of God and in the spiritual realm direct the nations of the earth to the path of true Brotherhood and Peace. Yours is a great privilege and a noble mission; may He enable you to achieve your heart’s desire.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 8 April 1927

8 April 1927

Dear Bahá’í brothers and sisters,

The beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, thanks you for your good Naw-Rúz letter to him, dated 1 Bahá 84.

He is very pleased that you have good hopes for the future and he will pray at the Holy Shrines for you, that you may be abundantly blessed—and that you may be enabled to draw many souls to the light of these Divine Teachings.

He is very interested to hear of your plan to build a wooden house on your new piece of land, to be a home for the young and the aged—and also that is to be used as a home for poor children, to give them a change and rest during the summer. It will be a very good and excellent work to build this house—and Shoghi Effendi hopes that you will have great success with it, and that you will find it of the utmost use and benefit for those who are poor in the world’s goods....

[From the Guardian:]

My dear co-workers:

Your sweet and touching message of loyalty and love has greatly cheered and encouraged me. I rejoice to learn of your steadfast love and devotion to our beloved Cause. I am greatly heartened by the thought of your constancy in service and your splendid achievements. I am deeply thankful for your aid and assistance in safeguarding and promoting the interests of the Cause. I will continue to pray for you, one and all, from the depths of my heart, that the Beloved may deepen your understanding, broaden your vision, remove obstacles from your way, and enable you to become the purest mirrors reflecting the beauty and radiance of the Divine Revelation.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 3 April 1929

3 April 1929

Dear Bahá’í brothers and sisters:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your joint letter dated March 21st 1929 in which you extend to him hearty New Year greetings. He wishes me to reciprocate those sentiments and assure you of his prayers. He hopes that through your combined efforts this coming year will bring to the Cause, especially in that country, wonderful success. May God hear our prayers and grant us His blessings...

[From the Guardian:]

My dear co-workers:

I am deeply impressed by your message. I will assuredly remember you in my prayers, that your numbers may increase, your influence extend, your understand of the Cause deepen, and your efforts be richly blessed by our beloved and departed Master. Persevere and study the Teachings. Rest assured that He will continue to reinforce your endeavours and enable you to realize your heart’s desire.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 4 April 1930

4 April 1930

Dear Mrs. Brauns:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated March 22nd 1930, as well as the enclosed note signed by a number of the friends. Shoghi Effendi hopes that the Master’s spirit will assist you and guide you through these days of great tests.

There is always an important difference between friends and tested friends. No matter how precious the first type may be, the future of the Cause rests upon the latter. Up to the present the German friends were considered as loving Bahá’ís, from now on they can be ranked as tested ones.

In every country where such difficulties arise, they generally end with added energy and more intensive service of the Cause. Shoghi Effendi hopes that in Germany also Mrs. White’s activities will only arouse the friends and make them redouble their energy. They can now see what enemies the Cause has to confront and how essential it is to strengthen its following.

In the Bayán the Báb says that every religion was meant to be universal and also deserved to become so. The only reason why they have all failed to stand up to that mark was due to the inability of the followers who where entrusted with that task. Let us endeavour lest we also fail to realize that ideal which Bahá’u’lláh has set before us.

Please convey to all the friends Shoghi Effendi’s loving greetings and assure them that during his moments of prayer he will ask God for their guidance and help....

[From the Guardian:]

My dear and precious co-workers:

I am so pleased to have received your noble assurance of faith and loyalty to the Cause. These days of storm and stress will serve to invigorate the Cause, purify and consolidate its foundations.

Persevere in your efforts, and be assured of my prayers. The Master will surely fortify, guide and bless His loyal, faithful and persevering loved ones. I trust that my last circular letter which I sent to Germany a week ago, will clarify the vision and deepen the understanding of the friends. May Bahá’u’lláh’s almighty arms surround you and fulfill your hearts’ desire.

