The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States 1939

Seven future Hands of the Cause served on this Assembly!

From left: Louis Gregory, Harlan Obar, Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas, Fred Schopflocker, Horace Holley, Amelia Collins, Roy Wilhelm, Allen McDaniel

‘Abdu’l-Baha: “The Perfect Exemplar of His [Baha'u'llah's] Teachings”

Story for Children: When Gran’pa was a tramp

George lay awake in bed for a long time. He was thinking about the story Gran'ma had told him and his elder sister Ann. The evening had been exciting. Gran'ma had told them about the days when 'Abdu'l-Baha had visited England. He had felt proud when Gran'ma told them that Gran'pa had met 'Abdu'l-Baha. But his mouth was left gaping wide open with wonder when they were told that at that time Gran'pa was a tramp.

'Gran'pa a tramp?!' He still couldn't believe it.

He turned and whispered, "Ann . . . do you think Gran'pa was really a tramp!'

Half asleep, she mumbled, "Oh, go to sleep George and Gran'ma doesn't tell tall tales like you do."

Gran'pa would call him 'little tramp' whenever he returned home from school shuffling along the dirt path bent under the weight of his school bag and covered from head to toe in dust.

George tried to picture Gran'pa as a tramp. An old hat much too small resting on a clump of overgrown hair. An unwashed face lost in a dense growth of beard. An over- sized coat multi-coloured by the numerous patches on it. Discoloured trousers held-up by a piece of string, baggy at the knees and short at the ankles. Oversized boots stiff with age, which had lost their identity beneath successive layers of mud. The picture was complete and the tramp began to walk with a shuffling gait, the shoulders bent under an unseen weight.

But George couldn't somehow place his Gran'pa in it. He would wait for morning to ask Gran'pa. Gran'pa was already out in the fields, hard at work, when they left for school. When they returned home he was dozing in his armchair on the porch. The newspaper he had been reading had fallen across his face. Ann and George smiled at each other mischievously. They crept up to him and as George shouted in his ear, Ann began to tickle him. Poor Gran'pa was jolted right out of his chair.

To be “ablaze in this day with the fire of the love of God”

O Friends! You must all be so ablaze in this day with the fire of the love of God that the heat thereof may be manifest in all your veins, your limbs and members of your body, and the peoples of the world may be ignited by this heat and turn to the horizon of the Beloved.  

- Baha’u’llah  (From a Tablet; 'The Compilation of Compilations', Vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)

Haji Amin -- Apostle of Baha'u'llah, Hand of the Cause, the Trustee of Huququ'lláh

Mulla Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikani, who is known as Haji Amin or Amin-i-Ilahi, was born in about the year AH 1232 (AD 21 November 1816 -- 10 November 1817) in Ardikan, a small town near Yazd. At seventeen years of age he married into a family of Bábís of the town. He was persuaded to investigate the new religion and eventually, shortly after the martyrdom of the Báb, he declared his belief. When news of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh came, he accepted immediately and travelled throughout Iran meeting other Bábís and teaching them of the advent of Bahá'u'lláh. After a time he became the assistant of Haji Shah-Muhammad Manshadi, Aminu'l-Bayan, who was the Trustee of the Huququ'lláh.[1] He would travel about the country, earning his living by trading and also by acting as a writer for those who could not write. At the same time he collected the Huququ'lláh and any letters that the believers wished to forward to Bahá'u'lláh, and also distributed Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh when these were received. He came to 'Akká while Bahá'u'lláh was still imprisoned in the citadel and succeeded in establishing contact with the exiles. He was the first Bahá'í from the outside world to be able to meet Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká (in the Public Baths). He returned to 'Akká on several further occasions. When Haji Shah-Muhammad Manshadi was killed in 1880, Haji Abu'l-Hasan was appointed Trustee (Amin) of the Huququ'lláh. In 1891 he was imprisoned with Haji Akhund for three years in Tihran and Qazvin. In the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá he continued his travels, visiting 'Akká and Haifa on several occasions. Towards the end of his life he resided in Tihran and Haji Ghulam-Rida, Amin-i-Amin, was appointed his assistant. He died in 1928 and was posthumously named a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi. 

- Balyuzi  (‘Eminent Baha’is in the Time of Baha’u’llah’)

[1]. The 'Right of God' -- a payment by believers instituted in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

The effect of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit on Britain and the spiritual qualities of British believers

That in every one of you our departed Master reposed His future and truest hopes for an able and convincing presentation of the Cause to the outside world, is abundantly revealed in His spoken and written words to you, as well as in His general references to the spirit of sincerity, of tenacity and devotion that animates His friends of that land.

