Chapter 18

All the areas within the Western Hemisphere allocated to the United States National Assembly are assigned. A third of the membership of that same Assembly is joining the ranks of the pioneers. The remaining sister national assemblies are now vying in a spiritual race to complete assignments in their respective continents. Funds are inaugurated and sites are being investigated for the purchase of land for the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kars of Rome, Panama City and Toronto and for a national Haziratu'l-Quds in London. I appeal to the attendants at this conference, in thanksgiving for the manifold blessings abundantly showered upon Baha'u'llah's crusaders, to immortalize their proceedings through the inauguration of funds for the purchase of sites for Temples in that northern city, the scene of the present conference, and in Frankfurt in the heart of the European continent. I am contributing two thousand pounds for the furtherance of these meritorious enterprises.

I urge, moreover, that the participants, in view of the disproportionately small number of pioneers destined for virgin territories in relation to the total of volunteers, swell the roll of honor through enlisting promptly under the unfurled banner of the advancing hosts of Baha'u'llah. No worthier contribution can be offered on the altar of Baha'i sacrifice, no greater honor won during the course of the Holy Year now swiftly drawing to its close.

[July 1953]

Asian Intercontinental Conference

[NEW DELHI, INDIA, OCTOBER 7-15, 1953]

With high hopes and a joyful heart I acclaim the convocation, in the leading city of the Indian subcontinent, of the fourth and last of the Intercontinental Teaching Conferences of a memorable Holy Year commemorating the centenary of the birth of the prophetic Mission of Baha'u'llah.

On this historic occasion, when the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'is of the United States of America, of the Dominion of Canada, of Central and South America, of Persia, of the Indian subcontinent and of Burma, of 'Iraq and of Australasia, as well as representatives of the sovereign states and dependencies of the Asiatic continent, of the republics of North, Central and South America, and of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania are assembled, and are to deliberate on the needs and requirements of the recently launched triple campaign embracing the Asiatic mainland, the Australian continent and the islands of the Pacific Ocean--a campaign which may well be regarded as the most extensive, the most arduous and the most momentous of all the campaigns of a world-girdling Crusade, and which, in its scope, is unparalleled in the history of the Faith in the entire Eastern Hemisphere--my thoughts, on such an occasion, go back to the early dawn of our Faith, to those unforgettable scenes of matchless heroism, of dark tragedy, of imperishable glory which heralded its birth, and accompanied the spread of its infant light in the heart of the Asiatic continent.

I vividly recall the meteoric rise of the Faith of the Bab in the provinces of Persia and the stirring episodes associated with His cruel incarceration in the mountain-fastnesses of A_dh_irbayjan, with the revelation of the laws of His Dispensation, with the proclamation of the independence of His Faith, with the peerless heroism of His disciples, with the fiendish cruelty of His foes--the chief magistrate, the civil authorities, the ecclesiastical dignitaries and the masses of the people of His native land--with the humiliation, the spoliation, the dispersal, the eventual massacre of a vast number of His followers, and, above all, with His own execution in the city of Tabriz.

EARLY STAGES OF BAHA'U'LLAH'S FAITH

With a throb of wonder I call to mind the early and sudden fruition of His Dispensation in the capital city of that land, and the dramatic circumstances attending the birth of Baha'u'llah's Revelation culminating in His precipitate banishment to 'Iraq.

I am reminded, moreover, of the initial spread of the light of this revelation, in consequence of the banishment of Baha'u'llah, to the adjoining territories of 'Iraq, and, as far as the western fringes of that continent, to Turkey and the neighboring territories of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and, at a later stage, to the Indian subcontinent and China, situated on the southern and eastern extremities of that continent as well as to the Caucasus and Russian Turkistan.

Nor can I fail to remember the series of alternating crises and victories, each constituting a landmark in the evolution of the Faith--which it has experienced in some of these territories, associated with the distressful withdrawal of its Author to the mountains of Sulamaniyyih; with the glorious declaration of His Mission in Ba_gh_dad; with His second and third banishments to Constantinople and Adrianople; with the grievous rebellion of His half-brother; with the proclamation of His own Mission; with His fourth banishment to the desolate and far-off penal colony of Akka in Syria; with the revelation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, His Most Holy Book; with His ascension in the Holy Land; with the establishment of His Covenant and the inauguration of the ministry of 'Abdu'l-Baha, His son and the Exemplar and authorized Interpreter of His teachings.

