Chapter 3

He is continually praying on behalf of you all at the Holy Shrines that your labours in this connection may be blessed and enriched, and that the results achieved may be such as to stimulate you to redouble your efforts for the wider penetration of the Cause and its firmer establishment in your land.

With loving and sincere greetings to you all

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued friends:

Your message filled my heart with joy and gratitude and has served to remind me of your constancy, your devotion, and unsparing efforts for the spread of the Faith and the consolidation of its institutions. I will continue to supplicate on your behalf that the Beloved whom you serve so diligently and well may bless, sustain and guide you in your high endeavours.

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 21 MAY 1935(13)

21 May 1935

The increasing evidences of the new fervour, zeal and unity with which the German friends, and particularly those living in Wärnemunde, Rostock, Schwerin and other northern German centers, are toiling for the spread of the Cause invariably serve to reinforce his faith in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s promises regarding the future of the Faith in Germany. These signs of the new revival that has set in the conditions of the Cause in your country are, indeed, remarkable and highly encouraging to the friends. You should, therefore, persevere in your efforts and not feel discouraged if you encounter some difficulties in your way. The essential thing now is perseverance, courage and faith.

The Guardian has been also much gratified to learn of the steps you have taken for the holding of a North German Bahá’í conference this year. He thinks that Berlin, due to its central situation, is a suitable place for the friends to come together. Besides, this may prove also to be a source of great encouragement to the believers in that city, and may serve to stimulate them to take a more active part in the organization of the Cause throughout Northern Germany.

Shoghi Effendi is also hopeful that the study courses which your daughter is preparing for this incoming Northern German Congress will prove to be of an immense benefit to the believers. The subject matter is, no doubt, highly important, and can be thoroughly grasped if it is clearly and adequately presented to them.

With regard to the German translation of Mrs. Bedikian’s letters. The Guardian approves of your Contact Committee’s suggestion that only extracts from these letters be translated and published. This will, of course, save much time, and will, in addition, make it easier and more interesting for the friends to get acquainted with the full contents of Mrs. Bedikian’s communications.

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

Your notable share in the revival and extension of Bahá’í activity in northern Germany will be ever remembered with joy and gratitude. Your work will no doubt attract the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh, and will serve as an inspiring example to the generations that will arise to serve after you. Persevere, and never feel disheartened.

Shoghi

LETTER OF 17 JUNE 1935(14)

17 June 1935

Dear Bahá’í co-workers,

Shoghi Effendi has read with much pleasure your welcome message of the 23rd of May last, and has learned with deep satisfaction of the success of the meeting you have held on the occasion of the anniversary of Báb’s Declaration. He feels, indeed, so happy to realize how unitedly and harmoniously your community is discharging its activities, and is certain that, as years go by, it will increasingly manifest a zeal and ardour that will enable it to achieve accomplishments that will not only be unique but which will have far-reaching effects upon the progress of the Cause throughout Germany.

In his moments of meditation and prayers he will specially remember you, and will ask Bahá’u’lláh to continue pouring His blessings upon you all, that your community may daily grow in strength, unity and fervour.

With loving Bahá’í greetings and sincere good wishes...

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-beloved co-workers:

I deeply appreciate your most welcome message, and wish to assure you of my deepfelt gratitude for the constancy and zeal which characterize your labours in the Divine Vineyard. I am following the progress of your activities with the utmost interest and joy, and feel confident that the blessings of the Beloved, whom you serve with such ardour, steadfastness and loyalty will guide, enrich and reinforce your historic work for the propagation of His glorious and invincible Faith. Persevere in your high endeavours and rest confident.

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 5 JULY 1935

5 July 1935

He is very happy to learn of the beautiful meeting you have had in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lehne, and of the visit paid to the friends in Berlin by some of the believers from various parts of Northern Germany. He trusts that these warm and frequent contacts between these Northern Bahá’í centers will be maintained and that as a result greater cooperation will prevail among them. He is praying from the very depth of his heart on behalf of you all, that your efforts for the promulgation of the Message may be continually enriched, guided and blessed through Divine confirmations.

