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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Check Woo Foo, On the Nature of Baha'i Communities, bahai-library.com.
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On the Nature of Baha'i Communities
Check Woo Foo
Abstract
Some personal reflections on the development of Baha'i communities in
urban societies, especially the relationship between the individual believer
and the local community, and that between the local community and the
institutions of the Faith, in the context of achieving a significant advance
in the process of entry by troops, which is the major focus of the
forthcoming Four Year Plan.
Introduction
In a couple of weeks' time, the Universal House of Justice will launch a
global plan of expansion and consolidation to end four years later at
Ridvan 2000. In a message, dated 31 December 1996 addressed to the
Baha'is of the World, announcing its decision, the Universal House of
Justice summarized the basic requisites in the activity and development of
the individual believer, the local community, and the institutions for
achieving "a significant advance in the process of entry by troops".1
Some three years ago, the House of Justice in its Ridvan message brought
to the attention of the Baha'is of the world the critical need for a massive
expansion of the Baha'i community in the years immediately ahead. 2
Clear signs of "the growing receptivity of the world to Baha'u'llah's
Message" reinforces the House's conviction that "entry by troops will
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 31 December 1995 to the Baha'is of
the World.
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated Ridvan 150 to the Baha'is of the
World.
84 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'I STUDIES REVIEW
soon become an established pattern for the growth of the Faith in country
after country". 3 To assist the National Spiritual Assemblies and all the
friends to understand, welcome, initiate and sustain this process, the
Universal House of Justice enclosed a compilation and a covering
statement, prepared by the Research Department, entitled "Promoting
Entry by Troops".4
I don't think I understood it then. But I am beginning to understand it
now. I have been reflecting a fair bit on the development of Baha'i
communities; and, quite naturally, the development of urban Baha'i
communities is closest to my heart. I have started examining the whole
panorama of the development of the Baha'i Faith since its inception. It is
interesting to note that major developments in the Faith during the time of
Baha'u'llah took place in the great cities of the world then - Tihran,
Baghdad, Constantinople, Adrianople and Akka.
I begin to appreciate that we are participants in a "vast, majestic process
that was set in motion at the dawn of the Adamic cycle", some six
thousand years ago, "with the planting, in the soil of the divine will, of the
tree of divine revelation."5
A Vast, Majestic Process
Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, in his second message,
dated May 4, 1953, to the All-American Intercontinental Conference,
described, in vivid, flowing metaphorical language, and in his usual
concise manner, this vast, majestic process that has already passed
through "certain stages and must needs pass through others ere it attains
its final consummation."
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 9 November 1993 to all National
Spiritual Assemblies.
Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by Troops" prepared by the Research
Department of the Universal House of Justice dated October 1995.
Shoghi Effendi. Messages to the BaháT' World, 1950-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1971, pp. 153-155.
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 85
He wrote, 'The first part of this process was the slow and steady growth
of this tree of divine revelation, successively putting forth its branches,
shoots and off-shoots, and revealing its leaves, buds and blossoms, as a
direct consequence of the light and warmth imparted to it by a sales of
progressive dispensations associated with Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha,
Jesus, Muhammad and other Prophets, and of the vernal showers of blood
shed by countless martyrs in their path."
"The second part of this process was the fruition of this tree, 'that
belongeth neither to the East nor to the West,' when the Bab appeared as
the perfect fruit and declared His mission in the Year Sixty (1844) in the
city of Shiraz."
"The third part was the grinding of this sacred seed, of infinite
preciousness and potency, in the mill of adversity, causing it to yield its
oil, six years later, in the city of Tabriz (1850)."
"The fourth part was the ignition of this oil by the hand of Providence in
the depths and amidst the darkness of the Siyah-Chal of Tihran a hundred
years ago (1853)."
"The fifth, was the clothing of that flickering light, which had scarcely
penetrated the adjoining territory of Iraq, in the lamp of revelation, after
an eclipse lasting no less than ten years, in the city of Baghdad (1863)."
"The sixth, was the spread of the radiance of that light, shining with
added brilliancy in its crystal globe in Adrianople (1867), and later on in
the fortress town of Akka (1868-1892), to thirteen countries in the Asiatic
and African continents."
"The seventh was its projection, from the Most Great Prison, in the
course of the ministry of 'Abdu'l-Baha, the Center of the Covenant
(1892-1921), across the seas and the shedding of its illumination upon
twenty sovereign states and dependencies in the American, the European,
and the Australian continents."
"The eighth part of that process was the diffusion of that same light in the
course of the first, and the opening years of the second, epoch of the
86 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
Formative Age of the Faith (1921-1953), over ninety-four sovereign
states, dependencies and islands of the planet, as a result of the
prosecution of a series of national plans, initiated by eleven national
spiritual assemblies throughout the BaháT world, utilizing the agencies of
a newly emerged, divinely appointed Administrative Order, and which has
now culminated in the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Baha'uTlah's Mission (1953)/*
The ninth part of this process was the "further diffusion of that same light
over one hundred and thirty-one additional territories and islands in both
the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, through the operation of a decade-
long world spiritual crusade whose termination" coincided with the Most
Great Jubilee commemorating the centenary of the declaration of
Baha'uTlah in Baghdad (1963).
And since 1963, the BaháT world community, led by the Universal House
of Justice, has initiated the tenth part of this mighty process which must
witness "the penetration of that light, in the course of numerous crusades
and of successive epochs of both the Formative and Golden Ages of the
Faith, into all the remaining territories of the globe through the erection of
the entire machinery of Baha'uTlah's Administrative Orda: in all
territories, both East and West, the stage at which the light of God's
triumphant Faith shining in all its power and glory will have suffused and
enveloped the entire planet."
Beginning the Tenth Part
As a member of the BaháT world community, entering into the tenth part
of this majestic process, I appreciate that the steadily evolving Faith of
Baha'uTlah will have to go through "stages of obscurity, of repression, of
emancipation and of recognition — stages one or another of which BaháT
national communities in various parts of the world now find themselves in
— to the stage of establishment, the stage at which the Faith of
Baha'uTlah will be recognized by the civil authorities as the state religion,
similar to that which Christianity entered in the years following the death
of the Emperor Constantine, a stage which must later be followed by the
emergence of the BaháT state itself, functioning, in all religious and civil
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 87
matters, in strict accordance with the laws and ordinances of the Kitáb-i-
Aqdas, the Most Holy, the Mother-Book of the BaháT Revelation, a stage
which, in the fullness of time, will culminate in the establishment of the
World BaháT Commonwealth, functioning in the plenitude of its powers,
and which will signalize the long-awaited advent of the Christ-promised
Kingdom of God on earth — the Kingdom of BahaVUah — mirroring
however faintly upon this humble handful of dust the glories of the Abhá
Kingdom."
"This final and crowning stage in the evolution of the plan wrought by
God Himself for humanity will, in turn, prove to be the signal for the birth
of a world civilisation, incomparable in its range, its character and
potency, in the history of mankind — a civilisation which posterity will,
with one voice, acclaim as the fairest fruit of the Golden Age of the
Dispensation of BahaVUah, and whose rich harvest will be garnered
during future dispensations destined to succeed one another in the course
of thefivethousand century BaháT Cycle."6
I also appreciate that the speed at which we travel this road is not totally
in our control, and that the detailed itinerary has yet to be worked out, but
I think we can already visualise a road map with clear milestones leading
to the establishment of the BaháT Faith.
A Road Map to Establishment
It is evident the road to final consummation, in the Golden Age of the
Faith, through the raising of the standard of the Most Great Peace, nay,
even to the stage of establishment — the stage at which the Faith of
BahaVUah will be recognized by the civil authorities as the state rdigion
— will be long, tortuous, and narrow. The stages that the Faith wiU have
to go through — of obscurity, of repression, of emancipation and of
recognition — prior to reaching the stage of establishment wiU, however,
probably take place during our life time or during our children's Ufe time.
As the Universal House of Justice has pointed out in the preamble to the
Shoghi Effendi. Messages to the BaháT World, 1950-1957. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1971, pp. 155-156.
88 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
Four Year Plan, "there are divine deadlines to be met"7, and one
particular deadline, as discussed below, is dead ahead.
In fact, Shoghi Effendi had stated that Baha'i national communities in
various parts of the world were alreadyfindingthemselves in one of these
stages or another. Clearly, the Baha'i national community of Iran is
undergoing the stage of repression, foreshadowing the trials that will soon
challenge the Baha'i world community.
Nevertheless, the Guardian has assured us that emancipation, however
slow the process, of the "valiant sufferers from the galling fetters of an
antiquated religious orthodoxy" will take place, that "such an
emancipation, which cannot be confined to Baha'u'llah's native land, will,
in varying measure, have its repercussions in Islamic countries, or may be
even preceded by a similar phenomenon in neighbouring territories,
hastening and adding fresh impetus to the bursting of the bonds that fetter
thefreedomof the followers of God's infant Faith."
"Such an emancipation will, in its turn, pave the way for the recognition
of that Faith as an independent religion established on a basis of absolute
equality with its sister religions, enjoying the unqualified protection of the
civil authorities for its followers and its institutions, and fully empowered,
in all matters related to personal status, to apply without reservations the
laws and ordinances ordained in the Most Holy Book."8
In its message of Ridvan 1984 to the Baha'is of the World, the Universal
House of Justice declared that the Baha'i world community has emerged
from obscurity.9 We must now act in unison with the forces unleashed by
the Almighty to propel the Baha'i world community safely through the
next stage of its development.
See note 1 of this paper
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1970, p. 141.
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated Ridvan 19S4 to the Baha'is of the
World.
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 89
Dynamic of Crisis and Victory
Shoghi Effendi, in his message of Ridvan 1956 to the delegates of the
Annual BaháT Conventions, while impelled to share with them his
feelings of joy, of pride and of thankfulness following the triumphant
termination of the second phase of the World Spiritual Crusade, warned
the friends that the "repercussions have spread so far as to alarm a not
inconsiderable element among the traditional and redoubtable adversaries
of its courageous and consecrated prosecutors. Indeed as it has forged
ahead, it has raised up new enemies intent on obstructing its forward
march and on defeating its purpose." The Guardian, however, went on to
say that "premonitory signs can already be discerned in far-off regions
heralding the approach of the day when troops will flock to its standard,
fulfilling the predictions uttered long ago by the Supreme Captain
('Abdu'1-Bahá) of its forces."
In the words of the Universal House of Justice, "this dynamic interplay of
the processes of crisis and victory characterizes the development of the
Faith." 10 In its statement on "Promoting Entry by Troops", the House of
Justice quoted the words of Shoghi Effendi that the record of the
tumultuous history of the Faith demonstrates "the supreme truth that with
every fresh outbreak of hostility to the Faith, whether from within or from
without, a corresponding measure of outpouring grace, sustaining its
defenders and confounding its adversaries, has been providentially
released, communicating a fresh impulse to the onward march of the
Faith, while this impetus, in its turn, would, through its manifestations,
provoke fresh hostility in quarters heretofore unaware of its challenging
implications." n
Organic Growth
See note 4 of this paper
Letter dated 31 June 1952*written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a National Spiritual
Assembly. Cited in Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by Troops"
prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated October
1995.
