tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74855207526398800032024-03-25T14:06:29.853-07:00Messages from the Universal House of Justice - to Baha'i World CommunityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-90705661489638021132022-11-13T13:03:00.000-08:002024-03-25T14:05:44.767-07:0020 October 2008: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today, the anniversary of the Birth of the Báb, marks the
midway point of the five-year enterprise that will engage the Bahá’í world
until Ridván 2011. We bow our heads in humble gratitude to Bahá’u’lláh for the
favours and confirmations He has vouchsafed unto those labouring so diligently
and sacrificially in the forefront of the teaching work. Since the conclusion
of the Tenth International Bahá’í Convention a few months ago, there has been a
rise in awareness of the efficacy of the framework governing the operation of
the Five Year Plan as insights gained by the delegates have been widely
diffused throughout the Bahá’í community. Scores of clusters around the globe
are being primed for systematic expansion, and we expect to see a wave of
intensive programmes of growth launched in the months leading up to Ridván next
year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The challenge facing the friends in these and all clusters
continues to be twofold in character. While learning to identify receptive
segments of society and share with responsive souls the message of the Faith—an
aspiration generally not difficult to fulfil—they are striving to understand in
practice how the diverse elements of a healthy pattern of growth, particularly
the development of human resources, are to be integrated into a cohesive whole.
How heartening it is to see that the moment the friends in a cluster begin to
meet this dual challenge, immediate progress is achieved; the goal of launching
an intensive programme of growth becomes imminently attainable.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That the continued strengthening of the community should be
matched by a further decline in the old world order comes as no surprise.
Indeed, the friends should be on their guard, lest the development of capacity
in the community not keep pace with the rise in receptivity of a disillusioned
humanity. Behold how even in the short span of time since we raised this
warning in our Ridván message, financial structures once thought to be
impregnable have tottered and world leaders have shown their inability to devise
more than temporary solutions, a failing to which they increasingly confess.
Whatever expedient measures are adopted, confidence has been shaken and a sense
of security lost. Surely such developments have caused the believers in every
land to reflect on the lamentable condition of the present order and have
reinforced in them the conviction that material and spiritual civilization must
be advanced together.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is with these thoughts in mind that we turn our hearts in
frequent prayer to Bahá’u’lláh and beseech Him to strengthen His followers
through His unfailing grace. In such moments, we implore Him to illumine their
souls with the light of knowledge and faith. Let them not underestimate the
power inherent in the system they are putting in place for the propagation of
His Faith, nor mistake the true purpose of the global enterprise on which they
have embarked. Let them not deviate from the path of learning on which they are
set, nor be distracted by the ephemeral pursuits of a bewildered society. Let
them not fail to appreciate the value of the culture now taken root in the
community that promotes the systematic study of the Creative Word in small
groups in order to build capacity for service. Let them never forget the
imperative to tend to the needs of the children of the world and offer them
lessons that develop their spiritual faculties and lay the foundations of a
noble and upright character. Let them come to realize the full significance of
their efforts to help young people form a strong moral identity in their early
adolescent years and empower them to contribute to the well-being of their
communities. And let them rejoice at having learned through consistent,
systematic action how to establish a rhythm of growth that pays due attention
to the essential elements of expansion, consolidation, reflection and planning.
May they one and all be endowed with constancy and fidelity and be granted the
courage to make whatever sacrifices are needed to ensure the resounding success
of the Plan. By the rectitude of their conduct, the sincerity of their love for
their fellow human beings, and the ardour of their desire to serve the peoples
of the world, may they vindicate the truth proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh that
humanity is one. May they be diligent in their efforts to establish ties of
friendship that show no regard for prevalent social barriers and ceaselessly
endeavour to bind hearts together in the love of God. That they may recognize
the profound implications of their mission is our fervent hope. That they may
not falter in accomplishing their ambitious goals, no matter how severe the
crises engulfing the world around them, is our most heartfelt prayer at the
Sacred Threshold.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> To provide the opportunity for the friends to gather
together, as much to celebrate the feats already achieved during the Plan as to
deliberate on its current exigencies, we announce the convocation of a series
of regional conferences, forty-one in number, to be held in the following
cities between November and March: Abidjan, Accra, Almaty, Antofagasta,
Atlanta, Auckland, Baku, Bangalore, Bangui, Battambang, Bologna, Bukavu,
Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, Guadalajara, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Kiev, Kolkata,
Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Lae, London, Los Angeles, Lubumbashi, Lusaka, Madrid,
Managua, Manila, Nakuru, New Delhi, Portland, Quito, São Paulo, Stamford,
Sydney, Toronto, Ulaanbaatar, Vancouver, Yaoundé. To each of these conferences,
two members of the International Teaching Centre will be sent as our
representatives. National Spiritual Assemblies in hosting countries will have
further details available regarding participation. We urge the believers, both
those fully engaged in executing the provisions of the Plan and those whose
circumstances have prevented them from fulfilling their desire to do so until
now, to avail themselves of this opportunity and attend the conference to be
held in their area.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-51826324976478896002022-11-03T13:30:00.000-07:002024-03-25T13:33:19.815-07:0028 July 2008: To the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">During these days of hardship and tribulation when a new
wave of persecution confronts you and while the dearly cherished souls who have
served you so well remain imprisoned with no justification, you are continually
in our thoughts and prayers. The profound love that fills our hearts whenever
we call you to mind moves us to address you with greater frequency than before
and to express our most affectionate sentiments to you. Our purpose, as you
well know, is not to urge you to undertake any new programme of action, much
less to add to the burden of your responsibilities or to call you to higher
levels of sacrifice, for we are certain of your steadfastness and dedication to
the Faith and confident that you never waver in carrying out the spiritual
duties enjoined upon you by Bahá’u’lláh. Undeterred by the voices which insist
that you believe but in silence, as if belief and the expression of it can be
separated, you are engaged, wisely and unobtrusively, in exchanging views with
your friends on themes central to the progress of Iran and its glorification.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At a time when Iranian society is being torn apart by
long-standing prejudices of religion, ethnicity, gender and class, the
experience of your community for more than a century and a half can serve as an
abundant source of insight to the people of that land. On the one hand, you
have been able not only to withstand but to reciprocate with loving kindness
the most virulent form of religious prejudice, which has been perpetuated by
the enemies of the Faith ever since its inception to distort public opinion. On
the other, you have ceaselessly exerted effort to eliminate, both within your
community and in your relations with others, prejudice of every kind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The light that has ever illuminated your path is the
principle of the oneness of humankind—the pivot around which revolve all of the
teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. “The tabernacle of unity hath been raised,” you have
taught your children from an early age, “regard ye not one another as
strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.”
Prejudice, you have maintained, cannot be counteracted with estrangement and
enmity; one must transcend it through kindness and love. The foundation of all
forms of prejudice, it has been your constant assertion, is ignorance, and it
can be overcome, therefore, as the light of knowledge is diffused through
concerted action and collaboration with others, for one of the most effective
ways to rise above prejudice is to work in unison towards a common goal. You
are well aware, of course, that the principle of the oneness of humankind, as
proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh, is inconsistent with any attempt to impose
uniformity. Its watchword is unity in diversity. To accept it is to embrace the
rich diversity that characterizes the human race. To promote it implies helping
every soul to develop and express his or her God-given talents and capacities
in service to humanity.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since its earliest days, the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh has
attracted to its ranks individuals from every segment of Iranian society.
Conscious of the challenges involved in creating an environment free from
prejudice, your community has diligently prepared educational programmes geared
towards diverse age groups and has examined its social activities, as well as
its administrative procedures, in order to narrow systematically the wide gulf
that can separate people of different ethnic backgrounds, of different ages, of
different strata, and of different sexes. It has, moreover, scrutinized and
modified those practices based on social traditions, including the use of
everyday language, that can consciously or unconsciously foster prejudice. That
such strong bonds of unity and mutual understanding have emerged among numerous
families over the generations, both through the marriage of those of different
religious backgrounds and through social interactions, stands as vivid
testimony to the success which your efforts have achieved. What is most
significant, however, is that you are engaged in a process of learning how to
build unity and that your experience in this regard may prove beneficial to
others.<span></span></span></p><!--more--><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Persevere, therefore, with diligence and steadfastness along
this path of endeavour. As you do so, strive to perceive the nobility in every
human being—rich or poor, man or woman, old or young, city dweller or villager,
worker or employer, irrespective of ethnicity or religion. Help the poor and
deprived. Attend to the needs of young people and foster in them confidence in
the future so that they may prepare themselves adequately for service to
humankind. Take every opportunity to present to your fellow citizens, with
utmost sincerity, your experience in combating prejudice and collaborate with
them in creating bonds of love and fellowship, and so contribute to the
progress of your nation and the prosperity of its people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not a moment passes that you are not in our thoughts. At
every turn we remember you and take pride in retelling the accounts of your
fortitude and fidelity. Our constant prayers are with you, and in the Holy
Shrines we beseech the Blessed Beauty to protect and sustain you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-91410701570226175702022-10-25T13:26:00.000-07:002024-03-25T13:28:32.215-07:0020 June 2008: To the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our 3 June 2008 letter expressed our appreciation for the
courage and steadfastness that you have manifested during these difficult days
and encouraged you to work diligently for the good of your fellow citizens and
engage in conversations with them on matters of common concern. There are, of
course, many pressing issues that occupy the minds of those striving to promote
the prosperity and well-being of Iran. Chief among them is, no doubt, the
critical need to remove barriers hindering the progress of women in society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For you, the equality of men and women is not a Western
construct but a universal spiritual truth—a statement about human nature—that
was promulgated by Bahá’u’lláh nearly one hundred and fifty years ago in His
native Iran. That women should enjoy equal rights with men is a requirement of
justice. It is a principle consonant with the highest standard of purity and
sanctity, whose application strengthens family life and is essential to the
regeneration and progress of any nation. Indeed, peace in the world and the
advancement of civilization depend on its realization. ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has explained:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The world of humanity has two wings—one is women and the
other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly. Should
one wing remain weak, flight is impossible. Not until the world of women
becomes equal to the world of men in the acquisition of virtues and
perfections, can success and prosperity be attained as they ought to be.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You are particularly well placed to contribute to the
promotion of this principle. Táhirih, that peerless heroine of Iranian history,
courageously advocated the emancipation of women in 1848, at a time when
efforts to improve the status of women were only beginning to gather momentum
in a few parts of the world. From that time on, you have raised generation
after generation of your children—both boys and girls—to value this fundamental
tenet of the Faith and to express it in every facet of their lives. In 1911,
nearly a century ago, you founded the Tarbíyat School for Girls in Tihrán,
which provided girls of all backgrounds with an opportunity for education,
encouraging, in this way, progressive thinking and making an indelible mark on
society. For half a century now, Bahá’í women in Iran have worked shoulder to
shoulder with men in administering the affairs of the community at the local,
regional and national levels. And long ago you succeeded in eliminating in your
community illiteracy among women under the age of forty.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet you are keenly aware that you cannot be content with
your achievements to date. Rather must you persevere in your efforts to
transcend cultural norms that impede the progress of women. True equality is
not easily attained; the transformation required is difficult for men and women
alike. We encourage you, then, to continue to enhance your understanding of the
operation of this principle and to strive to uphold it more consistently in
your family and community life. You can, in addition, draw upon your experience
to discuss this issue with friends, neighbours and co-workers, especially the
challenges it presents and ways of surmounting them, and participate in
projects designed to advance the status of women, whether by government
agencies or organizations of civil society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Many of your compatriots are eager to see the realization of
the universal principle of the equality of men and women. They will no doubt
welcome you to join them in learning how to promote, step by step, conditions
that enable the women of Iran to overcome impediments blocking their progress
and participate fully, as equals of men, in all areas of human endeavour. As
you engage in so vital a field of service, you may be assured that our prayers
are ever with you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-27124920703526181302022-10-15T13:23:00.000-07:002024-03-25T13:25:29.873-07:003 June 2008: To the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nearly three weeks have passed since the arrest of the
esteemed members of the Friends in Iran. No reliable information regarding
their circumstances or their whereabouts has yet come to light. That they have
been denied access both to their families and to legal counsel in order to
defend their rights is deeply disturbing to Bahá’ís worldwide—indeed, to just
and fair-minded people everywhere.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What brings solace to our hearts is the courage and
steadfastness that you, the devoted followers of Bahá’u’lláh, have manifested
in the face of such crisis. With the utmost unity and in full adherence to the
Divine teachings, placing complete reliance on heavenly confirmations, you
continue to discharge your spiritual obligations and strive to protect and
safeguard the interests of the Faith at all times. The support that the media
have lent to the oppressed believers in Iran, the advocacy of their cause by
social activists, and the sympathy voiced by Iranian intellectuals serve to
revive our hope and evoke our profound gratitude.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Observe how an increasing number of Iranians, honouring
their ancient traditions, recognize the imperatives of human rights. They
believe that ignorant prejudices should cease to be the cause of discrimination
and division among their fellow citizens and acknowledge that the true
prosperity of their nation is to be attained through commitment to the
principle of unity in diversity. You should rest assured that the Iranian
people will exert their utmost to fulfil such a vision. How regrettable that a
small band of individuals, whose hearts have been darkened by the clouds of
prejudice and who have yielded to the forces of hatred and animosity, are
incapable of comprehending the truth that Bahá’ís have no aim but to serve
humanity and assist in the promotion of spiritual civilization. Thus do they
accuse you of baseless conspiracies, persecute you for your beliefs and
practices, and seek to harm you at every turn. And yet you remain ever mindful
of the counsel of Bahá’u’lláh: “That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth
himself to the service of the entire human race.”<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Strive, then, to exemplify the words of ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">It behooveth the loved ones of
the Lord to be the signs and tokens of His universal mercy and the embodiments
of His own excelling grace. Like the sun, let them cast their rays upon garden
and rubbish heap alike, and even as clouds in spring, let them shed down their
rain upon flower and thorn.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Undeterred
by the current crisis and drawing inspiration from the Divine teachings, attach
no importance to the acts of oppression and cruelty meted out to you. Indeed,
respond in the opposite manner. Focus your thoughts on being a source of good
to everyone who crosses your path. Make every effort to serve your fellow
citizens—heirs to a rich and humane culture—who themselves suffer from many an
injustice. Eschew divisiveness and conflict, consort with all people with
kindliness and sincerity, and engage your compatriots in discussions on matters
that are of serious concern to them. May you convey to their hearts the hope,
faith and confidence, already carried in yours, that the future of Iran is
bright and the destiny of humankind glorious.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We will offer supplications in the Holy Shrines for the
protection of the dearly loved believers in the Cradle of the Faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-28426016688507804992022-10-05T12:57:00.000-07:002024-03-25T12:59:08.400-07:0019 May 2008: To the steadfast and sorely wronged Followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the sacred land of Iran<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The recent arrest of the esteemed members of the Friends in
Iran [the seven believers who coordinate the affairs of the Faith in your
country] is yet another sign that the authorities remain unaware of the
operation of spiritual forces that can bring about the greatness of that
blessed land. This heedlessness has led the government to subject a group of
its most faithful, obedient, capable and innocent citizens to unwarranted scorn
and unjustified repression. You, however, know full well that the invisible Hand
of God is at work, that all things are held within the grasp of His power, and
all that transpires serves to further His design to infuse new life into the
human frame, contributing to the establishment of His divine civilization and
the welfare of society. So it is that you feel no fear before the flames of
bitter trial ablaze in the world; you stand firm and staunch in the Cause of
God. You do not allow apprehension and anxiety to take hold of you, nor can any
calamity you may face perturb your hearts. Immovable as the mountain,
resplendent as brilliant stars, you carry out your spiritual obligations, in
the midst of the present turmoil, with steadfastness, devotion and utmost
wisdom. In the circle of unity you shed light as radiant lamps, and together
with your enlightened fellow citizens you strive diligently to revive the land
of Iran and make it a most honoured country, that it may become the pride of
nations, lauded by all the peoples of the world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be assured of celestial confirmations, remain mindful of the
Divine exhortations, and as necessary turn to the local Friends for guidance.
In the Holy Shrines we supplicate for your protection and success, and at the
Sacred Threshold we earnestly implore that He may “bestow justice upon the
rulers, and fairness upon the divines” and transform this iniquity and
oppression into peace and tranquillity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-10392837947181184872022-09-24T19:37:00.000-07:002024-03-24T19:52:49.423-07:0019 May 2008: To the steadfast and sorely wronged Followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the sacred land of Iran<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The recent arrest of the esteemed members of the Friends in
Iran [the seven believers who coordinate the affairs of the Faith in your
country] is yet another sign that the authorities remain unaware of the
operation of spiritual forces that can bring about the greatness of that
blessed land. This heedlessness has led the government to subject a group of
its most faithful, obedient, capable and innocent citizens to unwarranted scorn
and unjustified repression. You, however, know full well that the invisible Hand
of God is at work, that all things are held within the grasp of His power, and
all that transpires serves to further His design to infuse new life into the
human frame, contributing to the establishment of His divine civilization and
the welfare of society. So it is that you feel no fear before the flames of
bitter trial ablaze in the world; you stand firm and staunch in the Cause of
God. You do not allow apprehension and anxiety to take hold of you, nor can any
calamity you may face perturb your hearts. Immovable as the mountain,
resplendent as brilliant stars, you carry out your spiritual obligations, in
the midst of the present turmoil, with steadfastness, devotion and utmost
wisdom. In the circle of unity you shed light as radiant lamps, and together
with your enlightened fellow citizens you strive diligently to revive the land
of Iran and make it a most honoured country, that it may become the pride of
nations, lauded by all the peoples of the world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be assured of celestial confirmations, remain mindful of the
Divine exhortations, and as necessary turn to the local Friends for guidance.
In the Holy Shrines we supplicate for your protection and success, and at the
Sacred Threshold we earnestly implore that He may “bestow justice upon the
rulers, and fairness upon the divines” and transform this iniquity and
oppression into peace and tranquillity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-76024139235943922862022-09-14T19:54:00.000-07:002024-03-09T19:56:54.844-08:00Ridván 2008: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thousands upon thousands, embracing the diversity of the
entire human family, are engaged in systematic study of the Creative Word in an
environment that is at once serious and uplifting. As they strive to apply
through a process of action, reflection and consultation the insights thus
gained, they see their capacity to serve the Cause rise to new levels.
Responding to the inmost longing of every heart to commune with its Maker, they
carry out acts of collective worship in diverse settings, uniting with others
in prayer, awakening spiritual susceptibilities, and shaping a pattern of life
distinguished for its devotional character. As they call on one another in
their homes and pay visits to families, friends and acquaintances, they enter
into purposeful discussion on themes of spiritual import, deepen their
knowledge of the Faith, share Bahá’u’lláh’s message, and welcome increasing
numbers to join them in a mighty spiritual enterprise. Aware of the aspirations
of the children of the world and their need for spiritual education, they
extend their efforts widely to involve ever-growing contingents of participants
in classes that become centres of attraction for the young and strengthen the
roots of the Faith in society. They assist junior youth to navigate through a
crucial stage of their lives and to become empowered to direct their energies
toward the advancement of civilization. And with the advantage of a greater
abundance of human resources, an increasing number of them are able to express
their faith through a rising tide of endeavours that address the needs of
humanity in both their spiritual and material dimensions. Such is the panorama
before us as we pause this Ridván to observe the progress of the worldwide
Bahá’í community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On several occasions we have indicated that the aim of the
series of global Plans that will carry the Bahá’í world to the celebration of
the centenary of the Faith’s Formative Age in 2021 will be achieved through
marked progress in the activity and development of the individual believer, of
the institutions, and of the community. At this, the midway point of what will
be a quarter of a century of consistent, focused exertion, the evidences of
increased capacity are everywhere apparent. Of particular significance is the
widening impact of the dynamism flowing from the interactions between the three
participants in the Plan. Institutions, from the national to the local level,
see with ever greater clarity how to create conditions conducive to the
expression of the spiritual energies of a growing number of believers in
pursuit of a common goal. The community is serving more and more as that
environment in which individual effort and collective action, mediated by the
institute, can complement each other in order to achieve progress. The vibrancy
it manifests and the unity of purpose that animates its endeavours are drawing
into its swelling ranks those from every walk of life eager to dedicate their
time and energies to the welfare of humanity. That the doors of the community
are more widely open for any receptive soul to enter and receive sustenance
from Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation is clear. No greater testament is there to the
efficacy of the interactions among the Plan’s three participants than the
dramatic acceleration in the tempo of teaching that was witnessed this past
year. The advance made in the process of entry by troops was significant
indeed.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Within the sphere of these enhanced interactions, individual
initiative is becoming increasingly effective. In previous messages we have
referred to the impetus that the institute process imparts to the exercise of
initiative by the individual believer. The friends in every continent are
engaged in study of the Writings for the explicit purpose of learning to apply
the teachings to the growth of the Faith. Remarkable numbers are now
shouldering responsibility for the spiritual vitality of their communities;
energetically, they are carrying out those acts of service befitting a healthy
pattern of growth. As they have persevered in the field of service to the
Cause, maintaining a humble posture of learning, their courage and wisdom, zeal
and acuity, fervour and circumspection, determination and trust in God have
combined all the more to reinforce one another. In their presentation of the
message of Bahá’u’lláh and the exposition of its verities, they have taken to
heart the words of Shoghi Effendi that they must neither “hesitate” nor
“falter”, neither “overstress” nor “whittle down” the truth which they
champion. Neither are they “fanatical” nor “excessively liberal”. Through their
constancy in teaching, they have increased their ability to determine whether the
receptivity of their listener requires them to be “wary” or “bold”, to “act
swiftly” or to “mark time”, to be “direct” or “indirect” in the methods they
employ.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What we continue to find encouraging is how well disciplined
is this individual initiative. Communities everywhere are gradually
internalizing the lessons being learned from systematization, and the framework
defined by the current series of Plans lends consistency and flexibility to the
endeavours of the friends. Far from restricting them, this framework enables
them to seize opportunities, to build relationships, and to translate into
reality a vision of systematic growth. In a word, it gives shape to their
collective powers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As we survey what has been accomplished around the world,
our hearts are filled with particular admiration for the believers in Iran,
who, under the most arduous conditions, have arisen boldly to serve their
country and are bending their energies toward its revitalization, though the
avenues open to them are limited. And given the restrictions placed on the
administration of the Faith, they have set out on an individual basis to
acquaint their fellow citizens with the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, directly engaging
them in conversations about His redeeming message. Not only have they received
unprecedented support from enlightened souls as they have begun to do so, but
they have encountered a receptivity far beyond anything they would have
imagined possible.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every follower of Bahá’u’lláh conscious of the forces of
integration and disintegration operating in society today sees the relationship
between the rise in receptivity to the Faith in all parts of the globe and the
failings of the world’s systems. That such receptivity will increase as the
agonies of humanity deepen is certain. Let there be no mistake: The capacity
building that has been set in motion to respond to mounting receptivity is
still in its earliest stages. The magnitude of the demands of a world in
disarray will test this capacity to its limits in the years ahead. Humanity is
battered by forces of oppression, whether generated from the depths of
religious prejudice or the pinnacles of rampant materialism. Bahá’ís are able
to discern the causes of this affliction. “What ‘oppression’ is more grievous”,
Bahá’u’lláh asks, “than that a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to attain
unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to
seek it?” There is no time to lose. Continued progress must be achieved in the
activity and development of the three participants in the Plan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has
extolled </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">two calls</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">success and prosperity</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> that can be
heard from the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">heights of the happiness of mankind</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. One is the call of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">civilization</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">progress of the material world</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. It comprises the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">laws</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">regulations</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">arts and sciences</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> through which
humanity develops. The other is the </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">soul-stirring
call of God</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, on which depends the eternal happiness of
humanity. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">This second call</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, the
Master has explained, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">is founded upon the instructions and
exhortations of the Lord and the admonitions and altruistic emotions belonging
to the realm of morality which, like unto a brilliant light, brighten and
illumine the lamp of the realities of mankind. Its penetrative power is the
Word of God.” As you continue to labour in your clusters, you will be drawn
further and further into the life of the society around you and will be
challenged to extend the process of systematic learning in which you are
engaged to encompass a growing range of human endeavours. In the approaches you
take, the methods you adopt, and the instruments you employ, you will need to
achieve the same degree of coherence that characterizes the pattern of growth
presently under way.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sustaining growth in cluster after cluster will depend on
the qualities that distinguish your service to the peoples of the world. So
free must be your thoughts and actions of any trace of prejudice—racial,
religious, economic, national, tribal, class, or cultural—that even the
stranger sees in you loving friends. So high must be your standard of
excellence and so pure and chaste your lives that the moral influence you exert
penetrates the consciousness of the wider community. Only if you demonstrate the
rectitude of conduct to which the writings of the Faith call every soul will
you be able to struggle against the myriad forms of corruption, overt and
subtle, eating at the vitals of society. Only if you perceive honour and
nobility in every human being—this independent of wealth or poverty—will you be
able to champion the cause of justice. And to the extent that administrative
processes of your institutions are governed by the principles of Bahá’í
consultation will the great masses of humanity be able to take refuge in the
Bahá’í community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As you press ahead, be confident that the Concourse on high
is marshalling its forces and stands ready to come to your aid. Our continued
prayers will surround you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-65924609949491354012022-09-02T19:08:00.000-07:002024-03-09T19:11:33.985-08:0025 December 2007: To the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the Cradle of the Faith<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Bahá’í Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For the past three decades you have weathered storms of
persecution with the heartfelt conviction that such tribulations are,
ultimately, “the precursors of that Era of blissful felicity which is to
incarnate God’s ultimate purpose for all mankind”. Religious and government
authorities, who have always been the instigators of the cruelty meted out to
you and your forebears, continue to deny you your God-given rights. They
prohibit you from responding to the calumnies they spread about you and your
beliefs while maintaining a climate of intimidation that severely threatens
those who would come to your aid. Throughout, the international community and
your fellow Bahá’ís from around the world have come to your defence. But now,
justice-seeking, fair-minded Iranians from every walk of life in your homeland
and abroad have begun to raise their voices in your defence and, in growing
numbers, want to know the truth about the Faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Across your nation, in cities and towns, from
neighbourhoods, schools and university campuses, business establishments,
government offices, and even from prison cells, more and more of your
well-wishers are coming forward. School administrators, teachers, parents, and
pupils have registered their outrage at the shameful treatment of young Bahá’í
school children; friends and neighbours have refused to allow government
officials illegal entry to Bahá’í homes; university students and faculty
members have publicly and privately asserted their disapproval at the wrongful
denial of access to higher education to Bahá’ís; civil servants have responded
sympathetically to your efforts to secure your rights; journalists have
displayed frustration at their inability to publish the truth of your case; and
there are indications that enlightened clergy are willing to see your situation
redressed.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Elsewhere in the world, where there is freedom to do so,
Iranian intellectuals frequently express anger and dismay at your treatment;
Iranian mass media recount your story and demand that the civil rights of all
Iranians be safeguarded; countless numbers among the Iranian Diaspora
sympathize with you, laud your courage, and seek to learn more about the
principles that animate your lives.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To these are now being added Iranian organizations of civil
society within and outside Iran, as well as a number of Iranian political
parties. In this respect, in a recent development, certain political parties
have publicly expressed concern over the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran, in
one instance calling for the Bahá’í Faith to be officially recognized as a
religious minority. The Bahá’í International Community, on behalf of the
Bahá’ís worldwide, has formally conveyed appreciation to two such groups for
their action.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These are fate-laden days. The storms of tests and trials
continue, but however dark the clouds may be, they cannot dim the light
appearing on the horizon. In response to such propitious developments, may you,
with “fixed resolve and perfect confidence”, and avoiding involvement in
partisan politics, seize every opportunity to join your fellow citizens in
promoting ideals conducive to the prosperity of your cherished homeland,
assured of our supplications at the Sacred Threshold that your noble endeavours
may be richly confirmed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-39237067066307959802022-08-19T19:00:00.000-07:002024-03-09T19:03:02.065-08:0026 November 2007: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are moved on the occasion of this Day of the Covenant to
reflect on the august Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God in the
aftermath of the decease only two months ago of the last remaining Hand of the
Cause, Dr. ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá. It was just a few weeks before the fiftieth
anniversary of the passing of Shoghi Effendi that our world community suffered
this grievous loss. How sobering, indeed, it is to realize that Dr. Varqá’s
departure brought to an end the remarkable stewardship of an institution whose
legacy is unparalleled in religious history! At so significant a juncture in
the Formative Age of the Faith, it is only fitting that an effort be made to
understand more deeply than before the significance of the achievements of so
outstanding an organ of the Administrative Order—one that proved to be so
integral to the evolution of our world community during its nascent years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We trace the origins of the Institution to Bahá’u’lláh
Himself, Who designated four renowned promoters of His teachings as Hands of
the Cause of God. In a period before the administrative system of the Faith was
inaugurated, they became rallying points for the friends, as much because of
the virtuous character of their personal lives as for their unceasing
endeavours in proclaiming the Teachings and defending the Faith against its
detractors. They remained resolute in such activities despite the severe persecution,
including imprisonment in some instances, to which they were subjected by the
authorities. These distinguished personages remained active during the ministry
of ‘Abdu’l‑Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana; mso-ascii-font-family: Aptos; mso-bidi-font-family: Aptos; mso-hansi-font-family: Aptos;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, Who, in 1899, instructed them to
take steps to form the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr</span><span style="font-family: verdana; mso-ascii-font-family: Aptos; mso-bidi-font-family: Aptos; mso-hansi-font-family: Aptos;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">n, on
which they all served. The focus of these first Hands on propagation and
protection of the Faith, as well as their efforts to edify believers as to the
importance of the new Laws, intimated even then the pattern of functioning the
Institution would adopt at a later stage in the advancement of the Bahá’í
community.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Master did not Himself appoint Hands of the Cause, but
referred to four believers posthumously as such. However, His Will and
Testament confirmed the Institution and extended it by authorizing the Guardian
of the Faith to appoint consecrated souls to it. At first, over a period of
three decades, Shoghi Effendi named ten such souls posthumously; all were
distinguished for the constancy, vigour and impact of their efforts to
propagate the Cause and promote its best interests. The Guardian’s designation
in December 1951 of twelve living believers as Hands of the Cause introduced
the Bahá’í world to a wholly new dynamic in the operation of the Order of
Bahá’u’lláh; through it the Hands exerted an unusual vitality during the Ten
Year Crusade, particularly after the sudden passing of the Sign of God. His
subsequent appointment of seven more in February 1952 and replacement
thereafter of five of those deceased kept the number of living Hands at
nineteen until less than a month before his departure, when in his last message
to the Bahá’í world he identified an additional eight, bringing the total to
twenty-seven. Shoghi Effendi’s description of them as the “Chief Stewards of
Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth” prefigured the world-shaking
reality of the unexpected responsibilities that would be thrust upon them on
the morrow of his passing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian now forever gone, the Hands’ first task,
despite the sorrow that overwhelmed them, was to restore the composure of a
grief-stricken community. A vital aspect of that task was, of course, to settle
the minds of the friends about the direction that the Faith would take. The
Hands acted with dispatch. Only sixteen days after the burial of the Guardian,
they issued from the Holy Land a proclamation to the Bahá’ís of East and West.
Declaring that, after a thorough search, no will or instruction of Shoghi
Effendi had been found, they set forth in this message the procedures they
would follow in meeting the daunting challenge they faced. It announced that a
body of nine Hands, designated “Custodians”, was constituted to function at the
Bahá’í World Centre to protect the Faith, maintain communications with National
Spiritual Assemblies in connection with the prosecution of the Ten Year Plan
and on administrative matters, and attend to all issues related to the
preservation of the World Centre of the Faith. The friends everywhere derived
from this first communication assurance that the ship of the Cause would safely
traverse the waters severely troubled by the Guardian’s passing. Subsequent
messages issued from conclaves of the Hands held in the Holy Land further
infused confidence in the believers who arose to meet the goals set before them
in the Plan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Hands residing outside the Holy Land, in addition to
giving close attention to the progress of the Plan in their own regions,
undertook extensive journeys to visit and encourage the believers in every
clime. Their travels covered the entire surface of the planet as they pursued
every opportunity to advance the work of the Plan left by Shoghi Effendi. The
obligations of the Hands spelled out in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l‑Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana; mso-ascii-font-family: Aptos; mso-bidi-font-family: Aptos; mso-hansi-font-family: Aptos;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> were carried out with the selflessness, fearlessness and zeal
characteristic of their activity. To “diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify
the souls of men, to promote learning, to improve the character of all men”—all
these they undertook with outstanding, sometimes astonishing, results. Such
travels did not cease with the conclusion of the Ten Year Plan but continued
with unabated intensity, the legendary journeys of Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum
generating immeasurable stimulus. Thus the activities of the Hands demonstrated
to a superlative degree the efficacy of Bahá’u’lláh’s assertion that the
“movement itself from place to place, when undertaken for the sake of God, hath
always exerted, and can now exert, its influence in the world.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Among the principal results of their combined labours, these
stand out: maintenance of the stature of the Faith as an independent and
indivisible Order; protection of the Cause against schism, despite the
disloyalty to the Covenant of one among their exalted company, Mason Remey,
whom they were obliged to cast out; preservation of the properties and
maintenance of the Holy Places and gardens at the World Centre; success in the
vast expansion of the Faith. All these hard-won accomplishments prepared the path
to the smooth transition that the Hands effected from the ministry of Shoghi
Effendi, as head of the Faith, to that of the Universal House of Justice, for
whose first election they meticulously prepared the Bahá’í world, especially
the fifty-six National Spiritual Assemblies that participated in it. The Hands
of the Cause delivered to the House of Justice a community that was so greatly
transformed during the Ten Year Plan as to place the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh on
the map as a world religion in every legitimate sense. The grand celebration at
the World Congress in London attended by Bahá’ís from countries of every
continent demonstrated the validity of that claim.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Beyond the World Crusade, the Hands of the Cause threw the
full weight of their support behind the newly formed Universal House of
Justice, whose creation their valiant efforts ensured. They undertook many
missions on its behalf and pursued tasks befitting their continuing obligation
to propagate and protect the Faith. As in the absence of the Guardian there was
no way further to appoint Hands of the Cause, the Hands in the Holy Land in
particular performed what may well be viewed as a distinct and final mark of
service: they assisted the House of Justice to extend into the future the
functions of propagation and protection in the special character of their
institution. Hence, in 1968 Continental Boards of Counsellors were raised up
and then in 1973 was created the International Teaching Centre foreshadowed in
the writings of Shoghi Effendi. In their tireless support of the House of
Justice in the design of these institutions and in the guidance they lent to
their development, the Hands left to the Bahá’í world a further legacy that
only future generations will be able adequately to appreciate. A shining value
of their ultimate exertions is evident in the stature to which the
International Teaching Centre has risen in such a short time and the permeating
influence of the institution of the Counsellors which reaches every nook and
cranny of our worldwide community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is highly worthy of note that the body of the Hands, with
one exception, remained unbeguiled by the allurements of power that commonly
corrupt those who are suddenly thrust by force of circumstances into positions
of elevated rank and authority. In this instance, all of creation cannot but
bear witness to the integrity of their stewardship, the unblemished virtue of
their faithfulness to principle.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A point to ponder as well is the survival to the last of the
one who was simultaneously appointed in 1955 to the two offices of Hand of the
Cause and Trustee of Huqúqu’lláh. That he was able to shape the latter
institution and finally to see to its administrative transition in the
formation in 2005 of the International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh, with
branches spread throughout the globe, is yet another sign of the constancy and
abundance of the providential confirmations which have attended the evolution
of the Administrative Order. Clearly, then, the work of the divinely ordained
Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God was indispensable to the progress
of the Faith from the Heroic Age to an early period of the Formative Age; its
effects are certain to endure as an integral part of the Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
The passing of Dr. Varqá marks both the end of a chapter of Bahá’í history and
the beginning of a new stage in the unfolding of that Order.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With such thoughts astir in our minds, we recognize with
increasing wonder and appreciation the magnitude of the contributions of the
Hands of the Cause of God to the growth and consolidation of the Faith in all
parts of the world. In our grateful hearts we recite with deep emotion the
benediction so eloquently exclaimed by the Lord of Hosts: “Light and glory,
greeting and praise be upon the Hands of His Cause, through whom the light of
fortitude hath shone forth and the truth hath been established that the
authority to choose rests with God, the Powerful, the Mighty, the
Unconstrained, through whom the ocean of bounty hath surged and the fragrance
of the gracious favours of God, the Lord of mankind, hath been diffused.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-89938255723508241142022-08-03T12:30:00.000-07:002024-02-16T12:33:17.217-08:0009 September 2007: To the Bahá’í students deprived of access to higher education in Iran<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Bahá’í Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In these difficult days laden with tribulation, we are with
you in spirit, our hearts heavy at the injustice that continues to rain upon
you. The persistent position of the Iranian authorities in banning Bahá’í
students from access to higher education is deeply saddening. The policy was
clearly confirmed in a recently disclosed communication by the Central Security
Office of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, confidentially
conveyed to the officials of eighty-one universities in Iran, which called for
the expulsion of any student discovered to be a Bahá’í. It has now been
reaffirmed by the action taken recently by the Education Evaluation
Organization, which declared as “incomplete”—and therefore invalid—the
applications of some 800 Bahá’ís who took the national exam for university
entrance for the coming academic year (2007–2008). These official acts are
disappointing and shameful.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only a few months ago, reports carried by newspapers about
the expulsion of Bahá’í students in Iran were denied by a spokesperson for
Iran’s mission to the United Nations, who said outright that no one in Iran is
expelled from university because of religion. That same assurance was given by
the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United Kingdom, in a written
response to the concern a British Member of Parliament had expressed about the
government’s treatment of Bahá’í students. A similar avowal by the Iranian
embassy in Ethiopia appeared in a newspaper in that country following the
publication of a story reporting Iran’s covert plan to identify Bahá’ís and
secretly monitor their activities throughout the country.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For more than two decades Bahá’í students in Iran were
unable to enter university because the only way open to them would have been to
misrepresent their Faith. Then, consequent to a concerted worldwide
effort—involving governments, educational institutions, non-governmental
organizations, and individuals—that raised questions about this situation, your
government’s representatives responded by averring that the reference to
religion on the forms was not to identify university applicants by belief but only
to specify the religion on which they wished to be examined.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That you would have received such explanations with a degree
of scepticism is understandable. However, as a gesture of good will and to find
a solution to an issue that adversely affects the good name of Iran, the Bahá’í
community accepted this apparent clarification. At long last, you were able to
feel hopeful that the way would now be clear for you to continue your
education. Thus, some of you sat for the 2006–2007 entrance examination and
were able to register at university. Your hopes were, however, short-lived, as
over the course of this academic year more than half of those who had been
enrolled were expelled, and we now have the Ministry’s letter which confirms
that for no other reason than your adherence to the Bahá’í Faith you will not
be permitted to continue your education at institutions of higher learning in
your country.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Recent events call to mind heart-rending episodes in the
history of the Faith, of cruel deceptions wrought against your forebears. It is
only appropriate that you strive to transcend the opposition against you with
that same constructive resilience that characterized their response to the
duplicity of their detractors. Peering beyond the distress of the difficulties
assailing them, those heroic souls attempted to translate the Teachings of the
new Faith into actions of spiritual and social development. This, too, is your
work. Their objective was to build, to strengthen, to refine the tissues of
society wherever they might find themselves; and thus, they set up schools,
equally educating girls and boys; introduced progressive principles; promoted
the sciences; contributed significantly to diverse fields such as agriculture,
health, and industry—all of which accrued to the benefit of the nation. You,
too, seek to render service to your homeland and to contribute to a renewal of
civilization. They responded to the inhumanity of their enemies with patience,
calm, resignation, and contentment, choosing to meet deception with
truthfulness and cruelty with good will towards all. You, too, demonstrate such
noble qualities and, holding fast to these same principles, you belie the
slander purveyed against your Faith, evoking the admiration of the fair-minded.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This action of the government in obstructing youth, Bahá’í
or otherwise, from access to higher education stands in contrast to the noble
history of Iran’s past attainments. How is it to be explained to the people of
the world, especially the youth, when such doings can be perpetrated in a
nation that claims adherence to Islamic principles? What then of the value of
education as upheld in past centuries by these principles, which stimulated the
establishment of renowned centres of learning and produced in your nation
brilliant minds that, in advancing knowledge, made enduring contributions to
the arts and sciences? What must be the repercussions for the nation when
thoughtful people and eminent institutions abroad, in utter dismay, find it
inconceivable that a Ministry charged with promoting learning would issue such
directives as would deny citizens of its own country access to education? What
can possibly be said by the officials responsible as to the moral grounds for
such decisions? Can it reasonably be assumed that they have any regard for
international commitments Iran has made to justice and fair-mindedness or,
indeed, bear any awareness of the fear of God?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The sufferings you bear, the sacrifices you ceaselessly
make, however grievous the circumstances, are only a part of the horrors
agonizing millions upon millions in Iran and throughout the world in these
times of global ferment. Such acknowledgement does not diminish in the least
your adversity, but it is essential that you grasp its context. Bahá’u’lláh
remarked often on the dire state of the world. “The winds of despair are, alas,
blowing from every direction, and the strife that divides and afflicts the human
race is daily increasing,” He wrote. “The world is in great turmoil and the
minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In response to their agonies, some feel impelled to rise
against their oppressors, some can only flee for refuge, some capitulate to
their fate. But while most of the afflicted peoples of the world are often the
victims of random forces of oppression, prejudice, or injustice, you know
clearly why you suffer, and your response must be equally clear. Consider some
of the exhortations of Bahá’u’lláh and of ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Do not busy yourselves in your own concerns; let your thoughts
be fixed upon that which will rehabilitate the fortunes of mankind and sanctify
the hearts and souls of men.” “Pay ye no heed to aversion and rejection, to
disdain, hostility, injustice: act ye in the opposite way.” “If others ...
poison your lives, sweeten their souls ...” “Should any one of you enter a
city, he should become a centre of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his
faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and
loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world….” “Be ye the helpers of
every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged.” “Let him do some
good to every person whose path he crosseth, and be of some benefit to him.”