Lovingly and affectionately,
Shoghi

Letter of 4 April 1930

4 April 1930

Dear friends:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated March 25th 1930. He hopes and prays that you will stand firm in these days of tests and appreciate the light and seek it steadfastly. Miss Wright comes from a country where the friends have at several occasions been put to test and therefore she appreciates the difficulties that the friends are confronting. Shoghi Effendi hopes, that coming from the Holy Land she will import to you the spirit she obtained at the Holy Thresholds.

Ever since the inception of the Cause we have been experiencing constant attacks. Sometimes they came from outside. Other times they came from souls most trusted and loved. In every case however they have proven to be for the good of the Faith. It is such events that arouse the friends to added service.

Shoghi Effendi hopes that as a result of Mrs. White’s activities the friends will become more united and feel to a greater extent the importance of their task. Perhaps, if we had endeavoured more, if we had sacrificed to a greater extent, if, following the explicit wish of the Master, we had sought to spread the Cause even more than we have done, Mrs. White and her like could not criticise us to such an extent and say that the administration has killed the spirit. Let us therefore take a lesson from what has passed and render to the Cause services still unseen in the history of the movement.

In closing may I assure you of Shoghi Effendi’s prayers and loving greetings,...

[From the Guardian:]

My dearly-beloved friends:

The expression of your loyalty and perseverance has rejoiced my heart. You are truly the heroic pioneers of the Cause of God. I will supplicate for each one of you at the Beloved’s Shrine, that your understanding of the Faith may deepen, and that each of you may grow to become a shining star in the firmament of our beloved Cause.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 14 June 1930

14 June 1930

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 31–5-30. Concerning his translation of the Íqán, Shoghi Effendi has finished it, but it needs going over and retyping, and this he cannot as before summer. By the next autumn he believes it will be ready for publication.

Shoghi Effendi would therefore advise you to wait until then before you take any decision as to your German translation.

Shoghi Effendi much appreciates the service you are rendering. The Íqán is the most important book written on the spiritual significance of the Cause. I do not believe any person can consider himself well versed in the teachings unless he has studied it thoroughly. To publish it therefore in a comprehensive German will be one of the greatest services rendered to the Cause in that land...

In closing may I assure you of Shoghi Effendi’s loving greetings and best wishes....

[From the Guardian:]

My dear co-worker:

I trust that the day will soon come when you will be able to visit Persia and meet the Bahá’ís and visit the shrines of the martyrs. I pray that the Beloved may guide your steps, cheer your heart and bless your efforts.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 20 June 1931

20 June 1931

My Dear Friends,

I am directed by our Guardian to thank you for your letter of June 5th.

He learns with extreme pleasure and satisfaction of your gathering at a meeting at which all the dear friends of Vienna together with our good friend Mr. Adam Benke of Leipzig were present. And he deeply appreciates your loving message of greeting above your individual signatures. Such messages are always a source of pleasure to him, but he is especially glad to see the newly established centre in Vienna so full of enthusiasm, of love and of devotion to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. He prays from the bottom of his heart that our precious Master may fill your souls with His beautiful spirit and may help and guide you to serve His Cause and humanity.

He is so glad to know that Mr. Benke is going to Sofia to help Miss Jack, and he trusts that he will be of very great help to her.

With the assurance of Shoghi Effendi’s loving greetings to you all,...

[From the Guardian:]

My dear and precious co-workers:

I was so pleased to hear from you and to learn of your steadfast loyalty to the Cause. The friends in Vienna are ever in my thoughts and heart and I will continue to supplicate for them the Master’s richest blessings.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 23 December 1931

23 December 1931

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to drop you these few lines to inform you that few days ago he sent to your address c/o Mrs. Schwarz a copy of his translation of the Íqán which has just come out. He hopes that it will help you in revising your translation into German which you have already made. This is in fulfilment of the promise he made last year to send you a copy of his English translation when out of the press.