90 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'f STUDIES REVIEW
That "the growth of the Faith proceeds in an organic, evolutionary
manner", that "it advances in vast surges, precipitated by the alternation
of crisis and victory"4, which means its rate of growth is not necessarily
uniform, is evidentfromShoghi Effendi's delineation of the vast, majestic
process at work in the world of humanity, as described above, and from
his elucidation of how the Cause of God spread, in a letter dated 18
February 1932, written on his behalf to an individual believer, in which he
likened the "state when only isolated souls are awakened "as the
"beginning of spring" when "only the few, exceptionally favoured seeds
will sprout" and "the quickening of whole groups and nations" as when
"the season gets in its full sway, and the atmosphere gets permeated with
the warmth of true springtime" and "masses of flowers will begin to
appear, and a whole hillside suddenly blooms."
In his book, "On the Shoulders of Giants", Craig Loehle, recognising that
the growth of the Faith is organic, draws lessons from biology to throw
light on the processes affecting the spread of the Cause of God.
Putting Down Deep Roots
Citing the case of the longleaf pine, a tall majestic pine found in the
American southeast, which is the longest lived of the southern pines,
found growing on sandy soils where fire is frequent due to drought
conditions, Loehle described a growth strategy exhibited by this tree
which is indicative of the process that the Baha'i Faith is going through
right now.
He explained, "To cope with fire, the longleaf has developed a unique
evolutionary response. When a seed germinates, the seedling produces a
thick bundle of needles at ground level. Instead of getting taller each year
as most trees do, the seedling gets thicker around each year but stays right
at ground level, producing a thicker and thicker cluster of needles. This is
called the grass stage." 12
Craig Loehje. On the Shoulders of Giants. Oxford: George Ronald, 1994, pp. 131-
132.
On the Nature of Bahá Y Communities 91
"While in the grass stage, it is quite resistant to fire. The growing tip of
the tree is close to the ground where temperatures are lowest during a fire
and it is further protected by the thick cluster of green needles. When the
seedling is sufficiently robust and has deep enough roots, it suddenly
shoots up at the rate of three to six feet in height per year. In just a few
years it is tall enough and has thick enough bark to survive most brush
flres.,,
"The Baha'i Faith may be said to have been in the grass stage until
recently: putting down deep roots while protected by the leafy green
shelter of obscurity.,,
During the period of quiet growth, the Faith has put down deep roots in
the hearts of the believers through deepening, supplemented by the
extensive body of publications and translations of the Holy Writings (at
last count in 1993, the number of publishing trusts stands at 29 and the
number of languages into which Baha'u'llah's writings have been
translated at 802) and in the soils of the earth in the form of Assemblies
(165 National Assemblies and 20,435 Local Assemblies) and appointed
institutions (72 Counsellors and 846 Auxiliary Board Members), of
Houses of Worship (7), of schools (178 academic and 488 tutorial) and
radio stations (7), and of social and economic projects (1344).13
Having emerged from obscurity in 1984, we have left the safety of the
grass stage and are vulnerable to the fires that rage around us. And like
the longleaf pine, rapid growth is essential at this stage in the life of the
Baha'i community in orda: that we pass through it safely.
I can, therefore, understand why the Universal House of Justice in its in
its Ridvan message of 1993 "drew the attention of the Baha'i world to the
critical need for a massive expansion of the Baha'i community in the
years immediately ahead." 14
The Baha'i World, 1992-93: An International Record. Haifa: Baha'i World Centre
Publications, 1993.
See note 2 of this paper
92 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
As Loehle so aptly remarked, "To falter leaves us in a very vulnerable
position. We become vulnerable to attack because we are noticed but have
small numbers. We become vulnerable when our credibility is questioned
as the outside world begins to expect us to put Baha'u'llah's teachings
into practice in the life of society, even though we may not be financially
or administratively ready to do so." 15
Spreading Worldwide
With another analogy drawn from biology — this time an agricultural
weed studied in the farm fields of South Carolina — Loehle described
another process at work in the spread of the Faith.
He explained, "The weed was found to grow in numbers slowly within
individual fields but to spread to distant fields as seeds riding on
agricultural equipment. Upon entering a newfieldit would very gradually
increase in that field, being apparently rare there for a long time but
providing seeds to be carried to further fields. A computer model of the
spatial spread of this pest led to interesting conclusions. As the weed
spread in this island-hopping manna*, the populations in the newly
colonized fields would be very low and easy to overlook. It would go
unnoticed until suddenly, after a few years, it would have occupied most
fields in an entire county and overrun them. This is because each isolated
population was growing exponentially but starting from vary small
numbers. Because the population was scattered, the numbers appeared
smaller than they actually were and the true rate of growth was not
evident. This type of exponential growth, based on constant dispersal to
outlying areas, is exactly what we see in the progress of the Baha'i Faith
as a consequence of the plans of Abdu'1-Baha and Shoghi Effendi." 16
Craig Loehle. On the Shoulders of Giants. Oxford: George Ronald, 1994, pp. 132-
133.
Craig Loehle. On the Shoulders of Giants. Oxford: George Ronald, 1994, pp. 133-
134.
