March 21. On this date in 1958, nearly five months after Shoghi Effendi's death, the Hands of the Cause of God in the Holy Land addressed a letter to the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the World announcing "nine Custodians seeking to shoulder on behalf of all the Hands some of those tasks our dearly loved Guardian carried out to such perfection!"
To the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the World
March 21, 1958
Beloved Fellow-Hands:
Daily our thoughts and our prayers have been with you since we separated from each other after our great ordeal at Bahji We know your thoughts and loving prayers have surrounded us as we struggle to meet the problems here at the World Centre and to find our way in service at so critical and heart-rending a time in the history of our beloved Faith.
It is being increasingly borne in upon us from news received here as well as the reports of those of us who have been out in the Bahá'í world to serve and returned again, such as Ruhiyyih Khanum, Jalal Khazeh, Paul Haney and Shu'a'u'llah 'Ala'i that the only possible way the work of this holy Faith, which our beloved Guardian inspired, organized and brought to such a high level, can be maintained and further consolidated, is by focusing both the consciousness of the believers and the work of the Cause of God upon its World Spiritual and Administrative Centre. The strength of a wheel and its power to roll forward are entirely dependent upon the hub, and the solidity of the spokes united in the hub. We have come to see that the supreme work of the Hands-all twenty-seven of them-is to maintain this focal Centre of Unity in the Holy Land at this dangerous time the Faith is passing through. There exists no other instrument for this purpose except ourselves.
As you can well imagine it has been a very trying time. The work is so sacred, the burden of responsibility so heavy on each Hand everywhere in the world-how much more here on the nine Custodians seeking to shoulder on behalf of all the Hands some of those tasks our dearly loved Guardian carried out to such perfection! Slowly we have been able to get our work organized and daily a stronger pattern is emerging. We feel that to have nine here has not only a spiritual significance in itself but that it also greatly helps in making decisions as we get the benefit of the considered opinions of more of the Hands. There is also the influence on the morale of the believers all over the world which is exerted by their knowing that nine of us are constantly engaged in protecting and serving the interests of the Faith at its Heart. Unfortunately thus far it has not been possible to maintain this number at all times.
Of the permanent Custodians six are now here-Ruhiyyih Khanum, Amelia Collins, Jalal Khazeh 'Ali-Akbar Furutan Paul Haney and Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, as well as the alternate Custodian Ugo Giachery, Mason Remey has just left for Sydney. Hasan Balyuzi has not yet been able to arrange his business and family affairs (he hopes to do this within a few months), and Leroy Ioas has had to go to a sanatorium in Switzerland to treat a heart condition which has been developing for some time. He is better now and we hope to have him with us about the beginning of May. John Ferraby and Shu'a'u'llah 'Ala'i have been acting as substitutes, but as one is the British National Spiritual Assembly Secretary and the other the Chairman of the Persian National Spiritual Assembly, they have been forced to return to their posts where they were urgently needed. In a few weeks Ugo Giachery, will have to return to Europe en route to the Chicago Conference. We find that during the summer months we might even be reduced to six temporarily, in spite of the fact that 'Ali Muhammad Varqa will be coming to act as a substitute for some months. We feel you should know this because it has a direct bearing on the work all of us are doing and on our future plans.
Daily we are more convinced of the need for the Hands to not only be strongly represented here by nine resident Hands as much of the time as possible, but that increasingly during the coming years until the Universal House of Justice can be formed, the other Hands must be made free to travel and circulate amongst the believers, so that they can not only watch over and protect the Faith better, but ensure that an uninterrupted flow of spiritual life continues to pour out from the World Centre. The beloved Guardian was in his person the very heart of our Faith; we are but his most humble and inadequate servants, but the supreme function of the heart as the key organ of the whole must go on, and it is our duty at this time and ours alone to see that it does. There are many obstacles in the way of our accomplishing this, the two greatest being financial means and health. Some of the Hands are too frail to carry on heavy duties or travel. The funds of the Faith, already heavily committed, are not at the present in a position to support extensive travelling on the part of the Hands. We share these thoughts with you so that you can better understand our problems and the way the Custodians you have appointed see at least some of the urgent needs of the Faith.
From a recently issued statement of the American Hands and National Spiritual Assembly, from letters received regarding remarks made by some of the Asiatic and European Hands, it is becoming obvious that in a perfectly natural course of human events, and with no awareness of its perils, there has been a tendency for different interpretations of our present situation and different prognostications of the future to be made. At times such as this in history, when a firmly integrated organism is suddenly deprived of its pivot, there is a strong centrifugal force released, and we believe that the urgent and most sacred duty of the Hands now is to offset this process at all costs. We feel very strongly that unless we hear from you all about conditions in your areas in more detail and more frequently, we will not be able to discharge the heavy responsibilities you have given us.