Shoghi Effendi has, through various channels, been hearing of the wonderful services you are rendering to the Cause. He sincerely trusts that the young and educated Bahá’ís, who have their spiritual faculties fully developed, and who as a consequence appreciate the significance of Bahá’u’lláh’s mission in the development of the world, will with one accord, arise and establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth. The world around us is in a pitiable condition and its ills seem daily to increase. It is for us, we Bahá’í youths, who have been entrusted with this divine mission, to do our utmost and rest only when the task has been carried to its successful conclusion.

In his moments of prayer and meditation at the Shrines Shoghi Effendi will think of you and ask for you divine guidance and help....

Letter of 24 February 1932

24 February 1932

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated Feb. 13th, 1932. He was very glad to know that you have recovered your health and can resume your work as well as services to the Cause. We surely cannot afford seeing the competent servants of the Faith handicapped by their health. They are too few to be spared so easily.

Shoghi Effendi was very glad to know that the new edition of the Íqán has reached you safely and that you are going to use it in going over your translation into German. He is surely very sorry that not knowing Persian you cannot go to the very original. He sincerely hopes that before long we will have some of the younger members of the German Bahá’ís who would make translation their life-work, and with that object in mind make a thorough study of Persian and Arabic. They would surely be rendering a wonderful service to their nation as well as to the Faith as a whole.

In closing may I assure you of Shoghi Effendi’s prayers and best wishes. He will always be waiting to hear of the wonderful progress the Faith is making in Germany and of the role you are playing in it....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-worker:

I wish to add a few words in person and assure you of my keen and heartfelt appreciation of your high and painstaking endeavours for the spread and consolidation of the Faith in that land. The German believers have undergone tests of unprecedented severity. They have weathered the storm in a marvellous spirit and with fine and praiseworthy determination. These tests were God-sent, and will serve to deepen the roots of the Faith in that promising country. Wishing you success in your devoted labours and assuring you of my prayers in your behalf.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 30 March 1932

30 March 1932

Dear Bahá’í brothers and sisters:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter written at the occasion of the Naw-Rúz feast and conveying the greetings of the season. He wants me to reciprocate these feelings and express his hope that during this new year, which has just begun, the Cause may make a progress in Germany unsurpassed in the history of the Cause in that land.

The world as a whole, but especially the people of that continent of Europe, is suffering great calamities as a result of wars, social dissatisfaction, fear, hatred and jealousies. And these forces of darkness are leading humanity to absolute destruction. This state of affairs shall continue until the world is awakened to the importance of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh—a Message especially sent by God to heal human ills in this present day.

Should we not, we who have been entrusted with this divine Cause, arise and with one accord proclaim the Word of God throughout the world? Should we leave humanity writhe in its suffering and prove ourselves untrue to the covenant made with the Master—the covenant, that we will to the last moment of our life strive to save God’s people from complete destruction?

In his moments of prayer Shoghi Effendi will think of you all and ask God to guide your steps and re-enforce your efforts in proclaiming His divine message through the length and breadth of that vast continent. He read your circular letter with deep interest; may the one you will write next Naw-Rúz have still more inspiring news of the progress of the Cause to share with the friends throughout the world....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

I wish to add a few words in person, and assure you again of my deep affection and deep interest in your activities. Your loyalty and perseverance, in the face of formidable tests, are indeed worthy of the highest praise. May the Beloved continue to guide and bless your high endeavours, and enable each one of you to render great and memorable services to His Cause,

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 19 May 1932

19 May 1932

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

Some time ago I received a letter from you in Persian. So happy I was to see you study that language that I showed your letter to Shoghi Effendi. He thereupon gave me the Íqán and also a booklet containing the Hidden Words, the Seven Valleys and some Odes of Bahá’u’lláh to send to you. Being very busy I did not accompany them with a letter. I sincerely hope you have received them and are trying to read them. In any case, if you have received them please drop me a few lines to that effect....

Letter of 10 September 1932

10 September 1932

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated August 20th, 1932 and to extend to you all the expression of his heartfelt appreciation and thanks.