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 93
I am reminded of the directives from Shoghi Effendi in the last year of his
earthly life to the friends in both India 17 and North America 18 to establish
a Spiritual Assembly on afirmand enduring basis with a nucleus of about
fifteen Baha'fs in the community so that the other believers are free to
disperse and teach elsewhere, and that they should consider it their duty to
do so.
In fact, this same process, as directed by the Universal House of Justice,
is at work in the microcosm of the virgin territory of mainland China,
which called for the establishment of four hundred localities throughout
the mainland and with hundred and fifty of these localities populated by
fifteen local believers in the space of a few short years and under the
protection of obscurity. At last count, there are already two hundred and
ninety localities throughout mainland China, and thirty-five of these
localities havefifteenor more local believers.
Shoghi Effendi, in a letter dated 30 June 1952 written on his behalf to a
National Spiritual Assembly, has affirmed that "as-the Cause spread all
over the world its rate of acceleration increases, too ..." and reassured us,
if we were wondering whether it is worth the enormous effort, and the
expenditure of our limited resources, to establish the Faith in remote parts
of the world, that "new centres in Africa, in some mysterious way, have
spiritual repercussions which aid in forming new centres everywhere." 19
The Baha'i Community Today
When the Guardian launched the World Spiritual Crusade in 1953 the
Faith was still in the stage of obscurity. The crusade paved "the way for,
Shoghi Effendi. Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent, 1923-1957.
Compiled and Edited by Iran Furutan Muhajir. New Delhi: Baha'i Publishing Trust,
1995, p. 414.
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1970, p. 128.
Letter dated 30 June 1952 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a National
Spiritual Assembly. Cited in Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by
Troops" prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated
October 1995.
94 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'i STUDIES REVIEW
and constitute the prelude to, the initiation of the laborious and
tremendously long process of establishing in the course of subsequent
crusades in all the newly opened sovereign states, dependencies and
islands of the planet, as well as in the remaining territories of the globe,
the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith, with its attendant
agencies, and of eventually erecting in these territories still more pillars to
share in sustaining the weight and in broadening the foundation of the
Universal House of Justice." 20
Twelve National Spiritual Assemblies wore entrusted with the execution
of the crusade. By the end of the crusade in 1963, fifty-six National
Spiritual Assemblies were established to elect the first Universal House of
Justice. And by Ridvan 1996, the pillars of the Universal House of Justice
will have totaled a hundred and seventy-nine.
According to The BaháT World, 1992-1993, the number of Local
Spiritual Assemblies have risen from 3,555 in 1963 to 20,435 in 1993,
and the number of localities where BaháTs reside stands at 120,046.
Altogether, it is estimated that at least 2,112 different ethnic and tribal
backgrounds are represented in the BaháT community. With its diffusion
to 205 countries, the BaháT Faith, according to Encyclopedia Britannica,
1992, is now the second most wide-spread of the world's religions,
exceeded only by Christianity. The membership of the BaháT world
community has also increased dramatically from an estimated 408,000 in
1963 to over 5 million today.21
Rapid Growth
Such deep roots and worldwide spread are the necessary conditions within
the Faith for rapid growth. The BaháT world community is ready.
Therefore, I welcome this process.
Shoghi Effendi. Messages to the Baha'i World, 1950-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1971, p. 152.
See note 11 of this paper
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 95
Shoghi Effendi, in his directive dated July 18, 1953, during the opening
year of the crusade, stressed that the "twofold task of extension and
consolidation must be supplemented by continuous and strenuous efforts
to increase speedily not only the number of the avowed followers of the
Faith .... but also to swell the ranks of its active supporters who will
consecrate their time, resources and energy to the effectual spread of its
teachings and the multiplication of its administrative institutions." 2 '
This equally vital task — which is one that primarily concerns and
challenges each single individual believer whatever his rank, capacity or
origin — is that of "winning to the Faith fresh recruits to the slowly yet
steadily advancing army of the Lord of Hosts".23
"Such a steady flow of reinforcements is absolutely vital and is of extreme
urgency, for nothing short of the vitalizing influx of new blood that will
reanimate the world Baha'i community can safeguard the prizes which, at
so great a sacrifice involving the expenditure of so much time, effort and
treasure, are now being won in virgin territories by Baha'u'llah's valiant
Knights, whose privilege is to constitute the spearhead of the onrushing
battalions which, in diverse theaters and in circumstances often adverse
and extremely challenging, are vying with each other for the spiritual
conquest of the unsurrendered territories and islands on the surface of the
globe."24
ENTRY BY TROOPS
"This flow, moreover, will presage and hasten the advent of the day
which, as prophesied by Abdu'l-Baha, will witness the entry by troops of
peoples of divers nations and races into the BaháT world — a day which,
viewed in its proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long awaited
hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and races,
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1970, pp. 116-117.
ibid., pi 17
ibid.
96 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
and as a direct result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly
catastrophic in nature, and which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized,
will suddenly revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the
equilibrium of the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical
strength as well as the material power and the spiritual authority of the
Faith of BaháVlláh." *
The steady flow of new active believers to the BaháT community will
hasten the advent of entry by troops. It is also clear what it is that must
continually concern and challenge me, the individual believer, regardless
of my rank, capacity or origin.
Conditions Outside the Faith
As the House of Justice has so succinctly pointed out, "the Four Year
Plan's aim at accelerating the process of entry by troops identifies a
necessity" not only "at this stage in the progress of the Cause" but "in the
state of human society". 26
"Our work is intended not only to increase the size and consolidate the
foundations of our community, but more particularly to exert a positive
influence on the affairs of the entire human race."