The fierce tests that have raged over that island in the past; the calm and determination with which they have been so bravely faced and surmounted; the seeds of loving fellowship that the Beloved in person has more than once scattered in its soil; the rise, as its result, of a few but indeed capable, reliable, devoted and experienced followers and admirers of the Cause; the splendid and in many instances unique opportunities that are yours -- these indeed are cherished thoughts for a land that illumines its past and should cheer its future. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 16 December 1922 to Baha'is in Great Britain;’ The Unfolding Destiny of the British Baha'i Community’)

To “contemplate and meditate” about the condition of human soul after death

Thou hast asked concerning the spirits of men: They are not at all annihilated—they are immortal. The spirits of heavenly souls will find eternal life, that is, they will attain the highest and most great stations of perfection; but the spirits of the heedless souls, although they are eternal, yet they are in a world of imperfection, concealment and ignorance. This is a concise answer. Contemplate and meditate upon it, in order that thou mayest comprehend the reality of the mysteries in detail. For instance: No matter how much the mineral has an existence and life, yet in comparison to man, it is entirely non-existent and deprived of life. For where man is translated from life to death, his comparative station will be that of a mineral existence.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 3)

A prayer for Individual - "not to be deprived of the glory of Thy riches"

Thou art He, O God, Who hath proclaimed Himself as the Lord of Wealth, and characterized all that serve Him as poor and needy. Even as Thou hast written: "O ye that believe! Ye are but paupers in need of God; but God is the All-Possessing, the All-Praised." Having acknowledged my poverty, and recognized Thy wealth, suffer me not to be deprived of the glory of Thy riches. Thou art, verily, the Supreme Protector, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. 

- Baha'u'llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah’)

“The worst of souls is he who causes hearts to be agitated and who becomes the cause of sadness.”

I hope that you will be under the protection of God, will succeed in rendering service to humanity and will always be a source of happiness to every heart. The best person is he who wins all hearts and is not the cause of grief to anyone. The worst of souls is he who causes hearts to be agitated and who becomes the cause of sadness. Always endeavor to make people happy and their hearts joyful so that you may become the cause of guidance to mankind. Proclaim the Word of God and diffuse the divine fragrances. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Utterances of 'Abdu'l-Baha, Denver, Colorado, September 26, 1912; Mahmud’s Diary)

1835: Bahá'u'lláh’s Marriage with Asiyih Khanum

In about October 1835, at the age of eighteen, Bahá'u'lláh married Asiyih Khanum, described as remarkably intelligent, winsome, vivacious, and exceedingly beautiful. She was the younger sister of Bahá'u'lláh’s brother-in-law, who had married His older sister Sarih Khanum about three years earlier. Asiyih Khanum, like Bahá'u'lláh, came from a noble and wealthy family. It is reported that her wedding treasures were so extensive that forty mules were needed to carry them to His home.

In the early years of their married life Bahá'u'lláh and Asiyih Khanum devoted themselves to charitable activities. Their daughter, Bahiyyih Khanum, recounts that they "took part as little as possible in State functions, social ceremonies, and the luxurious habits of ordinary highly-placed and wealthy families in the land of Persia." They "counted these worldly pleasures meaningless, and preferred rather to occupy themselves in caring for the poor, and for all who were unhappy, or in trouble." Their acts of service earned them widespread renown as "The Father of the Poor" and "The Mother of Consolation."

(Adapted from ‘Call to Remembrance’, by Geoffry Marks, ‘Bahá'u'lláh – A Short Biography’, by Moojan Momen)

An illumined Tablet in the handwriting of 'Abdu'l-Baha

Condition of those who have passed on

Question: If one refuses the Cause of Baha’u’llah during his life time, may be hear of it after death?

‘Abdu’l-Baha: Yes, he will hear of it in his next life, but through the mercy of God alone, not through his own ability.

Question: Are we not able, through love and faith, to make those on the other side hear of the Cause who had not heard of it while on earth?

‘Abdu’l-Baha: Yes, surely sincere prayer always has its effect, and it has a great influence in the other world. We are never cut off from those who are there. The real and genuine influence is not in this world but in that other.

(Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 16, December 31, 1911)

Mount Carmel was physically visited by “all the prophets” – many times by Elijah and Christ, twice by Muhammad

The gathering of the friends is very good. In one month's time it will be very fresh and green here. This wilderness is where Baha'u'llah has crossed. This is the place where the tent of the Blessed Beauty was pitched. Many of the Divine Teachings and Tablets were revealed here. This is the ground where all the prophets have trod, they dwelt here and gave the Glad Tidings that a day will come when the tent of the Lord will be pitched upon this spot. His Holiness Christ always used to cross this Mount Carmel, Haifa and Nazareth. Therefore, these cities and this Mountain have a spiritual atmosphere. If man is in the mood of quiet and meditation, and passes through here and at the same time meditates, he will feel as though this mountain and this wilderness are speaking to him. Such will be his feeling. His Holiness Muhammad came here also. He came here twice, once when He was eleven years old and once when He was twenty-eight. The cave of His Holiness Elijah is here. He used to stay there and had many pupils around him, and was wont to teach them until they were educated. 

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha to Harry (Henry) Randall during his pilgrimage in 1919; book: ‘William Henry Randall, Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

Book: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf -- by Baha'u'llah

This is the last major Tablet of Baha’u’llah – the last of the hundred books He revealed. It was written to a priest in Isfahan, Persia, called the “Son of the Wolf”, whose father had sent the two martyrs known as the “King of Martyrs” and the “Beloved of Martyrs” to their deaths. This priest had committed the unforgivable sin: he had violated the Covenant and blasphemed against the Holy Spirit; that is, he had hated, not the lamp, or the Prophet of God as an individual – either from ignorance or because he did not recognize Him – but the Light of God itself which the Prophet reflects. He had hated the Light in the lamp, and “this destruction of the Light, ”’Abdu’l-Baha says in Some Answered Questions,” has no remedy.”

The varying titles by which the priest is addressed indicate that this is much more than a letter to an individual. It is intended for a larger audience -- a presentation of the Faith to humanity. Shoghi Effendi tells us, in God Passes By, that Baha’u’llah “quotes some of the most characteristic and celebrated passages of His own Writings” in this work, “and adduces proofs establishing the validity of His Cause.” Although it is an independent creative work, having its own unity of form, its own personal spirit – it is almost an anthology, and one selected by Baha’u’llah Himself. Its great impact on the reader is the eternal gift it holds out to him of the mercy of God. It helps us to enter His presence. It brings us to “Him Whom the World hath cast away and the nations abandoned.”

This book is the last earthly gift from Baha’u’llah. His enemies brought Him poison, but He changed it into honey for His loved ones.

(From the inside front cover of the book)

The number of Prophets raised by God

God hath raised up Prophets and revealed Books as numerous as the creatures of the world, and will continue to do so to everlasting.

- The Báb  (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb’)

Question: Why did God allow evil to exist in the world?

Answer: A satisfactory explanation has never, and can never be given. Surely God could have created some other scheme that would have allowed less evil. His motives, the way He works, are beyond us. It would cease to be a Revelation if Americans could resolve all these mysteries - it would be a product of the American mind. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Comments by Shoghi Effendi, recorded by Mary Maxwell [Ruhiyyih Khanum] during pilgrimage with May Maxwell, 1937; “Haifa Notes”)

Healing comes from God

Healing comes from God. If the heavenly benediction be upon us while we are being healed, then only can we be truly healed. All depends upon God. Medicine is merely an outward form or means by which we obtain heavenly healing; without the Heavenly Benediction it is worth nothing. 

- èAbduèl-Baha  (From a talk given by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Paris, France, on October 19th, 1911; Star of the West, vol. II, no. 16)

First Tablet of the Divine Plan in English

English translation of the first Tablet of the Divine Plan which was addressed to the friends in the northeastern states of the United States. It was on the back and front of two postcards, and bearing the original signature of ‘Abdu'l-Baha. They were sent, along with their original Persian, to the address of Hooper Harris, a prominent Baha’i in New York City. This was during World War I.