These opening stages in the evolution of His Faith in the Asiatic continent were followed, while the first and Apostolic Age of His Dispensation was drawing to a close, by the opening of the islands situated in the Pacific Ocean, Japan in the north, and the Australian continent in the south. To these memorable chapters of Asian Baha'i history another was soon added, on the morrow of the ascension of the Center of Baha'u'llah's Covenant, and during the initial epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith, distinguished by the rise of the Administrative Order and the erection of its pillars in the cradle of that Faith, in 'Iraq, in India, Pakistan and Burma and in the Antipodes. This memorable episode in its development in that vast continent was succeeded by the initiation, during the second epoch of that same Age, of a series of plans in those same territories in support of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan and as a prelude to the opening of the recently launched world-embracing Spiritual Crusade.

ASIA'S HOUR IN THE GLOBAL CRUSADE

The hour has now struck for this continent, on whose soil, more than a century ago, so much sacred blood was shed, in whose very heart deeds of such tragic heroism were performed, and in many of whose territories such brilliant victories have been won, to contribute, in association with its sister continents, to the progress and ultimate triumph of this global Crusade, in a manner befitting its unrivaled position in the entire Baha'i world.

The various Baha'i communities dwelling within the borders of this continent and those situated to the south of its shores in the Antipodes, which include the oldest and most venerable among all the communities of the Baha'i world, and whose members in their aggregate constitute the overwhelming majority of the followers of Baha'u'llah, are called upon, in close association with four other Baha'i communities in the Western Hemisphere, to undertake in the course of the coming decade:

First, the construction of the first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar in Baha'u'llah's native land, in the city of Tihran, surnamed by Baha'u'llah "Mother of the World."

Second, the purchase of land for the future construction of three Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kars, one in the city of Ba_gh_dad, enshrining the "Most Great House," the third holiest city of the Baha'i world, one in New Delhi, the leading city of the Indian subcontinent, and the third in Sydney, the oldest and foremost Baha'i center in the Antipodes.

Third, the formation of no less than eleven national spiritual assemblies, one each in Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Pakistan and Burma; one in Turkey and one in Af_gh_anistan, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia; one in Japan, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America; one in New Zealand, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand, as well as four regional national spiritual assemblies, one in the Arabian Peninsula, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia; one in southeast Asia, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Pakistan and Burma; a third in the South Pacific, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America; and a fourth in the Near East, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of 'Iraq.

Fourth, the opening of the following forty-one virgin territories and islands: Andaman Islands, Bhutan, Daman, Diu, Goa, Karikal, Mahe, Mariana Islands, Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, Sikkim, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Pakistan and Burma; Caroline Islands, Dutch New Guinea, Hainan Island, Kazakhstan, Macao Island, Sakhalin Island, Tibet, Tonga Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America; Brunei, Chagos Archipelago, Kirgizia, Mongolia, Solomon Islands, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia; Admiralty Islands, Cocos Island, Loyalty Islands, Mentawei Islands, New Hebrides Islands, Portuguese Timor, Society Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand; Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Marshall Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Central America; Hadhramaut, Kuria-Muria Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of 'Iraq; Marquesas Islands, Samoa Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Canada; Cook Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of South America.

Fifth, the translation and publication of Baha'i literature in the following forty languages, to be undertaken by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Pakistan and Burma, in association with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand: Abor Miri, Aneityum, Annamese, Balochi, Bentuni, Binandere, Cheremiss, Chungchia, Georgian, Houailou, Javanese, Kado, Kaili, Kopu, Kusaie, Lepcha, Lifu, Manchu, Manipuri, Manus Island, Marquesas, Mentawei, Mongolian, Mordoff, Mwala, Na-Hsi, Nicobarese, Niue, Ossete, Ostiak, Pali, Panjabi, Pashto, Perm, Petats, Samoan, _Th_o, Tibetan, Tongan, Vogul.

Sixth, the consolidation of Aden Protectorate, A_dh_irbayjan, Af_gh_anistan, Ahsa, Armenia, Bahrein Island, Georgia, Hijaz, Saudi-Arabia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Yemen, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia; of Balu_ch_istan, Borneo, Burma, Ceylon, Indo-China, Indonesia, Malaya, Nepal, Pakistan, Sarawak, Siam, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Pakistan and Burma; of China, Formosa, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Philippine Islands, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America; of Jordan, Kuweit, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Trucial _Sh_ei_kh_s, Umman, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of 'Iraq; of Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australian New Guinea, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand; of Hong Kong, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the British Isles.

Seventh, the incorporation of the eleven above-mentioned national spiritual assemblies, as well as those of Persia and 'Iraq.

Eighth, the establishment by these above-mentioned eleven national spiritual assemblies of national Baha'i endowments.

Ninth, the establishment of a national Haziratu'l-Quds in the capital cities of each of the countries where national spiritual assemblies are to be established, as well as one in Suva, one in Jakarta, one in Bahrein and one in Beirut.

