August 31

The acceptance of a person into the Bahá'í community should be based not on whether he is leading an exemplary life, but in whether the Assembly is reasonably certain that he is sincere in this declaration of faith in Bahá'u'lláh and that he knows of the laws which would affect his personal conduct, so that he does not enter the community under a misapprehension. The question of mental instability has no bearing upon the acceptance of an enrollment unless it is of such a nature that it affects the ability of the declarant to judge whether or not he believes in Bahá'u'lláh. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands, April 19, 1981; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

August 30

I urge you to study the Teachings and particularly ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Some Answered Questions and Dr. Esslemont’s Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, two of the outstanding books in our Bahá’í Literature. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 12 April 1927 to an individual believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)

August 29

‘Abdu’l-Bahá once said… that we should use the Hidden Words as a mirror—comparing our actions and thoughts with what is there revealed—and if they did not match, so to speak, and fully reflect these Divine Counsels—then we must change our actions and conduct until they were in perfect harmony and agreement with these heavenly exhortations. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 12 April 1927 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)

August 28

…when… a young believer… asked of the beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá instructions as to the method of teaching and attracting souls to the Light—He replied in a beautiful Tablet describing the life of detachment, purity, and dedication to the service of God, which should be lived by the one who was desirous of teaching. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 12 April 1927 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)

August 27

It is good for the Bahá'ís to learn that being a Bahá'í is essentially an inner thing, or way of life, and not dependent on fixed patterns. Important as our organized institutions are, they are not the Faith itself. The strength of the Cause grows no matter how much disrupted its activities may temporarily be. This we see over and over again, in lands where the Faith has been temporarily banned; at times when the believers are persecuted and even killed; where they are serving all along or scattered and isolated... 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Program Committee of Geyserville, November 11, 1951: Bahá'í News, No.257, p.4, July 1952; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

August 26

The reason why the Cause has not spread more than it has is that the world up to the present has not really felt its critical position and the friends not done their best. It is the duty of the Bahá’ís, the world over, to study the Teachings, become versed in the principles and history of the Cause, catch the spirit of the Movement and then arise to service. This was the Master’s last word of command, this is Shoghi Effendi’s first desire. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated January 1926 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)

August 25

... Those who declare themselves as Bahá'ís should become enchanted with the beauty of the teachings, and touched by the love of Bahá'u'lláh. The declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws, and principles of the Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must in addition to catching the spark of faith, become basically informed about the Central Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an administration they must obey. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, July 13, 1964: Teaching the Masses; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

August 24

…unless universal brotherhood be established, unless spiritual civilization be given an equal footing with material civilization and thereby change the standard of individual, national and international morality, the world is doomed to failure and society to utter destruction. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated January 1926 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)

August 23

People are not naturally against the Truth. There are obstacles between them and the Truth. These obstacles must be wisely removed and then they surely will be attracted to the Cause. The magnet for this attraction is real love and tolerance towards the ideas and customs of the people. We must follow our Lord, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who taught us to be well-wishers of mankind disregarding religious and racial differences. Our love must be so spacious as to engulf the whole of the people of the world. With love and only with unlimited love we have been and will be able to conquer the hearts of the people and direct the current of their sentiments along the channel of the happiness of mankind and thus usher in the era of the regeneration of man. It is unlimited love which is the Elixir that turns the common metals of the human being into pure gold. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 1 February 1924 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a believer; ‘Messages to Canada’)

August 22

There is no requirement in Bahá'í administration for a new believer to sign an enrollment card. It is for each National Spiritual Assembly to decide in the light of conditions in the territory under its jurisdiction how it wishes a declaration of faith to be made. For a number of reasons it has been found in most countries that an enrollment card is a simple and useful way of registering new believers, but this is not a universal requirement... 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany, October 28, 1975; compilation: ‘Lights of Guidance’)

