Letter to believers in India & Burmah

The beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the
Merciful throughout India and Burmah,
Care of the members of the Spiritual Assembly.

Beloved co-workers in the Vineyard of God!

It has been my great pleasure and privilege to send you, since my return to the Holy Land, first my general message of confidence and of love addressed to all believers throughout the East, and later another letter wherein I appeal in particular to those faithful lovers of His Cause in that vast and distant dominion to labour whole-heartedly and to the very end for the diffusion of His Light and the spread of His Cause. Remembering, however, the few among my friends in that land who are as yet unfamiliar with the Persian Tongue, I have thought of sending these few lines to them in particular and through them to the rest of my brethren and sisters in those regions who, despite the diversity of tongue, of race and custom are all united at heart and animated by one common desire to uplift humanity and carry out His Divine Purpose for this world.

What an alluring field of service India with all its possibilities unfolds to our eyes at the present time and how vast are the opportunities of sowing the seeds of unity and loving kindness in the hearts of its divers peoples!

True, that land seems now unhappily to be plunged in the darkness of prejudice, hate and mistrust, yet however dark the immediate prospect may appear, our confidence remains unshaken that ere long these mists shall clear away, the dawn of a New Day shall break upon that land and the Rays of this Divine Revelation shall make of India a spiritually-quickened, peaceful and united country.

The universal Teachings of Baha’u’llah if declared and propounded with wisdom and judgement, determination, selflessness and sincerity, and above all if exemplified in our lives and dealings with our fellow-men, cannot fail to inspire and stimulate the mind of the enlightened seeker and win the admiration and allegiance of all mankind. Ours then is the duty and privilege to bring to the attention of this distressed and war-weary world this Message of Eternal Salvation and help to establish the Era of Peace and Brotherhood as purposed and foretold by Baha’u’llah.

The welcome news of the progress of the Third All-India Baha’i Convention as well as the favourable comment made upon it by the Press of that country have been fully shared with the pilgrims and resident friends in the Holy Land and we have all admired and rejoiced at the efforts you are exerting for the consolidation of the Movement in that ancient land.

May your endeavours in every sphere of your spiritual activities be crowned with brilliant success, that His glorious Promise regarding the future of that land may be speedily fulfilled!

It is my earnest hope that “The Baha’i News”, the representative organ of the Baha’i Community in India, may expand and develop, may widen the sphere of its correspondence, add to the number and quality of its articles in Persian as well as in English, report regularly in its columns the news of the spiritual activities of all Baha’i centres in India and elsewhere, and in general provide for the full, correct and dignified presentation of the Cause to the general public.

Assuring every one of you of my constant prayers on your behalf and wishing you success in your noble task,

I am your brother and co-worker,
SHOGHI

January 9, 1923

Excellent Field of Service

As you mentioned India is a vast country and an excellent field of service. If the younger Baha’i generation, in whom Shoghi Effendi has great hopes, take the pain of studying the Cause deeply and thoroughly, read its history, find its underlying principles and become both well informed and energetic, they surely can achieve a great deal. It is upon their shoulders that the Master has laid the tremendous work of teaching. They are the ones to raise the call of the Kingdom and arouse the people from slumber. If they fail the Cause is doomed to stagnation. May we all hope and earnestly pray that through God’s infinite grace, through the Master’s spiritual guidance and through Shoghi Effendi’s tender care we may do justice to this tremendous work and not fail to do the Master’s bidding.

As Shoghi Effendi has not yet taken up the tremendous work and responsibility of attending to the correspondence of the individual friends, he asked me to write you this note, acknowledge the receipt of your letter, and ask you to do the following things: (1) Change the name of your Executive Committee to “The National Spiritual Assembly”, because the corresponding Assembly in England and America bear the same name, and uniformity in such matters is most advisable. (2) He likes to receive regular and detailed reports of the position of the Cause as well as the activities of the friends in India drafted as well as sent by the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. So as to be informed of the conditions there and administer to your needs. (3) He wishes to have the postal as well as telegraphic address of the secretary so as to send his communications to him.

Shoghi Effendi earnestly hopes and prays that this National Spiritual Assembly will be able to achieve a great deal and herald a new era of spiritual awakening in that land.

April 26, 1923

Position of Baha’i Women

[From the Guardian:]

Regarding the position of the Baha’i women in India and Burma, and their future collaboration with the men in the administrative work of the Cause, I feel that the time is now ripe that those women who have already conformed to the prevailing custom in India and Burma by discarding the veil should not only be given the right to vote for the election of their local and national representatives, but should themselves be eligible to the membership of all Baha’i Assemblies throughout India and Burma, be they local or national.

This definite and most important step, however, should be taken with the greatest care and caution, prudence and thoughtfulness. Due regard must be paid to their actual capacity and present attainments, and only those who are best qualified for membership, be they men or women, and irrespective of social standing, should be elected to the extremely responsible position of a member of the Baha’i Assembly.

This momentous decision, I trust, will prove to be a great incentive to the women Baha’is throughout India and Burma who, I hope, will now bestir themselves and endeavour to the best of their ability to acquire a better and more profound knowledge of the Cause, to take a more active and systematic part in the general affairs of the Movement, and prove themselves in every way enlightened, responsible and efficient co-workers to their fellow-men in their common task for the advancement of the Cause throughout their country.

May they fully realise their high responsibilities in this day, may they do all in their power to justify the high hopes we cherish for their future, and may they prove themselves in every respect worthy of the noble mission which the Baha’i world is now entrusting to their charge.

December 27, 1923

The Baha’i News

[From the Guardian:]

Your long-awaited letter, penned by our dear and devoted brother, Mr. N. R. Vakil, has been received and read with profound interest. I note with deep satisfaction the vigour and earnestness with which you are conducting the affairs of the Movement throughout the length and breadth of that vast and distant land, and ardently pray that you may achieve, individually and collectively, the highest success in all your endeavours.

Regarding the Baha’i News, I strongly urge those responsible for its publication, and in particular, our beloved friends, Prof. Pritam Singh, Mr. Vakil, ... Mr. M. U. Abasi, Mirza Niku, Mr. Ardeshir Khodadad, and Haji Ahmad, to do their utmost that this Baha’i organ may increase in volume, widen in scope, broaden in its outlook, improve in style and general presentation, and reflect more extensively the activities of the friends in India, Burma, and elsewhere. As a magazine that has been established in the days of our departed Master, and been the recipient of His special favours and blessings, it ought, and I have no doubt it will, with your active support and under your constant and general supervision, carry out the great plan it is destined to fulfill in this world.

With regard to Burma and its Baha’i activities, I trust you realise that that province falls directly within the sphere of your activities, and although a Central Council for all Burma is in the process of establishment, that Council as well as all local Assemblies throughout Burma will have to be under the protection, care and direction of the All-India Spiritual Assembly.

I would indeed welcome regular, frequent and comprehensive reports from the National Assembly on the various branches of its manifold activities, and will spare no effort to contribute my humble share in consolidating and extending the Teaching Campaign throughout that vast Dominion.

I would be pleased to receive the permanent postal and telegraphic address of the Secretary of the National Assembly, and am confident that by the grace of Baha’u’llah and under the guiding Hand of our beloved Master, we shall all carry triumphantly the noble task entrusted to our charge to a speedy and successful conclusion.

June 1, 1923

An Era of Unprecedented Activity

[From the Guardian:]

It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to renew the bonds of fellowship and affection that have always united our hearts in the service of our beloved Master. I need not recall to your minds the warm and abiding place which that gifted Dominion has always occupied in our Beloved’s heart, and the high hopes he cherished for its future contribution towards the triumph of the Movement in those distant regions of the earth.

I am sure the hour has struck when those dearly-beloved pioneers of the Master’s Cause, scattered throughout the length and breadth of that vast and promising land, should unite, consolidate their forces, and effectively combine for the laying of a firm foundation for the future progress of their noble task. It is my earnest hope and my most cherished desire that at the forthcoming Convention the vigour and enlightened efforts of the Baha’i youth of India, coupled with the generous support and devotion of the old beloved Parsee friends, and reinforced by the vast numbers of the ardent followers of the Faith in Burma, may, by imparting power and brilliancy to its proceedings, herald an era of unprecedented activity for the ultimate recognition of the Cause by the peoples of that country.

I shall welcome with genuine satisfaction every effort which that talented and untiring servant of Baha’u’llah, our highly-esteemed sister Mrs. Stannard, may exert in this connection, and would feel truly gratified to learn of her determination to play a conspicuous part in the presentation of the Cause to the eyes of the enlightened public. May the sustaining grace of God, the power of Baha’u’llah, and the loving counsels of our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá guide you and aid you in your mighty endeavours for the accomplishment of your task.

I shall eagerly await any particulars you might wish to send me regarding your various activities in the service of the Cause, and I trust that during the interval between now and Ridvan a complete and careful arrangement for the successful conduct of the coming Convention will have been drawn by all the friends and assemblies of India and Burma, and to which, I assure you, I shall be most pleased to contribute my humble share of cooperation and advice.

Hoping to hear from you, individually and collectively, and assuring you of my constant prayers on your behalf.

December 5, 1923

Nothing Must Dampen Our Zeal

Nothing, I dare say, can be more encouraging and gladsome to Shoghi Effendi than the news of the activities of the friends in such a vast and promising field as India. In the last few years the harvest of the friends’ endeavours was not as rich and abundant as we all would wish and undoubtedly the political throes through which India has been passing and the general unrest which such conditions have brought about, account to a large measure for this comparative unfruitfulness in the self-sacrificing efforts of the Indian Baha’is. Yet nothing must damp our zeal and we cannot for a moment doubt the remarkable change that the Master said would take place in that country.

We have been all very much interested in the first-hand information which Mrs. Stannard has given us and we lament the formidable difficulties and obstacles with which the Baha’is must cope in their effort to imbue the individual with a new spirit and to bring new measures of reform in the social order. We shall, however, pray for you all and eagerly await every good news you have to share with us.

[From the Guardian:]

I always eagerly await detailed and frequent reports from the National Assembly and desire strongly its members to meet as often as possible and actively, efficiently and constantly direct, co-ordinate and reinforce the activities of the individuals and Local Assemblies throughout India and Burma. I thirst for more specific information and urge its secretary to ensure that every communication from the Holy Land or from any other Baha’i centre is promptly and widely distributed. I assure you of my loving prayers.

March 5, 1925

Unite in Promoting the Work of the Cause

We were sorry to know of the state of tension that exists between India and Burma. Let us hope that Shoghi Effendi’s letter will draw both parties nearer together and so ease up the matter. It is very sad to see two sections of such a continent though closely connected together, unable to work in harmony. Let us pray and also try our best that all petty misunderstandings should be forgotten and that the work should start on a new basis firmer than before.

[From the Guardian:]

I do hope and pray that the Indians and Burmese friends will once the new N.S.A. is elected support their representatives and whole-heartedly unite in promoting the work of the Cause. An earnest, capable, energetic, loyal and experienced soul must discharge the responsible and arduous duties of a National Secretary. So much depends upon him. You will have my fullest and unqualified support in impressing upon the friends the supreme necessity of establishing forthwith and maintaining to the best of their ability the institution of the National Fund. I will pray for you all and assure you personally of my great affection.

April 1, 1925

Consolidation of the Foundations of the N.S.A.

By now the election of the new National Spiritual Assembly and of its office-bearers will probably be completed. The office of Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly is most important and the smooth and efficient working of the Baha’i organisation in India and Burmah will depend to a large extent on him. Shoghi Effendi hopes that the new Secretary of the National Assembly will send him as soon as possible a full list of the members and office-bearers of the Assembly with his own postal address. He would like him also, as soon as possible, to procure from each of the local assemblies in India and Burmah a full list of the members and office-bearers of the Local Spiritual Assembly with the address of the Secretary, and to transmit a copy of that list to Shoghi Effendi. This is to be done every year immediately after the election of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Further it is desirable that each local Assembly should have a register of the names and addresses of all declared Baha’is in their district and should be careful to keep the register up-to-date, promptly noting any changes in the address or number of the believers. It is also desirable that the National Secretary should have a list of all believers in India and Burmah who are living in districts where there is no Local Spiritual Assembly, with full postal address in each case, so that these believers may be kept in touch with the body of believers by letters, literature etc., and travelling Baha’is visiting these districts may be put in touch with the believers there. Shoghi Effendi would like to have a copy of this list also.

The National Secretary should keep in as close touch as possible with the Local Spiritual Assemblies, should urge the secretaries of these Local Assemblies to furnish regular reports of the progress of the movement in their respective localities, and should, by means of circular letters etc., keep these local assemblies and isolated believers informed of all matters of importance affecting the Cause, remind them of the importance of contributing as regularly and generously as possible to the National Fund, and so on.

It is obvious that to carry out these manifold duties efficiently, thoroughly and tactfully is no easy task and Shoghi Effendi greatly hopes that some one may be found who will be able to devote the necessary ability, time and energy to carry them out satisfactorily.

A Baha’i Year Book is now in course of preparation and Shoghi Effendi wishes to include in this Year-Book a complete list of the local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world, with the address of the Secretary in each case, also a complete list of those localities where there are resident Baha’is but where no local Spiritual Assembly exists. It will probably be impracticable to include the addresses of all isolated believers, but these should be known to the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly in each country, so that they may be available on application to him.

It will interest you to know that the Baha’is of Egypt have just elected their first National Spiritual Assembly.

[From the Guardian:]

Your past and present efforts are indeed worthy of the deepest admiration and the highest praise. Concentrate as much as you can at present on the consolidation of the foundations of the N.S.A. of India and Burma. This is the first and most essential step to further expansion in any direction. The institution of the National Fund is of vital importance and should be greatly stressed and emphasized in every circular or communication addressed to the friends. I will continue to pray for you from all my heart and assure you of my support and brotherly love.

May 12, 1925

The House of Baha’u’llah in Baghdad

Yesterday he ordered me to write a few words and acknowledge the receipt of your letter, conveying to you his love and greeting. He was much pleased to see that you have followed his telegraphic instructions concerning the Baghdad House promptly.

From other centres also telegraphic communications have been done to both the High Commissioner and to His Majesty King Faisal. We are hoping for a desirable result. Up to this time no definite information has reached us. We shall keep you informed as soon as we receive any.

[From the Guardian:]

The prompt and effective measures you have taken are worthy of the highest praise. I will inform you if further action is deemed necessary. I hope and pray your devoted efforts will yield abundant fruit in the near future.

November 18, 1925

Inaugurate a Fresh Campaign of Teaching

Shoghi Effendi prays for all of you and hopes that through your practical devotion, you will all attract divine assistance more and more day by day and so this coming year the Cause of God will make unprecedented progress in that country. He sends you and all the members of the National Spiritual Assembly his affectionate greeting and expects your good news regularly.

[From the Guardian:]

I pray that your newly constituted National Spiritual Assembly may grow from strength to strength, may co-ordinate and consolidate the ever-expanding activities of the friends in India and Burma and inaugurate a fresh campaign of Teaching that will redound to the glory and power of the Most Great Name.

May the projected Congress at Cawnpore attract widespread interest and stimulate the work undertaken by the friends in that promising country. I assure you of my best wishes for your success.

November 24, 1925

Increasing Activities

It is always a source of immeasurable joy and encouragement to our dear Guardian to learn of your increasing activities in serving our dear Cause and also of the growing measure of success which you are meeting with in all your endeavours. The unity of the friends in India and Burma, the spread of the Cause in that vast country and especially among the real natives, intelligent connections with the universities and schools and the direction of the thoughts of the students to a proper understanding of the Cause and its great mission on earth, will not only be real accomplishment on the part of our dear fellow-workers but will relieve to a very large extent our dear Guardian of the stupendous task that he shoulders, and will give him the deepest joy and confidence. We earnestly trust that through the help of our dear Master from on high all your efforts will be crowned with success.

Shoghi Effendi is always interested to hear from you on the work in India and to help you in every possible way.

You are, I am sure, in touch with Mr. Horace Holley in America and you would be interested to know that they are publishing soon a Baha’i Year Book which will be of widespread interest not only to the Baha’is but also to many interested men and women in our dear Cause.

Mrs. Stannard is very successful in her work in Geneva and she has already started a fine center there. She is able to make many connections with influential men and learned people and this is in itself a great work.

[From the Guardian:]

I am very pleased and gratified to learn of your persistent efforts in advancing and consolidating the Cause. The establishment of a Central Office in Delhi is a great step forward and I await very eagerly the first issue of the publication of the National Spiritual Assembly of India & Burma. The Burmese friends are very satisfied and pleased with the consideration shown and the activity displayed by your Assembly and my prayer is that the relations of the National Body with the local Assemblies will grow firmer everyday. I will specially remember the friends who are promoting the Cause among the Qadiyani community whenever I visit the Shrines. I wish them the fullest success.

March 27, 1926

Bring Together the Hindus and Mohammedans

Shoghi Effendi received your letter dated June 11th and was very glad to see the result of the election of the National Spiritual Assembly. He sincerely hopes that this year will witness a great change and progress for the Cause in India. As the friends are sincere in their love and devotion, the members of the Assembly strong in their faith and unfailing in their services, there is full assurance of an ultimate victory and final settlement of the existing difficulties. Shoghi Effendi has great hopes in you personally and trusts in your wise judgment, watchful attentiveness and absolute assurance in the Cause you serve. He wants me to assure you of his prayers.

He also hopes that the friends in India will do their very best to bring together the Hindus and Mohammedans. In such cases the friends can show their good-will, devotion to humanity, and disinterestedness in the material result obtained. He will pray that ... Prof. Pritam Singh will be guided in this undertaking and ably represent the spirit of the Cause as well as its teachings. Being competent themselves and having the necessary divine blessing and guidance it is sure that they will achieve much. May be this will be a good chance for attracting the attention of some of the prominent leaders to the reality of the Cause.

[From the Guardian:]

I have written in person to the Bombay Assembly and urged them most emphatically to support morally and financially the National Assembly and the National Fund. ...We have to repeat and repeat over and over again until the truth, the necessity and the urgency of our Beloved’s instructions sink in the hearts and minds of the believers. I am sure you will continue to remind the friends of their primary obligations. Assuring you again of my prayers for your success in your high endeavours.

July 10, 1926

Cause Will Ultimately Conquer

‘Abdu’l-Bahá used often to say that the difference between a prophet and an ordinary person is that the latter looks only to the present. He does not try to imagine the future victories and thereby forget the present trivial obstructions. The prophet, however, having a deep insight in the future condition of things sees his ultimate victory and does not get disheartened even though he sees a whole-sale massacre of his followers.

As Baha’is we should follow the prophet’s method. We know that the Cause will ultimately conquer and its ranks be fully united. We know that the Master’s promises will ultimately be realized, therefore why be discouraged by trivial oppositions we see on our way. We should rather add to our zeal and persist in our prayers and endeavours... It always takes time for a people to change from one administration to another. Up to the present they have been accustomed to think of the local assemblies as next only to the Center of the Cause, and it will take some time and training before they can admit another superior.

[From the Guardian:]

I have cabled to Bombay and will soon confirm it by letter. I have urged them to support consistently and whole-heartedly the very essential and vital institutions of the National Fund and the National Assembly. It must be made clear to them all that continuous support to these twin institutions is the corner-stone of all future achievements, the mainspring from which all future blessings will flow. Persevere in your heroic effort and remember that the end is glorious and bright.

September 7, 1926

I take pleasure in thanking you on behalf of our dear Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, for your letter...

As it announced the election of a new body to take up the responsible but lofty work of supervising and guiding the promulgation of the Baha’i Cause throughout India and Burma, Shoghi Effendi wishes me to take this opportunity and assure each and every member of that distinguished body not only of his heartfelt congratulations and prayers but also of the high hopes that he cherishes for you all. It is from you and through you that he expects to see emanating that glorious spirit for which our departed Master gave his entire life; and with your earnest endeavours, your consummate wisdom and your unflinching faith he awaits to see you lead the humble workers of that great country to an ultimate victory.

May I also take this opportunity and express the great desire of Shoghi Effendi that the National Assembly should try to be in close communication with him. To him it is a joy beyond words to try to do all in his power to help you in the noble work you have undertaken.

[From the Guardian:]

Now that the N.S.A. has been properly constituted and its officers duly appointed, it is incumbent upon each and all to introduce and promote such measures as will consolidate the work that you have so well begun. The institution of the National Fund, a Baha’i Bulletin similar to the News Letter issued by the American N.S.A., a rigorous and well-conceived campaign of Teaching, a continuous and purposeful endeavour to coordinate the activities of the local Assemblies and groups throughout India and Burma and the sending of detailed and frequent reports to the Holy Land are among the most primary and urgent requirements of the new day that has dawned upon India. I eagerly await your reports and assure you of my continued prayers for the success of your arduous labours.

October 28, 1926

Publication of Kaukab

The news that the difficulties, which for a time prevailed and threatened grave disturbances between the N.S.A. and the Local Assemblies, have vanished, was a source of great satisfaction and gratification to him. We were quite sure that it was all due to misunderstandings and that they would be easily overcome...

In a letter which I have lately written to Seyed Jenabe Ali on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, I intimated his desire that a special committee of the N.S.A. should be created to undertake the management of everything pertaining to the Kaukab. Furthermore, if a certain sum is offered to the National Fund with the expressed desire that it should be spent for the Kaukab, i.e., if the offer is labelled, then the N.S.A. should take into consideration the wish of the giver and spend it only for that purpose. Though the friends are advised to give unlabelled contributions they cannot in any way be prevented from using their choice in the way it should be spent.

Though the Local Assemblies should give the N.S.A. all the moral and financial support the latter needs, it is the duty of the N.S.A. to inspire the necessary confidence in keeping the management of its work as efficiently as possible.

In a cable recently sent to the N.S.A. Shoghi Effendi recommended the publication of the Kaukab. He desires this paper to play an important role in drawing the attention of the more thoughtful and seeking people to the potency of this divine Cause. I herein enclose a cheque for L19 which Shoghi Effendi desires to be spent for this all important organ of the Cause in India.

[From the Guardian:]

I am enclosing a general message, clearly worded, emphatically expressed, and vitally important in all its bearings, conveyed through Mirza Mahmood to the National Assembly for the information of all Baha’is in India and Burma. I am sure you will promptly and effectively take all necessary measures for its dissemination throughout India and Burma. The ‘Kaukab’ must, at all costs be continued, and I feel that its two editors ... are the most suitable to form a committee which will conduct its affairs under the direct supervision of the National Assembly. Whatever is contributed to the National Assembly for a specific purpose should be expended for that purpose only, but I would encourage the friends to send unlabelled contributions in order not to tie the hands of the National Assembly although I do not in the least require them to do so. I will pray for your success from all my heart.

November 16, 1926

The Baha’i News

It is most gratifying to him to hear that the difficulties that darkened the horizon of the Cause in India have vanished and the National as well as Local Assemblies are united to further the interests of the Cause. He hopes that Kaukab will become a Baha’i organ administered even better than before.

Shoghi Effendi hopes that Aqa Mirza Moneer will cause another stir in India and draw many individuals into a full understanding of the movement. His zeal as well as knowledge of the Cause stand to his credit and are sure to win him success wherever he goes. Please convey to him Shoghi Effendi’s loving greetings and assure him of his prayers.

[From the Guardian:]

I hope to hear soon of the re-establishment and circulation of the Kaukab. The matter of the publication of a Baha’i News Letter issued by the National Assembly is also of utmost importance. May the support to the National Fund be such as to render it a truly worthy and representative Baha’i periodical. Persevere in your splendid efforts and do not lose heart for I will continue to pray for you from the depth of my heart.

December 21, 1926

Widen the Scope of Activities

With the opening of this new Baha’i year our Guardian trusts that it will be marked by a new and greater effort, by a more intense cooperation among the friends in India and Burma and by an unsurpassed record of success.

Now that Mrs. Schopflocker has in many places broken the ground, it devolves upon the faithful workers in India to follow up the work, to seize every opportunity and to give to her hasty and in many places insufficient services a more permanent and lasting character.

I express the hopes of our Guardian without disregard to your many problems and difficulties, but the field is so vast and the ground so fresh and fertile that it cannot but evoke almost unreasonable expectations. This feeling and yearning, I am sure, is much more yours than ours could be.