circa 1912: Dr. Susan Moody in Tihran, Iran, with two young children

The “ominous warning sounded by Bahá’u’lláh” concerning the plight of humanity

“Bestir yourselves, O people,” is, on the one hand, the ominous warning sounded by Bahá’u’lláh Himself, “in anticipation of the days of Divine Justice, for the promised hour is now come.” “Abandon that which ye possess, and seize that which God, Who layeth low the necks of men, hath brought. Know ye of a certainty that if ye turn not back from that which ye have committed, chastisement will overtake you on every side, and ye shall behold things more grievous than that which ye beheld aforetime.” And again: “We have fixed a time for you, O people! If ye fail, at the appointed hour, to turn towards God, He, verily, will lay violent hold on you, and will cause grievous afflictions to assail you from every direction. How severe indeed is the chastisement with which your Lord will then chastise you!” And again: “God assuredly dominateth the lives of them that wronged Us, and is well aware of their doings. He will most certainly lay hold on them for their sins. He, verily, is the fiercest of Avengers.” And finally: “O ye peoples of the world! Know verily that an unforeseen calamity is following you and that grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not the deeds ye have committed have been blotted from My sight. By My Beauty! All your doings hath My pen graven with open characters upon tablets of chrysolite.”  

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

“consultation and compassion”: - “the two luminaries” that illumine the “heaven of divine wisdom”

The heaven of divine wisdom is illumined with the two luminaries of consultation and compassion and the canopy of world order is upraised upon the two pillars of reward and punishment. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)

1917: Gatherings of the believers in front of the Master’s house

House of Abdu'l-Baha in Haifa as it appeared in
His days (The Baha'i World 1954-1963)

In the summer of 1917 I spent my summer vacation with my uncle, Mírzá Husayn Yazdí, in his house on Mt. Carmel, a memorable two months for me. Every evening before sunset I had the bounty of being in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. I would join the other believers gathered in front of the Master’s house. The entrance had an iron gate and then a garden. He would come out with a cheerful and warm greeting, welcome all, and take His seat on the platform at the head of the wide stairs. The sun was going down, and it was very quiet. Sometimes He sat in a relaxed attitude and didn’t speak at all. Usually, however, He spoke. He talked in His commanding voice, looking straight ahead, as if He were addressing posterity. He talked about Bahá’u’lláh, about His Teachings, and about significant world events in the history of the Faith. He told stories sprinkled with humour. Often, however, He talked of the believers around the world and of their progress in spreading the Faith. Then He would become wistful. For three years, while World War I raged, He had little news from abroad. The isolation and constraint weighed heavily upon Him. Now and then He would address individuals in the audience, ask them about their families, their work, their problems; He would offer advice and help. Toward the end, He would ask one of the believers to chant verses from the poems of Bahá’u’lláh. When the chanting ended, the meeting was over. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would arise and enter the house. Dusk would have descended over Haifa. 

- Aziz Yazdi  (‘Memories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’, published in the online version of ‘The Baha’i World’; The Baha’i World Center)

A suggested quote to memorize: Promise of assistance from Baha’u’llah

Verily, We behold you from Our Realm of Effulgent Glory, and shall graciously aid whosoever ariseth for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Celestial Concourse and a company of Our chosen angels.

- Baha’u’llah  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated 21 January 1922; ‘Baha’i Administration’)

Fulfillment of Christian Prophecies – Bahá’u’lláh proclaims

O kings of Christendom! Heard ye not the saying of Jesus, the Spirit of God, “I go away, and come again unto you”? Wherefore, then, did ye fail, when He did come again unto you in the clouds of heaven, to draw nigh unto Him, that ye might behold His face, and be of them that attained His Presence? In another passage He saith: “When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.” And yet behold how, when He did bring the truth, ye refused to turn your faces towards Him, and persisted in disporting yourselves with your pastimes and fancies. Ye welcomed Him not, neither did ye seek His Presence, that ye might hear the verses of God from His own mouth, and partake of the manifold wisdom of the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Wise. Ye have, by reason of your failure, hindered the breath of God from being wafted over you, and have withheld from your souls the sweetness of its fragrance. Ye continue roving with delight in the valley of your corrupt desires. By God! Ye, and all ye possess, shall pass away. Ye shall, most certainly, return to God, and shall be called to account for your doings in the presence of Him Who shall gather together the entire creation.

- Baha’u’llah  ('Summons of the Lord of Hosts')

If ye be intent on crucifying once again Jesus, the Spirit of God, put Me to death, for He hath once more, in My person, been made manifest unto you. Deal with Me as ye wish, for I have vowed to lay down My life in the path of God. I will fear no one, though the powers of earth and heaven be leagued against Me.

- Baha'u'llah  ('Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah')

June 17, 1975: Excavation begins at site of Universal House of Justice Building

Joyfully announce commencement excavation site Universal House of Justice Building arc Mount Carmel. Contract removal forty thousand cubic meters rock and earth at cost approximately two hundred thousand dollars. Invite all believers contribute unstintingly building fund ensure uninterrupted progress historic undertaking.