Tenth, the establishment of a national Baha'i Court in the capital cities of Persia, of 'Iraq, of Pakistan and of Af_gh_anistan--the leading Muslim centers in the Asiatic continent.

Eleventh, the establishment of two national Baha'i Publishing Trusts, one in Tihran and one in New Delhi.

Twelfth, the formation of Israel branches of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'is of Persia, of 'Iraq, and of Australia, authorized to hold on behalf of their parent institutions property dedicated to the holy shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the state of Israel.

Thirteenth, the appointment, during Ridvan 1954, by the Hands of the Cause in Asia and in Australia of an Auxiliary Board of nine members who will, in conjunction with the eight national spiritual assemblies participating in the Asiatic and Australian campaigns, assist, through periodic and systematic visits to Baha'i centers, in the efficient and prompt execution of the plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaigns in the continent of Asia and in the Antipodes.

ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW SPIRITUAL ERA

The Asiatic continent, the cradle of the principal religions of mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest civilizations which have flourished on this planet; the crossways of so many kindreds and races; the battleground of so many peoples and nations; above whose horizons, in modern times, the suns of two independent revelations--the promise and consummation of a six thousand year old religious cycle--have successively arisen; where the Authors of both of these revelations suffered banishment and died; within whose confines the Center of a divinely appointed Covenant was born, endured a forty-year incarceration and passed away; on whose western extremity the Qiblih of the Baha'i world has been definitely established; in whose heart the city proclaimed by Baha'u'llah as the "Mother of the World" is enshrined; within whose borders another city regarded as the "cynosure of an adoring world" and the scene of the greatest and most glorious revelation the world has witnessed is embosomed; on whose soil so many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated with both of these revelations, have lived, struggled and died--such a continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet so long and so sadly tormented, now stands at the hour of the launching of a world-encompassing Crusade, on the threshold of an era that may well recall, in its glory and ultimate repercussions, the great periods of spiritual revival which, from the dawn of recorded history have, at various stages in the revelation of God's purpose for mankind, illuminated the path of the human race.

May this Crusade, launched simultaneously on the Asiatic mainland, its neighboring islands and the Antipodes, under the direction of eight national spiritual assemblies, and through the operation of eight systematic teaching plans, and the concerted efforts of Baha'i communities in both the East and the West, provide, as it unfolds, an effective antidote to the baneful forces of atheism, nationalism, secularism and materialism that are tearing at the vitals of this turbulent continent, and may it re-enact those scenes of spiritual heroism which, more than any of the secular revolutions which have agitated its face, have left their everlasting imprint on the fortunes of the peoples and nations dwelling within its borders.

[October 1953]

Triple Announcement on Conclusion of Holy Year

On the occasion of the conclusion of the Holy Year I am overjoyed to share the following triple announcement with the attendants at the fourth and final Intercontinental Teaching Conference, marking the termination of festivities associated with the centenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah's Prophetic Mission.

The five-year-old, three-quarter million dollar enterprise, constituting the final stage in the initial epoch of the evolutionary process initiated over sixty years ago by the Founder of the Faith, in the heart of the Mountain of God, is consummated. The finishing touches of the installation of stained glass windows in the drum and octagon, the removal of scaffolding from the exterior and interior of the edifice, the interior calcimining of the dome, drum and octagon, tuck-pointing, cleaning and floodlighting the entire structure have been completed, synchronizing with the closing weeks of the glorious, twelve-month annals of the Holy Faith.

A steadily swelling throng of visitors from far and near, on many days exceeding a thousand, is flocking to the gates leading to the Inner Sanctuary of this majestic mausoleum; paying homage to the Queen of Carmel enthroned on God's Mountain, crowned in glowing gold, robed in shimmering white, girdled in emerald green, enchanting every eye from air, sea, plain and hill.

I am moved to request the attendants at the Conference to hold a befitting memorial gathering to pay tribute to the Hand of the Cause, Sutherland Maxwell, immortal architect of the arcade and superstructure of the Shrine. I feel, moreover, acknowledgement should be made at the same gathering to the unflagging labors and vigilance of the Hand of the Cause, Ugo Giachery, in negotiating contracts, inspecting and dispatching all materials required for the construction of the edifice, as well as of the assiduous, constant care of the Hand of the Cause, Leroy Ioas, in supervising the construction of both drum and dome. To two doors of the Shrine recently named after the first two aforementioned Hands, the octagon door, now added, will henceforth be associated with the third Hand who contributed to the raising of this stately, sacred structure.