“...undertake in all sincerity and purity of intent and for the sake of God
alone, to counsel and exhort the masses and clarify their vision with that
collyrium which is knowledge.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Did Bahá’u’lláh Himself not endure hardship to promulgate
His Teachings? Did He not consent “to be bound with chains that mankind may be
released from its bondage”?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With an illumined conscience, with a world-embracing vision,
with no partisan political agenda, and with due regard for law and order,
strive for the regeneration of your country. By your deeds and services,
attract the hearts of those around you, even win the esteem of your avowed
enemies, so that you may vindicate the innocence of, and gain ever-increasing
respect and acceptance for, your community in the land of its birth. Think not
that these are mere words meant to soothe your disappointed hearts. Think
rather of the situation which has developed as a result of the disciplined
reaction to the torment borne by Iranian Bahá’ís since 1979. Has the manner of
their response to oppression thus far not elicited the warm admiration of
increasing numbers of their compatriots? To defend yourselves is, of course,
only fair, and every principled means is being taken to defend you against
oppression. Is there not an active defense mounted on your behalf by
governments and non-governmental organizations, at national and international
levels, and well-respected institutions of higher learning everywhere?
Obviously, you are not alone. But your perseverance must be accompanied by
patience; indeed, the patience required in the usually slow processes of social
evolution is painful.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Opposition to a newly revealed truth is a common matter of
human history; it repeats itself in every age. But of equal historical
consistency is the fact that nothing can prevail against an idea whose time has
come. The time has arrived for freedom of belief, for harmony between science
and religion, faith and reason, for the advancement of women, for freedom from
prejudice of every kind, for mutual respect between diverse peoples and
nations, indeed, for the unity of the entire human race. The deepest yearnings
of the Iranian people resonate with implications of the world-revolutionizing
principles enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Service to others is the way. Let it be your watchword,
‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> being your exemplar. Like Him, you can find practical ways of
serving your fellow citizens. Strive to work hand-in-hand,
shoulder-to-shoulder, with your fellow citizens in your efforts to promote the
common good.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This surely is a time for the gallantry of illumined souls.
Very dear friends, we pray that you can be counted among this noble company.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-2555951637142017952022-07-24T11:16:00.000-07:002024-02-16T11:17:53.916-08:00Ridván 2007: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first year of the Five Year Plan bears eloquent
testimony to the spirit of devotion with which Bahá’u’lláh’s followers have
embraced the framework for action presented in our message of 27 December 2005
and their commitment to advancing the process of entry by troops. Where this
framework has been applied coherently in all its dimensions in a cluster,
steady progress is being achieved, both in terms of the participation of the
believers and their friends in community life and in terms of numerical growth,
with some clusters reporting enrolments in the hundreds every few months and
others in scores. Vital to this development has been a heightened awareness of
the spiritual nature of the enterprise, together with an increased
understanding of those decision-making instruments that are defined by the
principal features of the Plan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prior to our launching the current series of global Plans
focused on the single aim of advancing the process of entry by troops, the
Bahá’í community had passed through a stage of rapid, large-scale expansion in
many parts of the world—an expansion which ultimately was impossible to
sustain. The challenge, then, lay not so much in swelling the ranks of the
Cause with new adherents, at least from populations of proven receptivity, but
in incorporating them into the life of the community and raising up from among
them adequate numbers dedicated to its further expansion. So crucial was it for
the Bahá’í world to address this challenge that we made it a central feature of
the Four Year Plan and called upon National Spiritual Assemblies to spend the
greater part of their energies creating institutional capacity, in the form of
the training institute, to develop human resources. Ever-increasing contingents
of believers, we indicated, would need to benefit from a formal programme of
training designed to endow them with the knowledge and spiritual insights, with
the skills and abilities, required to carry out the acts of service that would
sustain large-scale expansion and consolidation.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today as we observe the workings of those clusters which are
in a robust state of growth, we note that in every one of them the friends have
continued to strengthen the institute process, while learning to mobilize their
expanding nucleus of active supporters of the Faith, to establish an efficient
scheme for the coordination of their efforts, to weave their individual
initiatives and collective endeavours into an effective pattern of unified
action, and to draw on the analysis of pertinent information in planning the
cycles of their activities. That they have found the means for carrying forward
the work of expansion and consolidation hand in hand—the key to sustained
growth—is demonstrable. Such evidence will surely inspire every devoted
believer to remain resolute on the path of systematic learning that has been
set.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The accomplishments of these years of prodigious effort have
not been confined to those clusters where the work of large-scale expansion and
consolidation is being thus revitalized. The approach taken during the Four
Year Plan, followed by the Twelve Month Plan and the previous Five Year Plan,
proved instrumental in creating conditions for the believers to extend their
endeavours to a wide circle of people, engaging them in various aspects of
community life. The benefits of the decade-long process of capacity building in
the three participants of the global Plans are now broadly apparent. Everywhere
there was a need to gain an understanding of the dynamics of human resource
development. Everywhere the friends had to learn the requirements of steady
growth—to promote systematic action and to avoid distractions, to bring certain
elements of collective decision-making close to the grassroots and to create
communities with a sense of mission, to encourage universal participation and
to accommodate different segments of society in their activities, particularly
children and junior youth, the future champions of the Cause of God and
builders of His civilization. – used in Points</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With so firm a foundation in place, the foremost thought in
the mind of each and every believer should be teaching. Whether in their
personal efforts they teach their friends in firesides and then involve them in
the core activities or use these activities as their primary instrument for
teaching, whether as a community they make their work with children and junior
youth the initial thrust in a cluster or focus first on the older generations,
whether in their collective endeavours they visit families in teams as part of
an intensive campaign or call on seekers in their homes periodically over
time—these are decisions that can only be made according to the circumstances
and possibilities of the friends and the nature of the populations with whom
they interact. What all must acknowledge, irrespective of circumstance, are
both the crying need of a humanity that, bereft of spiritual sustenance, is
sinking deeper into despair and the urgency of the responsibility to teach with
which we each have been entrusted as members of the community of the Greatest
Name.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bahá’u’lláh has commanded His followers to teach the Cause.
Already thousands upon thousands are energetically applying the provisions of
the Plan to open up avenues for them to guide souls to the Ocean of His
Revelation. We look with expectant eyes to the day when teaching is the
dominating passion in the life of every believer and when the unity of the
community is so strong as to enable this state of enkindlement to express
itself in unremitting action in the field of service. This, then, is our ardent
hope for you and the object of our most fervent prayers at the Sacred
Threshold.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-58970020131034037012022-07-13T22:25:00.000-07:002024-02-08T22:28:07.572-08:0025 March 2007: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Bahá’í Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the signs of the breakdown of society in all parts of
the world is the erosion of trust and collaboration between the individual and
the institutions of governance. In many nations the electoral process has
become discredited because of endemic corruption. Contributing to the widening
distrust of so vital a process are the influence on the outcome from vested
interests having access to lavish funds, the restrictions on freedom of choice
inherent in the party system, and the distortion in public perception of the
candidates by the bias expressed in the media. Apathy, alienation, and
disillusionment are a consequence, too, as is a growing sense of despair of the
unlikelihood that the most capable citizens will emerge to deal with the
manifold problems of a defective social order. Evident everywhere is a yearning
for institutions which will dispense justice, dispel oppression, and foster an
enduring unity between the disparate elements of society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh is the divinely ordained
system for which nations and peoples so desperately search. Hailed by the Báb
in the Persian Bayan, its foundational features prescribed by Bahá’u’lláh
Himself, this Order is without precedent in human history for its standard of
justice and its commitment to the practical realization of the oneness of
mankind, as well as for its capacity to promote change and the advancement of
world civilization. It provides the means by which the Divine Will illumines
the path of human progress and guides the eventual establishment of the Kingdom
of God on earth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Throughout the entire planet the devoted followers of
Bahá’u’lláh are labouring to develop further the Bahá’í Administrative Order
described by the Guardian “not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the
New World Order”, thus setting the foundation for a world civilization destined
to yield its dazzling splendour in the centuries to come. They do so
notwithstanding the conditions of turmoil and disorder alluded to by
Bahá’u’lláh in affirming that “the world’s equilibrium hath been upset through
the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s
ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this
wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.”<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With the concerted worldwide endeavour to advance the
process of entry by troops gathering momentum through implementation of the
provisions of the Five Year Plan, it is now opportune that the believers
everywhere give greater attention to strengthening the process by which
Assemblies, national and local, are elected. The manner of participation by all
adult members of the community in these elections is a distinguishing feature
of the System of Bahá’u’lláh; for it is a bounden duty that confers a high privilege
upon every Bahá’í to select, as a responsible citizen of the new world being
brought into existence, the composition of the institutions having authority
over the functioning of the Bahá’í community. In this regard, indifference and
neglect on the part of any believer are alien to the spirit of the Cause. The
friends must strive ceaselessly to avoid being contaminated with these
destructive attitudes, which have inflicted such damage on the integrity and
authority of the institutions of a declining world order.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In describing Bahá’í elections, Shoghi Effendi, through a
letter written on his behalf, conveyed that “Bahá’í electoral procedures and
methods have, indeed, for one of their essential purposes the development in
every believer of the spirit of responsibility. By emphasizing the necessity of
maintaining his full freedom in the elections, they make it incumbent upon him
to become an active and well-informed member of the Bahá’í community in which
he lives.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The manner in which the elector exercises the right and
privilege to cast his vote is therefore of great significance. Shoghi Effendi’s
instruction in this passage further explains that “to be able to make a wise
choice at the election time, it is necessary for him to be in close and
continued contact with all local activities, be they teaching, administrative
or otherwise, and to fully and whole-heartedly participate in the affairs of
the local as well as national committees and assemblies in his country. It is
only in this way that a believer can develop a true social consciousness and
acquire a true sense of responsibility in matters affecting the interests of
the Cause. Bahá’í community life thus makes it a duty for every loyal and
faithful believer to become an intelligent, well-informed and responsible
elector, and also gives him the opportunity of raising himself to such a
station.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While there should be no mention of personalities in
connection with Bahá’í elections, it is quite appropriate for believers to
discuss the requirements and qualifications for membership in the institution
to be elected. Shoghi Effendi offers clear guidance on this point: “I feel that
reference to personalities before the election would give rise to
misunderstanding and differences. What the friends should do is to get
thoroughly acquainted with one another, to exchange views, to mix freely and
discuss among themselves the requirements and qualifications for such a
membership without reference or application, however indirect, to particular
individuals.” Among the “necessary qualities” specified by the Guardian are
those “of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind,
of recognized ability and mature experience”. With a heightened awareness of
the functions to be performed by the elected body, the believer can properly
assess those for whom a vote should be cast. From among the pool of those whom
the elector believes to be qualified to serve, selection should be made with
due consideration given to such other factors as age distribution, diversity,
and gender. The elector should make his choice after careful thought over an
extended period before the actual election.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When called upon to vote in a Bahá’í election, believers
should be aware that they are carrying out a sacred task unique to this
Dispensation. They should approach this duty in a prayerful attitude, seeking
divine guidance and confirmation. As Shoghi Effendi has advised, “they must
turn completely to God, and with a purity of motive, a freedom of spirit and a
sanctity of heart, participate in the elections.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Through their wholehearted embrace of the Bahá’í electoral
process, the believers will witness, day by day, a greater contrast between the
emerging institutions of the Bahá’í Administrative Order and the decaying
social order around them. In this increasing distinction will be seen the
promise of the glory of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh—the System destined to
fulfil the highest expectations of humanity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-85959596909865358512022-07-06T22:22:00.000-07:002024-02-08T22:24:34.167-08:0021 December 2006: To the Bahá’ís of Egypt<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have received the distressing news that on 16 December,
the Supreme Administrative Court in Cairo ruled against the decision of a lower
court that permitted Bahá’ís to obtain officially issued identification cards.
We wholly sympathize in your disappointment that justice was not served by a
ruling that robs the members of your community of so critical a right of
Egyptian citizens owing only to your beliefs. But you must stand firm and
persevere in your effort to win affirmation of this right. To do less would be
to deprive the authorities in Egypt of the opportunity to correct a wrong which
has implications for many others, no less than for yourselves. Moreover, to
relent would be to disregard the moral courage of those organizations, media,
and persons of goodwill who have joined their voices to yours in the quest for
a just solution to a serious inequity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In explaining the court’s decision to the press, the
presiding judge stated that the Egyptian constitution recognizes only three
religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. This argument misses the essence,
obscures the issue. Surely you are not asking here for the Bahá’í Faith to be
recognized. Like other Egyptian citizens, you simply wish to be free to carry
out the requirement of the civil law that you must obtain identification cards
without making a false statement about your religious beliefs. Possessing such
a card is a common right to which every native-born Egyptian is entitled. But
how strange it is that the custodians of the law would themselves oblige you to
violate a government policy that all citizens without exception are expected to
observe! It is, of course, worthy of praise that the judges so publicly upheld
the validity of three of the divine religions. As a community that believes
that all God’s chosen Messengers are “seated upon the same throne, uttering the
same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith”, the Bahá’ís of Egypt have no
difficulty embracing the truths of the three religions mentioned. But to what
purpose were their names invoked? Was it to justify the exclusion of certain
citizens from exercising their civil rights? Would this not amount to a misuse
of the authority of these Faiths to perpetrate an injustice that offends the
high standard of justice to which they hold their adherents? But your interest
is not in a theological tug-of-war with the Egyptian judiciary, despite its gross
misrepresentation of the Bahá’í Faith: it is in the application of the
principles of equity, fairness, and honesty that are so vital to those of all
faiths and no faith. The ruling was unreasonable not only because it is
contrary to prescriptions set forth in the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, to which Egypt is a signatory, but more especially because
the sacred scriptures of Islam extol tolerance as a precept of social
stability.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This incident calls to mind the occasion more than eight
decades ago when Egyptian judicial and ecclesiastical authorities considered
the claims of our Faith, not in a sympathetic effort but with the intent to
oppose. A case involving three Muslim men who had become Bahá’ís in a village
prompted their interest. As a result, the appellate religious court of Beba
delivered a verdict on 10 May 1925 that denounced the Bahá’í Faith and annulled
the marriages of these men. Nevertheless, from the judges’ scrupulous study of
Bahá’í scriptures, they arrived at the accurate conclusion that the Bahá’í
Faith was “a new religion”, “entirely independent”, with “beliefs, principles
and laws” of its own. This verdict was sanctioned at the time by Egypt’s
highest ecclesiastical authorities. If Egyptian magistrates were capable then
of such clear perception, and others in a local court have so recently shown a
similar awareness, it seems reasonable to trust that this capacity will in the
future reassert itself positively at the highest level of authority in your
country.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well beyond a century ago, during the lifetime of
Bahá’u’lláh, His Faith took root in your homeland. Despite instances of
opposition, it flourished in a climate of intellectual ferment. As early as
1934 your National Spiritual Assembly was incorporated, thus assuming a legal
personality that enabled it to function according to Bahá’í procedures and to
hold properties, including a National Center and a cemetery. Then suddenly in
1960, without forewarning, Presidential Decree no. 263 was issued, banning your
national and local institutions and confiscating your properties and other
assets. For nearly five decades now the members of your community have been
subjected to humiliation of all kinds, including the harassment of police
surveillance and false arrests. Until now no evidence has been adduced to prove
that you have been unworthy of the public’s trust, while there is much to
confirm that you made noteworthy contributions towards fostering the spiritual,
intellectual, and cultural character of the Egyptian people. In this regard, we
recall with deep emotion and pride the distinguished services to your country
and community of your late Bahá’í compatriot Hussein Bikar, who, despite having
received a presidential award honoring his outstanding achievements as an
artist, was denied an Egyptian identification card up until the time of his
death.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is no time, however, to dwell on a litany of the
vexations your community has for so long sustained. It is, rather, an
appropriate occasion for reflection on the broad context in which the recent
action of the Supreme Administrative Court occurred, that from it you may
derive an ever-larger sense of meaning and purpose.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Injustice is rife. Throughout the world it afflicts every
department of life whether in the home, at the workplace, or in the public
sphere as a consequence of the ill conduct of individuals, groups, or
governments. Lamenting the horrors it breeds, Bahá’u’lláh made this poignant
remark: “Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth
beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the
face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples.” So grave a situation exists at a
time of unprecedented change: opposite processes of chaos and of order interact
in a spiral of turbulence that signals a transition in the spiritual and social
agenda of the world as a whole.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Human society has arrived at a stage in its evolution when
unity of the whole human race is imperative. To not appreciate this reality is
to not grasp the meaning of the current crisis in world affairs. The principle
of the oneness of humankind identifies the code for resolving the far-reaching
issues involved. As Bahá’ís, you understand that this principle implies not
only the ultimate peaceful goal that it signifies but involves, as well, your
participation in the painful tasks entailed in attaining it. Hence, you
appreciate the global connotations of instances of oppression at home or abroad
and accept the responsibility of striving, guided by the principles of the
Faith and in collaboration with others whenever possible, to combat injustice,
for the common good.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those groups supporting you in your current encounter are of
a world-embracing vision and are themselves prepared to withstand the harsh
resistance to their selfless occupation, sustaining blows of injustice in the
process. As the rise of justice ensures the appearance of unity in the world,
all who take on the formidable challenges of struggling for it have indeed
captured the spirit of the age epitomized in the principle of oneness. To the
extent that the fight for justice contributes to the establishment of a single
global standard of human rights, the organizations in Egypt so engaged are
working towards achieving the unification of their nation’s peoples. They are
thus committing themselves in large measure to the vital task of reconciling
the tensions that bedevil their society and delay the attainment of its unity.
Such reconciliation should not be impossible to Egypt’s people, who can take
pride in the celebrated enlightenment that in a glorious past ensured their
unity in a flourishing society. Undoubtedly, Egypt will rise to participate, as
befits its stature, in the fruition of that destiny of world peace and
prosperity of which all nations dream.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be assured of our ardent prayers in the Holy Shrines on
behalf of each and every one of the members of your community and for the
progress of all your compatriots in that land of ancient splendor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-22278178635132093282022-06-30T23:49:00.000-07:002024-02-15T23:52:31.839-08:0029 June 2006: To the believers in the Cradle of the Faith through the Friends in Iran<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Faithful and chosen friends of God,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The community of the Most Great Name the world over is
filled with excitement and joy as a result of the launching of the new Five
Year Plan. The loving messages of the delegates of the various National
Conventions to the Bahá’í World Centre speak of the determination of the
Bahá’ís everywhere to accelerate the process of entry by troops through the
launching of intensive programmes of growth in no less than 1,500 clusters
around the world. Many of these messages contained the joyful and soul-stirring
news that the account of the steadfastness of the believers in Iran in the face
of the current oppression and their faithfulness to the divine Teachings have
assisted in creating a spiritual atmosphere in those gatherings. The messages
received also indicate that your self-sacrifices in promoting the interests of
the Faith under the current difficult conditions are a shining example of
sacrifice, a source of spiritual strength and an effective means of
encouragement for other lovers of Bahá’u’lláh in the uttermost corners of the
world, making them more determined in their efforts to teach the Faith and
serve the Cause. Note how the forces emanating from the forbearance of the dear
Bahá’ís in Iran in these calamitous days have further clarified the meaning of
the statement “Should they attempt to conceal its light on the continent it
will assuredly rear its head in the midmost heart of the ocean and, raising its
voice, proclaim: “I am the life-giver of the world!” and prepared the means for
its material advancement. In this regard, recalling the divine promise made by
the pen of the Blessed Beauty in reference to the persecutions inflicted on the
Manifestation of God Himself is a source of upliftment to the soul. He states,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For now, however, they have hidden Me behind a veil of
darkness, whose fabric they have woven with the hands of idle fancy and vain
imagination. Erelong shall the snow-white hand of God rend an opening through
the darkness of this night and unlock a mighty portal unto His City. On that
Day shall the people enter therein by troops, uttering what the blamers
aforetime exclaimed, that there shall be made manifest in the end that which
appeared in the beginning.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The House of Justice assures you that your steadfastness,
courage and perseverance are continually called to mind with love and
appreciation.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“These woes, afflictions, sufferings, imprisonment and toil
are recorded in the divine court, and their recompense is abundant and
irrevocable decreed. He, verily, rewardest without measure those who are
patient”.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">[provisional translation]</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The divine blessings and spiritual forces released from the
shedding of the pure blood of martyrs and the sacrifices and self-effacements
in enduring oppressive conditions on the part of the people of Bahá in that
land have prepared and will continue to prepare the means for the fulfilment of
the divine promises one after the other. In Bahá’u’lláh’s words, “…such
adversity is the oil that feedeth the flame of this Lamp! Such is God’s
transforming power. He changeth whatsoever He willeth; He verily hath power
over all things.”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shoghi Effendi, a few years after the start of his ministry,
addressing the Central Spiritual Assembly of Iran, wrote the following:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“The release of this innocent and wronged community from the
bonds of captivity, and its deliverance from the clutches of the enemy and
oppressor, cannot but be accompanied by general commotions and disturbances;
likewise the attainment by the people of Bahá to a position in which they will
enjoy true honour, comfort and tranquillity must inevitably encounter the
hostility and resistance, the clamorous opposition and tumultuous protests of
all those who harbour enmity and rancour towards them. If, therefore, the
troubled waters of the sea of adversity should grow yet more turbulent, if the
storm of tribulation should increase in vehemence and assail that sore-tried
community from all six sides with fresh disasters, then know unhesitatingly and
with unwavering conviction, that the hour of deliverance, the appointed time
when the promises of old are to reach their glorious fulfilment, has drawn
nigh, and that the means for the accomplishment of supreme and overwhelming
victory by the hard-pressed followers of the Greatest Name in that land have
all been readied and prepared. Fixity of purpose and unfaltering resolution are
the qualities that must needs be manifested by the people of Bahá if they are
successfully to traverse these last remaining stages, and witness, at the
highest levels, and in a manner that will fill them with astonishment, the
realization of their profoundest hopes and of their most deeply cherished
desires. Such is the way of God— ‘and no change canst thou find in the way of
God’”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These sacred and powerful statements are, of course, the
provisions of every faithful lover in the path of enduring difficulties and
striving to attain the presence of the Well-Beloved; however, it is often
difficult to recognise in times of trial the signs of the victory of spiritual
forces and the continuous consolidation of the foundation of the Cause of God.
Study the message of the House of Justice dated 27 December 2005 addressed to
the Counsellors gathered in the Holy Land and the Ridván message of 2006
addressed to the Bahá’ís of the world, and notice to what extent the victories
mentioned therein, each of which is considered a significant stride in
establishing the foundation of the Cause of God, including the success of the
community in developing the framework of action for the advancement of the
process of entry by troops, have been attained after the revolution in Iran in
1357 and as a result of the divine blessings of your self-sacrifices and
self-effacements.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Consider the recent happenings in Egypt and how the
steadfastness of the dear Bahá’ís in that land finally led to an unparalleled
public proclamation of the Faith in the Arab world. In May 2006 alone, more
than 20,000 people from Egypt visited the Arabic Bahá’í Web site to obtain
information about the Faith and, in different parts of the world, those
interested downloaded thousands of copies of Holy Writings in the Arabic
language from the Bahá’í Reference Library. Millions of people became familiar
with the Teachings and Principles of the Faith and the injustice of the enemies
by watching a weekly programme on one of the well-known television stations in
that country. A group of intellectuals and human rights activists have publicly
defended the right of the Bahá’ís to obtain identity cards, of which they are
currently deprived. International Arabic newspapers around the world and
different Internet sites in the Arabic language have given special
consideration to the situation of the Bahá’ís in Egypt, which has led to giving
publicity to the Faith and promoting the word of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Abdu’l-Bahá has stated the following in one of His
Tablets:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“And the amazing thing is this, that the most effective
means whereby this light of truth is safeguarded and protected is the onslaught
of the enemies, grievous ordeals and manifold hardships. The globe of this lamp
is the tempestuous winds and the safety of this ship lieth in the violence of
tumultuous waves.”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Therefore, constant patience and the full preparation of the
community to accept the increasing responsibilities resulting from the removal
of obstacles and restrictions are required, so that at the appointed time and
at the Will of the Blessed Beauty the doors of ease may be opened to the
friends, the face of the Beloved may be seen and the day of victory
appear.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While reflecting and meditating on the situation existing in
Iran and the difficulties facing the Bahá’í community, it is befitting for the
dear believers, as they turn towards God, to keep in mind another important
point: Because the enemies of the Faith in these days see themselves for
various reasons restricted to increasingly and publicly assail the Bahá’í
community, they do all in their power—from creating financial constraints to
limiting social advancements, from creating fear and anxiety to spreading lies
and calumnies, from forbidding Bahá’í students to enter university to making it
easy to obtain passports and to leave the country—so as to encourage, or even
force, the dear Bahá’ís to leave their homeland and thus to weaken and
eventually eradicate, in their opinion, the Bahá’í community in Iran. In the
light of the above points, it will become clear that leaving Iran under the
present circumstances is a source of discouragement to those who are clinging
to the cord of steadfastness and, no doubt, emboldens the enemies of the Faith
and encourages them to pursue their inhumane goals in a more determined manner.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the most valuable fruits of these sacrifices and of
enduring the sorrows inflicted on you in the recent years is the notable
increase in the receptivity of the peoples of the world and of Iran to accept
the Faith. This precious asset, which is considered a foundation for new
victories in the Formative Age and which has been obtained through the
sacrifice of life, wealth, comfort and material and earthly advancements on the
part of the dear believers, both young and old, should be utilized in the best
possible manner. Your spiritual brothers and sisters around the world, with the
support of the Bahá’í institutions, have focused their efforts on carrying out
this task, and the Bahá’í community in Iran, whether individuals or Bahá’í
institutions, should ever strive to ensure that they are intellectually and
psychologically prepared and are equipped with Bahá’í knowledge and necessary
skills to face this historic challenge. No doubt, you are aware of your duties
in this critical moment regarding personal teaching which is the most important
aspect of this preparation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some time ago, after reviewing the situation in the Cradle
of the Faith and the interests of the Cause in that country, the House of
Justice advised the Friends in Iran to dissolve the training institute as a
formal national system administered under their care, and from then onwards,
they and the local Friends were not to be responsible for the matter of
personal teaching on the part of the believers. This decision of the House of
Justice was made as a matter of protection to the Friends in Iran, the local
Friends and the Bahá’í community and in consideration of certain national
issues, and as an expression of the desire of the Bahá’í community to
collaborate with government officials. However, the implication of this
decision is that individual believers should make added efforts in carrying out
the important task of teaching, which is one of the spiritual and inviolable
duties of every individual Bahá’í. They should not lose any opportunities, and
by observing wisdom and through personal initiative, they should engage in this
all-important task, utilizing to the extent possible the knowledge and
spiritual insights gained in the institute process, and they should also assist
and support each other in this path.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Consider what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states regarding the importance of teaching,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“O ye servants of the Blessed Beauty!... It is clear that in
this day, confirmations from the unseen world are encompassing all those who
deliver the divine Message.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Should the
work of teaching lapse, these confirmations would be entirely cut off, since it
is impossible for the loved ones of God to receive assistance unless they
teach.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Under all conditions, the teaching must be carried forward,
but with wisdom. If the work cannot proceed openly, then let them teach in
private, and thus engender spirituality and fellowship among the children of
men…”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Therefore, O ye bearers of the trust of God, in these days
when calamities, afflictions and woes have surrounded you on every side, raise
your hands in gratitude to His Holy Threshold that, praised be God, you are
considered among His faithful army, are clinging to the cord of His Covenant,
are privileged to obey His Teachings, are robed in the garment of His
steadfastness and are engaged in service and promoting the interests of the
Cause.”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Share these points with your family members and your dear
children and youth, and assure them of the deep appreciation of the House of
Justice that thankfully their sacrifices too are inscribed in clear letters
upon the divine Tablet and they are the source of pride to the Bahá’í community
and to generations to come.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The House of Justice gives assurance that it will offer
prayers in the Holy Shrines for the sorely-tested believers in Iran and will
beseech their protection and success from the His Holy Threshold.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With loving Bahá’í greetings,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For Department of the Secretariat</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online payamha-iran.org:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Messages of the Universal House of Justice to the Baha’is of Iran –
official English translation)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-12073540642747673752022-06-29T19:01:00.000-07:002024-02-08T19:05:41.073-08:00Ridván 2006: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ridván 2006 is a moment charged with a spirit of triumph and
anticipation. The followers of Bahá’u’lláh everywhere can take rightful pride
in the magnitude of their accomplishments during the Five Year Plan now drawing
to a close. And towards the future they can look with a confidence that is
conferred only on those whose resolve is steeled through experience. The entire
Bahá’í world is stirred at contemplating the scope of the five-year enterprise
that lies ahead, the depth of consecration it will demand, and the results it
is destined to achieve. Our prayers join yours as you turn in gratitude to
Bahá’u’lláh for the privilege of witnessing the unfoldment of His purpose for
humanity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In our message of 27 December 2005 to the Counsellors
gathered in the Holy Land, transmitted on that same day to all National
Spiritual Assemblies, we delineated the features of the Five Year Plan that
will stretch from 2006 to 2011. The friends and their institutions were urged
to study the message thoroughly, and its content is no doubt well familiar to
you. We now call upon each and every one of you to bend your energies towards
ensuring that the goal of establishing over the next five years intensive programs
of growth in no less than 1,500 clusters worldwide is successfully met. That in
the months following the Counsellors’ departure from the World Centre the
groundwork for the Plan’s launch was laid so rapidly and systematically in
country after country is an indication of the eagerness with which the Bahá’í
community is taking up the challenge presented to it. While there is no need
for us to elaborate further on the requirements of the Plan here, we feel
compelled to offer for your reflection a few comments on the global context in
which your individual and collective efforts will be pursued.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">More than seventy years ago Shoghi Effendi penned his World
Order letters in which he provided a penetrating analysis of the forces
operating in the world. With an eloquence that was his alone, he described two
great processes that have been set in motion by Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, one
destructive and the other integrative, both of which are propelling humanity
towards the World Order He conceived. We were cautioned by the Guardian not to
be “misled by the painful slowness characterizing the unfoldment of the
civilization” being laboriously established or to be “deluded by the ephemeral
manifestations of returning prosperity which at times appear to be capable of
checking the disruptive influence of the chronic ills afflicting the
institutions of a decaying age.” No review of the course of events in recent
decades can fail to acknowledge the gathering momentum of the processes he
analyzed then with such precision.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One need only consider the deepening moral crisis engulfing
humanity to appreciate the extent to which the forces of disintegration have
rent the fabric of society. Have not the evidences of selfishness, of
suspicion, of fear and of fraud, which the Guardian perceived with such
clarity, become so widespread as to be readily apparent to even the casual
observer? Does not the threat of terrorism of which he spoke loom so large on
the international scene as to preoccupy the minds of young and old alike in every
corner of the globe? Have not the unquenchable thirst for, and the feverish
pursuit after, earthly vanities, riches and pleasures so consolidated their
power and influence as to assume authority over such human values as happiness,
fidelity and love? Have not the weakening of family solidarity and the
irresponsible attitude towards marriage reached such proportions as to endanger
the existence of this fundamental unit of society? “The perversion of human
nature, the degradation of human conduct, the corruption and dissolution of
human institutions,” about which Shoghi Effendi forewarned, are sadly revealing
themselves “in their worst and most revolting aspects.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian lays the greatest share of the blame for
humanity’s moral downfall on the decline of religion as a social force. “Should
the lamp of religion be obscured,” he draws our attention to the words of
Bahá’u’lláh, “chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness, of
justice, of tranquility and peace cease to shine.” The decades that followed
the writing of his letters have seen not only a continued deterioration in the
ability of religion to exercise moral influence, but also the betrayal of the
masses through the unseemly conduct of religious institutions. Attempts at
reinvigorating it have only given rise to a fanaticism that, if left unchecked,
could destroy the foundation of civilized relationships among people. The
persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran, recently intensified, is ample evidence
alone of the determination of the forces of darkness to quench the flame of
faith wherever it burns brightly. Though confident in the ultimate triumph of
the Cause, we dare not forget the warning of the Guardian that the Faith will
have to contend with enemies more powerful and more insidious than those who
have afflicted it in the past.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is no need to comment extensively on the impotence of
statesmanship, another theme treated so masterfully by the Guardian in his
World Order letters. The widening economic divide between the rich and the
poor, the persistence of age-old animosities among nations, the swelling
numbers of the displaced, the extraordinary rise in organized crime and
violence, the pervasive sense of insecurity, the breakdown of basic services in
so many regions, the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources—these are
but a few of the signs of the inability of world leaders to devise viable
schemes to alleviate humanity’s ills. This is not to say that sincere efforts
have not been exerted, in fact, have not multiplied decade after decade. Yet
these efforts, no matter how ingenious, fall well short of removing “the root
cause of the evil that has so rudely upset the equilibrium of present-day
society.” “Not even,” the Guardian asserted, “would the very act of devising
the machinery required for the political and economic unification of the world
. . . provide in itself the antidote against the poison that is steadily
undermining the vigor of organized peoples and nations.” “What else,” he
confidently affirmed, “but the unreserved acceptance of the Divine Program”
enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, “embodying in its essentials God’s divinely
appointed scheme for the unification of mankind in this age, coupled with an
indomitable conviction in the unfailing efficacy of each and all of its
provisions, is eventually capable of withstanding the forces of internal
disintegration which, if unchecked, must needs continue to eat into the vitals
of a despairing society.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Penetrating, indeed, is Shoghi Effendi’s depiction of the
process of disintegration accelerating in the world. Equally striking is the
accuracy with which he analyzed the forces associated with the process of
integration. He spoke of a “gradual diffusion of the spirit of world solidarity
which is spontaneously arising out of the welter of a disorganized society” as
an indirect manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh’s conception of the principle of the
oneness of humankind. This spirit of solidarity has continued to spread over
the decades, and today its effect is apparent in a range of developments, from
the rejection of deeply ingrained racial prejudices to the dawning
consciousness of world citizenship, from heightened environmental awareness to
collaborative efforts in the promotion of public health, from the concern for
human rights to the systematic pursuit of universal education, from the
establishment of interfaith activities to the efflorescence of hundreds of
thousands of local, national and international organizations engaged in some
form of social action.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh the most significant
developments in the process of integration are those directly related to the
Faith, many of which were nurtured by the Guardian himself and which have
advanced tremendously since their modest beginnings. From the small nucleus of
believers to whom he imparted his first teaching plans has grown a worldwide
community with a presence in thousands of localities, each following a
well-established pattern of activity that embodies the Faith’s principles and
aspirations. Upon the foundation of the Administrative Order he so
painstakingly laid during the early decades of his ministry has been raised a
large, closely knit network of National and Local Spiritual Assemblies
diligently administering the affairs of the Cause in more than one hundred and
eighty countries. From the first contingents of Auxiliary Board members for the
Protection and Propagation of the Faith brought into being by him has arisen a
legion of nearly one thousand stalwart workers serving in the field under the
direction of eighty-one Counsellors ably guided by the International Teaching
Centre. The evolution of the World Administrative Center of the Faith, within
the precincts of its World Spiritual Center, a process to which the Guardian
consecrated so much energy, has crossed a crucial threshold with the occupation
by the Universal House of Justice of its Seat on Mount Carmel and the
subsequent completion of the International Teaching Centre Building and the
Centre for the Study of the Texts. The Institution of Huqúqu’lláh has steadily
progressed under the stewardship of the Hand of the Cause of God Dr.
‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá, appointed Trustee by Shoghi Effendi fifty years ago,
culminating in the establishment in 2005 of an international board designed to
promote the continued widespread application of this mighty law, a source of
inestimable blessings for all humanity. The efforts of the Guardian to raise
the profile of the Faith in international circles have developed into an
extensive external affairs system, capable of both defending the interests of
the Faith and proclaiming its universal message. The respect the Faith enjoys
in international fora, whenever its representatives speak, is a most noteworthy
accomplishment. The loyalty and devotion that the members of a community
reflecting the diversity of the entire human race evince towards the Covenant
of Bahá’u’lláh constitute a storehouse of strength the like of which no other
organized group can claim.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian foresaw that, in succeeding epochs of the
Formative Age, the Universal House of Justice would launch a series of
worldwide enterprises which would “symbolize the unity and coordinate and unify
the activities” of National Spiritual Assemblies. Over the course of three
successive epochs now, the Bahá’í community has labored assiduously within the
framework of the global Plans issued by the House of Justice and has succeeded
in establishing a pattern of Bahá’í life that promotes the spiritual development
of the individual and channels the collective energies of its members towards
the spiritual revival of society. It has acquired the capacity to reach large
numbers of receptive souls with the message, to confirm them, and to deepen
their understanding of the essentials of the Faith they have embraced. It has
learned to translate the principle of consultation enunciated by its Founder
into an effective tool for collective decision-making and to educate its
members in its use. It has devised programs for the spiritual and moral
education of its younger members and has extended them not only to its own
children and junior youth but also to those of the wider community. With the
pool of talent at its disposition, it has created a rich body of literature
which includes volumes in scores of languages that address both its own needs
and the interest of the general public. It has become increasingly involved in
the affairs of society at large, undertaking a host of projects of social and
economic development. Particularly since the opening of the fifth epoch in
2001, it has made significant strides in multiplying its human resources
through a program of training that reaches the grassroots of the community and
has discovered methods and instruments for establishing a sustainable pattern
of growth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is in the context of the interplay of the forces
described here that the imperative of advancing the process of entry by troops
must be viewed. The Five Year Plan now opening requires that you concentrate
your energies on this process and ensure that the two complementary movements
at its heart are accelerated. This should be your dominant concern. As your
efforts bear fruit and the dynamics of growth reach a new level of complexity,
there will be challenges and opportunities for the World Centre itself to
address in the coming five years in fields such as external affairs, social and
economic development, administration, and the application of Bahá’í law. The
growth of the community has already necessitated that new arrangements be put
in place to double the number of pilgrims to four hundred in each group
beginning in October 2007. There are several other projects that will also have
to be pursued. Among these are the further development of the gardens
surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, as well as the Ridván Garden and
Mazra‘ih; the restoration of the International Archives Building; structural
repairs to the Shrine of the Báb, the full extent of which are not yet clear;
and the construction of the House of Worship in Chile as envisioned by the Guardian,
the last of the continental Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs. As these endeavors advance, we
will call on you from time to time for assistance, both in the form of
financial support and specialized talents, mindful that the resources of the
Faith should, to the greatest measure possible, be channeled to the
requirements of the Plan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear friends: That the forces of disintegration are gaining
in range and power cannot be ignored. It is equally clear that the community of
the Greatest Name has been guided from strength to strength by the Hand of
Providence and must now increase in size and augment its resources. The course
set by the Five Year Plan is straightforward. How can those of us aware of the
plight of humanity, and conscious of the direction in which history is
unfolding, not arise to the fullest of our capacity and dedicate ourselves to
its aim? Do not the words of the Guardian that “the stage is set” hold as true
for us today as they did when he wrote them during the first Seven Year Plan?
Let his words ring in your ears: “There is no time to lose.” “There is no room
left for vacillation.” “Such an opportunity is irreplaceable.” “To try, to
persevere, is to insure ultimate and complete victory.” Be assured of our
continued prayers at the Sacred Threshold for your guidance and protection.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-15453930881904062782022-06-22T03:28:00.000-07:002024-02-08T03:30:31.524-08:0022 March 2006: To the Iranian believers living outside Iran<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Bahá’í Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As you may be aware, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur
on Freedom of Religion or Belief has recently issued a statement raising grave
apprehension regarding government actions being taken against the believers in
the Cradle of the Faith, which she characterizes as “impermissible and
unacceptable”. There can be no doubt that the Blessed Beauty watches over His
oppressed followers in Iran and enfolds them in His tender embrace. For our
part, we are directing systematic action at the international and national
levels to place before the world our concern over this heightened threat to
that much-cherished Bahá’í community. As a result of the swift efforts of those
who have been assigned responsibility for this work, the plight of the Bahá’ís
in Iran is receiving attention from United Nations agencies, national
governments, non-governmental organizations, and the media in many countries
around the world. May a mighty outcry be raised everywhere to stay the hands of
the aggressors.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These current developments mark another moment of intensity
in the persecution besetting the Bahá’ís of Iran, an unending adversity that
has ebbed and surged ever since the inception of the Faith in that land more
than a century and a half ago. The Islamic Revolution in 1979 opened a new
phase of this oppression. When in recent years the pressures on the friends
seemed to lessen, they decided to join with their fellow believers throughout
the rest of the world in establishing the institute process in their country.
In November 2003, we addressed a message to the Bahá’ís of Iran in which we
expressed our admiration and that of the Bahá’í world for their steadfastness
in the face of continuous persecution and focused their attention on the
spiritual enterprise Bahá’u’lláh Himself has assigned to them. A year later,
they addressed a letter to the former president seeking redress for the
long-standing infringement of their human and civil rights. The response of the
authorities to all of this was to instigate a spate of arbitrary arrests and
detentions.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With the most recent political changes in the country, the
situation has further deteriorated. The government demanded the institute be
suspended—an order with which the community complied. Yet the believers cannot
submit to unacceptable demands nor succumb to the pressure of the enemies of
the Faith to entirely suspend their personal teaching efforts. Teaching is,
after all, an indispensable duty enjoined by Bahá’u’lláh on His followers.
Moreover, on the exigency of teaching, ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
has stated that </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">no complete cessation of effort
is permissible, for in that case the divine assistance shall be entirely cut
off.” Indeed, proclaiming one’s religious beliefs to others is an individual
right upheld by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Teaching efforts are the only way to combat the distortions circulating about
the Faith and to preserve the community. Of course, in carrying out this duty,
the believers are conscious of the need to act with wisdom and are naturally
using the spiritual insights and skills they have gained through the institute
process.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The peril surrounding the believers has mounted to a scale
not witnessed since the early 1980s. All signs indicate that the authorities
are redoubling efforts to strangle the Bahá’í community by implementing the
nefarious strategy originally set forth in a secret document issued in 1991 by
the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
which was signed by Hujjatu’l-Islam Seyyed Mohammad Golpaygani, Secretary of
the Council, and approved by the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. From late October to the end of November 2005 alone,
the influential Ṭihrán newspaper “Kayhan” ran dozens of articles attacking the
Bahá’í Faith. During this same period, the national radio network began a
weekly series of programmes with similar focus and intent. The Faith was
likewise attacked in television broadcasts and on the Internet. The odious
fabrications about the Faith, its Central Figures, and its adherents
disseminated through these media could have no purpose but to foment suspicion
and hatred. The campaign of propaganda against the Faith, recent reports of an
escalation in the harassment of individual Bahá’ís throughout the country,
efforts undertaken by the Association of Chambers of Commerce (Ettehadiyeye
Asnaf) to compile a list of Bahá’ís in every type of trade and employment, and
the fears voiced by the Special Rapporteur that instructions “to identify
persons who adhere to the Bahá’í faith and monitor their activities … will be
used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against,
members of the Bahá’í faith, in violation of international standards”, when
viewed together, heighten apprehension about the intentions of the perpetrators
of these acts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For three decades now, the Iranian Bahá’ís have received
unfailing encouragement and support from the Friends in Iran, who have managed
the affairs of the Bahá’í community wisely and effectively in the absence of a
National Spiritual Assembly and have bolstered the spirits of the believers in
a manner that has earned our profound appreciation. The believers’ steadfast
loyalty to the Cause in the face of the tumult that engulfs their community is
a deep source of pride for the Bahá’í world. Confident in the protection that
envelops them, the Bahá’ís continue to discharge their spiritual obligations
with courage, determination, and a depth of commitment that evokes our highest
praise. Their willingness to endure untold hardship for the sake of upholding
divine principles and the rights of the Bahá’í community in the Cradle of the
Faith propels that land onward towards the glorious destiny foreshadowed in our
Sacred Writings. They are the fitting heirs of their spiritual forebears, who
were extolled by the Blessed Beauty in words such as these:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All these stainless hearts and sanctified souls have, with
absolute resignation, responded to the summons of His decree. Instead of
complaining, they rendered thanks unto God, and amidst the darkness of their
anguish they revealed naught but radiant acquiescence to His will.… Methinks
patience was revealed only by virtue of their fortitude, and faithfulness
itself was begotten only by their deeds.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The ordeals afflicting the believers in Iran must, however,
be seen within a larger context, for the convulsions that beset that nation are
the consequence of forces at work throughout the entire planet. The inexorable
advance of the world towards the unification of the human race is driven by
irrepressible processes of integration and disintegration. On all sides can be
heard “the call of humanity itself crying out for deliverance at a time when
the tide of mounting evils has destroyed its equilibrium and is now strangling
its very life.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the midst of this turbulence, the believers in Iran are
giving their all for the Cause, and the institutions of the Faith in other
countries are exerting every effort to defend them. The response each of you
can make, wherever you reside, is to renew your determination to serve the
manifold needs of the Cause and particularly rededicate yourselves to the major
aim of the Five Year Plan. Through the core activities of the Plan you have the
possibility to intimately engage receptive souls, including, as appropriate,
those among your trusted compatriots, expose them to the Word of God, confirm
them in the Faith, and guide their steps in initial acts of service. Consider
how apt is the Blessed Beauty’s promise that should the progress of His Cause
be restrained in one land, it would raise its head elsewhere to proclaim His
life-giving Message.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Through the workings of the Major Plan of God a spotlight
now shines on Iran. In prior ages, through the impetus of the teachings of
Zoroaster and Muḥammad, her citizens applied spiritual principles to build a
nation, whose “power and glory”, ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
explains, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">shone out like the morning above
the world</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s horizons</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">She was as the pivot of the world, she was the source and
centre of sciences and arts, the wellspring of great inventions and
discoveries, the rich mine of human virtues and perfections. The intellect, the
wisdom of the individual members of this excellent nation dazzled the minds of
other peoples, the brilliance and perceptive genius that characterized all this
noble race aroused the envy of the whole world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How regrettable, then, is Iran’s plight today! Its current
state can hardly be reconciled with its glorious past. Notwithstanding the
suffering inflicted on them, the Bahá’ís of that land are determined to
contribute towards building a society founded on enlightened spiritual and
social principles, a society destined to reclaim and indeed outshine that
nation’s noble antiquity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved co-workers: the machinations of those who
believe themselves capable of obliterating that community will, inevitably,
come to naught. Your own efforts undertaken on behalf of your cherished sisters
and brothers in Iran will hasten the day when this “perspicuous and luminous
Revelation” banishes forever the deep gloom that now encompasses the land of
its birth. There is no time to lose. “The fleeting hours of man’s life on earth
pass swiftly by and the little that still remaineth shall come to an end, but
that which endureth and lasteth for evermore is the fruit that man reapeth from
his servitude at the Divine Threshold.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are fervently supplicating at the Sacred Threshold on
your behalf.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-42144918982453164392022-06-15T03:25:00.000-07:002024-02-08T03:26:59.035-08:0031 December 2005: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As the gathering of the Continental Counsellors in the Holy
Land draws to a close, we are moved to share with you the feelings of joy,
triumph and confidence which have characterized several days of focused
deliberation on the present Five Year Plan and on the global enterprise that
will succeed it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá opened the
conference with a stirring appeal for resolute action, infusing the proceedings
with a spirit of unwavering determination. Stories poured forth of the
inspiring activities of the friends and the longing and responsiveness of the
peoples of the world, conveying assurances that the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is
blossoming more abundantly in all parts of the globe. Persistent questions of
how to sustain the process of growth, of how to achieve a balance between
expansion and consolidation, that have engaged the Bahá’í community for nearly
half a century found clear answers in the experiences shared from diverse
clusters on all continents. Accounts of obstacles surmounted, fresh learning
acquired, and creative insights discovered made it evident that the Army of
Light is prepared to advance towards new horizons.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There can be no doubt that the Plan soon to end marks an
upturn in the fortunes of the Faith. We look to the next decade and a half, the
final years of the first century of the Formative Age, with great expectations
of what will be accomplished. From this vantage point, the Bahá’í world can
readily appreciate the significant extent to which the International Teaching
Centre provided the impetus so indispensable to blazing the course set over
these past few years and can, as well, discern the rich possibilities that its
consecrated endeavors portend for the future.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our message of 27 December addressed to the conference,
which has already been transmitted to National Spiritual Assemblies, summarizes
the learning about growth to date and delineates the priorities for the next
Plan. Careful study of the message by all believers and institutions will be an
essential requisite for the upcoming consultations that will take place at
every level of the community upon the return home of the Counsellors.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-78197943588732992322022-06-06T21:38:00.000-07:002024-01-29T21:39:32.467-08:00Ridván 2005: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The breakthroughs that have occurred in the Bahá’í world
since the beginning of the fifth epoch of the Formative Age have brought us
immeasurable joy. The past twelve months have been no exception. The Bahá’í
community has continued its systematic advance and now, as it enters the final
year of the Five Year Plan, finds itself in a position of remarkable strength—a
strength acquired through strenuous, deliberate exertion by the friends
everywhere to promote the process of entry by troops.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While inadequate to express the full significance of the
developments taking place, the statistics suggest something of the scope of
what is being achieved. The human resources of the Faith have steadily
multiplied. Altogether, more than 200,000 worldwide have completed Book 1 of
the Ruhi Institute, and many thousands have reached the level where they can
effectively act as tutors of the study circles that, with increasing frequency,
are held in every part of the globe, over 10,000 at the last count. The number
of seekers engaged in the core activities has continued to climb, crossing the
100,000 mark several months ago. Meanwhile, some 150 clusters have developed to
the point that intensive programs of growth either have been launched or stand
ready to be initiated. There is every indication that this number will be
substantially surpassed by the end of the Plan.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In celebrating these achievements, one should acknowledge,
equally, the advances in learning that have given rise to them. Intensive
institute campaigns, which pay due attention to the practice required, have
remained the vehicle for stimulating growth at the cluster level. As the
necessary conditions have thus been created, systematic programs for the
expansion and consolidation of the Faith have been launched accordingly. A
valuable body of knowledge about the nature of intensive programs of growth is
accumulating, and certain features of these endeavors are now well understood.
Such programs tend to consist of a series of cycles, each of several months’
duration, devoted to planning, expansion, and consolidation. Human resource
development proceeds uninterrupted from one cycle to the next, ensuring that
the process of expansion not only is sustained but progressively gathers
momentum. While undoubtedly many more lessons are still to be garnered, the
experience already gained makes it possible to replicate the approach in an
ever-increasing number of clusters around the world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That the victories won have both quantitative and
qualitative dimensions is gratifying indeed. At the heart of these
accomplishments lies the continual enhancement of the spiritual life of Bahá’í
communities everywhere. This new spiritual vitality accounts for the growing
participation of people of divers backgrounds in devotional meetings,
children’s classes and study circles, which, in many cases, has resulted in
their recognition of Bahá’u’lláh as God’s Manifestation for this Day and in
their declaration of faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">New developments have, likewise, taken place at the World
Centre. We have decided that the time is propitious to bring into being an
International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh to guide and supervise the work
of Regional and National Boards of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh throughout the
world. It will operate in close collaboration with the Chief Trustee, the Hand
of the Cause of God Dr. ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá, and will be able to benefit from
his knowledge and counsel in carrying out its duties. The three members now
appointed to the International Board of Trustees are Sally Foo, Ramin Khadem,
and Grant Kvalheim. Their term of office will be determined at a later date.
The members of the Board will not transfer their residence to the Holy Land but
will utilize the services of the Office of Huqúqu’lláh at the World Centre in
performing their functions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At all levels and in every direction the Cause is achieving
marked progress—from gains in expansion and consolidation at the grassroots to
institutional -developments of an international scope. Such encouraging signs
of the growing solidarity of the community come at a time when evidences of the
decline in society are, alas, all too apparent. No need to review here the
features of the breakdown in which a demoralized world is entrapped. Yet it
should not be forgotten that it is precisely these circumstances which increase
receptivity to the Teachings and create new opportunities for their diffusion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In our message of 26 November 1999, we referred to a series
of global enterprises designed to carry the Bahá’í community through the final
years of the first century of the Faith’s Formative Age. Each Plan, we
indicated, would focus on the central aim of advancing the process of entry by
troops. The first in the series, the current Five Year Plan, will draw to a
close in twelve short months, when we will call upon the followers of
Bahá’u’lláh to embark on another Plan of five years’ duration. What we ask the
friends to do in the intervening period is to bend all their energies to put
into resolute action the systematic learning being so vigorously promoted by
the International Teaching Centre. No Bahá’í should lose the priceless
opportunity afforded by the remaining days of the Plan to reinforce in this way
the foundation for the launching next Ridván of an even more ambitious
undertaking. Our most fervent prayers in the Holy Shrines will surround you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-37081895575590120542022-05-27T21:34:00.000-07:002024-01-29T21:36:23.044-08:00<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ridván 2004: To the Bahá’ís of the World</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Three years of the Five Year Plan have passed. The processes
set in motion in the Four Year Plan, strengthened through special attention to
the Bahá’í education of children during the Twelve Month Plan, and followed up
unflaggingly during these past years, are now fulfilling the high hopes with
which they were launched. In every part of the world the three participants in
the Plan—the individual, the community and the institutions—each playing a
distinctive role, are reinforcing one another’s actions. The core activities of
study circles, children’s classes and devotional meetings have become essential
aspects and mutually enhancing achievements lending greater vigor and success
to all the other elements of Bahá’í community life. Human resources are being augmented,
and the Local Spiritual Assemblies are responding to the fresh demands of this
rising vitality.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The capacity built for the Bahá’í education of children
throughout the world is extraordinarily impressive. Initial efforts for the
spiritual empowerment of junior youth are meeting with success. The movement of
clusters from each level of activity to a higher one is well in hand and, as it
proceeds, the kernel of avowed believers is being joined by a larger circle of
people, still not Bahá’ís but enthusiastically involved in core activities of
the Plan. Structures for administering intensive growth are already appearing
in certain advanced clusters. National Assemblies, while attending to the needs
of all the clusters in their countries, have learned the value of concentrating
special attention on certain priority clusters that show high promise, encouraging
and developing them until the human resources they have raised up through the
training institutes enable them to become centers of rapid, sustained growth.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As foreseen, the training institute is proving to be an
engine of growth. On assessing the opportunities and needs of their respective
communities, the great majority of National Spiritual Assemblies have chosen to
adopt the course materials devised by the Ruhi Institute, finding them most
responsive to the Plan’s needs. This has had the collateral benefit that the
same materials have been translated into many languages and, wherever Bahá’ís
travel, they find other friends following the same path and familiar with the
same books and methods.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A chaotic international society, torn by conflicting
perceptions and interests, is assailed by rising terrorism, lawlessness and
corruption, and eroded by economic failure, poverty and disease. In its midst
the Bahá’í community is becoming increasingly visible, inspired by a divinely
revealed vision, building on solid foundations, growing in strength through the
processes that are now in place, and undaunted by seeming setbacks. An example
of the capacity of the Bahá’í world to respond to unexpected conditions
occurred a year ago, when multiple dangers required the cancellation of the
International Bahá’í Convention; the election of the Universal House of Justice
was duly held and the Plan went forward without a missed step. Concurrently,
despite the disruption and chaos of life in Iraq, it was possible to contact
the Bahá’ís in that land and reconstitute their Local Spiritual Assemblies. Now
we announce with great joy the election, this Ridván, of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iraq, restored after more than thirty years of
stifling oppression, to take its rightful place in the international Bahá’í
community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What the Divine Plan requires at this stage is for us to
continue confidently and dynamically in the present direction, undeterred by
storms battering the world of humanity. Be sure that the Blessed Beauty will
guide your steps and the Hosts of the Supreme Concourse will reinforce your
every effort for the progress of His Faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-29531105495165327172022-05-20T21:32:00.000-07:002024-01-29T21:33:43.059-08:0012 January 2004: To the Iranian believers living outside Iran<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">You will by now have had an opportunity to read our general
letter of 26 November 2003 addressed to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh residing
in the Cradle of the Faith. The subject has profound implications for those of
you who live elsewhere in the world, implications that call for your prayerful
reflection.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Although abuses of various kinds continue to limit what the
friends in Iran can accomplish and unpredictable dangers could still lie ahead,
the organized campaign to destroy the Cause there has clearly failed. “The
enemies of God”, Bahá’u’lláh asserts, “seek by oppression to extinguish the
Light, heedless of the fact that the Hand of Divine power transmutes their
oppression into oil that increases the brightness of the Lamp.” For the victory
so far won, the Bahá’í world can thank the interaction of two moral forces. The
first has been the heroism of the Iranian believers themselves and their
steadfast refusal to compromise their faith in the face of the worst abuses
their enemies could inflict on them. The second has been the determination of
National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world to mobilize international
protest, attract the attention of influential media, and ensure that the crimes
committed against their brothers and sisters in Iran became an established
issue in the ongoing indictment by the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights of Iran’s violation of universally accepted standards.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Parallel with the operation of these forces was an intensive
programme implemented in the 1980s to rescue thousands of Iranian refugees who
had either been in danger of being singled out for attack or had been stranded
without valid passports in lands where they were serving as pioneers. Many of
you were the beneficiaries of this highly successful undertaking, and many of
you have repaid the national Bahá’í communities who welcomed you by throwing
yourselves eagerly into the teaching work. In country after country, your
achievements—and those of your sons and daughters—have been vital to the
advancement of the Cause.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Iran, the community of your fellow believers will
increasingly be able to turn its attention to the role it is destined to play
in the country’s regeneration, as envisioned in the words of ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> cited in our general letter: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Iran
shall become a focal centre of divine splendours. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">…</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">although
now destitute and despondent, she will obtain abundant grace, achieve
distinction and find abiding honour</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Such a
contribution will call on all of the capacities, spiritual, moral, and
practical, that have been tested in the crucible of suffering.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It would be unthinkable for so noble a struggle to be
handicapped by unwisdom on the part of believers outside Iran. It is clear that
the enemies of the Faith, having failed to destroy it through violence, now
cling to the hope of reducing its influence by encouraging Bahá’í emigration.
We call on Iranian Bahá’ís throughout the world to exercise the utmost
self-discipline in their communications with their fellow believers in the
Cradle of the Faith, to refrain from any suggestions that might undermine, however
inadvertently, the historic enterprise Bahá’u’lláh has set in motion. To urge
that any of the friends in Iran who have withstood the trials of these recent
years should now consider abandoning the field for the ephemeral advantages of
life in other lands would be a grave disservice to the Cause of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Under present circumstances, visits to Iran should be made
only in cases of genuine necessity and after all reasonable precautions have
been taken. Some among you may find yourselves facing urgent family or other
reasons to make such return visits. In doing so, you will have to ensure that
you have properly discharged whatever obligations you have assumed, as
refugees, to the government of your country of residence. In certain cases, you
will be able to consider the possibility of remaining in Iran and putting the
skills and resources you have earned abroad at the service of the efforts of
the community where the Faith was born. Whether such returns are of brief or
longer term, however, you should take the utmost care to avoid ostentatious
material displays or inappropriate conversation that would create additional
tests for friends who have already sustained far more than their share of
trials.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The believers in Iran, whom Bahá’u’lláh has raised,
nurtured, and prepared for His Purpose, represent a resource of the Cause—not
only in Iran but globally—whose potentialities it is impossible today to
properly appreciate. They are the pride of the Bahá’í world and a source of joy
to our hearts. We are confident that, when you who live in other parts of the
world reflect on the issues discussed here, you will resolve to do everything
you can to reinforce and encourage the commitment of the company of heroic
souls in the Cradle of the Faith on whose steadfastness so much continues to
depend.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our prayers will be offered on your behalf in the Holy
Shrines.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With loving Bahá’í greetings,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-26874104348332392662022-05-13T20:56:00.000-07:002024-01-29T21:02:09.802-08:0026 November 2003: To the Followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the Cradle of the Faith<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is now a little over 125 years since ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> addressed His open letter to the people of your country.
Because of His vital role in a religious community that had been made the
object of intense prejudice, the Author necessarily refrained from attaching
His name to the document. His message, however, could not have been more clear.
Speaking out of a profound love for a native land that He had not seen during
the long years of exile since His childhood, the Master appealed in passionate
language for its people to call to mind those days when Iran “was as the heart
of the world”, “the source and centre of sciences and arts, the wellspring of
great inventions and discoveries, the rich mine of human virtues and
perfections”. The time had come, He insisted, when the heirs of so great a
civilization could—and must—arise and reclaim their heritage.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What the letter prophetically laid out was the challenge of
modernity. Today, that challenge has become the inescapable preoccupation of
populations throughout the planet, not least the peoples of the Islamic world.
The meaning of modernity and the features of that rising flood of cultural
revolution were explicitly identified in the Master’s message: constitutional
and democratic government, the rule of law, universal education, the protection
of human rights, economic development, religious tolerance, the promotion of
useful sciences and technologies and programmes of public welfare. In praising
the achievements of what He termed this “temporal and material apparatus of
civilization”, the Master made it clear that He was not proposing simply a
credulous imitation of the West. On the contrary. In uncompromising language,
He portrayed European society as drowning “in the sea of passion and desire”,
trapped in a materialistic perception of reality that could bring in its wake
nothing but disillusionment:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be just: can this nominal civilization, unsupported by a
genuine civilization of character, bring about the peace and well-being of the
people or win the good pleasure of God? Does it not, rather, connote the
destruction of man’s estate and pull down the pillars of happiness and peace?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Readers were urged to look below surface phenomena. As a
lengthy exposition of historical processes would have burdened what was
intended as an urgent appeal for reflection and action, ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> confined Himself to a few salient examples of the points He
was making. Their common theme was the transformative power that has been
responsible for all of humanity</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s
development over the ages and that would later lend the published edition of
the letter its familiar title The Secret of Divine Civilization. Whether in
reviewing events of Persian history or touching on passages in the Holy Qur’án,
the letter called on its readers to reflect deeply about the unique endowment
that promotes the advancement of all human well-being:<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Consider carefully: all these highly varied phenomena, these
concepts, this knowledge, these technical procedures and philosophical systems,
these sciences, arts, industries and inventions—all are emanations of the human
mind. Whatever people has ventured deeper into this shoreless sea, has come to
excel the rest. The happiness and pride of a nation consist in this, that it
should shine out like the sun in the high heaven of knowledge.<span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Secret of Divine Civilization is a celebration of the
creative role played by the rational faculty—God’s greatest gift to
humankind—in the advancement of civilization. Among the fruits of the mind that
He particularly singled out, the Master laid strong emphasis on scientific and
technological development. His readers were encouraged to reflect on the
benefits that would accrue to Persian society through taking appropriate
advantage of whatever had been accomplished in this respect by peoples of other
lands, whether in the West or elsewhere. It had been the free-ranging powers of
the human intellect, He insisted, that had discovered and tested each of the
benefits enjoyed by any people, and no legitimate argument could be advanced
for imposing cultural or national barriers to the operations of this universal
process. Its achievements represent the common possessions of the entire human
race, their adoption by a nation or people neither diminishing the users nor
reflecting on their native capacities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At a much deeper level, the Master turned his readers’
attention to the spiritual forces shaping and impelling the work of the mind.
In one of the most penetrating passages of the letter, He challenged those
fundamental errors about the nature of man and society that had already had
ruinous consequences in other lands and that could, if not avoided, undermine
the capacity of the Iranian people to assess their present situation
objectively and seize the opportunities before them. “There are”, ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> remarked, “some who imagine that an innate sense of human
dignity will prevent man from committing evil actions and ensure his spiritual
and material perfection.” On the contrary, He pointed out, it is readily
observable that human development depends on education. He then drew the
implications of this law for the progress of society. All the evidence
inescapably demonstrates that the principal influence in the gradual civilizing
of human character, far from being a simple endowment of nature, has been the
effect produced on the rational soul by the guidance of the successive
Messengers of God. It has been through Their intervention, and through it
alone, that the peoples of the world, of whatever nation or religion, have
learned the values and ideals that have empowered them to put material
resources and technological means at the service of human betterment. It is
They who, in each age, have defined the meaning and requirements of modernity.
It is They who have been the ultimate Educators of humankind:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Universal benefits derive from the grace of the Divine
religions, for they lead their true followers to sincerity of intent, to high
purpose, to purity and spotless honour, to surpassing kindness and compassion,
to the keeping of their covenants when they have covenanted, to concern for the
rights of others, to liberality, to justice in every aspect of life, to
humanity and philanthropy, to valour and to unflagging efforts in the service
of mankind. It is religion, to sum up, which produces all human virtues, and it
is these virtues which are the bright candles of civilization.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have reviewed briefly here the argument of ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s great message because of the remarkable extent to which
contemporary events vindicate its diagnosis and prescriptions. The insights it
contains illumine both the situation in which the Iranian people currently find
themselves and the related implications for you who are the followers of Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">u</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ll</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">h
in that country. The message was a summons</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">—</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">to
the country</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">’</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">s leaders and the population
alike</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">—</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">to free themselves from blind submission
to dogma and to accept the need for fundamental changes in behaviour and
attitude, most particularly a willingness to subordinate personal and group
interests to the crying needs of society as a whole.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As you well know, the Master’s appeal was ignored. Locked in
the grip of an antiquated Qájár autocracy restrained only by its incompetence,
Persia drifted ever deeper into stagnation. Venal politicians competed with one
another for a share of the diminishing wealth of a country driven to the verge
of bankruptcy. Worse still, a population that had once produced some of the
greatest minds in the history of civilization—Cyrus, Darius, Rumi, Hafiz,
Avicenna, Rhazes and countless others—had become the prey of a clerical caste,
as ignorant as it was corrupt, whose petty privileges could be maintained only
by arousing in the helpless masses an unreasoning fear of anything progressive.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Little wonder then that, taking advantage of the chaos that
followed in the wake of the first world war, an ambitious army officer was able
to seize power and establish a personal dictatorship. To him—as to his son
after him—deliverance from Persia’s ills was assumed to lie in a systematic
programme of “Westernization”. Schools, public works, a trained bureaucracy and
a well-equipped military served the needs of the new national government.
Foreign investment was encouraged as a means of developing the country’s
impressive national resources. Women were freed from the worst of the
restrictions that had prevented their development and were given opportunities
for education and useful careers. Although the Majlis remained little more than
a facade, hope rose that, in time, it might emerge as a genuine institution of
democratic government.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What emerged, instead, through the single-minded
exploitation of Iran’s petroleum resources, was wealth on an almost
unimaginable scale. In the absence of anything resembling a system of social
justice, the chief effect was to vastly enrich a privileged and self-serving
minority, while leaving the mass of the population little better off than they
had been before. Treasured cultural symbols and the heroic episodes of a
glorious past were resurrected merely to decorate the monumental vulgarity of a
society whose moral foundations were built on the shifting sands of ambition
and appetite. Protest, even the mildest and most reasonable, was smothered by a
secret police unconstrained by any constitutional oversight.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1979 the Iranian people threw off this despotism and
swept its counterfeit claims to modernity into history’s dustbin. Their
revolution was the achievement of the combined forces of many groups, but its
driving force was the ideals of Islám. In place of wanton self-indulgence,
people were promised lives of dignity and decency. Gross inequities of class
and wealth would be overcome by the spirit of brotherhood enjoined by God. The
natural resources with which providence has endowed so fortunate a land were
declared to be the patrimony of the entire Iranian people, to be used to
provide universal employment and education. A new “Islamic Constitution”
ostensibly enshrined solemn guarantees of equality before the law for all
citizens of the republic. Government would endeavour conscientiously to combine
spiritual values with the principles of democratic choice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How do such promises relate to the experience being
described 25 years later by the great majority of Iran’s population? From all
sides today one hears cries of protest against endemic corruption, political
manipulation, the mistreatment of women, a shameless violation of human rights
and the suppression of thought. What is the effect on public consciousness, one
must further ask, of appeals to the authority of the Holy Qur’án to justify
policies that lead to such conditions?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Iran’s crisis of civilization will be resolved neither by
blind imitation of an obviously defective Western culture nor by retreat into
medieval ignorance. The answer to the dilemma was enunciated on the very
threshold of the crisis, in the clearest and most compelling language, by a
distinguished Son of Iran Who is today honoured in every continent of the
world, but sadly not in the land of His birth. Persia’s poetic genius captures
the irony: “I searched the wide world over for my Beloved, while my Beloved was
waiting for me in my own home.” The world’s appreciation of Bahá’u’lláh came
perhaps most explicitly into focus on 29 May 1992, the centenary of His death,
when the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies met in solemn session to pay tribute to
Him, to His teachings and to the services rendered to humanity by the community
He founded. On that occasion, the Speaker of the Chamber and spokespersons from
every party rose, successively, to express their profound admiration of One who
was described in their addresses as the Author of “the most colossal religious
work written by the pen of a single Man”, a message that “reaches out to
humanity as a whole, without petty differences of nationality, race, limits or
belief”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What has been the response in His native land to a Figure
whose influence has brought such honour to the name of Iran? From the middle
years of the 19th century when He arose to champion the Cause of God, and
despite the reputation His philanthropy and intellectual gifts had won,
Bahá’u’lláh was made the object of a virulent campaign of persecution. In
recognizing His mission, your forefathers had the imperishable glory of sharing
in His sufferings. Throughout the ensuing decades, you who have remained faithful
to His Cause, who have sacrificed for it and promoted its civilizing message to
the most remote regions of the planet have known your own portion of abuse,
bereavement and humiliation—each Bahá’í family in Iran.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the most appalling afflictions, in terms of its
tragic consequences, has been the slander of Bahá’u’lláh’s Cause perpetrated by
that privileged caste to whom Persia’s masses had been taught to look for
guidance in spiritual matters. For over 150 years, every medium of public
information—pulpit, press, radio, television and even scholarly publication—has
been perverted to create an image of the Bahá’í community and its beliefs that
is grossly false and whose sole aim is to arouse popular contempt and antagonism.
No calumny has been too vile; no lie too outrageous. At no point during those
long years were you, the victims of this vilification, given an opportunity,
however slight, to defend yourselves and to provide the facts that would have
exposed such calculated poisoning of the public mind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One example will stand for all the rest. Of the countless
accomplishments of the Cause, particularly striking has been the success of
Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings in inculcating, in one generation of believers after
another, the highest standards of personal morality. No argument is needed here
to defend this assertion. The reputation for integrity that the Bahá’í
community has won worldwide—among publics, governments and international
agencies alike—speaks for itself. Thousands of your fellow citizens have also
had good cause to appreciate its character at first hand. And yet, driven by
ungovernable malice, your self-appointed enemies in Iran have not hesitated to
bring against you charges of every form of human depravity, charges which—when
recounted in free societies where the Faith is well known—have merely exposed
the degeneracy of the minds capable of concocting them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Parallel with this campaign of moral defamation has been a
strategy devised to intimidate all those who, aware of the truth of the matter,
were moved to come to your assistance. Having associated you in popular opinion
with attitudes and behaviour that are a danger to society, your oppressors then
accuse anyone who appeals on your behalf of also being a Bahá’í and therefore
lacking in credibility. The extremes to which this systematic corruption of
public life extends can be seen in the willingness of those behind the scheme
to represent even long-standing opponents of the Cause as being its secret
supporters. Have they not gone so far as to claim that a discredited prime
minister—whose father had been expelled from the Bahá’í community precisely
because of his partisan political involvement, who was himself insistent to his
last breath on his Islamic identity and who was the cause of great difficulties
for the Bahá’í community—was in fact a clandestine member of the Faith?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nor have your oppressors been content with slander. For a
century and a half you have suffered repeated violence. Most recently, since
the 1979 revolution, you have seen some of the noblest men and women whom
Bahá’u’lláh has raised up imprisoned on charges too outlandish to warrant
comment, subjected to monstrous tortures and murdered after farcical trials,
their property plundered by their persecutors and by the hoodlums who serve and
protect them. Your elected Spiritual Assemblies, long the most advanced examples
of democratic decision-making bodies in the country, were arbitrarily
dissolved, many of their members kidnapped and slain. How many the children who
have been orphaned. How many the youth who have seen their educational plans
and hopes of earning a livelihood brutally extinguished. How many the aged left
homeless, the pensions for which they had worked a lifetime confiscated by
fatvás issued by men unworthy of respect. How many the parents who have been
forced to bury the mutilated bodies of their sons and daughters in whatever
barren wastelands were allocated to them for the purpose. What indeed of the
flower-bordered Bahá’í cemeteries, tenderly cared for over the years, that have
been maliciously bulldozed, the precious remains of countless loved ones
shovelled onto heaps of rubble?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those perpetrating these atrocities are eager to raise a hue
and cry—as indeed they have every right to do—if the least offence is given in
another land to a location associated with the sacred name of Islám. But what
of the Bahá’í Shrines and other Holy Places in Iran? What of the priceless
House of the Blessed Báb in Shíráz, centre of pilgrimage for the entire Bahá’í
world, destroyed by a municipal wrecking crew acting under the direction of
‘ulamá, its sacred precincts paved over as an ultimate desecration? Speaking of
persons so base as to commit acts of this evil, Bahá’u’lláh has declared, “God
is wholly quit of them, and likewise are We.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">No one would contend that you are alone in the ordeals you
are enduring. The victims of injustice today number in countless millions. Each
year, the agendas of the human rights organizations are overwhelmed by appeals
from spokespersons for oppressed minorities of every type—religious, ethnic,
social and national. In the words of Bahá’u’lláh, “Justice is in this day
bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression.” What
has more alarmed perceptive observers of such situations than even the physical
and material anguish caused is the spiritual damage done to the victims.
Deliberate oppression aims at dehumanizing those whom it subjugates and at
de-legitimizing them as members of society, entitled to neither rights nor
consideration. Where such conditions persist over any length of time, many of
those affected lose confidence in their own perception of themselves.
Inexorably, they become drained of that spirit of initiative that is integral
to human nature and are reduced to the level of objects to be dealt with as
their rulers decide. Indeed, some who are exposed to sustained oppression can
become so conditioned to a culture of brutalization that they, in their turn,
are ready to commit violence against others, should the opportunity offer
itself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What is it then, the world is beginning to ask, that has
preserved you from spiritual corrosion of this nature? Where have you found the
resources to free your hearts from resentment and to act with magnanimity
toward those who have taken part in your mistreatment? How is it that, after a
century and more of unremitting persecution—and the calculated attempt at
genocide of these past 25 years—you still retain both a confident mastery of
your moral purpose and an abiding love for the land in which you have suffered
so greatly? The incomparable words of Bahá’u’lláh supply the answer:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every fire is seen to be extinguishable except for the fire
of the Love of God that is manifest and ablaze in the hearts. Every mighty tree
will be uprooted by tempestuous winds except for the trees of the Divine
orchard, and every lamp is quenched except for the lamp of the Cause of God,
which shineth in the heart of the world. Winds will add to its brightness, and
it will never be extinguished.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is the answer that history will give to those who
enquire of your secret. Your lives are the fruit of that Divine orchard, the
handiwork of the Creative Word to which you have surrendered your hearts. “O
well-beloved ones! The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one
another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one
branch.” “…love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate is
darkness, no matter where it may make its nest.” “Were man to appreciate the
greatness of his station and the loftiness of his destiny he would manifest
naught save goodly character, pure deeds, and a seemly and praiseworthy
conduct.” “In this day, all must cling to whatever is the cause of the
betterment of the world and the promotion of knowledge amongst its peoples.”
“…the tongue is for mentioning what is good, defile it not with unseemly talk.”
“Women and men have been and will always be equal in the sight of God.” “One
speck of chastity is greater than a hundred thousand years of worship and a sea
of knowledge.” “We have enjoined upon all to engage in crafts and trades and
have accounted it as an act of worship.” “Trustworthiness is the greatest of
doors leading to the tranquility and security of the people of the world.” “Knowledge
is the cause of exaltation and advancement. It enableth man to pass beyond the
world of dust to the realms above and leadeth him out of darkness into light.
