June 29

In the early days of the appearance of our Saviour, virtue was to save ourselves. When we are once established in our faith, then virtue is to save others. The three mottoes of education hold true in our case too. First grow, then become and then contribute. We have developed; we have established ourselves, and now it is time to contribute to others. We have inexhaustible capital. The candles of our spiritual lives constantly weep away their lives in shedding light to the world, but they never become exhausted. For there is connection between our lives and that of Bahá’u’lláh and our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 22 June 1923written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand’)

June 27

The primary adherents are the stars of great magnitude in every land in the firmament of the Kingdom of God. They are the chosen people. They are like candles which, through their sacrificial efforts, are weeping their lives away in order to give light to the world and establish the purpose of their Lord and Saviour, which purpose is the salvation of mankind. His Holiness, Jesus Christ! see how small the group of His disciples was! No matter how few the number of the disciples was, yet they through His power illumined the world. Our Era is similar to that, but through the development of humanity it is greater, and through the evils of the material civilization and negligence of mankind our sacrifices must be greater. Divine light must make itself manifest in our daily life deeds. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 22 June 1923written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand’)

June 25

It is not yet timely for the House of Justice to make a pronouncement in favour of any particular language—the important thing now, in this particular field, is for Bahá’ís to promote the principle. Learning Esperanto, or one of the other proposed auxiliary languages, brings one into touch with people all over the world who are conscious of the need, who are internationally minded, and who may well be attracted to the Faith. Therefore, if you have a particular interest in this subject and an inclination to study Esperanto, you should feel no inhibitions about doing so. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 2 June 1982 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; compilation: The Principles of an International Auxiliary Language’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice’, 2002)

June 23

The Guardian’s message to you is that you should constantly strive to mirror forth in your private lives, and also in your social relationships, the beauty, purity and regenerative power of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. The Bahá’í youth of today should be an example to the youth of the world, and should therefore live up to the highest standards of conduct. Nothing short of such a close, united and concrete adherence to the ideals and teachings of the Faith by every young Bahá’í man and woman can impress and attract to it the serious attention and consideration of the world outside. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 17 March 1937 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi; ‘The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1)

June 21

Humanity, through suffering and turmoil, is swiftly moving on towards its destiny; if we be loiterers, if we fail to play our part surely others will be called upon to take up our task as ministers to the crying needs of this afflicted world. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a message dated 24 September 1924; ‘The Unfolding Destiney, The Messages from the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith to the Bahá’í Community of the British Isles’)

June 19

The most vital matter on which the Guardian wishes you to fully concentrate is that of consolidating the foundations of the Administration. Not until your group learns to work efficiently through obedience to the local assembly and under its guidance can there be any hope for future expansion. The friends must all realize the necessity of internal discipline and order which only a properly elected and efficiently functioning body such as the local assembly can effectively maintain. Obedience to the decisions of the local assembly should be unqualified and whole-hearted, as by this means alone can the community work as a united body and achieve something constructive and enduring. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 5 April 1936 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi; ‘The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1)

June 17

As to your last question whether the individual voter can conscientiously vote for himself. The Guardian believes that not only the Bahá’í voter has the right, but is under the moral obligation to do so, in case he finds himself worthy and capable of assuming the responsibilities and duties imposed upon the members of every duly elected Bahá’í assembly. It is for every believer to carefully weigh his own merits and powers, and after a thorough examination of his self decide whether he is fit for such a position or not. There is nothing more harmful to the individual—and also to society than false humility which is hypocritical, and hence unworthy of a true Bahá’í. The true believer is one who is conscious of his strength as well as of his weakness, and who, fully availing himself of the manifold opportunities and blessings which God gives him, strives to overcome his defects and weaknesses and this by means of a scrupulous adherence to all the laws and commandments revealed by God through His Manifestation. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 February 1935, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘The Light of Divine Guidance, vol. 1)

June 15

We had heard through various channels the wonderful way your children had grown to speak about the Cause in public. Shoghi Effendi's hope is that they will, the three of them, become able and devoted speakers on the Cause and subjects akin to it. To do this properly they will need a firm foundation of scientific and literary training which fortunately they are obtaining. It is just as important for the Bahá'í young boys and girls to become properly educated in colleges of high standing as it is to be spiritually developed. The mental as well as the spiritual side of the youth has to be developed before he can serve the Cause efficiently. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 28 November 1926 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Education)

June 13

The purpose of so much perpetual and intensive emphasis on the support and consolidation of these Spiritual Assemblies is this—that the foundation of the Cause of God must become broader and stronger day by day, that no confusion ever enter the divine order, that new and strong ties be forged between East and West, that Bahá’í unity be safeguarded and illumine the eyes of the people of the world with its resplendent beauty, so that upon these Assemblies God’s Houses of Justice may be firmly established and upon these secondary Houses of Justice the lofty edifice of the Universal House of Justice may, with complete order, perfection and glory, and with no delay, be raised up. When the Universal House of Justice shall have stepped forth from the realm of hope into that of visible fulfilment and its fame be established in every corner and clime of the world, then that august body—solidly grounded and founded on the firm and unshakeable foundation of the entire Bahá’í community of East and West, and the recipient of the bounties of God and His inspiration—will proceed to devise and carry out important undertakings, worldwide activities and the establishment of glorious institutions. By this means the renown of the Cause of God will become world-wide and its light will illumine the whole earth. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 1924 written by Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá’ís of the World throughout the East and the West—translated from the Persian; compilation: “The Universal House of Justice”, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 2021) 