Viewed in this light, I should not only welcome this process, I should
embrace it whole-heartedly. Since the beginning of the human race, how
many can claim to have the opportunity, and certainly not due to any
merit on my part, to do something that will have a positive influence on
the whole of mankind.
So what are the conditions outside the Faith?
Seeing the trees of materialism growing ever taller in Singapore and the
trees of spirituality barely discernible above the ground, it is difficult to
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1970, p. 117.
See note 1 of this paper
On the Nature of Baha'i Communities 97
imagine that the forest of the world is facing imminent devastation. It is at
times like this that I open the book, "Citadel of Faith", turn to page 124,
and again read the passage "America Passing Through Crisis". 27
World Peril
Addressed to the American Baha'i community on July 28, 1954, some
nine years after the Second World War, and at a time when the North
American continent was incomparable in material wealth and power,
Shoghi Effendi warned that "the crass materialism, which lays excessive
and ever-increasing emphasis on material well-being, forgetful of those
things of the spirit on which alone a sure and stable foundation can be laid
for human society ... is the chief factor in precipitating the dire ordeals
and world-shaking crises that must necessarily involve the burning of
cities and the spread of terror and consternation in the hearts of men.
Indeed a foretaste of the devastation which this consuming fire will wreak
upon the world, and with which it will lay waste the cities of the nations
participating in this tragic world-engulfing contest, has been afforded by
the last World War (Second World War), marking the second stage in the
global havoc which humanity, forgetful of its God and heedless of the
clear warnings uttered by His appointed Messenger for this day, must,
alas, inevitably experience. It was this same all-pervasive, pernicious
materialism against which the voice of the Center of Baha'u'llah's
Covenant (Abdu'1-Baha) was raised, with pathetic persistence, from
platform and pulpit, in His addresses to the heedless multitudes, which, on
the morrow of His fateful visit to both Europe and America (1912-1913),
found themselves suddenly swept into the vortex of a tempest which in its
range and severity was unsurpassed in the world's history (First World
War)."
I was born after the Second World War. Butfromwhat I have heard from
my late mother, and from what I have read in the books and seen in the
movies, it was a time of extreme difficulties and great devastation. It
boggles the mind to imagine what it would be like if the Second World
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1970, pp. 124-127.
98 THE SINGAPORE BAHÁT STUDIES REVIEW
War was only a "foretaste of the devastation which this consuming fire
will wreak upon the world, and with which it will lay waste the cities of
the nations participating in this tragic world-engulfing contest."
The Guardian went on to state that "the American nation ... stands,
indeed, from whichever angle one observes its immediate fortunes, in
grave peril. The woes and tribulations which threaten it are partly
avoidable, but mostly inevitable and God-sent, for by reason of them a
government and people ... will find itself purged of its anachronistic
conceptions, and prepared to play a preponderating role, as foretold by
Abdu'1-Baha, in the hoisting of the standard of the Lesser Peace, in the
unification of mankind, and in the establishment of a world federal
government on this planet. These same fiery tribulations will not only
firmly weld the American nation to its sister nations in both hemispheres,
but will through their cleansing effect, purge it thoroughly of the
accumulated dross which ingrained racial prejudice, rampant materialism,
widespread ungodliness and moral laxity have combined, in the course of
successive generations, to produce, and which have prevented her thus far
from assuming the role of world spiritual leadership forecast by ' Abdu'l-
Baha's unerring pen (in case we wonder whether He might have missed
something) — a role which she is bound to fulfill through travail and
sorrow.
Lesser Peace
Abdu'1-Baha in one of His Tablets, known as the Tablet of Seven
Candles, declared that the "fifth candle is the unity of nations — a unity
which in this century will be securely established, causing all peoples of
the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland." 28
This is that particular divine deadline.
Of course, we are not privy to the exact timing nor the exact nature of the
catastrophe that will visit humanity. But the American nation, after
passing through "fiery tribulations", will find itself "prepared to play a
preponderating role in hoisting the standard of the Lesser Peace", and the
Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baha'u'Uah: Selected Letters. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1991, p. 39.
On the Nature ofBahá Y Communities 99
political unification of the world, in which all nations will be "forced"
into, will take place in this century.
In case I vainly imagine somehow the island of Singapore might be spared
these tribulations, I wisely recall Shoghi Effendi's warning of "the
devastation which this consuming fire will wreak upon the world, and
with which it will lay waste the cities of the nations participating in this
tragic world-engulfing contest."30 In any case, I cannot help but note that
the end of the century is just outside the duration of the Four Year Plan by
8 months. We are living in interesting times.
It is not difficult, however, to imagine "after mankind has suffered,... that
the people will enter the Cause of God in troops." In a letter dated 5
October 1953, written on his behalf to an individual believer, Shoghi
Effendi told the believer that "the Baha'is see this new condition which
will take place, as one on a mountain top sees the first glimpses of the
dawn, before others are aware of it; and it is toward this that the Baha'is
must work."31
And the Universal House of Justice, seated high on the Mountain of God,
sees "the growing receptivity of the peoples of the world to Baha'u'llah's
Message" and is convinced that "entry by troops will soon become an
established pattern for the growth of the Faith in country after country."32
Conclusion
It is clear to me that my role in the Four Year Plan is to contribute
towards hastening the process of entry by troops, for I know "the longer
Kathy Lee. Prelude to the Lesser Peace. New Delhi: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1989,
p. 86.
See note 20 of this paper
Letter dated 5 October 1953 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer. Cited in Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by Troops" prepared
by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated October 1995.