The news of your successful “Sommerwoche” greatly comforted his aching heart. He hopes that such important gatherings will serve to deepen the understanding of the friends and inspire them with renewed faith and courage to consolidate the work already inaugurated through the precious efforts of our German friends.

Shoghi Effendi wishes you to persevere in your services and be confident in God’s unfailing help. The Master has given us the assurance that He will bless our efforts and will not leave us alone and unaided.

With the renewed assurance of Shoghi Effendi’s best wishes and of his fervent prayers on behalf of every one of you....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

I cannot refrain from adding a few words in person as a token of my admiration for the manner in which you are conducting your activities for the spread of the Cause. You are often in my thoughts and are the object of my fervent and loving prayers. The work you perform in summer should be extended, its influence must spread, its attendance increase, and its foundations be strengthened. May the Beloved guide and sustain your high endeavours,

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 14 September 1932

14 September 1932

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

I am in receipt of your letter dated September 4th 1932. Regarding your question on the subject of holding the usual festivals during this year when we are mourning the loss of the Greatest Holy Leaf; inasmuch as Shoghi Effendi has not yet returned from his summer vacations I cannot put your question to him and answer you immediately. The friends in America, however, who were confronted with the same problem, put to him the same question by telegram. I could, therefore, do no better than send you a copy of Shoghi Effendi’s answer. I believe it will give you the necessary guidance in solving your problem. His cable runs as follows:

Bahá’í New York festive anniversaries should be suspended administrative gatherings including nineteen day feasts should be held with utmost simplicity....

Letter of 30 November 1932

30 November 1932

Dear Bahá’í Brothers and Sisters:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your joint letter dated November 12th 1932 written on the occasion of the birthday of Bahá’u’lláh.

We should feel deeply gratified and thankful to God that at a time when all humanity seems to be struggling in despair we can come together and, with great assurance, feast and be merry over the dawn of a new day; that in the darkness which envelops the world we see the approach of a new light and the breaking of a new era. This is a true blessing and a bounty from God to those who believe in Him and accept His Revelation.

To express our deep appreciation for this gift bestowed by God we should arise and spread this message of hope to the suffering humanity around us. Such is the nature of this gift that the more we give from it to others the greater will be our remaining share. For what pleasure can compare the pleasure of bringing joy and hope to other hearts. The more we make others happy the greater will be our own happiness and the deeper our sense of having served humanity.

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

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

Your joint and welcome message brought strength and comfort to my sorrow-stricken heart. The burden of my sadness and grief has been considerably alleviated. I value the sentiments you have expressed. Each one of you is near and dear to my heart. I will continue to pray for you all, that the Beloved may protect, guide and bless you in your constant efforts for the spread of this mighty and precious Cause,

Your true brother, Shoghi

Letter of 3 May 1933

3 May 1933

Dear Bahá’í Brothers and Sisters:

The Guardian wishes me to thank you for your kind words of April 23, 1933, expressing the greetings of the season.

He is deeply gratified to learn that when the friends assemble at such gatherings, and remember the occasion they are celebrating, they renew their determination to serve and ask God to shower upon them His infinite blessings and help them in the realization of their noble aim.

The more society is threatened by wars, and the more humanity is seen desperate before the problems that confront it, the more should the Bahá’ís take courage and redouble their energy in diffusing the teachings. For it is only through such divine precepts that the world can obtain peace and tranquility, and become an environment within which man can spiritually progress and attain his noble destiny.

In his moments of prayer at the Blessed Shrines the Guardian will think of you all and ask God to guide and aid you in the service of His Faith. May through the light that emerges from your gatherings all the people of those regions receive the light of God and find their way towards eternal salvation....

