Regarding the question you asked about the advisability of Dr.

Muhlschlegel moving to Frankfurt: he has no objection to this, but feels it is a matter for the National Spiritual a.s.sembly to decide upon.

LETTER OF 4 APRIL 1947

4 April 1947

The Spiritual a.s.sembly of the Baha'is of Stuttgart.

Dear Baha'i Friends:

The letter you wrote our beloved Guardian, dated Jan. 11th, 1947, was received, as well as the report you enclosed of the meetings held in Stuttgart, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.

He was very pleased to see that there are now as many as 95 believers there, and he hopes this number will steadily and rapidly increase. All the Baha'is, new and old alike, should devote themselves as much as possible to teaching the Faith; they should also realize that the atmosphere of true love and unity which they manifest within the Baha'i Community will directly affect the public, and be the greatest magnet for attracting people to the Faith and confirming them.

In considering purchasing the Schwarz home as a future headquarters for the Stuttgart Baha'is, (a plan which he fully approves of) he urges you to, at the same time, bear in mind the responsibility of all the Baha'is-in Stuttgart and elsewhere-towards the purchase and maintenance of a National Headquarters; this is of the utmost importance, and when such a headquarters is established it will greatly stimulate the work all over Germany, Stuttgart included. It takes precedence over local Community activities.

He a.s.sures you all, and all the Stuttgart believers, of his most loving prayers for the advancement of your Baha'i labours...

P.S. He was delighted to see you are doing teaching work in neighbouring towns; this is a very important service to the Cause.

[From the Guardian:]

May the Beloved bless your meritorious efforts, guide and sustain you in your activities, aid you to extend the range of your deeply appreciated services, and enable you to proclaim the verities of His Faith, and help in the consolidation of its nascent and G.o.d-given inst.i.tutions,

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 12 APRIL 1947

12 April 1947

The Baha'is of Esslingen

Dear Baha'i Friends:

Your loving Naw-Ruz greeting was received, and our beloved Guardian has instructed me to answer it on his behalf.

He a.s.sures you all he will pray in the Holy Shrines for you, for the growth of your Community and the success of your services to our glorious Faith. You are all dear to him!

[From the Guardian:]

May the Beloved bless, guide and sustain you at all times, enable you to extend the scope of your activities, and win great and memorable victories for the inst.i.tutions of our beloved Faith,

Your true brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 3 MAY 1947(23)

3 May 1947

Your letters to our beloved Guardian, dated Feb. 7th and 11th, as well as the ma.n.u.script of "Hidden Words" have been received, and he has instructed me to answer them on his behalf.

He is very happy to have this opportunity of communicating with you personally, and a.s.suring you of how much he appreciates your devoted services in the path of our glorious Faith.

Regarding the questions you have asked him:

There is no correspondence or connection between the Hidden Word (Arabic) no. 1 and the last Arabic Hidden Word, or between these and any pa.s.sage of the Seven Valleys.

The Cairo edition of the Hidden Words, approved by the Master, is the one you must refer to for accuracy, and disregard all other texts. This answers the questions connected with Hidden Words number 18 and 39 and 1 (two) and 35 (two).

Hidden Word no. 70: this is not addressed to any person but is a mystical expression and an allusion to the Manifestation of G.o.d.

No marginal notes should be added except any of 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself or the notes of the Cairo edition.

The whole question of translation from the original text is very important. He has just written on this subject, at some length, to Baroness von Werthern, explaining to her that he considers now is not the time to translate the teachings into German from Persian and Arabic. No Persian with a sufficient expert knowledge of German is available to help in this matter; he does not feel, therefore, that such works as "Some Answered Questions", "Seven Valleys", etc. should be embarked upon at all.

People who have not spent years steeped in the atmosphere and language and literature of the East cannot possibly grasp the subtleties of oriental usage. A good example of this very point is that Prof. Sussheim has not grasped what Baha'u'llah means by the word "[Arabic script]". He is using it in a loose and colloquial sense which means "a pa.s.sing thing", a small amount, and not literally a.s.sociating it with food.

He feels you should continue your study of the teachings in the original and, from time to time, if you desire to, translate material from the original in short excerpts; but not at present important books and Tablets. These you can better translate from good English editions.

There is so much teaching work, and administrative work, to be done in Germany at present that he urges you to concentrate on this form of service. The public need to receive the Message on a large scale, to have available literature at once, to read articles on the Baha'i Faith; and in all these ways your services can be of great help.

P.S. "Tur" and "Sinai" should not be taken literally; the first is an allusion to Mt. Sinai, which in this case means the Manifestation of G.o.d; the second, "Sinai", represents the human heart.

[From the Guardian:]

May the Almighty bless, sustain and guide you, at all times and under all conditions, a.s.sist you to proclaim the verities of His Faith, and lend a tremendous impetus to the advancement and consolidation of its new-born and G.o.d-given inst.i.tutions,

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi

LETTER OF 13 JUNE 1947(24)