55: Shoghi Effendi wrote his last general letter to the western friends...

Shoghi Effendi wrote his last general letter to the western friends because he felt that the public should be made to understand the att.i.tude the Baha'i Faith maintains towards the prevailing economic and political problems. We should let the world know what the real aim of Baha'u'llah was. Up to the present Unity of Mankind was only of an academic importance. Now it is becoming more and more a subject for international statesmen to think of. It is coming to the field of practical politics. It is therefore a wonderful chance for us to come to the front and expound the teaching which is the goal and aim of the social precepts of Baha'u'llah. Shoghi Effendi hopes that the friends will re-echo this call to an organic unity of mankind until it forms part of the conscious faith of every living man in the world. Great judgement should be however practised lest we be misunderstood and our Faith be cla.s.sed among radical movements.

(28 January 1932 to the National Spiritual a.s.sembly of the United States and Canada) [55]

56: Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated...

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated January 26th 1932 which accompanied a printed copy of his last general letter. He thanks you both for this as well as for the one hundred copies you are shipping to him. He is deeply gratified to learn that the friends find it interesting and worthwhile enough as to make its subject-matter the topic of their teaching campaign. He sincerely hopes that this will also awaken some of the friends to the importance of this teaching of the Cause and stimulate them to make a thorough and deep study of it. For it undoubtedly forms the goal of the social precepts of the Faith. There is no reason why the Baha'is should not take the lead in advocating such a federation of the world, towards which the world is driven by forces it cannot control....

(16 February 1932 to the National Spiritual a.s.sembly of the United States and Canada) [56]

57: The different nations of the world will never attain peace except after...

The different nations of the world will never attain peace except after recognizing the significance of the teachings and whole-heartedly upholding them for through those precepts all international problems will be solved and every man will secure the spiritual environment in which his soul can evolve and produce its highest fruits.

(15 January 1933 to an individual believer) [57]

58: The Guardian has also read with deep interest all the enclosed papers.

He...

The Guardian has also read with deep interest all the enclosed papers. He is firmly convinced that through perseverance and concerted action the cause of Peace will eventually triumph over all the dark forces which threaten the welfare and progress of the world today. But such purely human attempts are undoubtedly ineffective unless inspired and guided by the power of faith. Without the a.s.sistance of G.o.d, as given through the message of Baha'u'llah, peace can never be safely and adequately established. To disregard the Baha'i solution for world peace is to build on foundations of sand. To accept and apply it is to make peace not a mere dream, or an ideal, but a living reality. This is the point which the Guardian wishes you to develop, to emphasize again and again, and to support by convincing arguments. The Baha'i peace programme is, indeed, not only one way of attaining that goal. It is not even relatively the best. It is, in the last resort, the sole effective instrument for the establishment of the reign of peace in this world. This att.i.tude does not involve any total repudiation of other solutions offered by various philanthropists. It merely shows their inadequacy compared to the Divine Plan for the unification of the world. We cannot escape the truth that nothing mundane can in the last resort be enduring, unless supported and sustained through the power of G.o.d.

(25 September 1933 to an individual believer) [58]

59: Whatever our shortcomings may be, and however formidable the forces of darkness...

Whatever our shortcomings may be, and however formidable the forces of darkness which besiege us today, the unification of mankind as outlined and ensured by the World Order of Baha'u'llah will in the fullness of time be firmly and permanently established. This is Baha'u'llah's promise, and no power on earth can in the long run prevent or even r.e.t.a.r.d its adequate realization. The friends should, therefore, not lose hope, but fully conscious of their power and their role they should persevere in their mighty efforts for the extension and the consolidation of Baha'u'llah's universal dominion on earth.

(6 November 1933 to an individual believer) [59]

60: As regards the International Executive referred to by the Guardian in his...

As regards the International Executive referred to by the Guardian in his "Goal of a New World Order", it should be noted that this statement refers by no means to the Baha'i Commonwealth of the future, but simply to that world government which will herald the advent and lead to the final establishment of the World Order of Baha'u'llah. The formation of this International Executive, which corresponds to the executive head or board in present-day national governments, is but a step leading to the Baha'i world government of the future, and hence should not be identified with either the inst.i.tution of the Guardianship or that of the International House of Justice.

(17 March 1934 to two believers) [60]

61: In connection with your teaching work: what the Guardian wishes you to...

In connection with your teaching work: what the Guardian wishes you to particularly emphasize in all your talks is the supreme necessity for all individuals and nations in this day to adopt in its entirety the social programme given by Baha'u'llah for the reconstruction of the religious, economic and political life of mankind. He wishes you to explain and a.n.a.lyze the elements that help in raising this Divine World Order in the light of the present-day events and conditions in the world. Special stress, he feels, should be laid on the impending necessity of establishing a supranational and sovereign world state, as the one described by Baha'u'llah. With the world becoming increasingly subject to tumults and convulsions never experienced before, the realization of such a necessity is entering into the consciousness of not only the wise and learned, but of the common people as well. The believers should, therefore, seize this opportunity and make a supreme effort to present, in a convincing and eloquent language, those social and humanitarian teachings of the Faith which we believe to const.i.tute the sole panacea for the innumerable ills afflicting our present-day world.

(15 November 1935 to two believers) [61]

62: With reference to your question concerning 'Abdu'l-Baha's reference to...

With reference to your question concerning 'Abdu'l-Baha's reference to "unity in the political realm": this unity should be clearly distinguished from the "unity of nations". The first is a unity which politically independent and sovereign states achieve among themselves; while the second is one which is brought about between nations, the difference between a state and a nation being that the former, as you know, is a political ent.i.ty without necessarily being h.o.m.ogeneous in race, whereas the second implies national as well as political h.o.m.ogeneity.

(26 July 1936 to an individual believer) [62]

63: As regards your teaching work: the Guardian has already advised you to...

As regards your teaching work: the Guardian has already advised you to stress in your talks the idea of a world superstate, and the concept of the Oneness of Mankind underlying it. In addition, he wishes you also to emphasize the fact that humanity, taken as a whole, has entered the most critical and momentous stage of its evolution, the stage of maturity. This idea of the coming of age of mankind const.i.tutes the central core of the Baha'i Teachings, and is the most distinguishing feature of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. A proper understanding of this concept gives the key to an adequate appreciation of the tremendous claim made by the Author of the Faith, both with regard to His own station, and to the incomparable greatness of His Dispensation.

(12 October 1936 to an individual believer) [63]

64: With reference to the question you have asked concerning the time and...

With reference to the question you have asked concerning the time and means through which the Lesser and Most Great Peace, referred to by Baha'u'llah, will be established, following the coming World War: Your view that the Lesser Peace will come about through the political efforts of the states and nations of the world, and independently of any direct Baha'i plan or effort, and the Most Great Peace be established through the instrumentality of the believers, and by the direct operation of the laws and principles revealed by Baha'u'llah and the functioning of the Universal House of Justice as the supreme organ of the Baha'i superstate-your view on this subject is quite correct and in full accord with the p.r.o.nouncements of the Guardian as embodied in "The Unfoldment of World Civilization".

(14 March 1939 to the National Spiritual a.s.sembly of the United States and Canada, and to an individual believer) [64]