August 21

The Universal House of Justice is aware of the magnitude of the problems that the Bahá'í communities face, but as the response to the Message of Bahá'u'lláh increases and as the Bahá'í community throughout the world shows its ability to overcome these problems, the attention of men and women of every stratum of society will increasingly be drawn to the Faith. The most urgent need now -- so late is the hour -- is for the Bahá'ís to spread the Message, while they are still able to do so, to the largest possible number of their fellow human beings, simultaneously expanding and consolidating the Bahá'í community as quickly as they can with the resources at their disposal. As mankind passes through the darkest phase of its history, the Bahá'í community will have to face not only entry by troops, which it is now experiencing, but, before too long, mass conversion. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 21 August 1977 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

August 20

Upon the local Assemblies, whose special function and high privilege is to facilitate the admission of new believers into the community, and thereby stimulate the infusion of fresh blood into its organic institutions, a duty no less binding in character devolves. To them I wish particularly to appeal, at this present hour, when the call of God is being raised throughout the length and breadth of both continents in the New World, to desist from insisting too rigidly on the minor observances and beliefs, which might prove a stumbling block in the way of any sincere applicant, whose eager desire is to enlist under the banner of Bahá’u’lláh. While conscientiously adhering to the fundamental qualifications already laid down, the members of each and every Assembly should endeavor, by their patience, their love, their tact and wisdom to nurse, subsequent to his admission, the new-comer into Bahá’í maturity, and win him over gradually to the unreserved acceptance of whatever has been ordained in the teachings. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 25 November 1937; ‘Messages to America’)

August 19

We have noted that the Hands, the Counselors and the Auxiliary Boards are sometimes referred to by the friends as the "appointive arm" of the Administrative Order in contradistinction to the Universal House of Justice and the National and Local Assemblies which constitute the "elective arm." While there is truth in this description as it applies to the method used in the creation of these institutions, the friends should understand that it is not only the fact of appointment that particularly distinguishes the institutions of the Hands, Counselors and Auxiliary Boards. There are, for instance, many more believers appointed to committees in the "elective arm" than are serving in the so-called "appointive arm." A more striking distinction is that whereas the "rulers" in the Cause function as corporate bodies, the "learned" operate primarily as individuals. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 24 April 1972; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)

August 18

Many of the gravest ills now afflicting the human race appear in acute form on the African continent. Racial, tribal and religious prejudice, disunity of nations, the scourge of political factionalism, poverty and lack of education are obvious examples. Bahá'ís have a great part to play -- greater than they may realize -- in the healing of these sicknesses and the abatement of their worst effects. By their radiant unity, by their "bright and shining" faces, their self-discipline in zealously following all the requirements of Bahá'í law, their abstention from politics, their constant study and proclamation of the Great Message, they will hasten the advent of that glorious day when all mankind will know its true brotherhood and will bask in the sunshine of God's love and blessing. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated January 1971 to the participants at the Monrovia Conference; compilation ‘Aspects of Traditional African Culture,’ prepared by the Research department of the Universal House of Justice)

August 17

Bahá'u'lláh has stated quite clearly in His Writings the essential requisites for our spiritual growth, and these are stressed again and again by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His talks and Tablets. One can summarize them briefly in this way:

• 1. The recital each day of one of the Obligatory Prayers with pure-hearted devotion.
• 2. The regular reading of the Sacred Scriptures, specifically at least each morning and evening, with reverence, attention and thought.
• 3. Prayerful meditation on the teachings, so that we may understand them more deeply, fulfil them more faithfully, and convey them more accurately to others.
• 4. Striving every day to bring our behaviour more into accordance with the high standards that are set forth in the Teachings.
• 5. Teaching the Cause of God.
• 6. Selfless service in the work of the Cause and in the carrying on of our trade or profession. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 1 September 1983 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

August 16

Europe has suffered so appallingly in past centuries from persecutions and conflicts inspired by religious differences and fanaticism that there has been a revulsion against religion. Many Europeans have become sceptical, scornful of religious practices, and reluctant either to discuss religious subjects or to give credence to the power of faith. This turning away from religion has been powerfully reinforced by the growth of materialism, and has produced a combination of physical well-being and spiritual aridity that is having catastrophic results, socially and psychologically, on the population. 

- The Universal House of justice  (from a letter dated 1 September 1983 written on its behalf to a National Spiritual Assembly; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

August 15

As to the National Assembly, whose inescapable responsibility is to guard the integrity, coordinate the activities, and stimulate the life, of the entire community, its chief concern at the present moment should be to anxiously deliberate on how best to enable both individual believers and local Assemblies to fulfil their respective tasks. Through their repeated appeals, through their readiness to dispel all misunderstandings and remove all obstacles, through the example of their lives, and their unrelaxing vigilance, their high sense of justice, their humility, consecration and courage, they must demonstrate to those whom they represent their capacity to play their part in the progress of the Plan in which they, no less than the rest of the community, are involved. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 25 November 1937; ‘Messages to America’)

August 14

The Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God was brought into existence in the time of Bahá'u'lláh and when the Administrative Order was proclaimed and formally established by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will, it became an auxiliary institution of the Guardianship. The Auxiliary Boards, in their turn, were brought into being by Shoghi Effendi as an auxiliary institution of the Hands of the Cause. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 24 April 1972; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)

August 13

May I also express my heartfelt desire that the friends of God in every land regard me in no other light but that of a true brother, united with them in our common servitude to the Master's Sacred Threshold, and refer to me in their letters and verbal addresses always as Shoghi Effendi, for I desire to be known by no other name save the one our Beloved Master was wont to utter, a name which of all other designations is the most conducive to my spiritual growth and advancement. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Postscript to a letter dated 5 March 1922, quoted by Ruhiyyih Khanum in ‘The Priceless Pearl)

August 12

As to the subterranean dungeon into which He [Baha’u’llah] was thrown, and which originally had served as a reservoir of water for one of the public baths of the capital, let His own words, recorded in His “Epistle to the Son of the Wolf,” bear testimony to the ordeal which He endured in that pestilential hole. “We were consigned for four months to a place foul beyond comparison.... Upon Our arrival We were first conducted along a pitch-black corridor, from whence We descended three steep flights of stairs to the place of confinement assigned to Us. The dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and Our fellow-prisoners numbered nearly one hundred and fifty souls: thieves, assassins and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue describe its loathsome smell. Most of those men had neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

August 11

...'Abdu'l-Bahá asserts: "In this divine age the bounties of God have encompassed the world of women. Equality of men and women, except in some negligible instances, has been fully and categorically announced. Distinctions have been utterly removed." That men and women differ from one another in certain characteristics and functions is an inescapable fact of nature; the important thing is that He regards such inequalities as remain between the sexes as being "negligible".

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 8 January 1981 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women)

August 10

I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this principle is no other than that which involves the non-participation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, whether in their individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Extracts from the US Baha'i News, no. 70, January 1933)

August 9

If any person wishes to speak of government affairs, or to interfere with the order of government, the others must not combine with him because the Cause of God is withdrawn entirely from political affairs; the political realm pertains only to the Rulers of those matters; it has nothing to do with the souls who are exerting their utmost energy to harmonizing affairs, helping character and inciting (the people) to strive for perfections. Therefore no soul is allowed to interfere with (political) matters, but only in that which is commanded. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Baha’i World Faith’; Compilation: ‘The Non-Political Character of the Bahá'í Faith’, published in Bahá'í World, Vol. 18 (1979-1983)

August 8

American continent steadily advancing, the visible symbols of its undoubted sovereignty are receiving fresh luster every day and its manifold institutions are driving their roots deeper and deeper into its soil. Blest and honored as none among its sister communities has been in recent years, preserved through the inscrutable dispensations of Divine Providence for a destiny which no mind can as yet imagine, such a community cannot for a moment afford to be content with or rest on the laurels it has so deservedly won. It must go on, continually go on, exploring fresh fields, scaling nobler heights, laying firmer foundations, shedding added splendor and achieving added renown in the service and for the glory of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. The seven year plan which it has sponsored and with which its destiny is so closely interwoven, must at all costs be prosecuted with increasing force and added consecration. All should arise and participate. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 25 November 1937; ‘Messages to America’)

August 7

First Century of Bahá’í era drawing to a close. Humanity entering outer fringes most perilous stage its existence. Opportunities of present hour unimaginably precious. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Cablegram dated May 1, 1936; ‘Messages to America’)

August 6

I wish to be known, to realize myself however far I may proceed in future, as one and only one of the many workers in His Vineyards...whatever may betide I trust in His ['Abdu'l-Bahá's] wondrous love for me. May I in no wise by my deeds, thoughts or words, impede the stream of His sustaining Spirit which I sorely need in facing the responsibilities He has placed on my youthful shoulders...  

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 6 February 1922 to a Persian believer, quoted by Ruhiyyih Khanum in ‘The Priceless Pearl)

August 5

From Níyávarán He [Baha’u’llah] was conducted “on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare feet,” exposed to the fierce rays of the midsummer sun, to the Síyáh-Chál of Ṭihrán. On the way He several times was stripped of His outer garments, was overwhelmed with ridicule, and pelted with stones. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

August 4

Shoghi Effendi was delighted to hear of your conversation with Sir .... How much he hopes to have such scholars obtain a true understanding of the spirit and teaching of the Cause and arise to dissipate that veil of misconceptions that is prejudicing the mind of the scholars in the western world. The Cause is in great need for such competent and spiritually minded men who after a thorough study of the Movement would share with the world the fruit of their labours. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 11 March 1929 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)

August 3

For it must be clearly understood, nor can it be sufficiently emphasized, that the conjunction of the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf with those of her brother and mother incalculably reinforces the spiritual potencies of that consecrated Spot which, under the wings of the Báb’s overshadowing Sepulchre, and in the vicinity of the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkár which will be reared on its flank, is destined to evolve into the focal centre of those world-shaking, world-embracing, world-directing administrative institutions, ordained by Bahá’u’lláh and anticipated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and which are to function in consonance with the principles that govern the twin institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice. Then, and then only, will this momentous prophecy which illuminates the concluding passages of the Tablet of Carmel be fulfilled: “Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee (Carmel), and will manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the Book of Names.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘Messages to America: Selected Letters and Cablegrams Addressed to the Bahá’ís of North America, 1932–1946’; compilation:  The People of Bahá Mentioned in the Book of Names - Selected Extracts”, prepared by the Research department of the Universal House of Justice)

August 2

…the valiant Táhirih… A scion of the highly reputed family… whose members occupied an enviable position in the Persian ecclesiastical hierarchy; the namesake of the illustrious Fátimih; designated as Zarrín-Táj (Crown of Gold) and Zakíyyih (Virtuous) by her family and kindred; born in the same year as Bahá’u’lláh; regarded from childhood, by her fellow-townsmen, as a prodigy, alike in her intelligence and beauty; highly esteemed even by some of the most haughty and learned ‘ulamás of her country, prior to her conversion, for the brilliancy and novelty of the views she propounded; acclaimed as Qurrat-i-‘Ayní (solace of my eyes) by her admiring teacher, Siyyid Kázim; entitled Táhirih (the Pure One) by the “Tongue of Power and Glory;” and the only woman enrolled by the Báb as one of the Letters of the Living; she had, through a dream… established her first contact with a Faith which she continued to propagate to her last breath, and in its hour of greatest peril, with all the ardor of her unsubduable spirit. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

August 1

Equally important as a factor in the evolution of the Administrative Order has been the remarkable progress achieved, particularly in the United States of America, by the institution of the summer schools designed to foster the spirit of fellowship in a distinctly Bahá'í atmosphere, to afford the necessary training for Bahá'í teachers, and to provide facilities for the study of the history and teachings of the Faith, and for a better understanding of its relation to other religions and to human society in general. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Centers of Baha’i Learning)