It is the redeemer and the bestower of life. It conferreth the living waters of
immortality and imparteth heavenly food.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of you have, from childhood, been familiar with the
exhortation of ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> that so
marvellously sums up these ideals: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">“</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">To be a Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á’í</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> is to be the embodiment of all human perfections.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The spirit of resourcefulness and practicality you are
displaying also brings great comfort to the anguished hearts of your fellow
believers in other lands. When your children were expelled from schools because
of their Faith, you created classrooms in your homes. Graduates of the
institution you founded to meet the needs of university students, who are
similarly denied education, are today distinguishing themselves in prestigious
universities in other countries where their credentials have been gladly accepted.
God willing, the day is not far distant when opportunities for the development
of their capacities will be opened for the thousands of other Bahá’í youth
still cruelly deprived. The sacrificial pooling of modest incomes is proving
not only sufficient to ensure that members of the community are not left in
want, but to produce funds for general activities. Under the most arduous
conditions, a vibrant community life continues, with the far greater intensity
that testing alone can produce.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For over a century this spirit has borne fruit both in Iran
and throughout the entire world. There is today no region of the planet where
the capacities of Iranian Bahá’ís have not lent a mighty impetus to the
expansion of the teaching work and the establishment and consolidation of the
Faith’s institutions. Nor has the impact been limited to the spiritual life of
the Faith. It would be difficult to think of any profession, any field of
science or the arts, where Iranian Bahá’ís—particularly youth—are not powerfully
manifesting the ideal of excellence so often reiterated by ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">. Such qualities do not burst forth in a people overnight, nor
are they the product of mere human will. In the lives and work of Persian
pioneers around the world today can be seen the fruit of the culture of
learning and self-discipline in which they and their parents were lovingly
raised in the land of their birth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To every fair-minded observer, you are the living proof that
faith in God and confidence in social progress are in every sense reconcilable;
that science and religion are the two inseparable, reciprocal systems of
knowledge impelling the advancement of civilization. Already, you begin to see
this realization dawning in the eyes of many Muslims of your acquaintance.
These friends and neighbours, who can truly lay claim to being “a people
summoning unto goodness”, have watched with outrage as those whom they know to
be innocent of any crime have been slandered and attacked without recourse to
legal protection. They are sensitive—perhaps even more than you are
yourselves—to the spirit of courage and decency that you have displayed
throughout these ordeals. And they are also awakening to the real character of
those whose abuse of you defiles the honour of Islám, in whose name such crimes
are perpetrated. If you are not yet physically free, you are at last beginning
to win acceptance as a respected and valued part of the Iranian people. Ahead
lies the day when your fellow citizens will have recognized and come to
treasure the contribution you are destined to make to Iran’s recovery of her
rightful place among the nations of the world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ruling elites can make no more serious error than to imagine
that the power they have managed to arrogate to themselves provides an enduring
bulwark against the relentless tides of historical change. Today, in Iran as
everywhere throughout the world, these tides roll in with insistent urgency and
tumultuous force. They are not merely at the door of the house, but rise up
irresistibly through its floors. They cannot be diverted. They will not be
denied.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is the real reason why Bahá’u’lláh was so desperately
opposed by clergy and rulers who recognized in Him—correctly if only dimly—the
Voice of a coming society of justice and enlightenment, in which they
themselves would have no place. Nor should you have any doubt that it is this
same fear that animates the successive waves of persecution you have long
endured. Those who investigate the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh with sincerity readily
appreciate that the Bahá’í community is a creative minority that is the embodiment
of its Founder’s vision of the future and of His indomitable Will to achieve
it. Through your love, your sacrifices, your services and your very lives, you
have proven to be the true promoters of the progress of your dear homeland of
which ‘Abdu’l</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">‑</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bah</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">á</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> has
written:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The horizon of Persia hath been illumined with the light of
the heavenly Orb. Erelong will the Daystar of the supernal realm shine so
brightly as to raise that land even unto the ethereal heights and to cause it
to shed its radiance over the whole earth. The imperishable glory of bygone
generations shall once more be manifest in such wise as to dazzle and bewilder
the eyes….</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Iran shall become a focal centre of divine splendours. Her
darksome soil will become luminous and her land will shine resplendent.
Although now wanting in name and fame, she will become renowned throughout the
world; although now deprived, she will attain her highest hopes and
aspirations; although now destitute and despondent, she will obtain abundant
grace, achieve distinction and find abiding honour.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Each time we visit the Holy Shrines you are in the forefront
of our hearts and prayers. Your long night will end, and you will have the joy
of witnessing with your own eyes the mighty structure your sacrifices have
raised.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-85479554196900354282022-05-06T12:17:00.000-07:002024-01-08T12:19:39.095-08:00Ridván 2003: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As the Five Year Plan enters upon its third year, momentum
is building: the record of achievement during the year just ended far
outdistanced that of the previous twelve months. The thrust of this momentum
owes as much to the increased coherence achieved in the Plan’s constituent
elements as to the animating effect of the spirit of unrest pervading the
planet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The circumstances attending the opening of this new
administrative year are at once critical, challenging and extraordinary in
their significance. The entire course of the previous year was agitated by a
succession of crises that culminated in the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
The implications are no less significant for the progress of the community of
the Most Great Name than for the evolution of an increasingly global society in
the throes of a turbulent transition. Of necessity, the timing, scale and
tendencies of this transition have not been predictable. How swift indeed has
been the current change in the tide of world conditions! In the resultant
conflict, involving so conspicuously the countries in which the earliest
history of the Cause took shape, we see a fresh reminder of Bahá’u’lláh’s
warning that the “world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating
influence of this most great, this new World Order.” That the events of this
crisis directly affect a territory with as rich a Bahá’í legacy as Iraq is
particularly noteworthy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The disruptions caused by this and other situations in the
world have, in one instance, suggested the opening of a new chapter in the
history of the highly prized but woefully oppressed Bahá’í community of a land
in which the Manifestation of God for this Day resided for a whole decade. In
another, they have dashed the preparations for the Ninth International
Convention at the World Centre of our Faith. But, however disappointing, this
calls for no dismay. When the Major Plan of God interferes with His Minor Plan,
there should be no doubt that in due course a way will providentially be opened
to an opportunity of stellar possibilities for advancing the interests of His
glorious Cause.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The sorrows, fears and perplexities evoked by this latest
conflict in the unfoldment of the Lesser Peace have intensified the feelings of
grievance and outrage at the recurrent crises agitating the planet. The
anxieties of people across the globe are even now being played out publicly in
angry demonstrations too overwhelming to be ignored. The issues they protest
and the emotions they arouse often add to the chaos and confusion they hope by
such public displays to resolve. For the friends of God, there is an
unambiguous explanation for what is occurring; they have only to recall the
vision and principles offered by the Faith if they are to respond effectively
to the challenges posed by the spread of distress and dismay. Let them strive
to understand more deeply the Teachings that are relevant by reviewing letters
of Shoghi Effendi which have been published in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh,
particularly those entitled “The Goal of a New World Order,” “America and the
Most Great Peace,” and “The Unfoldment of World Civilization.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While the world continues on its tumultuous course, the Five
Year Plan has reached the operational capacity to enable our community to make
giant strides towards its major aim of advancing the process of entry by
troops. The details of so encouraging a state of affairs for the Faith on all
five continents have already been given in our 17 January letter; to it we
invite your further study. Only a few key details need now be underscored: The
division of countries into clusters has been completed in 179 of them; there
exist some 17,000 of these seedbeds of expansion. Reflection meetings at the
level of clusters have become a powerful means of unifying thought and action
across institutions and localities; they have lent a potent stimulus to
institutional and individual initiatives in a mutually supportive spirit. The
institute process has demonstrated even more prominently than before its
influence as a generating force for expansion and consolidation. The core
activities of the Plan have attained a scale far outstripping that of the past
year. As a result, a growing number of friends are now active in the teaching
and administrative work throughout the world, demonstrating the infectious
spirit of confidence inspiring the enthusiasm of their efforts. Youth and
children have been more systematically involved in the programs of the
community, and non-Bahá’ís have been participating more numerously in study
circles, devotional meetings and children’s classes. It is indeed heartening to
note that, in the brief period since the beginning of the Plan, where in many
communities these three core activities had been sporadic they have become
regular features and have multiplied. Here, then, is a snapshot of a world
community focused and on the move as never before.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">During the past year, as this pattern of growth became more
firmly rooted in the operation of the Plan, other important developments were
taking place. In the arena of external affairs, agencies of the Bahá’í
International Community engaged in activities too numerous and varied to
describe here, but of a collective effect too impressive to let pass without
some mention. The highlight of such activities was the message we addressed
last April to the world’s religious leaders. This has given a fresh impulse to
the approach being taken by the Bahá’í community to call the attention of the
most influential elements of society to issues of critical importance to
ensuring the peace of the world. Through the coordinating efforts of the Bahá’í
International Community’s Office of Public Information and the prompt
efficiency of National Spiritual Assemblies, the message was distributed in a
short time to the topmost ranks and other echelons of religious communities
across the globe. The purpose of the initiative is to bring to the attention of
all concerned the urgent need for religious leadership to address the problem
of religious prejudice, which is becoming a steadily more serious danger to
human well-being. The immediate reactions from many recipients indicate that
the message is being seriously regarded and is even in some places lending new
perspective to interfaith activities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the field of social and economic development a tempo has
been attained that impresses ever more deeply the effects of institutional and
individual effort on both the internal development of the community and the
community’s collaboration with others. The Office of Social and Economic
Development reports that during the second year of the Plan eight new
Bahá’í-inspired development agencies were established, operating in such
diverse fields as the advancement of women, health, agriculture, child education
and youth empowerment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the Holy Land, the English translation of Bahá’u’lláh’s
Arabic epistle known as Javáhiru’l-Asrár was released under the title Gems of
Divine Mysteries. The restoration of the Cell of Bahá’u’lláh in the prison at
‘Akká was completed, and work began on the remainder of the upper floor of the
prison cell area. As of the next pilgrimage season, beginning in October 2003,
the number of pilgrims in each group will be raised from 150 to 200.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Furthermore, efforts at fostering the development of
institutions operating at the World Centre were especially evident in the
continuing evolution of the institution of Huqúqu’lláh under the distinguished
leadership of the Trustee, the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá.
Through his wise initiative and constant endeavor, Dr. Varqá has inspired the
education of the friends everywhere concerning the law of Huqúqu’lláh. In the
decade since the law was universally applied, a network of national and regional
boards of trustees has been brought into existence, which provides coordination
and direction to the service of an increasing number of deputies and
representatives. Knowledge of this great law has spread widely, and friends
from all continents are responding to it with a spirit of devotion, which the
Trustee hopes will touch those who have not yet availed themselves of the
promised blessings flowing from adherence to this law.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the nearly two years since we announced the special
necessity for financial support to maintain, at a befitting standard, the
buildings and gardens at the World Centre, the World Centre Endowment Fund has
been established. The contributions have not yet reached a level equal to the
annual need. However, we have felt obliged to set aside five million dollars of
the contributions received as an earmarked fund towards building a corpus to
provide a source of investment income dedicated to the original purpose. We
have done so by drawing upon the Bahá’í International Fund to assist in
covering the necessary expenditures, suspending activities in other fields that
it would have been normal to pursue.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are delighted to advise that, in response to the call
issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of Chile, 185 design concepts have
been received from architects and designers around the world for the Mother
Temple of South America to be constructed in Santiago. A final choice will be
announced in due course.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Friends: Gratified by solid evidence of the progress
being made far and wide, we trust in the continuing confirmations of our
Supreme Lord upon the dedicated efforts you exert within the framework of the
Five Year Plan—a Plan designed to fit the requirements of these times. May your
persistence in its pursuit release those pent-up forces that, through the grace
and favor of the Abhá Beauty, can advance by mighty thrusts the process of
entry by troops in every land.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-47727296113016525552022-04-26T03:22:00.000-07:002024-01-08T03:26:27.247-08:0017 January 2003: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have followed, with immense gratitude to Bahá’u’lláh, the
unfoldment of the Five Year Plan in the two years since our message of 9
January 2001 to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors. It is
heartening, indeed, to see the culture of learning that is taking root
everywhere, as the Bahá’í world community focuses on advancing the process of
entry by troops. At this juncture, when the collective experience of the
community has taken so significant a step forward, we think it timely to review
with you the insights thus far gained and to clarify issues that have arisen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">During the initial months of the Plan, National Spiritual
Assemblies proceeded with relative ease to divide the territories under their
jurisdiction into areas consisting of adjacent localities, called clusters,
using criteria that were purely geographic and social and did not relate to the
strength of local Bahá’í communities. Reports received at the World Centre
indicate that there are now close to 17,000 clusters worldwide, excluding those
countries where, for one reason or another, the operation of the Faith is
restricted. The number of clusters per country varies widely—from India with
its 1,580 to Singapore, which necessarily sees itself as one cluster. Some of
the groupings are sparsely populated areas with only a few thousand
inhabitants, while the boundaries of others encompass several million people.
For the most part, large urban centers under the jurisdiction of one Local
Spiritual Assembly have been designated single clusters, these in turn being
divided into sectors, so as to facilitate planning and implementation. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With the various countries and territories divided into
manageable areas, national communities moved quickly ahead to categorize
clusters according to the stages of the development of the Faith mentioned in
our 9 January message. The exercise afforded a realistic means for viewing the
prospects of the community, but the task of refining the criteria needed for
valid assessments is proving to be an ongoing challenge to institutions. To
assign a cluster to one or another category is not to make a statement about
status. Rather, it is a way of evaluating its capacity for growth, in order
that an approach compatible with its evolving development can be adopted. Rigid
criteria are obviously counterproductive, but a well-defined scheme to carry
out evaluation is essential. Two criteria seem especially important: the
strength of the human resources raised up by the training institute for the
expansion and consolidation of the Faith in the cluster, and the ability of the
institutions to mobilize these resources in the field of service.<span></span><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Focus in almost every country has now turned to stimulating
the movement of its priority clusters from their current stage of growth to the
next. What has become strikingly clear is that progress in this respect depends
largely on the efficacy of the parallel process aimed at helping an
ever-increasing number of friends to move through the main sequence of courses
offered by the institute serving the area. The rise in activity around the
world testifies to the success of these courses in evoking the spirit of
enterprise required to carry out the divers actions that growth in a cluster,
at whatever stage, demands.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Particularly heartwarming to observe is a growing sense of
initiative and resourcefulness throughout the Bahá’í world, along with courage
and audacity. Consecration, zeal, confidence and tenacity—these are among the
qualities that are distinguishing the believers in every continent. They are
exemplified by, but are certainly not limited to, those who are arising to
pioneer on the home front. As we had hoped, goals for the opening of virgin
clusters are being readily met by enthusiastic participants of institute
programs who, equipped with the knowledge and skills acquired through training
courses, set out to establish the Faith in a new area and bring a fledgling
community into being.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In most clusters, movement from one stage of growth to the
next is being defined in terms of the multiplication of study circles,
devotional meetings and children’s classes, and the expansion they engender.
Devotional meetings begin to flourish as consciousness of the spiritual
dimension of human existence is raised among the believers in an area through
institute courses. Children’s classes, too, are a natural outgrowth of the
training received early in the study of the main sequence. As both activities
are made open to the wider community through a variety of well-conceived and
imaginative means, they attract a growing number of seekers, who, more often
than not, are eager to attend firesides and join study circles. Many go on
subsequently to declare their faith in Bahá’u’lláh and, from the outset, view
their role in the community as that of active participants in a dynamic process
of growth. Individual and collective exertions in the teaching field intensify
correspondingly, further fuelling the process. Established communities are
revitalized, and newly formed ones soon gain the privilege of electing their
Local Spiritual Assemblies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The coherence thus achieved through the establishment of
study circles, devotional meetings and children’s classes provides the initial
impulse for growth in a cluster, an impulse that gathers strength as these core
activities multiply in number. Campaigns that help a sizeable group of
believers advance far enough in the main sequence of courses to perform the
necessary acts of service lend impetus to this multiplication of activity. –
used in Points</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is evident, then, that a systematic approach to training
has created a way for Bahá’ís to reach out to the surrounding society, share
Bahá’u’lláh’s message with friends, family, neighbours and coworkers, and
expose them to the richness of His teachings. This outward-looking orientation
is one of the finest fruits of the grassroots learning taking place. The
pattern of activity that is being established in clusters around the globe
constitutes a proven means of accelerating expansion and consolidation. Yet
this is only a beginning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In many parts of the world, bringing large numbers into the
ranks of Bahá’u’lláh’s followers has traditionally not been a formidable task.
It is therefore encouraging to see that, in some of the more developed
clusters, carefully designed projects are being added to the existing pattern
of growth to reach receptive populations and lift the rate of expansion to a
higher level. Such projects accelerate the tempo of teaching, already on the
rise through the efforts of individuals. And, where large-scale enrollment is
beginning to result, provision is being made to ensure that a certain
percentage of the new believers immediately enter the institute program, for,
as we have emphasized in several messages, these friends will be called upon to
serve the needs of an ever-growing Bahá’í population. They help deepen the
generality of the Bahá’ís by visiting them regularly; they teach children,
arrange devotional meetings and form study circles, making it possible to
sustain expansion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of this opens thrilling opportunities for Local
Spiritual Assemblies. Theirs is the challenge, in collaboration with the
Auxiliary Board members who counsel and assist them, to utilize the energies
and talents of the swelling human resources available in their respective areas
of jurisdiction both to create a vibrant community life and to begin
influencing the society around them. In localities where Spiritual Assemblies
do not exist or are not yet functioning at the necessary level, a step-by-step approach
to the development of communities and Local Spiritual Assemblies is showing
excellent promise.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is especially gratifying to note the high degree of
participation of believers in the various aspects of the growth process. In
cluster after cluster, the number of those shouldering the responsibilities of
expansion and consolidation is steadily increasing. Meetings of consultation
held at the cluster level serve to raise awareness of possibilities and
generate enthusiasm. Here, free from the demands of formal decision-making,
participants reflect on experience gained, share insights, explore approaches
and acquire a better understanding of how each can contribute to achieving the
aim of the Plan. In many cases, such interaction leads to consensus on a set of
short-term goals, both individual and collective. Learning in action is
becoming the outstanding feature of the emerging mode of operation. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let there be no doubt that what we are witnessing is the
gathering momentum of that process of the entry of humanity into the Cause by
troops, foreshadowed in Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet to the King of Persia, eagerly
anticipated by the Master, and described by the Guardian as the necessary
prelude to mass conversion. In the vanguard of the process are those clusters
which, although still relatively few in number, are now ready to launch
intensive programs of growth. The scale of expansion that is to mark the next
stage of growth in these clusters calls for an intensity of effort yet to be
achieved. May the prodigious output of energy devoted to this mighty
undertaking be reinforced by the power of Divine assistance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Be assured of our heartfelt prayers in the Holy Shrines that
Bahá’u’lláh may bless and confirm your endeavors to realize, to the fullest,
the extraordinary opportunities of these precious days.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-43218339114107400602022-04-17T11:58:00.000-07:002024-01-07T12:01:07.523-08:00Ridván 2002: To the Bahá’ís of the World<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dearly loved Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The onrush of happenings within and without the Faith at the
beginning of the Fifth Epoch of the Formative Age presents a spectacle that is
awe-inspiring. Inside the Cause, the historic importance of the events last May
that marked the completion of the edifices on Mount Carmel dazzled the senses
as their impact was instantly communicated throughout the planet by satellite
broadcasts and by the most extensive media coverage ever accorded a Bahá’í
occasion. As the latest evidences in the tangible unfolding of the Tablet of
Carmel were laid bare in breathtaking splendor before the eyes of the world,
the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh leapt to new prominence in its continuing rise from
obscurity. An indelible impression was thus registered in the annals of the
Dispensation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This outward manifestation of the vitality animating our
irrepressible Faith has had its counterpart in the thrust of the internal
processes at work since the inception last Ridván of the Five Year Plan. We are
therefore moved to invite the delegates assembled at National Conventions and
all other followers of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the world to join us in
reflecting on a few potent highlights of the operation of the Plan during its
first year—highlights that cannot but rejoice hearts and inspire confidence in
the incalculable potentialities of the course on which the Plan is set.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In their eager response to its requirements, National
Spiritual Assemblies engaged in a series of planning sessions with Continental
Counsellors before and immediately after Ridván. These set the pace for a
vigorous launching distinguished by the steps taken to effectuate a new feature
of the process of entry by troops. In each national community, Bahá’í
institutions began the task of systematically mapping their country with the
aim of sectioning it into clusters, each one being of a composition and size consonant
with a scale of activities for growth and development that is manageable. Such
a mapping, as has already been reported by some 150 countries, makes it
possible to realize a pattern of well-ordered expansion and consolidation. Thus
it creates as well a perspective, or vision, of systematic growth that can be
sustained from cluster to cluster across an entire country. With this
perspective, virgin clusters, like virgin territories identified in past
campaigns, become goals for homefront pioneers, while opened clusters focus on
their internal development mobilized by the mutually reinforcing work of the
three constituent components of the Plan: the individual, the institutions and
the community.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is most encouraging to see that the progress of this work
is being energized through the training institute process, which was
considerably strengthened last year by the campaigns undertaken in many
countries to increase the number of trained tutors. Where a training institute
is well established and constantly functioning, three core activities—study
circles, devotional meetings, and children’s classes—have multiplied with
relative ease. Indeed, the increasing participation of seekers in these activities,
at the invitation of their Bahá’í friends, has lent a new dimension to their
purposes, consequently effecting new enrollments. Here, surely, is a direction
of great promise for the teaching work. These core activities, which at the
outset were devised principally to benefit the believers themselves, are
naturally becoming portals for entry by troops. By combining study circles,
devotional meetings and children’s classes within the framework of clusters, a
model of coherence in lines of action has been put in place and is already
producing welcome results. Worldwide application of this model, we feel
confident, holds immense possibilities for the progress of the Cause in the
years ahead.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These thrilling prospects were made the more viable by the
enormous energy the International Teaching Centre invested in enriching the
world community’s understanding of systematic growth. Seizing the advantage
afforded by the recent commencement of a new term of service for Auxiliary
Board members, the Teaching Centre called for 16 regional orientation
conferences to be held during the closing months of the year. To each of these
it dispatched two of its members. In giving much focus to the theme “training
institutes and systematic growth,” the conferences, attended by all but a few
of the Board members throughout the world, provided the participants with a
wealth of information that will, through their tireless labors, suffuse the
entire fabric of the community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A community so richly endowed, so experienced, so focused on
a divinely-inspired plan of action looks outward to a world whose inhabitants
have, since the May 2001 events in the Holy Land, sunk more deeply into a
slough of multiple disorders. And yet it is precisely under these seemingly
inhospitable conditions that the Cause is meant to advance, and will thrive.