The second announcement is that the world-wide process of the settlement of virgin areas of the globe has been accelerated by the arrival of the following pioneers at their respective posts: Cora Oliver, British Honduras; Carole and Dwight Allen, Greece; Mr. and Mrs. Xavier Rodrigues, Portuguese Guinea; Brigitte Hasselblatt, Shetlands; Elizabeth Hopper, Ada Schott, Sara Kenny and Mrs. Duffield, Madeira; H. J. Snider, Key West; Hugh McKinley and mother, Cyprus; Max Kenyerezi, French Equatorial Africa; Elsa Grossmann, Frisian Islands; Helen Robinson, Baranof; Mr. and Mrs. Ted Anderson, Yukon; Tabendeh Payman, San Marino; Una Townshend, Malta; Rolf Haug, Crete, swelling the Roll of Honor, raising the number of territories within the pale of the Faith to one hundred sixty-five. Two additional pioneers are proceeding to leper colonies in Puerto Rico and French Guiana. Two valiant pioneers from India and America are preparing entry into Tibet. Two more members of the United States National Assembly have volunteered to pioneer, raising the number to five. United States pioneers are departing to twenty-four virgin territories ere the conclusion of the Holy Year. The Feast of Names was celebrated last August by two stalwart crusaders at the weather station at Buchanan Bay on desolate Ellesmere Island, latitude seventy-nine, less than seven hundred miles from the North Pole. The irresistibly unfolding Crusade has been sanctified by the death of heroic, eighty-eight year old Ella Bailey, elevating her to the rank of the martyrs of the Faith, shedding further luster on the American Baha'i Community and consecrating the soil of the fast-awakening African continent.

The third announcement is that preliminary steps have been taken, aiming at the acquisition of an extensive area at the head of the holy mountain, scene of the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, preparatory to the purchase of the site for the future Mother Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the Holy Land, made possible by the munificent hundred thousand dollar donation of the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins, signalizing the opening of the second stage in the unfoldment of the mighty process set in motion by the Author of the Faith.

A TRIPLE RESPONSIBILITY

This triple bounty vouchsafed the Community of the Most Great Name, scattered over the face of the planet, calls for tremendous, immediate, concerted exertion by the assembled believers in order adequately to discharge this triple responsibility. First, redoubled consecration to the pioneering task, particularly in the Pacific area emphasized in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, raising thereby, ere adjournment of the Conference, the number of territories opened to the Faith or assigned pioneers for immediate settlement to above two hundred. Second, the demonstration of increasing self-sacrifice through the inauguration of Funds for the purchase of land for future Temples on the Asiatic continent and in the Antipodes, in Ba_gh_dad, New Delhi and Sydney. I am contributing three thousand pounds for the furtherance of these meritorious enterprises. Third, earnest consultation by representatives of the Persian and Iraqi National Assemblies, directly concerned with the holy task, with the assembled Hands of the Cause on ways and means to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure purchase of the holy places, particularly the site of the Siyah-_Ch_al, the cradle of the Revelation to the Author of the Faith, as well as the identification and transfer to Baha'i cemeteries of the bodies of the relatives of the Bab and Baha'u'llah, constituting vital objectives of the Ten-Year Plan.

I am ardently hoping, fervently supplicating that this epochal Conference, setting the seal on the celebration of the second Baha'i Jubilee, may contribute in an unprecedented degree through the character of its deliberations, the solidity of its achievements, the scope of its accomplishments, to the ultimate attainment of the shining goals of the World Crusade, destined to culminate in the not far distant Most Great Jubilee associated with the hundredth anniversary of the assumption by Baha'u'llah of His prophetic office.

[7 October 1953]

Hands at New Delhi Conference to Aid in Attaining Goals

On the eve of the conclusion of the festivities commemorating the centenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah's ministry, I am moved to direct the following specific message to the Hands assembled at the conference. In grateful recognition of the multiple bounties showered in rapid succession upon the army of the Lord of Hosts during the course of the Holy Year, auspiciously ushered in through the proclamation of the objectives of the World Crusade, whose opening months witnessed the convocation in the heart of the African continent of the first Intercontinental Teaching Conference; whose climax was signalized by the simultaneous holding in the heart of North America of the Intercontinental Conference of the Western Hemisphere, the dedication of the Mother Temple of the West and the launching of the Ten-Year Plan; whose record has been ennobled by two additional intercontinental gatherings, successively convened in the European and Asiatic continents, all eleven Hands are called upon to arise to enhance the abiding value of their strenuous, exemplary labors during the last twelve months, constituting the initial chapter in their steadily unfolding world mission.

The hour is propitious on the morrow of the last intercontinental conference to gird your loins for yet another, still wider dispersal, extending over one or two months and embracing Asia, Africa and Australasia, for the purpose of establishing close contact with the national assemblies, advising and assisting local assemblies and individuals to attain the goals of the globe-girdling Plan.