Bahá’í Administration
Letters from Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Cause
steady expansion of the Movement in various parts of the world; the pain and sorrow so keenly felt at the sudden passing of distinguished and dearly-beloved servants of the Cause; grave and unexpected developments in the Holy Land and elsewhere—have all in rapid succession greatly added to the already oppressive burden of responsibility and care which it is my lot and privilege to shoulder in the interests of the Cause. And yet in the midst of my unceasing toil, my afflictions and perplexities, I have found fresh sustenance and comfort in the striking manner in which the pioneers of the Cause in that promising continent are proving themselves worthy of the spiritual heritage bequeathed to them by their departed Master. Refreshed and fortified by their inspiring example, I feel I can pursue the thorny path of my arduous duties with serene confidence, cheerful contentment and undiminished gratitude.
I rejoice to learn of the marvelous effect which your resourcefulness, efficiency and unrelenting efforts are producing upon your admiring brethren of the East. I am fully alive to the eminent share you are contributing to the emancipation of those heroic sufferers in distracted Persia. I am deeply conscious of the part you play in consolidating the position of the Cause in the eyes of both the exalted and lowly, and in hastening the advent of that promised day of universal recognition and triumph for our beloved Cause.
Shrine of Baghdád
We can but dimly discern the signs of that day of priceless victory—the day when the mission of this sublime and holy Faith will have been unfolded in all its power and glory to the eyes of an unbelieving world. We have only to refer to the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh in order to realize for ourselves God’s invincible power to turn every fleeting abasement, every transient sorrow, into abiding joy and glory. For amid the gloom of humiliation that has now beset Bahá’u’lláh’s holy habitation in Baghdád, these prophetic words of His regarding His house shine forth resplendent in their assurance of a future victory: “In truth, I declare, it shall be so abased in the days to come as to cause tears to flow from every discerning eye.... And in the fulness of time, shall the Lord by the power of truth exalt it in the eyes of all the world, cause it to
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