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, the newly released volume containing English
translations of the full texts of Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablets to the kings and rulers
of the world, has come as a propitious reminder of the dire consequences of
ignoring His warnings against injustice, tyranny and corruption. The violent
shocks being inflicted on the consciousness of people everywhere emphasize the
urgency of the remedy He has prescribed. We, the scattered bands of His loyal
servants, have thus come again to a time of irresistible
opportunities—opportunities to teach His Cause, to build up His wondrous
System, to provide sacrificially the urgently needed material means on which
the progress and execution of spiritual activities inevitably depend.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our inescapable task is to exploit the current turmoil,
without fear or hesitation, for the purpose of spreading and demonstrating the
transformational virtue of the one Message that can secure the peace of the
world. Has the Blessed Beauty not empowered and reassured us with potent words?
“Let not the happenings of the world sadden you” is His loving counsel. “I
swear by God,” He continues; “The sea of joy yearneth to attain your presence,
for every good thing hath been created for you, and will, according to the
needs of the times, be revealed unto you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unhampered by any doubts, unhindered by any obstacles, press
on, then, with the Plan in hand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7485520752639880003.post-12145090673698962352022-04-10T19:35:00.000-07:002024-01-07T11:56:55.335-08:00April 2002: To the World’s Religious Leaders<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The enduring legacy of the twentieth century is that it
compelled the peoples of the world to begin seeing themselves as the members of
a single human race, and the earth as that race’s common homeland. Despite the
continuing conflict and violence that darken the horizon, prejudices that once
seemed inherent in the nature of the human species are everywhere giving way.
Down with them come barriers that long divided the family of man into a Babel
of incoherent identities of cultural, ethnic or national origin. That so
fundamental a change could occur in so brief a period—virtually overnight in
the perspective of historical time—suggests the magnitude of the possibilities
for the future.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tragically, organized religion, whose very reason for being
entails service to the cause of brotherhood and peace, behaves all too
frequently as one of the most formidable obstacles in the path; to cite a
particular painful fact, it has long lent its credibility to fanaticism. We
feel a responsibility, as the governing council of one of the world religions,
to urge earnest consideration of the challenge this poses for religious
leadership. Both the issue and the circumstances to which it gives rise require
that we speak frankly. We trust that common service to the Divine will ensure
that what we say will be received in the same spirit of goodwill as it is put
forward.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The issue comes sharply into focus when one considers what
has been achieved elsewhere. In the past, apart from isolated exceptions, women
were regarded as an inferior breed, their nature hedged about by superstitions,
denied the opportunity to express the potentialities of the human spirit and
relegated to the role of serving the needs of men. Clearly, there are many
societies where such conditions persist and are even fanatically defended. At
the level of global discourse, however, the concept of the equality of the
sexes has, for all practical purposes, now assumed the force of universally
accepted principle. It enjoys similar authority in most of the academic
community and information media. So basic has been the revisioning that
exponents of male supremacy must look for support on the margins of responsible
opinion.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The beleaguered battalions of nationalism face a similar
fate. With each passing crisis in world affairs, it becomes easier for the
citizen to distinguish between a love of country that enriches one’s life, and
submission to inflammatory rhetoric designed to provoke hatred and fear of
others. Even where it is expedient to participate in the familiar nationalistic
rites, public response is as often marked by feelings of awkwardness as it is
by the strong convictions and ready enthusiasm of earlier times. The effect has
been reinforced by the restructuring steadily taking place in the international
order. Whatever the shortcomings of the United Nations system in its present
form, and however handicapped its ability to take collective military action
against aggression, no one can mistake the fact that the fetish of absolute
national sovereignty is on its way to extinction.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Racial and ethnic prejudices have been subjected to equally
summary treatment by historical processes that have little patience left for
such pretensions. Here, rejection of the past has been especially decisive.
Racism is now tainted by its association with the horrors of the twentieth
century to the degree that it has taken on something of the character of a
spiritual disease. While surviving as a social attitude in many parts of the
world—and as a blight on the lives of a significant segment of humankind—racial
prejudice has become so universally condemned in principle that no body of
people can any longer safely allow themselves to be identified with it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is not that a dark past has been erased and a new world
of light has suddenly been born. Vast numbers of people continue to endure the
effects of ingrained prejudices of ethnicity, gender, nation, caste and class.
All the evidence indicates that such injustices will long persist as the
institutions and standards that humanity is devising only slowly become
empowered to construct a new order of relationships and to bring relief to the
oppressed. The point, rather, is that a threshold has been crossed from which
there is no credible possibility of return. Fundamental principles have been
identified, articulated, accorded broad publicity and are becoming
progressively incarnated in institutions capable of imposing them on public
behaviour. There is no doubt that, however protracted and painful the struggle,
the outcome will be to revolutionize relationships among all peoples, at the
grassroots level.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">* * *<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As the twentieth century opened, the prejudice that seemed
more likely than any other to succumb to the forces of change was that of
religion. In the West, scientific advances had already dealt rudely with some
of the central pillars of sectarian exclusivity. In the context of the
transformation taking place in the human race’s conception of itself, the most
promising new religious development seemed to be the interfaith movement. In
1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition surprised even its ambitious organizers
by giving birth to the famed “Parliament of Religions”, a vision of spiritual
and moral consensus that captured the popular imagination on all continents and
managed to eclipse even the scientific, technological and commercial wonders
that the Exposition celebrated.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Briefly, it appeared that ancient walls had fallen. For
influential thinkers in the field of religion, the gathering stood unique,
“unprecedented in the history of the world”. The Parliament had, its
distinguished principal organizer said, “emancipated the world from bigotry”.
An imaginative leadership, it was confidently predicted, would seize the
opportunity and awaken in the earth’s long-divided religious communities a
spirit of brotherhood that could provide the needed moral underpinnings for the
new world of prosperity and progress. Thus encouraged, interfaith movements of
every kind took root and flourished. A vast literature, available in many
languages, introduced an ever wider public, believers and non-believers alike,
to the teachings of all the major faiths, an interest picked up in due course
by radio, television, film and eventually the Internet. Institutions of higher
learning launched degree programmes in the study of comparative religion. By
the time the century ended, interfaith worship services, unthinkable only a few
decades earlier, were becoming commonplace.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Alas, it is clear that these initiatives lack both
intellectual coherence and spiritual commitment. In contrast to the processes
of unification that are transforming the rest of humanity’s social
relationships, the suggestion that all of the world’s great religions are
equally valid in nature and origin is stubbornly resisted by entrenched
patterns of sectarian thought. The progress of racial integration is a
development that is not merely an expression of sentimentality or strategy but
arises from the recognition that the earth’s peoples constitute a single
species whose many variations do not themselves confer any advantage or impose
any handicap on individual members of the race. The emancipation of women,
likewise, has entailed the willingness of both society’s institutions and
popular opinion to acknowledge that there are no acceptable grounds—biological,
social or moral—to justify denying women full equality with men, and girls
equal educational opportunities with boys. Nor does appreciation of the contributions
that some nations are making to the shaping of an evolving global civilization
support the inherited illusion that other nations have little or nothing to
bring to the effort.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So fundamental a reorientation religious leadership appears,
for the most part, unable to undertake. Other segments of society embrace the
implications of the oneness of humankind, not only as the inevitable next step
in the advancement of civilization, but as the fulfilment of lesser identities
of every kind that our race brings to this critical moment in our collective
history. Yet, the greater part of organized religion stands paralyzed at the
threshold of the future, gripped in those very dogmas and claims of privileged
access to truth that have been responsible for creating some of the most bitter
conflicts dividing the earth’s inhabitants.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The consequences, in terms of human well-being, have been
ruinous. It is surely unnecessary to cite in detail the horrors being visited
upon hapless populations today by outbursts of fanaticism that shame the name
of religion. Nor is the phenomenon a recent one. To take only one of many
examples, Europe’s sixteenth century wars of religion cost that continent the
lives of some thirty percent of its entire population. One must wonder what has
been the longer term harvest of the seeds planted in popular consciousness by
the blind forces of sectarian dogmatism that inspired such conflicts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To this accounting must be added a betrayal of the life of
the mind which, more than any other factor, has robbed religion of the capacity
it inherently possesses to play a decisive role in the shaping of world
affairs. Locked into preoccupation with agendas that disperse and vitiate human
energies, religious institutions have too often been the chief agents in
discouraging exploration of reality and the exercise of those intellectual
faculties that distinguish humankind. Denunciations of materialism or terrorism
are of no real assistance in coping with the contemporary moral crisis if they
do not begin by addressing candidly the failure of responsibility that has left
believing masses exposed and vulnerable to these influences.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Such reflections, however painful, are less an indictment of
organized religion than a reminder of the unique power it represents. Religion,
as we are all aware, reaches to the roots of motivation. When it has been
faithful to the spirit and example of the transcendent Figures who gave the
world its great belief systems, it has awakened in whole populations capacities
to love, to forgive, to create, to dare greatly, to overcome prejudice, to
sacrifice for the common good and to discipline the impulses of animal
instinct. Unquestionably, the seminal force in the civilizing of human nature
has been the influence of the succession of these Manifestations of the Divine
that extends back to the dawn of recorded history.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This same force, that operated with such effect in ages
past, remains an inextinguishable feature of human consciousness. Against all
odds, and with little in the way of meaningful encouragement, it continues to
sustain the struggle for survival of uncounted millions, and to raise up in all
lands heroes and saints whose lives are the most persuasive vindication of the
principles contained in the scriptures of their respective faiths. As the
course of civilization demonstrates, religion is also capable of profoundly
influencing the structure of social relationships. Indeed, it would be
difficult to think of any fundamental advance in civilization that did not
derive its moral thrust from this perennial source. Is it conceivable, then,
that passage to the culminating stage in the millennia-long process of the
organization of the planet can be accomplished in a spiritual vacuum? If the
perverse ideologies let loose on our world during the century just past
contributed nothing else, they demonstrated conclusively that the need cannot
be met by alternatives that lie within the power of human invention.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;">* * *</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The implications for today are summed up by Bahá’u’lláh in
words written over a century ago and widely disseminated in the intervening
decades:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the
world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly
Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances
under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and
exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few
which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a
reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith,
shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension
amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Such an appeal does not call for abandonment of faith in the
fundamental verities of any of the world’s great belief systems. Far otherwise.
Faith has its own imperative and is its own justification. What others
believe—or do not believe—cannot be the authority in any individual conscience
worthy of the name. What the above words do unequivocally urge is renunciation
of all those claims to exclusivity or finality that, in winding their roots
around the life of the spirit, have been the greatest single factor in
suffocating impulses to unity and in promoting hatred and violence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is to this historic challenge that we believe leaders of
religion must respond if religious leadership is to have meaning in the global
society emerging from the transformative experiences of the twentieth century.
It is evident that growing numbers of people are coming to realize that the
truth underlying all religions is in its essence one. This recognition arises
not through a resolution of theological disputes, but as an intuitive awareness
born from the ever widening experience of others and from a dawning acceptance
of the oneness of the human family itself. Out of the welter of religious
doctrines, rituals and legal codes inherited from vanished worlds, there is
emerging a sense that spiritual life, like the oneness manifest in diverse
nationalities, races and cultures, constitutes one unbounded reality equally
accessible to everyone. In order for this diffuse and still tentative
perception to consolidate itself and contribute effectively to the building of
a peaceful world, it must have the wholehearted confirmation of those to whom,
even at this late hour, masses of the earth’s population look for guidance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are certainly wide differences among the world’s major
religious traditions with respect to social ordinances and forms of worship.
Given the thousands of years during which successive revelations of the Divine
have addressed the changing needs of a constantly evolving civilization, it
could hardly be otherwise. Indeed, an inherent feature of the scriptures of
most of the major faiths would appear to be the expression, in some form or
other, of the principle of religion’s evolutionary nature. What cannot be
morally justified is the manipulation of cultural legacies that were intended
to enrich spiritual experience, as a means to arouse prejudice and alienation.
The primary task of the soul will always be to investigate reality, to live in
accordance with the truths of which it becomes persuaded and to accord full
respect to the efforts of others to do the same.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It may be objected that, if all the great religions are to
be recognized as equally Divine in origin, the effect will be to encourage, or
at least to facilitate, the conversion of numbers of people from one religion
to another. Whether or not this is true, it is surely of peripheral importance
when set against the opportunity that history has at last opened to those who
are conscious of a world that transcends this terrestrial one—and against the
responsibility that this awareness imposes. Each of the great faiths can adduce
impressive and credible testimony to its efficacy in nurturing moral character.
Similarly, no one could convincingly argue that doctrines attached to one
particular belief system have been either more or less prolific in generating
bigotry and superstition than those attached to any other. In an integrating
world, it is natural that patterns of response and association will undergo a
continuous process of shifting, and the role of institutions, of whatever kind,
is surely to consider how these developments can be managed in a way that
promotes unity. The guarantee that the outcome will ultimately be
sound—spiritually, morally and socially—lies in the abiding faith of the
unconsulted masses of the earth’s inhabitants that the universe is ruled not by
human caprice, but by a loving and unfailing Providence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Together with the crumbling of barriers separating peoples,
our age is witnessing the dissolution of the once insuperable wall that the
past assumed would forever separate the life of Heaven from the life of Earth.
The scriptures of all religions have always taught the believer to see in
service to others not only a moral duty, but an avenue for the soul’s own
approach to God. Today, the progressive restructuring of society gives this
familiar teaching new dimensions of meaning. As the age-old promise of a world
animated by principles of justice slowly takes on the character of a realistic
goal, meeting the needs of the soul and those of society will increasingly be
seen as reciprocal aspects of a mature spiritual life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If religious leadership is to rise to the challenge that
this latter perception represents, such response must begin by acknowledging
that religion and science are the two indispensable knowledge systems through
which the potentialities of consciousness develop. Far from being in conflict
with one another, these fundamental modes of the mind’s exploration of reality
are mutually dependent and have been most productive in those rare but happy
periods of history when their complementary nature has been recognized and they
have been able to work together. The insights and skills generated by
scientific advance will have always to look to the guidance of spiritual and
moral commitment to ensure their appropriate application; religious
convictions, no matter how cherished they may be, must submit, willingly and
gratefully, to impartial testing by scientific methods.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We come finally to an issue that we approach with some
diffidence as it touches most directly on conscience. Among the many
temptations the world offers, the test that has, not surprisingly, preoccupied
religious leaders is that of exercising power in matters of belief. No one who
has dedicated long years to earnest meditation and study of the scriptures of
one or another of the great religions requires any further reminder of the
oft-repeated axiom regarding the potentiality of power to corrupt and to do so
increasingly as such power grows. The unheralded inner victories won in this
respect by unnumbered clerics all down the ages have no doubt been one of the
chief sources of organized religion’s creative strength and must rank as one of
its highest distinctions. To the same degree, surrender to the lure of worldly
power and advantage, on the part of other religious leaders, has cultivated a
fertile breeding ground for cynicism, corruption and despair among all who
observe it. The implications for the ability of religious leadership to fulfil
its social responsibility at this point in history need no elaboration.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">* * *</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Because it is concerned with the ennobling of character and
the harmonizing of relationships, religion has served throughout history as the
ultimate authority in giving meaning to life. In every age, it has cultivated
the good, reproved the wrong and held up, to the gaze of all those willing to
see, a vision of potentialities as yet unrealized. From its counsels the
rational soul has derived encouragement in overcoming limits imposed by the
world and in fulfilling itself. As the name implies, religion has simultaneously
been the chief force binding diverse peoples together in ever larger and more
complex societies through which the individual capacities thus released can
find expression. The great advantage of the present age is the perspective that
makes it possible for the entire human race to see this civilizing process as a
single phenomenon, the ever-recurring encounters of our world with the world of
God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inspired by this perspective, the Bahá’í community has been
a vigorous promoter of interfaith activities from the time of their inception.
Apart from cherished associations that these activities create, Bahá’ís see in
the struggle of diverse religions to draw closer together a response to the
Divine Will for a human race that is entering on its collective maturity. The
members of our community will continue to assist in every way we can. We owe it
to our partners in this common effort, however, to state clearly our conviction
that interfaith discourse, if it is to contribute meaningfully to healing the
ills that afflict a desperate humanity, must now address honestly and without
further evasion the implications of the over-arching truth that called the movement
into being: that God is one and that, beyond all diversity of cultural
expression and human interpretation, religion is likewise one.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With every day that passes, danger grows that the rising
fires of religious prejudice will ignite a worldwide conflagration the
consequences of which are unthinkable. Such a danger civil government, unaided,
cannot overcome. Nor should we delude ourselves that appeals for mutual
tolerance can alone hope to extinguish animosities that claim to possess Divine
sanction. The crisis calls on religious leadership for a break with the past as
decisive as those that opened the way for society to address equally corrosive
prejudices of race, gender and nation. Whatever justification exists for
exercising influence in matters of conscience lies in serving the well-being of
humankind. At this greatest turning point in the history of civilization, the
demands of such service could not be more clear. “The well-being of mankind,
its peace and security, are unattainable”, Bahá’u’lláh urges, “unless and until
its unity is firmly established.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal House of Justice</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com