In closing please convey the Guardian’s loving greetings to all the believers in Berlin, and particularly to dear Mr. and Mrs. Lehne who are contributing such a conspicuous share to the advancement of the Faith in their centre.

LETTER OF 3 AUGUST 1935

3 August 1935

He wishes me particularly to convey to you his most genuine appreciation of your services in connection with the publication of “La Nova Tago” which he hopes will, through your efforts and those of the Esperanto-speaking Bahá’ís both in Germany and abroad, develop gradually into a leading Esperanto review, and thus become an effective medium for the spread of Teachings in Esperantist circles throughout the world. It is in view of the far-reaching possibilities which this publication can have as a teaching organ, that he has urged the German N.S.A. to resume its publication when, a few months ago, they had almost decided to discontinue printing it.

With regard to your request for a special article from the Guardian which you wish to have published in the forthcoming issue of your magazine. He would suggest that you should translate his general letter addressed to the friends a few years ago, entitled “The Goal of a New World Order”, as this, he feels, is a very suitable material for publication in that review, and is by far better than anything he can write at present.

As to your suggestion regarding a more widespread use of the Esperanto among the Bahá’ís as a medium of correspondence. Shoghi Effendi, as you know, has been invariably encouraging the believers, both in the East and in the West, to make an intensive study of that language, and to consider it as an important medium for the spread of the Cause in international circles. He has been specially urging the friends to have the Cause well represented in all Esperanto Congresses and associations, and by this means cultivate greater friendship and cooperation between them and the Esperantists.

But in this connection, he feels, he must make it clear that although the Cause views with much sympathy and appreciation the activities which the Esperantists are increasingly initiating for the spread of their language, yet it considers that the adoption of the Esperanto by the entire world is by no means an inevitable fact. Neither Bahá’u’lláh, nor even ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ever stated that Esperanto will be the international auxiliary language. The Master simply expressed the hope that it may, provided certain conditions were fulfilled, develop into such a medium.

LETTER OF 24 DECEMBER 1935

24 December 1935

...Bahá’í Summer School at Esslingen. He is rejoiced to learn of the unprecedented success that has attended this meeting, and hopes that the next few years will witness still greater progress in that direction. The enthusiasm and devotion of the attendants constitute, undoubtedly, a most remarkable asset which will ensure the steady development of the school into one of the leading Bahá’í educational institutions throughout the world.

LETTER OF 25 JANUARY 1936(15)

25 January 1936

Shoghi Effendi ... is very pleased that you have at last found the opportunity of visiting the Holy Shrines. He wishes me therefore to extend to you, and also to Mrs. Mühlschlegel, a most cordial welcome, and to express the hope that through this visit you will receive a fresh and added stimulus and a wider vision in your labours for the Cause in Germany....

It is hoped that more friends will be encouraged to undertake a similar journey to the Holy Land in the near future....

[From the Guardian:]

Assuring you both of a hearty welcome, and wishing you always success in the service of our beloved Faith,

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 26 JANUARY 1936

26 January 1936

The Esslingen Bahá’í Assembly

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

On behalf of the Guardian I wish to acknowledge with deepest thanks and appreciation the receipt of your welcome message of the 18th instant.

He is, indeed, very happy to learn of the news of the progress of the Cause in Esslingen, and of the recent accomplishments of your Assembly in that center. The improvements that you have made in the Bahá’í Home will, undoubtedly, rejoice all the friends in Germany and will greatly encourage them to attend the next Summer School. He hopes that the believers outside Germany will also be attracted to your centre, and will thus contribute to the further growth and consolidation of your community.

The Guardian is continually supplicating on your behalf at the Holy Shrines, that Divine confirmations may strengthen and guide your Assembly in the discharge of its heavy duties and responsibilities.

He will also remember all the other friends in Esslingen, and will ask the Almighty to bless and inspire them all in the service of His Cause.

With most loving greetings and best wishes for a happy and prosperous season...

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-beloved friends:

Your message brought joy and imparted strength and hope to my heart. I deeply value your constancy, your devotion, your unremitting labours, your notable services to our beloved Faith. I will continue to pray that your numbers may increase, your influence may deepen, and your hopes may be fuller and speedily realized. Persevere and never lose heart,

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 31 MARCH 1936

31 March 1936

Der Geistige Rat der Bahá’í in Esslingen

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

Heartiest thanks from the Guardian for your very kind message dated March 21st. He feels so deeply touched by your kind words, and is specially moved at the Naw-Rúz greetings which you have conveyed to him so beautifully, and all of which he fully reciprocates. He sincerely hopes that this New Bahá’í Year we have just entered will bring upon the entire Esslingen community untold blessings, and that through them you will all be filled with a renewed determination to carry on your labours for the spread of the Cause.

The Guardian feels also very thankful and happy to learn that three new believers have recently joined your group. He is praying fervently to Bahá’u’lláh that these new members may increasingly gain in spiritual power and insight, and thus become valuable helpers to your assembly.

With his renewed greetings and best wishes...

[From the Guardian:]

Dearly-beloved friends:

Your New-Year greetings rejoiced my heart and filled it with loving gratitude. I prize the assurance you give me, and feel deeply thankful for it. I will, from the depths of my heart, pray for you that the Almighty may rain His blessings upon you, may fulfil your highest hopes, and assist you to advance the best interests of His glorious and sacred Faith,

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 19 OCTOBER 1936

19 October 1936

The Guardian has received the letter you had written him on behalf of the Esslingen Assembly and dated September 27th, and wishes you to convey to your fellow-members in that body his thanks and appreciation, and his gratitude for the sentiments they had expressed to him through you. He very deeply values the assurances of love, loyalty and devotion you have given him, and is ardently praying that Bahá’u’lláh may abundantly reward you for all these evidences of your undying attachment to His Cause.

The Guardian wishes me also to extend his grateful thanks and his hearty congratulations to your Assembly and to the community of believers in Esslingen for the unprecedented success that has crowned your efforts in connection with the organization of this year’s session of the German Bahá’í Summer School. He is praying from the bottom of his heart for your continued guidance throughout the succeeding years...

[From the Guardian:]

Dear co-workers:

I am deeply moved by the remarkable evidences of zeal and of activity manifested by the believers of Esslingen. My heart is filled with unspeakable gratitude. Persevere in your efforts and rest assured.

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 25 OCTOBER 1936

25 October 1936

Your kind letter of the fifth instant enclosing photostatic reproductions of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets revealed to you and to your dear mother have all duly reached our beloved Guardian and have been read with profoundest interest and appreciation by him.

He wishes me to thank you for so kindly sending him copies of these Tablets of the Master which he will keep as a gift from you in the International Bahá’í Archives on Mt. Carmel. Needless to say how deeply he appreciates this gift, and how much he considers it of value to this first Archives of the Cause in the Holy Land.

In closing may I express his admiration and gratitude for the services you are so devotedly rendering our beloved Cause in Esslingen. The Esslingen community owes you indeed a great debt, and can never be too grateful for the manifold accomplishments you have, steadily and splendidly, contributed towards its development, ever since the early days of the Cause in Germany.

The Guardian wishes you also to convey his thanks and appreciation to dear Mrs. Schweizer. He is grieved to learn of her indisposition, but hopes and fervently prays that by the time this letter reaches you she will have been completely cured and restored to full health.

With renewed greetings to you both, and also to the community of believers in Esslingen,

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and prized co-worker:

I am deeply touched by your splendid and highly valued gift. I will continue to pray for your good-health, your happiness and the uninterrupted extension of your historic activities and achievements. Please assure dear Mrs. Schweizer of my special and fervent prayers for her speedy recovery. Her health is so precious to us all.

