Chapter 2

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

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

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

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

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

Your fellow-worker, Shoghi

LETTER OF 27 NOVEMBER 1924

27 November 1924

To my dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in 'Abdu'l-Baha.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Awaiting eagerly your joyful news, Your true brother

LETTER OF 2 FEBRUARY 1925

2 February 1925

To my well-beloved Baha'i brethren and sisters throughout Germany. Care of the German National Spiritual Assembly.

Loyal and capable children of our beloved 'Abdu'l-Baha!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your true brother

LETTER OF 7 MARCH 1925

7 March 1925

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

My dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in 'Abdu'l-Baha!

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

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

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

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

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

I am your true brother

LETTER OF 27 MAY 1925

27 May 1925

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

My dearly-beloved friends:

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

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

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

Assuring you of my affection and prayers,

I am your brother in His service

LETTER OF 26 OCTOBER 1925

26 October 1925

To the esteemed editor of the "La Nova Tago", the International Baha'i Esperanto Gazette

My dear fellow-worker:

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

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

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

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

May 'Abdu'l-Baha bless richly your efforts,

Your brother and fellow-worker

LETTER OF 5 NOVEMBER 1925

5 November 1925

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

My dear fellow-workers:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I am your true brother and fellow-worker

LETTER OF 3 DECEMBER 1925

3 December 1925

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

My Dearly-beloved friends:

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

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

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

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

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

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

I am your brother and well-wisher Shoghi

LETTER OF 1 APRIL 1926

1 April 1926

Dear spiritual brothers and sisters:

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

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

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

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

[From the Guardian:]

My dear co-workers:

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

Your brother and well-wisher, Shoghi

LETTER OF 28 JUNE 1926

28 June 1926

Dear Spiritual brothers and sisters:

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

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

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

[From the Guardian:]

My dear fellow-workers:

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

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 8 APRIL 1927

8 April 1927

Dear Baha'i brothers and sisters,

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

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