[From the Guardian:]

May the Beloved guide your steps, cheer your hearts, enable you to promote far and wide the interests of our beloved Faith and aid you to consolidate its rising institutions,

Your true and affectionate brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 16 May 1933

16 May 1933

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

The Guardian ... does sincerely hope that the reports we receive here about the sentiments rampant in Germany are untrue to fact, that it is a regeneration of the people rather than a retrogression towards a dead past. Because whatever we say of Germany, we have to admit that its people are endowed with a spiritual vitality quite superior to many other races. Being in the heart of that populated continent and being inspired by such a strong religious spirit, Germany can easily achieve a wonderful task in regenerating the world. The eyes of the world are surely centered around it expecting to see what it will do.

Yet we Bahá’ís should remember that we stand above politics. That that field does not interest us; that we attribute importance to things of the spirit, that we await salvation to come from the Faith that burns in our hearts.

In his moments of prayer and meditation at the Blessed Shrines, the Guardian will think of you and the other friends in Germany and ask God to guide you and assist you in playing your important rôle of spiritualizing the whole world—so immersed at present in material pursuits and interests....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and precious co-worker:

I was so pleased to receive your letter. I long to hear more fully and more frequently from you. You are a tower of ... and a pillar of His Faith in that land. Germany has a glorious future under the banner of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Its mission is to champion the cause of God in Europe and establish it firmly in the heart of that continent. The tests and trials which have beset the Faith in that land were necessary and providential. It is for the German believers, who have weathered the storm, to arise and promote the Cause, to proclaim the non-political character of their Faith, to establish its nascent institutions and prove by their words and acts their freedom from every taint of particularism and prejudice. May the Almighty guide their steps, sustain them in their efforts and bless their activities.

Shoghi

Letter of 14 June 1933

14 June 1933

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

Many thanks for your letter of June 4th 1933. I presented it together with the enclosed report on the Summer school to the Guardian who was very pleased to read them.

He kept the report but wishes me to inform you that as the Bahá’í World Volume five will not be compiled and made ready for the press except after the coming summer, you could write another and fuller report to include the one that will be held this year. There will surely be some further points of interest that could be mentioned; and it is always better to have such reports as up-to-date as possible.

The Guardian hopes that this summer a great step will be taken in developing the School and that you will play an important rôle in that connection.

In case of the need of further correspondence on this or similar subjects please write directly to Shoghi Effendi, it will avoid unnecessary delay.

In closing may I express the Guardian’s prayers and best wishes for the progress of your work in serving the Faith....

Letter of 27 June 1933

27 June 1933

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge on his behalf the receipt of your letter dated May 11th, 1933, together with the enclosed Program of the Bahá’í meetings held in Stuttgart and Esslingen, all of which he has carefully read and deeply appreciated.

In regard to the transliteration of Oriental names and words into German he wishes me to inform you that the system of transliteration actually in use in the Bahá’í world has been adopted and approved with only slight changes by a general Orientalist Congress representative of world’s greatest orientalists including some outstanding German authorities in various branches of Oriental history and literature. As you see, therefore, it is a highly recommendable system of transliteration and this is why the Guardian is so emphatic about its univeral adoption by the Bahá’ís the world over. Any departure from that system, he strongly feels, may lead to incalculable difficulties and misunderstandings in the future. He would certainly urge you to adopt it yourself and then advise our German friends to do the same in all their official Bahá’í publications and particularly in the forthcoming issues of the “Sonne der Wahrheit” wherein some chapters of the “Dawn-Breakers” are going to be published.

Concerning the date of the anniversary of the Báb’s declaration the Guardian feels that it would be preferable to postpone the consideration of this problem until the Universal House of Justice is established. In the meantime he would advise you to follow the system actually in use in the Bahá’í world, i.e. (year 9.) even in Germany. According to this system the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of the Faith should be celebrated in May of the year 101, that is when we enter the second Bahá’í century. By year 90 we should not mean that 90 years have elapsed since the declaration of the Báb but that we are in the 9th year. But whether it is preferable to adopt this system or that suggested by you and which, you remark, is in use among Christians and Moslems, the future House of Justice has to decide.

Touching the Bahá’í funeral service the Guardian would like you to know that it is of an extreme simplicity, consisting as it does of a congregational prayer which has not yet been translated into any western language but which Shoghi Effendi is planning to have it translated and circulated among the friends. The friends and relatives of the deceased who are unwilling to attend the service should not be forced to do so.