See note 1 of this paper
100 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'f STUDIES REVIEW
the Divine Physician is withheld from healing the ills of the world, the
more severe will be the crises, and the more terrible the sufferings of the
patient."33
In the next few months, soon after the launching of the Four Year Plan, I
will have to do my part to initiate and sustain the process of Entry by
Troops. I will be analysing the approaches to be adopted and the lines of
action that I will take, which will form the second part of my report, "On
The Nature of Baha'i Communities."
c
Helen Hornby. Lights of Guidance: A Baha'i Reference. New Delhi: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, p. 89.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
On the Nature of Baha'i Communities
Check Woo Foo
Abstract
Some personal reflections on the development of Baha'i communities in
urban societies, especially the relationship between the individual believer
and the local community, and that between the local community and the
institutions of the Faith, in the context of achieving a significant advance
in the process of entry by troops, which is the major focus of the
forthcoming Four Year Plan.
Introduction
In a couple of weeks' time, the Universal House of Justice will launch a
global plan of expansion and consolidation to end four years later at
Ridvan 2000. In a message, dated 31 December 1996 addressed to the
Baha'is of the World, announcing its decision, the Universal House of
Justice summarized the basic requisites in the activity and development of
the individual believer, the local community, and the institutions for
achieving "a significant advance in the process of entry by troops".1
Some three years ago, the House of Justice in its Ridvan message brought
to the attention of the Baha'is of the world the critical need for a massive
expansion of the Baha'i community in the years immediately ahead. 2
Clear signs of "the growing receptivity of the world to Baha'u'llah's
Message" reinforces the House's conviction that "entry by troops will
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 31 December 1995 to the Baha'is of
the World.
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated Ridvan 150 to the Baha'is of the
World.
84 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'I STUDIES REVIEW
soon become an established pattern for the growth of the Faith in country
after country". 3 To assist the National Spiritual Assemblies and all the
friends to understand, welcome, initiate and sustain this process, the
Universal House of Justice enclosed a compilation and a covering
statement, prepared by the Research Department, entitled "Promoting
Entry by Troops".4
I don't think I understood it then. But I am beginning to understand it
now. I have been reflecting a fair bit on the development of Baha'i
communities; and, quite naturally, the development of urban Baha'i
communities is closest to my heart. I have started examining the whole
panorama of the development of the Baha'i Faith since its inception. It is
interesting to note that major developments in the Faith during the time of
Baha'u'llah took place in the great cities of the world then - Tihran,
Baghdad, Constantinople, Adrianople and Akka.
I begin to appreciate that we are participants in a "vast, majestic process
that was set in motion at the dawn of the Adamic cycle", some six
thousand years ago, "with the planting, in the soil of the divine will, of the
tree of divine revelation."5
A Vast, Majestic Process
Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, in his second message,
dated May 4, 1953, to the All-American Intercontinental Conference,
described, in vivid, flowing metaphorical language, and in his usual
concise manner, this vast, majestic process that has already passed
through "certain stages and must needs pass through others ere it attains
its final consummation."
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 9 November 1993 to all National
Spiritual Assemblies.
Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by Troops" prepared by the Research
Department of the Universal House of Justice dated October 1995.
Shoghi Effendi. Messages to the BaháT' World, 1950-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1971, pp. 153-155.
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 85
He wrote, 'The first part of this process was the slow and steady growth
of this tree of divine revelation, successively putting forth its branches,
shoots and off-shoots, and revealing its leaves, buds and blossoms, as a
direct consequence of the light and warmth imparted to it by a sales of
progressive dispensations associated with Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha,
Jesus, Muhammad and other Prophets, and of the vernal showers of blood
shed by countless martyrs in their path."
"The second part of this process was the fruition of this tree, 'that
belongeth neither to the East nor to the West,' when the Bab appeared as
the perfect fruit and declared His mission in the Year Sixty (1844) in the
city of Shiraz."
"The third part was the grinding of this sacred seed, of infinite
preciousness and potency, in the mill of adversity, causing it to yield its
oil, six years later, in the city of Tabriz (1850)."
"The fourth part was the ignition of this oil by the hand of Providence in
the depths and amidst the darkness of the Siyah-Chal of Tihran a hundred
years ago (1853)."
"The fifth, was the clothing of that flickering light, which had scarcely
penetrated the adjoining territory of Iraq, in the lamp of revelation, after
an eclipse lasting no less than ten years, in the city of Baghdad (1863)."
"The sixth, was the spread of the radiance of that light, shining with
added brilliancy in its crystal globe in Adrianople (1867), and later on in
the fortress town of Akka (1868-1892), to thirteen countries in the Asiatic
and African continents."
"The seventh was its projection, from the Most Great Prison, in the
course of the ministry of 'Abdu'l-Baha, the Center of the Covenant
(1892-1921), across the seas and the shedding of its illumination upon
twenty sovereign states and dependencies in the American, the European,
and the Australian continents."
"The eighth part of that process was the diffusion of that same light in the
course of the first, and the opening years of the second, epoch of the
86 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
Formative Age of the Faith (1921-1953), over ninety-four sovereign
states, dependencies and islands of the planet, as a result of the
prosecution of a series of national plans, initiated by eleven national
spiritual assemblies throughout the BaháT world, utilizing the agencies of
a newly emerged, divinely appointed Administrative Order, and which has
now culminated in the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Baha'uTlah's Mission (1953)/*
The ninth part of this process was the "further diffusion of that same light
over one hundred and thirty-one additional territories and islands in both
the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, through the operation of a decade-
long world spiritual crusade whose termination" coincided with the Most
Great Jubilee commemorating the centenary of the declaration of
Baha'uTlah in Baghdad (1963).