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 3 MARCH 1937

3 March 1937

I am instructed by our beloved Guardian to inform you of the receipt of your letter of February 21st written on behalf of the Bahá’í Assembly of Rostock, and to ask you to convey to them, and also to our dear friend Mr. Lorenzen, his grateful thanks for the enlarged copy of the photograph of the North German Bahá’í Congress which they have been so kind in sending him. It is indeed a most beautiful and impressive picture, and will be placed very soon in the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí, where it will be seen by both the Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í visitors. Please, thank very warmly your fellow-members in the Rostock Assembly for this gift, and express to them the Guardian’s hope that, through them, as well as through the united and combined efforts of all North German Bahá’í centers, this year’s conference will be even more successful than the one held last summer, and that the outcome of it will be to open new fields of teaching for the Cause in Northern Germany.

LETTER OF 23 JUNE 1937

23 June 1937

The Guardian has been most deeply touched by your message of the third inst., and wishes me to assure you both of his profound appreciation of the sentiments you have expressed to him on the occasion of his marriage. It was most kind and thoughtful of you to have written him in such moving terms, and to have given him such firm assurances of your undying loyalty and devotion to the Cause. He is ardently praying on your behalf that the spirit which is animating you may ever grow deeper, and may translate itself into sustained and whole-hearted service to the Faith in the beloved land of Germany. He is specially entreating the Beloved that the difficulties which you and your beloved co-workers in that land are so unexpectedly encountering may be gradually removed, and that you may be again set free to assist in spreading the Teachings among your fellow-countrymen.

LETTER OF 20 OCTOBER 1937(16)

20 October 1937

Ihre andere Frage, Feuerbestattung: Bahá’u’lláh hat in Seinem Gesetz-Buch, dem “Aqdas”, bestimmte Gesetze fúr Begrabung geoffenbart. Und ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sagte, dass der menschliche Körper langsam durch einen Prozess zusammengestellt worden ist. So auch sollte er durch Natur auseinander gehen.

Wegen Ihrer Frage um die Esperanto-Zeitschrift in Holland, der Hüter glaubt, dass jetzt ist keine Zeit, um etwas in dieser Beziehung anzufangen. FRúher hat sie unbedingt viel fúr die Verbreitung der Sache getan, aber jetzt ist es unmöglich und auch nicht beratbar (advisable). Wie Sie vielleicht schon wissen, Lydia arbeitet in Amerika jetzt.

LETTER OF 7 JANUARY 1938

7 January 1938

Our welcome guest Th. Emeric Salas has duly presented to our beloved Guardian your letter of December 19th which you had written him on behalf of the Vienna Bahá’í Assembly. He has read it, together with the accompanying letter addressed to your Assembly by Dr. Ziemand, with the utmost care and deepest appreciation, and wishes you to assure your fellow-members of his gratitude for the efforts they are so devotedly exerting for the further promotion of the Faith throughout Austria.

He welcomes indeed Dr. Ziemand’s offer to undertake some Bahá’í translations into German, specially as the German believers are no longer able to arrange for the translation and publication of any Bahá’í book. He also hopes that this will serve as a means for deepening Dr. Ziemand’s interest in the Teachings, and to inspire him to eventually join actively the Cause.

He would recommend the “Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh” as the most important work to be translated into German at present.

As regards the hundred dollars which have been anonymously donated to your Assembly for the publication fund; the Guardian would advise, that part of this sum be expended on the printing of the pamphlet on “World Religion”, and that written by Dr. Esslemont “What is the Bahá’í Movement?”, and the rest put aside for use in the future.

With the renewed expression of his abiding appreciation of your services, and with loving greetings to all the friends in Vienna...