In closing may I extend to you the loving greetings of the Guardian....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

This is to assure you how glad and gratified I feel to learn that the German believers are taking so active a part in the international activities of the Cause. Their thoroughness, ability, patience and open-mindedness highly qualify them to assume such responsibilities and undertake so great a task. I trust that the letters you will soon be sending to the British High Commissioner for Palestine will be a prelude to the brilliant services you are destined to render to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 9 August 1933

9 August 1933

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

I am directed by Shoghi Effendi to inform you of the receipt of your letter dated July 13th, 1933, together with the enclosed copy of the petition addressed by the German Bahá’í National Assembly to the British High Commissioner in Jerusalem and the report of the Bahá’í activities in Stuttgart, all of which he has read with great care and deepest interest and for which he has asked me to offer you his heartfelt thanks.

Your petition, though short is, nevertheless, strongly worded and very substantial. It is hoped that it will impress the authorities in Palestine and will enable them to realize the gravity and the urgency of our case.

Assuring you of his best wishes and of his ardent prayers for the success of your work,...

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and prized co-worker:

Your prompt and able response to my request has greatly touched me, and I wish to express again my lovely appreciation and abiding gratitude. I cherish great hopes for your future contributions to the spread and consolidation of the Faith in that land, and will continue to pray for your success from the depths of my heart.

Your true and affectionate brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 1 October 1933 (Summer School)

1 October 1933 (Summer School)

Dear Bahá’í co-workers,

The Guardian has just received your beautiful message of Sep. 3rd, 33, written through the kindness of Miss Jack, and he has directed me to thank you all for the success that has attended your summer school classes at Esslingen. The importance and significance of such annual gatherings are immense, since they offer each and every one of you a unique opportunity to come and discuss together the ways and means whereby the Faith can extend and develop throughout Germany. By the collective spirit, the unity and the enthusiasm they create, these meetings serve to strengthen the bonds of amity and cooperation among the friends and to give them a new vision of the Cause, of its imperative needs and requirements in these days of political agitation and strife. The social and political conditions in your land are, indeed, very distressing, and if they remain unchanged for a long time, may hamper the progress of the Faith. It is now that you should work in utmost unity and in the spirit of an unflinching devotion to the ideals and teachings of the Cause.

Shoghi Effendi hopes that your summer school will increasingly develop and will become an important center for the spread of the Message. You should try to raise its intellectual as well as its spiritual standard and to pave the way for its future development into one of the foremost Bahá’í universities in the West. Much stress should be laid on the thorough study of the history and of the teachings of the Cause, and particularly of the nature, basis and outstanding features of the Administration. The severe tests and trials through which our German brethren have passed during the last few years clearly demonstrate how much they are in need of a full comprehension of the administrative basis of the Cause. It is hoped that in the coming years much progress will be achieved in this respect.

Assuring you all of our Guardian’s best wishes and of his ardent prayers on your behalf....

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

It is such a joy to learn that you have had the pleasure and benefit of the companionship of our dear and distinguished Bahá’í sister, Miss Jack, whose recent and exemplary services we all deeply appreciate. I will remember you all in my prayers at the holy shrines, and will supplicate for you the Beloved’s richest blessings. May He guide your steps and cheer your hearts in the service of His glorious and sacred Faith,

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 11 February 1934

11 February 1934

Dear Bahá’í Brother,

I am charged by the Guardian to thank you for your letter of Jan. 30th as well as for the enclosed pamphlet containing the address delivered by Herr Hitler on Oct. 14th, 1933, on the subject of Germany’s attitude towards peace, all of which he read with deepest care and sustained interest. He wishes me to convey to you and to all the members of your German National Assembly and through them to all the followers of the Faith in Germany his views on the present conditions in that land, and particularly in their relation to the nature and scope of the Bahá’í activities of our German believers.