Universal House of Justice

June 17, 1975

Work started on the construction of the Universal House of Justice Building in the heart of Mount Carmel. In the left background is the Archives Building and in the right background is the Shrine of the Báb.

(Baha'i News, July 1975)

November 1930: The passing of Ethel Rosenberg

One of the pioneers of the Baha'i Cause in the western world, Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg, passed away at her home in London on November 17, 1930, crowned with age and the service of the Master. The end was peaceful for this devoted servant of 'Abdu’l-Baha whom He knew and loved so well and to whose devotion and untiring labors He had often paid priceless tribute by voice and pen.

Known and loved by all the members of the Holy Family in Haifa where she had visited for months at a time in the earlier stages of the outpouring of the Baha’i spirit from the East to Europe and America, Miss Rosenberg played no small part in the adaptation of the Baha'i Message to the western mind. Ever modest and unassuming the full value of her work in this capacity seldom appeared on the surface but those who knew her well and were in close touch with her activities were and are well aware of the great assistance she gave to the Master and how valuable was the help she rendered in the translation and transcribing of some of the outstanding works through which the truths of the Baha'i Message were made known to the peoples of the western hemisphere.

No one is more fully cognizant of the worth of this servant's labors for the Cause of Baha’u’llah, as developed and expounded by the Center of the Covenant, than the beloved Guardian of the Cause Shoghi Effendi, who, when he was advised of her passing cabled forthwith to the friends in London a heartfelt message of condolence and appreciation.

1912: 'Abdu'l-Baha with a few children in Washington DC

Left to right: Lorraine Hopper, Laila Bowman, Mary Aldrich and Katherine Doyle

Sarah Farmer -- Founder of Green Acre

Sarah Farmer was one of America's early religious innovators. She owned the Green Acre Inn in Eliot, Maine, and offered conferences on progressive subjects in the sciences, arts, and religion. These gatherings brought together leading writers, educators, and philosophers. Farmer eventually became a Baha'i and travelled to Akka for pilgrimage at the turn of the century. When 'Abdu'l Baha visited America in 1912, he stayed at Green Acre.

Tablet from ‘Abdu'l-Baba to Sarah Farmer:

O Maid-servant of God! Be rejoiced at this glad tidings, whereby the hearts of the people of the Kingdom of Abha are moved with joy. Verily, I beseech God to make Green Acre as the Paradise of Abha, so that the melodies of the Nightingales of Sanctity may be heard from it, and that the chanting of the Verses of Unity may be raised therein, to cause the clouds of the great Gift to pour upon it the rains falling from heaven, to make those countries become verdant with the myrtles of Truth and Inner Significances, and to plant therein blessed trees, with the Hand of Providence, which may bring forth pure and excellent fruits wherefrom the Fragrances of God may be diffused throughout all regions. These signs shall surely appear, and these lights shall shine forth. 

(The Baha’i World 1936-1938)

“Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words”

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed, and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. 

- Baha’u’llah  ('The Kitab-i-Aqdas’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and Devotional Attitude)

“It is to the Teachings themselves, and to the lives of the Founders of the Cause that the believers should look for their guidance and inspiration”

You have complained of the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in the...Bahá'í Community: the Guardian is well aware of the situation of the Cause there, but is confident that whatever the nature of the obstacles that confront the Faith they will be eventually overcome. You should, under no circumstances, feel discouraged, and allow such difficulties, even though they may have resulted from the misconduct, or the lack of capacity and vision of certain members of the Community, to make you waver in your faith and basic loyalty to the Cause. Surely, the believers, no matter how qualified they may be, whether as teachers or administrators, and however high their intellectual and spiritual merits, should never be looked upon as the standard whereby to evaluate and measure the divine authority and mission of the Faith. It is to the Teachings themselves, and to the lives of the Founders of the Cause that the believers should look for their guidance and inspiration, and only by keeping strictly to such a true attitude can they hope to establish their loyalty to Bahá'u'lláh upon an enduring and unassailable basis. You should take heart, therefore, and with unrelaxing vigilance and unremitting effort endeavour to play your full share in the gradual unfoldment of this Divine World Order. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 23 August 1939 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. III, Issues Concerning Community Functioning)

“Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind”

Say: Beware, O people of Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments. Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct. It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others. Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon the whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My counsel, and keepeth the precepts prescribed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. I, Excellence in All Things)