And since 1963, the BaháT world community, led by the Universal House
of Justice, has initiated the tenth part of this mighty process which must
witness "the penetration of that light, in the course of numerous crusades
and of successive epochs of both the Formative and Golden Ages of the
Faith, into all the remaining territories of the globe through the erection of
the entire machinery of Baha'uTlah's Administrative Orda: in all
territories, both East and West, the stage at which the light of God's
triumphant Faith shining in all its power and glory will have suffused and
enveloped the entire planet."
Beginning the Tenth Part
As a member of the BaháT world community, entering into the tenth part
of this majestic process, I appreciate that the steadily evolving Faith of
Baha'uTlah will have to go through "stages of obscurity, of repression, of
emancipation and of recognition — stages one or another of which BaháT
national communities in various parts of the world now find themselves in
— to the stage of establishment, the stage at which the Faith of
Baha'uTlah will be recognized by the civil authorities as the state religion,
similar to that which Christianity entered in the years following the death
of the Emperor Constantine, a stage which must later be followed by the
emergence of the BaháT state itself, functioning, in all religious and civil
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 87
matters, in strict accordance with the laws and ordinances of the Kitáb-i-
Aqdas, the Most Holy, the Mother-Book of the BaháT Revelation, a stage
which, in the fullness of time, will culminate in the establishment of the
World BaháT Commonwealth, functioning in the plenitude of its powers,
and which will signalize the long-awaited advent of the Christ-promised
Kingdom of God on earth — the Kingdom of BahaVUah — mirroring
however faintly upon this humble handful of dust the glories of the Abhá
Kingdom."
"This final and crowning stage in the evolution of the plan wrought by
God Himself for humanity will, in turn, prove to be the signal for the birth
of a world civilisation, incomparable in its range, its character and
potency, in the history of mankind — a civilisation which posterity will,
with one voice, acclaim as the fairest fruit of the Golden Age of the
Dispensation of BahaVUah, and whose rich harvest will be garnered
during future dispensations destined to succeed one another in the course
of thefivethousand century BaháT Cycle."6
I also appreciate that the speed at which we travel this road is not totally
in our control, and that the detailed itinerary has yet to be worked out, but
I think we can already visualise a road map with clear milestones leading
to the establishment of the BaháT Faith.
A Road Map to Establishment
It is evident the road to final consummation, in the Golden Age of the
Faith, through the raising of the standard of the Most Great Peace, nay,
even to the stage of establishment — the stage at which the Faith of
BahaVUah will be recognized by the civil authorities as the state rdigion
— will be long, tortuous, and narrow. The stages that the Faith wiU have
to go through — of obscurity, of repression, of emancipation and of
recognition — prior to reaching the stage of establishment wiU, however,
probably take place during our life time or during our children's Ufe time.
As the Universal House of Justice has pointed out in the preamble to the
Shoghi Effendi. Messages to the BaháT World, 1950-1957. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1971, pp. 155-156.
88 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
Four Year Plan, "there are divine deadlines to be met"7, and one
particular deadline, as discussed below, is dead ahead.
In fact, Shoghi Effendi had stated that Baha'i national communities in
various parts of the world were alreadyfindingthemselves in one of these
stages or another. Clearly, the Baha'i national community of Iran is
undergoing the stage of repression, foreshadowing the trials that will soon
challenge the Baha'i world community.
Nevertheless, the Guardian has assured us that emancipation, however
slow the process, of the "valiant sufferers from the galling fetters of an
antiquated religious orthodoxy" will take place, that "such an
emancipation, which cannot be confined to Baha'u'llah's native land, will,
in varying measure, have its repercussions in Islamic countries, or may be
even preceded by a similar phenomenon in neighbouring territories,
hastening and adding fresh impetus to the bursting of the bonds that fetter
thefreedomof the followers of God's infant Faith."
"Such an emancipation will, in its turn, pave the way for the recognition
of that Faith as an independent religion established on a basis of absolute
equality with its sister religions, enjoying the unqualified protection of the
civil authorities for its followers and its institutions, and fully empowered,
in all matters related to personal status, to apply without reservations the
laws and ordinances ordained in the Most Holy Book."8
In its message of Ridvan 1984 to the Baha'is of the World, the Universal
House of Justice declared that the Baha'i world community has emerged
from obscurity.9 We must now act in unison with the forces unleashed by
the Almighty to propel the Baha'i world community safely through the
next stage of its development.
See note 1 of this paper
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1970, p. 141.
Message of the Universal House of Justice dated Ridvan 19S4 to the Baha'is of the
World.
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 89
Dynamic of Crisis and Victory
Shoghi Effendi, in his message of Ridvan 1956 to the delegates of the
Annual BaháT Conventions, while impelled to share with them his
feelings of joy, of pride and of thankfulness following the triumphant
termination of the second phase of the World Spiritual Crusade, warned
the friends that the "repercussions have spread so far as to alarm a not
inconsiderable element among the traditional and redoubtable adversaries
of its courageous and consecrated prosecutors. Indeed as it has forged
ahead, it has raised up new enemies intent on obstructing its forward
march and on defeating its purpose." The Guardian, however, went on to
say that "premonitory signs can already be discerned in far-off regions
heralding the approach of the day when troops will flock to its standard,
fulfilling the predictions uttered long ago by the Supreme Captain
('Abdu'1-Bahá) of its forces."