At the outset it should be made indubitably clear that the Bahá’í Cause being essentially a religious movement of a spiritual character stands above every political party or group, and thus cannot and should not act in contravention to the principles, laws, and doctrines of any government. Obedience to the regulations and orders of the state is indeed, the sacred obligation of every true and loyal Bahá’í. Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have urged us all to be submissive and loyal to the political authorities of our respective countries. It follows, therefore, that our German friends are under the sacred obligation to whole-heartedly obey the existing political regime, whatever be their personal views and criticisms of its actual working. There is nothing more contrary to the spirit of the Cause than open rebellion against the governmental authorities of a country, specially if they do not interfere in and do not oppose the inner and sacred beliefs and religious convictions of the individual. And there is every reason to believe that the present regime in Germany which has thus far refused to trample upon the domain of individual conscience in all matters pertaining to religion will never encroach upon it in the near future, unless some unforeseen and unexpected changes take place. And this seems to be doubtful at present.

For whereas the friends should obey the government under which they live, even at the risk of sacrificing all their administrative affairs and interests, they should under no circumstances suffer their inner religious beliefs and convictions to be violated and transgressed by any authority whatever. A distinction of a fundamental importance must, therefore, be made between spiritual and administrative matters. Whereas the former are sacred and inviolable, and hence cannot be subject to compromise, the latter are secondary and can consequently be given up and even sacrificed for the sake of obedience to the laws and regulations of the government. Obedience to the state is so vital a principle of the Cause that should the authorities in Germany decide to-day to prevent the Bahá’ís from holding any meeting or publishing any literature they should obey and be as submissive as our Russian believers have thus far been under the Soviet regime. But, as already pointed out, such an allegiance is confined merely to administrative matters which if checked can only retard the progress of the Faith for some time. In matters of belief, however, no compromise whatever should be allowed, even though the outcome of it be death or expulsion.

There is one more point to be emphasized in this connection. The principle of obedience to government does not place any Bahá’í under the obligation of identifying the teachings of his Faith with the political program enforced by the government. For such an identification, besides being erroneous and contrary to both the spirit as well as the form of the Bahá’í message, would necessarily create a conflict within the conscience of every loyal believer.

For reasons which are only too obvious the Bahá’í philosophy of social and political organization cannot be fully reconciled with the political doctrines and conceptions that are current and much in vogue to-day. The wave of nationalism, so aggressive and so contagious in its effects, which has swept not only over Europe but over a large part of mankind is, indeed, the very negation of the gospel of peace and of brotherhood proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh. The actual trend in the political world is, indeed, far from being in the direction of the Bahá’í teachings. The world is drawing nearer and nearer to a universal catastrophe which will mark the end of a bankrupt and of a fundamentally defective civilization.

From such considerations we can well conclude that we as Bahá’ís can in no wise identify the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh with man-made creeds and conceptions, which by their very nature are impotent to save the world from the dangers with which it is being so fiercely and so increasingly assailed.

The Guardian hopes that these brief explanations will be sufficient to guide our German National Assembly in their efforts to safeguard and promote the interests of the Faith, and that through them they will be given a new vision of the Cause and a fresh determination to carry forward its message to the world at large.

With greetings and best wishes to you and to all the friends in Germany,...

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I wish to add a few words in loving appreciation of your strenuous, your intelligent and devoted efforts for the spread and consolidation of our beloved Faith. May the Almighty bless your endeavours, deepen your understanding of the essentials and requirements of our beloved Cause, and enable you in these difficult and challenging days to promote its interests and consolidate its institutions,

Your true brother,
Shoghi

Letter of 21 February 1934

21 February 1934

Dear Dr. Mühlschlegel:

At the instructions of the Guardian I am writing these few lines, requesting you to contribute an article in German for publication in the forthcoming issue of the “Bahá’í World”.

In view of the fact that the Biennial is an international Bahá’í organ, Shoghi Effendi feels that it would be appropriate and in full consonance with its nature and purpose