The first step must surely be to think, to catch the vision of the Bahá'í world and its work as the Guardian himself saw it. Even those of us serving here at the World Centre-some of us privileged to have been guided by the Guardian himself-realize only now that he is no longer here, and we are forced to assume responsibility, how vast is the field and how tremendous the work required to preserve what has been won and carry on what has not yet been finished, thus ensuring that our beloved Guardian did not lay down his life in vain, and that his work is accomplished. We feel a great adjustment in our thinking is required on the part of the Hands here and abroad; we must think deeply and quickly. The time is flying, and the need for action on a world scale constantly before us. The minds of National Spiritual Assembly members are focused on carrying on the work within the area of their own jurisdiction. Very much the same thing is true of the Hands, as during the beloved Guardian's lifetime they were called upon to discharge continental duties. Now with the sudden irreparable loss of our beloved Guardian the Hands are compelled to see the Bahá'í world as a whole, as he always did, to forget regional consciousness (although of course they will continue to watch over the work in their respective areas), and to think on behalf of Shoghi Effendi of the world needs, world protection, world consolidation of this mighty Faith. God forbid that we should fall short of our duty. How will we ever account to him who appointed us if we do?
We feel that as you associate with the various National Spiritual Assemblies in the discharge of your duties, you should constantly remind them of these things and help them to bear in mind that if they are a national body, say in Latin America, the spiritual health and entire future of what they love most in this world-the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh-depends not only on their own condition but on that of their counterparts in Europe, Asia or Africa, and that the tie binding them to those sister bodies passes straight through the heart of the Faith, through Haifa, its World Centre. To the degree to which the Bahá'í world begins to think this way, to just this degree will we Hands be able to protect it and hold it together until the House of Justice comes into being.
We feel that from now on the Hands of the Faith should consider arranging their personal affairs so that they may to as great a degree as possible be free to serve at the World Centre or throughout the Bahá'í world, travelling and inspiring the believers, and keeping before their eyes what we must first ourselves firmly grasp-the world picture of the Faith and its present needs. The question of finances must naturally be considered but we believe that support will not fail if the believers behold in the Hands those spiritual qualities commensurate with the high station conferred upon them as stewards of the Faith. We believe that there would be a great advantage gained in having Hands from one continent visit another continent. We all know the impetus a local community receives through outside visitors. The effect is infinitely greater if the visitor is a Hand of the Faith. Let us therefore ponder these things, reorient our thinking, and reorient it quickly. After the ascension of the Guardian, we are still in a state of shock. Neither our enemies nor any doubters there may be in our midst have yet rallied their forces. The love of the friends for their beloved Guardian has welled up a mighty flow of devotion and determination to carry on his plans. The iron is hot, and if we do not strike now, we Hands may never as long as we live have another opportunity like this. We believe this is a formative moment in both Bahá'í and world history. The five Intercontinental Conferences offer the unique opportunity to inspire and set afire the believers. This was one of the purposes of the Guardian in calling for them, and we must utilize them to the full, to raise up a new spirit of consecration which in turn will stimulate an increasing flow of pioneers and larger sums to carry on the work before us. We hope you will do all you can to encourage the friends to attend them and that those of you who are present yourselves will do your best to keep the discussion on a high spiritual plane and focus on the work to be done during die next five years. It seems to us that what has happened historically-the passing of the Guardian and his leaving no Will-has placed the Bahá'ís in a position which no mere intellectual approach can either mitigate or solve. Spiritual forces alone, resignation to the will of God, prayer, consecration, self-sacrifice, devotion, can carry us forward through this period.
We want you to know that in a most remarkable way the problems connected with protecting various properties at the World Centre and in the Cradle of the Faith have been overcome. It is not wise as yet to write in detail as it might jeopardize what is being done, but we will report to you in full in November when we meet at Bahji The preservation of this Centre and those functions it can and must still fulfil in the absence of him who was the interpreter of the Word of God is, we believe, not only our supreme duty, but that of each one of you equally.
None of us can ever be the same after last November 4th. We must then ask ourselves what are we going to be from now on? What are the opportunities that lie before us? Not having our Guardian now in this physical world, we must cling the more tightly to each other, we the Hands he raised up for the protection of his work. Would that we were more adequate to meet the needs of this tragic hour!
To you, the closest kindred of our hearts, we send our love, and we pray for you all every time we visit the Holy Shrines, and daily as well.
Yours in the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
P.S. May we remind you that the text of this communication is addressed to the Hands alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment