To   the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.

           Членам  Национального Духовного Собрания.

            My   friends and fellow-workers in the Cause of God!

            Мои   друзья и коллеги в Деле Божием!

            Your   most welcome message, imparting the glad news of a successful Convention, has   rejoiced my heart and fortified my hope <p49> in this year of active   service, that has just unfolded itself before you.

Ваше самое долгожданное известие,   сообщающее приятные новости об удачном   Съезде, обрадовало мое сердце и укрепило мою надежду в этот год активного   служения, который только что предстал перед вами.

            I   am certain that, as the newly elected representatives of the Baha'i Community   throughout America, you are, one and all, well aware of your mighty   responsibilities, and fully realize the tremendous need for a full   understanding amongst the friends, and their active and sustained cooperation   in spreading far and wide the Cause of Baha'u'llah throughout that vast   continent.

Я уверен, что как вновь избранные   представители Общины Бахаи в Америке, вы, все и каждый в отдельности, хорошо   сознаете свою величайшую ответственность, и полностью представляете себе   огромную необходимость полнейшего понимания среди друзей и их активного и   непрерывного сотрудничества во всестороннем   распространении Дела Бахауллы на всем этом огромном континенте.

            I   fervently hope that in collaboration with our wise, able and devoted brother,   Jinab-i-Fadil, you will inaugurate a brilliant and vigorous campaign of   Teaching, that shall by its very splendor banish the darkness of differences   and contention that so impede the majestic and onward march of the Cause in   every land.

Я страстно надеюсь, что в сотрудничестве   с нашим мудрым, талантливым и преданным братом, Джинаб-и-Фадилом, вы   торжественно откроете блистательную и энергичную кампанию по Обучению,   которая своей яркостью развеет тьму разногласий и распрей, которые так   затрудняют величественное и прогрессивное шествие Дела в каждой стране.

            Central   Fund

            Центральный   Фонд

            That   you may reinforce this Teaching Campaign -- so vitally needed in these days   -- and conduct, properly and efficiently, the rest of your manifold   activities, spiritual as well as humanitarian, it is urgently necessary to   establish that Central Fund, which if generously supported and upheld by   individual friends and local Assemblies, will soon enable you to execute your   plans with promptness and vigor.

Для того, чтобы вы смогли усилить эту   Кампанию по Обучению – так жизненно необходимую в эту дни – и проводить   должным образом и эффективно другие многообразные виды деятельности, как   духовные, так и гуманитарные, необходимо в срочном порядке учредить   Центральный Фонд, который в случе щедрой поддержки и поощрения отельными верующими и Собраниями,   вскоре сделает возможным осуществление ваших планов своевременно и активно.

            It   is my earnest prayer, in the day-time and in the night season, that the   ever-guiding Hand of our loved and departed Master may graciously aid you to   surmount every obstacle, and will lead, through you, -- His chosen ones in   that land, -- the Ark of His Cause, to its promised haven of glory and   triumph.

Моя искренняя молитва в дневное время и   ночной порой, чтобы всенаправляющая Рука нашего возлюбленного и вознесенного   Учителя могла милостиво помогать вам в преодолении любых препятствий и вела   через вас – Его избранных в той стране, - Ковчег Его Дела к его обещанному   приюту славы и торжества.

            With   heartfelt congratulations and best wishes,

            С   сердечными поздравлениями и наилучшими пожеланиями,

            I   am your brother and fellow-worker,

            Ваш   брат и коллега,

            SHOGHI.

ШОГИ.

            Haifa,   Palestine.

Хайфа, Палестина.

            May   6th, 1923.

            6   мая 1923 г.

            P.S.  

            P.S.  

I enclose a copy of my translation [1] of   Baha'u'llah's Words of Wisdom, which you will feel at liberty to circulate   amongst the friends.

Я прилагаю копию моего перевода [1] Слов   Мудрости Бахауллы, которыми вы можете свободно делиться с друзьями.

<p50> To the beloved of the Lord   and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout America, care of the members of   the American National Spiritual Assembly.

<стр.50> Возлюбленным Господа и   служанкам Милосердного в Америке, через членов Национального Духовного   Собрания Америки

[1   Published in the Baha'i Magazine, Star of the West.]

[1] Опубликовано в Журнале Бахаи, Звезда   Запада

            News   Letter

            Вестник

            The   first printed issue of the National Assembly's News Letter prepared and   signed on behalf of the Assembly by its able secretary, stands as a bright   and eloquent testimony of his thoroughness, his industry, his conspicuous   ability, his undoubted self-sacrifice.

Первый печатный выпуск Вестника Национального   Собрания, подготовленный и подписанный от имени Собрания его талантливым секретарем,   служит ярким и красноречивым свидетельством   его доскональности, его трудолюбия, его видных способностей, его несомненного   самопожертвования.

The Cause is entering upon a new era of   renewed and concerted activity.

Дело вступает в новую эру возрождённой и   согласованной деятельности.

Its method of presentation has   unmistakably improved, and this general advancement in standard is in no   small measure attributable to the distinctive capacity of your Assembly.

Его система представлений была несомненно   улучшена, и этому всеобщему образцовому достижению мы в немалой мере обязаны отличительным   способностям вашего Собрания.

My constant prayer is that He who watches   over and inspires your manifold activities may bless more richly than ever   before your noble endeavors.

Мои постоянные молитвы за то, чтобы Тот,   Кто наблюдает и вдохновляет ваши многочисленные мероприятия, благословил ваши благородные начинания   более щедро, чем когда-либо прежде.

            Temple   Meetings

Собрания в Храме

            With   reference to the matter of meeting in the Foundation Hall of the   Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, I feel that the Foundation Hall should serve the purpose   both of devotional gatherings where the revealed Word of God is read and   chanted, and meetings at which subjects strictly Baha'i in character are   presented, propounded and discussed.

По вопросу собраний в Foundation Hall Машрикул-Азкара,   я чувствую, что Foundation Hall должен служить двоякой цели: духовным   встречам, на которых читается и воспевается Слово Божье, и собраниям, на   которых представляются, выдвигаются и обсуждаются строго темы бахаи.

I have no doubt that every conscientious   and thoughtful Baha'i will scrupulously and at all times observe the   commandment of Baha'u'llah and the instructions of Abdu'l-Baha relative to   the maintenance of the sacredness, the dignity, and the universality of an   edifice that will in time become God's universal House of Worship.

У меня нет сомнений в том, что каждый добросовестный   и внимательный бахаи будет тщательно и во все времена следовать заповеди Бахауллы   и инструкциям Абдул-Баха, связанным с поддержанием святости, достоинства и всеобщности   здания, которое со временем станет всеобщим Домом Поклонения.

<p78>

            May   the blessings of our Almighty Master rest upon your deliberations.

Да сопутствуют вашим обсуждениям   благословения Всемогущего.

            Your   true brother,

Ваш истинный брат,

            SHOGHI.

ШОГИ.

            Haifa,   Palestine,

Хайфа, Палестина,

            January   16, 1925.

            16   января 1925 г.

            Persecutions   in Russia

            Гонения в России                                                                                                   

            Ever   since the counter-revolution that proclaimed throughout the length and   breadth of Czarist Russia the dictatorship of the Proletariat, and the   subsequent incorporation of the semi-independent territories of Caucasus and   Turkistan within the orbit of Soviet rule, the varied and numerous Baha'i   institutions established in the past by heroic pioneers of the Faith have   been brought into direct and sudden contact with the internal convulsions   necessitated by the establishment and maintenance of an order so fundamentally   at variance with Russia's previous regime.

The avowed purpose and action of the   responsible heads of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics who, within   their recognized and legitimate rights, have emphatically proclaimed and   vigorously pursued their policy of uncompromising opposition to all forms of   organized religious propaganda, have by their very nature created for those   whose primary obligation is to labor unremittingly for the spread of the   Baha'i Faith a state of affairs that is highly unfortunate and perplexing.

For ten years, however, ever since the   promulgation of that policy, by some miraculous interposition of Providence,   the Baha'is of Soviet Russia have been spared the strict application to their   institutions of the central principle that directs and animates the policy of   the Soviet state.

Although subjected, as all Russian   citizens have been, even since the outbreak of the Revolution, to the   unfortunate consequences of civil strife and external war, and particularly   to the internal commotions that must necessarily accompany far-reaching   changes in the structure of society, such as partial expropriation of private   property, excessive taxation and the curtailment of the right of personal   initiative and enterprise;

yet in matters of worship and in the   conduct of their administrative and purely non-political activities they   have, thanks to the benevolent attitude of their rulers, enjoyed an almost   unrestricted freedom in the exercise of their public duties.

            Lately,   however, due to circumstances wholly beyond their control and without being   in the least implicated in political or subversive activity, our Baha'i   brethren in those provinces have had <p161> to endure the rigid   application of the principles already enunciated by the state authorities and   universally enforced with regard to all other religious communities under   their sway.

Faithful to their policy of expropriating   in the interests of the State all edifices and monuments of a religious   character, they have a few months ago approached the Baha'i representatives   in Turkistan, and after protracted negotiations with them, decided to claim   and enforce their right of ownership and control of that most cherished and   universally prized Baha'i possession, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of Ishqabad.

The insistent and repeated   representations made by the Baha'is, dutifully submitted and stressed by   their local and national representatives, and duly reinforced by the action   of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia, emphasizing the   international character and spiritual significance of the Edifice and its   close material as well as spiritual connection with the divers Baha'i   communities throughout the East and West, have alas! proved of no avail.

The beloved Temple which had been seized   and expropriated and for three months closed under the seal of the Municipal   authorities was reopened and meetings were allowed to be conducted within its   walls only after the acceptance and signature by the Baha'i Spiritual   Assembly of Ishqabad of an elaborate contract drawn by the Soviet authorities   and recognizing the right of undisputed ownership by the State of the   Mashriqu'l-Adhkar and its dependencies.

According to this contract, the Temple is   rented by the State for a period of five years to the local Baha'i community   of that town, and in it are stipulated a number of obligations, financial and   otherwise, expressly providing for fines and penalties in the event of the   evasion or infringement of its provisions.

            To   these measures which the State, in the free exercise of its legitimate   rights, has chosen to enforce, and with which the Baha'is, as befits their   position as loyal and law-abiding citizens, have complied, others have   followed which though of a different character are none the less grievously   affecting our beloved Cause.

In Baku, the seat of the Soviet Republic   of Caucasus, as well as in Ganjih and other neighboring towns, state orders,   orally and in writing, have been officially communicated to the Baha'i   Assemblies and individual believers, suspending all meetings, commemoration   gatherings and festivals, suppressing the committees of all Baha'i local and   national <p162> Spiritual Assemblies, prohibiting the raising of funds   and the transmission of financial contributions to any center within or   without Soviet jurisdiction, requiring the right of full and frequent   inspection of the deliberations, decisions, plans and action of the Baha'i   Assemblies, dissolving young men's clubs and children's organizations,   imposing a strict censorship on all correspondence to and from Baha'i   Assemblies, directing a minute investigation of Assemblies' papers and   documents, suspending all Baha'i periodicals, bulletins and magazines, and   requiring the deportation of leading personalities in the Cause whether as   public teachers and speakers or officers of Baha'i Assemblies.

            Baha'i   Year Book

            Ежегодник   бахаи                                                                                                   

            I   am eagerly looking forward to your sending me in manuscript form the   projected Baha'i Year Book, that I may be enabled to contribute my share in   rendering it as comprehensive, as attractive, and as authoritative as   possible.

I strongly advise you to combine in a   judicious manner the two methods outlined in this connection in your letter   of September 2, 1925.

A short, concise and forceful account of   the primary objects, as well as of the principles underlying the worldwide   administration of the Cause, together with a brief description of various   features of the present day administration of its activities, supplemented   with a not-too-detailed survey of the actual accomplishments and plans   evolved in the current year, would serve to acquaint the outsider with the   purpose and the achievements of the Cause, and provide sufficient material   that would be edifying and helpful to the active believers whether in the   East or in the West....

            The   Greatest Holy Leaf desires me to convey in her name to the esteemed members   of the Green Acre Fellowship the expression of her cordial thanks and sincere   appreciation in having been made a life member of the said Fellowship.

She assures them of her prayers for the   success of this noble institution as well as for the spiritual advancement of   its individual members.

            Recent   developments in the Holy Land have led various organizations in the Jewish   world to contemplate seriously the early possibility of transferring to   Palestine's sacred soil the mortal remains of certain prominent founders and   leaders of Jewish thought, and Mount Carmel, which next to Akka's Most Holy   Shrine is the most cherished object of Baha'i veneration, has been cited on   various occasions as a permanent and most befitting burial ground for their   illustrious dead.

Surely the Baha'is of the world, ever on   the alert and with an eye to the future, will, no matter how pressed by   financial obligations, arise while there is yet time to contribute each his   share in securing for posterity such land as lies in close proximity to the   Holy Shrine -- an area the acquisition of which in time will prove   indispensable if the sublime vision of Abdu'l-Baha is to be <p93>   realized.

I appeal to you, and through you to every   earnest and conscientious believer, to safeguard in particular the land   extending southward from these Shrines which now, alas! is gravely exposed to   the assaults of covetous and speculating interests.

I am loth to press further claims on   friends who have displayed so magnificent a spirit of self-sacrifice on   several occasions in the past, but I feel the urge of a sacred and impelling   responsibility to call your attention to what I conceive to be one of the   worldwide issues of the greatest moment requiring a prompt, generous and   collective response.

I may add that whatever land is purchased   will be registered in the name of the contributor, and I would therefore   request every contributing believer to forward together with his donation   such power of attorney as will legally empower me to transact in his name and   on his behalf the purchase of the plot he desires to acquire.

It would be desirable to forward small   contributions to the National Spiritual Assembly, who will then decide upon   the manner in which the transaction should be conducted.

            The   Trend of World Events

            And   now in conclusion, may I be permitted to direct your attention to the lesson   which the trend of world events brings home to us, the little band of His   chosen workers who, according to the intelligent efforts we exert, can prove   ourselves the determining factor in the immediate fortunes of the society we   live in?

As we witness on all sides the growing   restlessness of a restless age, we are filled with mixed feelings of fear and   hope -- fear, at the prospect of yet another deadly encounter, the   inevitability of which is alas! becoming increasingly manifest;

hope, in the serene assurance that   whatever cataclysm may yet visit humanity, it cannot but hasten the   approaching era of universal and lasting peace so emphatically proclaimed by   the Pen of Baha'u'llah.

In the political domain, <p146>   where we have lately witnessed, in the council of the leading nations of the   world, the surrender of humanity's noblest conception to what may be regarded   only as a transient phase in the life of peoples and nations;

in the industrial world, where the   representatives of the wage-earning classes, either through violence or   persuasion, are capturing the seats of authority and wielding the scepter of   power:

in the field of religion, where we have   lately witnessed widespread and organized attempts to broaden and simplify   the basis of man's faith, to achieve unity in Christendom and restore the   regenerating vigor of Islam;

in the heart of society itself, where the   ominous signs of increasing extravagance and profligacy are but lending fresh   impetus to the forces of revolt and reaction that are growing more distinct   every day -- in these as in many others we have much cause for alarm, but   much to be hopeful and thankful for also.

To take but one instance more fully:

Observe the fierce and as yet unsilenced   dispute which the proposal for the introduction of a binding and universal   pact of non-aggression among the nations of Europe has aroused among the   avowed supporters of the League of Nations -- a League so auspiciously   welcomed for the ideal that prompted its birth, yet now so utterly inadequate   in the actual principles that underlie its present-day structure and working.  

And yet, in the great outcry raised by   post-war nationalism in blindly defending and upholding the unfettered   supremacy of its own sovereignty, and in repudiating unreservedly the   conception of a world super-state, can we not discern the re-enactment only   on a larger scale of the dramatic struggles that heralded the birth of the   reconstructed and unified nations of the West?

Has not authentic history clearly   revealed in the case of these nations the painful yet inevitable merging of   rival, particularistic and independent cities and principalities into one   unified national entity, the evolving of a crude and narrow creed into a   nobler and wider conception?

Is not a parallel struggle being now   manifested on the world stage of ever-advancing humanity?

Can it lead to any other result than that   which shall reaffirm the truth of humanity's onward march towards an   ever-widening conception, and the ever-brightening glory of its destiny?

Reverses and setbacks, such as we have   already witnessed, no doubt will retard the ripening of the choicest fruit on   the tree of human development.

Yet the fierceness of controversy, the   weight of argument <p147> advanced in its disfavor, cannot but   contribute to the broadening of the basis and the consolidation of the   foundations upon which the stately edifice of unified mankind must ultimately
  rest.

Let us take heart therefore, and labor   with renewed vigor and deepened understanding to contribute our share to   those forces which, whether or not cognizant of the regenerating Faith of   Baha'u'llah in this age, are operating, each in its respective sphere and   under His all-encompassing guidance, for the uplift and the salvation of   humanity.

            Your   true brother,

Ваш истинный брат,

            SHOGHI.

ШОГИ.

            Haifa,   Palestine,

Хайфа, Палестина,

            October   18, 1927.

            18   октября 1927 г.