June 11

You are quite correct in stating that there are two different provisions in the Sacred Texts for the selection of an International Auxiliary Language. On the one hand, this task is given to the governments of the world, on the other it is given to the House of Justice. It is not possible now to foresee exactly how this will come about, but it would seem reasonable to suppose that, long before the Bahá’í community is large enough or can exercise the authority to produce such a world-embracing change, events will compel the governments, either progressively or all in concert, to select an International Auxiliary Language to be taught as a second language in all schools and to be used in all international commerce. At a much later stage, possibly at the time of the Bahá’í World Commonwealth, the Universal House of Justice may well decide to review the situation and either confirm the decision that the governments had made, or change the choice to a more suitable language.

Of course, conditions may produce a development very different from the one just outlined. One of the characteristics of Bahá’í Administration is its flexibility which enables it to deal with unforeseen developments and continually changing conditions. The one certain thing about the choice of an International Auxiliary Language is that the Universal House of Justice does not judge the present time propitious for it to take any action in this regard. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 8 June 1980 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer; compilation: The Principles of an International Auxiliary Language’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice’, 2002)

June 9

The Prophets, unlike us, are pre-existent. The soul of Christ existed in the spiritual world before His birth in this world. We cannot imagine what that world is like, so words are inadequate to picture His state of being. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘High Endeavours, Messages to Alaska’)

June 7

As to the practice of nomination in Bahá’í elections, this the Guardian firmly believes to be in fundamental disaccord with the spirit which should animate and direct all elections held by the Bahá’ís, be they of a local or national character and importance. It is, indeed, the absence of such a practice that constitutes the distinguishing feature and the marked superiority of the Bahá’í electoral methods over those commonly associated with political parties and factions. The practice of nomination being thus contrary to the spirit of Bahá’í Administration should be totally discarded by all the friends. For otherwise the freedom of the Bahá’í elector in choosing the members of any Bahá’í assembly will be seriously endangered, leaving the way open for the domination of personalities. Not only that; but the mere act of nomination—leads eventually to the formation of parties—a thing which is totally alien to the spirit of the Cause. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 February 1935, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘The Light of Divine Justice, vol. 1)

June 5

To deepen in the Cause means to read the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and the Master so thoroughly as to be able to give it to others in its pure form. There are many who have some superficial idea of what the Cause stands for. They, therefore, present it together with all sorts of ideas that are their own. As the Cause is still in its early days we must be careful lest we fall under this error and injure the Movement we do so much adore.

There is no limit to the study of the Cause. The more we read the writings the more truths we can find in them and the more we will see that our previous notions were erroneous. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 25 April 1926 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith)

June 3

What Bahá’u’lláh says is that the Supreme House of Justice will appoint a committee that will study the whole matter and then either choose one of the existing languages or create a new one, to function as an international language. The Master never went beyond that, i.e. He never tried to solve the problem Himself and choose that language. He still leaves it to the Supreme House of Justice. But He says that Esperanto will spread and even went so far as to encourage all the friends who possibly can to study it. In fact the knowledge of Esperanto has proven very useful for one who tries to teach in different countries of the world. But whether Esperanto will become the international language which is to be a part of our religious and social duties to study, no one knows, and we have no evidence that the Master made any definite statement along that line. The Master has scarcely ever assumed the solution of a problem that Bahá’u’lláh has referred to the Supreme House of Justice. Esperanto may become an international language, but it depends upon the House of Justice to choose it as the international language. And no one is in a position to foretell. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 30 August 1928 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation: The Principles of an International Auxiliary Language’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice’, 2002)

June 1

In regard to the transliteration of Oriental names and words into German he wishes me to inform you that the system of transliteration actually in use in the Bahá’í world has been adopted and approved with only slight changes by a general Orientalist Congress representative of world’s greatest orientalists including some outstanding German authorities in various branches of Oriental history and literature. As you see, therefore, it is a highly recommendable system of transliteration and this is why the Guardian is so emphatic about its universal adoption by the Bahá’ís the world over. Any departure from that system, he strongly feels, may lead to incalculable difficulties and misunderstandings in the future. He would certainly urge you to adopt it yourself and then advise our German friends to do the same in all their official Bahá’í publications and particularly in the forthcoming issues of the “Sonne der Wahrheit” wherein some chapters of the “Dawn-Breakers” are going to be published. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 27 June 1933 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘The Light of Divine Guidance’, vol. 1)