[From the Guardian:]

I urge you to take every means at your disposal ... to follow up the work that has been so splendidly begun by Mrs. Schopflocker. I would also urge you to arrange for the preparation of an annual report by the National Assembly of the activities of the friends in India and Burma, to be forwarded to the American National Spiritual Assembly for insertion in the next issue of the Annual Baha’i Year Book. A representative group photograph of the Baha’is of divers races and creeds in that land would also greatly enhance the Year Book, if such a thing is possible.

April 25, 1927

He is very glad to learn of the good work of Nabilzadeh and Mrs. Schopflocker and hopes that the friends will follow up their work in order to obtain some definite and permanent results. For a teacher to fly from one end of India to another is not sufficient, there must be somebody who can stay long enough in one place and start regular gatherings.

The latter function naturally falls upon the friends in India and he earnestly hopes that the new year may bring fresh and lasting achievements.

Shoghi Effendi awaits eagerly the results of the election of the N.S.A. and he should like to see that body accomplish something more than routine work. They should take new steps and carry out a regular campaign in India and Burma.

[From the Guardian:]

It is my hope and prayer that the newly-elected National and Local Assemblies may widen the scope of their activities, initiate new and valuable measures, extend the circle of their correspondence with foreign Baha’i centres, and promote the independence and distinctiveness of the Baha’i Faith. I would urge you to inform the Year Book Committee through Mr. Holley of the results of all elections in India and to send if possible an annual report to that Committee. Wishing you success and happiness.

May 24, 1927

In the midst of his work and many responsibilities, it is a source of comfort for him to feel that the initiative and guidance of the Cause in India is in such able hands and he trusts to see in the near future greater and fuller results.

True, the minds of many are turned away from all that sounds religious, but it is only because they are ill-advised as to the meaning of true religion and it is just that mission that devolves upon us—to give a new viewpoint, to revive fresh hopes and to guide by the sacred utterances the thoughts and actions of mankind.

Perhaps India has not yet reached the high mark which our hopes have made us expect, but the time still remains and the hopes of our Guardian are anxiously turned to the educated, sincere and zealous fellow-brothers he so much loves in India and Burma.

[From the Guardian:]

I have received lately your second letter dated June 10th enclosing the list of the members of the newly-elected Indian Assemblies as well as the report of the receipts and expenditures of the National Fund. Your loyal and untiring attention to the pressing manifold requirements of our beloved and steadily expanding Cause is a thing never-to-be forgotten and worthy of unqualified praise. I trust you will continue to keep in touch with the American National Assembly whose Secretary is only too anxious to incorporate in the newsletter and the Year Book every bit of news regarding the progress of the Faith in India & Burma.

July 14, 1927

Conduct of the Work of N.S.A.

He is very glad indeed to hear of the interview of Mr. Nabilzadeh with the Governor of Burma. He will pray that the seeds he has sown will germinate in the course of time and will prove of great benefit to our beloved Cause.

Our Guardian hopes that henceforth the secretaries of all local and national Assemblies will immediately upon their election inform the American National Assembly of their membership and the address, that the results may without delay be published in the Baha’i Year Book.

Our Guardian will not cease to pray for you all that the Beloved may guide you to achieve that which will conduce to the consolidation and extension of the influence of the Cause.

[From the Guardian:]

I trust the newly-elected Assembly will endeavour to follow the example of the American National Assembly in method, action, and procedure. The American Newsletter will indicate clearly the lines along which Baha’i National Assemblies are to conduct their work in future and I earnestly urge you to encourage the friends to follow and adopt the method outlined in its columns.

August 19, 1927

Extend the Scope of Activities

For a country like India and also Burma where the Baha’i communities are so much scattered and are of varied extraction a common centre to coordinate the different efforts and to link up together both the Assemblies within India and in the various parts of the world, is also ... necessary, and our Guardian hopes and trusts to see in time great results from this new measure. Of course much depends upon how well this organ functions.

Shoghi Effendi is in good health having taken a good rest during the summer. He awaits as much as ever the good news of the friends in India and above all news of real accomplishment.

[From the Guardian:]

I hope that nothing has transpired of late that might have in any manner affected the expansion of the work in those regions. I fully realize your single-handedness in such a vast and varied field, but I assure you, dearest friend, that your reward is proportionately great, for He that watches over you is aware of the great devotion which animates you in the pursuit of your arduous and noble task.

November 1, 1927