[From the Guardian:]

Dear and valued co-worker:

I wish to assure you and your dearly-beloved co-workers in Vienna of my constant prayers for your success in the magnificent efforts you are all exerting for the spread and protection of this sacred and precious Cause. You are often in my thoughts and I will continue to supplicate ardently and affectionately on your behalf. Rest assured and persevere.

Shoghi

LETTER OF 18 JANUARY 1938

18 January 1938

To the Friends in Esslingen. Beloved co-workers,

Shoghi Effendi has been deeply touched by your very cordial message of the 31st December, and is moved to write to you again and to assure you of his best wishes, and of his continued prayers for your protection and guidance in those hard and trying times.

His thoughts often turn to you and to our well-beloved German brethren in dear remembrance and loving appreciation of your services to the Cause. He is daily supplicating the Beloved to cheer and comfort your hearts, strengthen and guide your steps, and keep you ever steadfast and loyal in His path.

On the occasion of this New Year which we have just entered he further wishes me to convey to you his warmest greetings, and to reciprocate heartily the good wishes you have so kindly expressed...

[From the Guardian:]

May the Almighty bless and protect you, guide you in your devoted and continued endeavours and fulfil your highest hopes and dearest wishes,

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 1 FEBRUARY 1938

1 February 1938

The Guardian was pleased to receive your letter of the 22nd January which you had written him on behalf of the Vienna Assembly regarding the method of Bahá’í elections.

He wishes you to kindly inform your fellow-members that this question of Bahá’í electoral procedure has been explained and elucidated by him in one of his communications to the American N.S.A. which you will find reproduced in the book “Bahá’í Administration”, a copy of which is being mailed to you for presentation to your Assembly.

As you will notice from that letter the method of assembly elections is exceedingly simple, and the Guardian wishes the friends to desist from adding any more regulations to those few ones which he has felt it his duty to lay down for the conduct of the believers.

In closing kindly convey to the friends in Vienna, and in particular to your fellow-workers in the Assembly, the assurances of his prayers for the success of their elections, and for the promotion and guidance of their community...

[From the Guardian:]

May the all-conquering, all-embracing Spirit of Bahá’u’lláh overshadow you and your dearly-loved co-workers at all times and under all circumstances, and enable you to raise the Call of God throughout the length and breadth of your country, and establish firmly the basis of the administrative order of the Faith.

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 20 MARCH 1938(17)

20 March 1938

...it made Shoghi Effendi truly happy to know that our dear friend Mrs. ... will be soon coming to Haifa. Much as he regrets that her stay will be of such an exceptionally short duration he hopes nevertheless that through contact with these Holy Spots she will be so refreshed and strengthened spiritually as to be able to impart fresh hope and vigour to the hearts of the friends when she returns home.

Needless to tell you what a great pleasure it is for the Guardian to meet again this year, and so unexpectedly, one of our German friends, as his heart is longing to hear of your news, and to share the experiences you have been passing through during all these months.

LETTER OF 29 MARCH 1938

29 March 1938

Shoghi Effendi has just received your very kind message of the 20th ins. conveying to him your greetings and good wishes on the occasion of the feast of Naw-Rúz. He values beyond words your sentiments, and wishes me to assure you of his prayers at the Shrines on your behalf, that this New Year we have just entered may bring to you and your fellow-brethren throughout Germany every blessing, and happiness, and the highest success in both your spiritual and material pursuits.

It was a matter of profound grief to Shoghi Effendi to hear of the sad news of the passing away of our friend Mr. Emil Lips. Kindly convey to the bereaved members of his family his heartfelt condolences, and the expression of his profound and deepfelt sympathy in this grievous loss they have sustained.

LETTER OF 7 MAY 1939

7 May 1939

He too wishes me to extend to you his deep love and good wishes on this happy and blessed occasion, and to assure you, and our dear friends in Esslingen, of his prayers for your protection and guidance in these days of widespread gloom and distress, that your hearts may be strengthened and assured, and that you may emerge from your present-day tests and trials more united, and firmer than ever in your love and loyalty towards the Faith.