In the words of the Universal House of Justice, "this dynamic interplay of
the processes of crisis and victory characterizes the development of the
Faith." 10 In its statement on "Promoting Entry by Troops", the House of
Justice quoted the words of Shoghi Effendi that the record of the
tumultuous history of the Faith demonstrates "the supreme truth that with
every fresh outbreak of hostility to the Faith, whether from within or from
without, a corresponding measure of outpouring grace, sustaining its
defenders and confounding its adversaries, has been providentially
released, communicating a fresh impulse to the onward march of the
Faith, while this impetus, in its turn, would, through its manifestations,
provoke fresh hostility in quarters heretofore unaware of its challenging
implications." n
Organic Growth
See note 4 of this paper
Letter dated 31 June 1952*written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a National Spiritual
Assembly. Cited in Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by Troops"
prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated October
1995.
90 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'f STUDIES REVIEW
That "the growth of the Faith proceeds in an organic, evolutionary
manner", that "it advances in vast surges, precipitated by the alternation
of crisis and victory"4, which means its rate of growth is not necessarily
uniform, is evidentfromShoghi Effendi's delineation of the vast, majestic
process at work in the world of humanity, as described above, and from
his elucidation of how the Cause of God spread, in a letter dated 18
February 1932, written on his behalf to an individual believer, in which he
likened the "state when only isolated souls are awakened "as the
"beginning of spring" when "only the few, exceptionally favoured seeds
will sprout" and "the quickening of whole groups and nations" as when
"the season gets in its full sway, and the atmosphere gets permeated with
the warmth of true springtime" and "masses of flowers will begin to
appear, and a whole hillside suddenly blooms."
In his book, "On the Shoulders of Giants", Craig Loehle, recognising that
the growth of the Faith is organic, draws lessons from biology to throw
light on the processes affecting the spread of the Cause of God.
Putting Down Deep Roots
Citing the case of the longleaf pine, a tall majestic pine found in the
American southeast, which is the longest lived of the southern pines,
found growing on sandy soils where fire is frequent due to drought
conditions, Loehle described a growth strategy exhibited by this tree
which is indicative of the process that the Baha'i Faith is going through
right now.
He explained, "To cope with fire, the longleaf has developed a unique
evolutionary response. When a seed germinates, the seedling produces a
thick bundle of needles at ground level. Instead of getting taller each year
as most trees do, the seedling gets thicker around each year but stays right
at ground level, producing a thicker and thicker cluster of needles. This is
called the grass stage." 12
Craig Loehje. On the Shoulders of Giants. Oxford: George Ronald, 1994, pp. 131-
132.
On the Nature of Bahá Y Communities 91
"While in the grass stage, it is quite resistant to fire. The growing tip of
the tree is close to the ground where temperatures are lowest during a fire
and it is further protected by the thick cluster of green needles. When the
seedling is sufficiently robust and has deep enough roots, it suddenly
shoots up at the rate of three to six feet in height per year. In just a few
years it is tall enough and has thick enough bark to survive most brush
flres.,,
"The Baha'i Faith may be said to have been in the grass stage until
recently: putting down deep roots while protected by the leafy green
shelter of obscurity.,,
During the period of quiet growth, the Faith has put down deep roots in
the hearts of the believers through deepening, supplemented by the
extensive body of publications and translations of the Holy Writings (at
last count in 1993, the number of publishing trusts stands at 29 and the
number of languages into which Baha'u'llah's writings have been
translated at 802) and in the soils of the earth in the form of Assemblies
(165 National Assemblies and 20,435 Local Assemblies) and appointed
institutions (72 Counsellors and 846 Auxiliary Board Members), of
Houses of Worship (7), of schools (178 academic and 488 tutorial) and
radio stations (7), and of social and economic projects (1344).13
Having emerged from obscurity in 1984, we have left the safety of the
grass stage and are vulnerable to the fires that rage around us. And like
the longleaf pine, rapid growth is essential at this stage in the life of the
Baha'i community in orda: that we pass through it safely.
I can, therefore, understand why the Universal House of Justice in its in
its Ridvan message of 1993 "drew the attention of the Baha'i world to the
critical need for a massive expansion of the Baha'i community in the
years immediately ahead." 14
The Baha'i World, 1992-93: An International Record. Haifa: Baha'i World Centre
Publications, 1993.
See note 2 of this paper
92 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
As Loehle so aptly remarked, "To falter leaves us in a very vulnerable
position. We become vulnerable to attack because we are noticed but have
small numbers. We become vulnerable when our credibility is questioned
as the outside world begins to expect us to put Baha'u'llah's teachings
into practice in the life of society, even though we may not be financially
or administratively ready to do so." 15
Spreading Worldwide
With another analogy drawn from biology — this time an agricultural
weed studied in the farm fields of South Carolina — Loehle described
another process at work in the spread of the Faith.
He explained, "The weed was found to grow in numbers slowly within
individual fields but to spread to distant fields as seeds riding on
agricultural equipment. Upon entering a newfieldit would very gradually
increase in that field, being apparently rare there for a long time but
providing seeds to be carried to further fields. A computer model of the
spatial spread of this pest led to interesting conclusions. As the weed
spread in this island-hopping manna*, the populations in the newly
colonized fields would be very low and easy to overlook. It would go
unnoticed until suddenly, after a few years, it would have occupied most
fields in an entire county and overrun them. This is because each isolated
population was growing exponentially but starting from vary small
numbers. Because the population was scattered, the numbers appeared
smaller than they actually were and the true rate of growth was not
evident. This type of exponential growth, based on constant dispersal to
outlying areas, is exactly what we see in the progress of the Baha'i Faith
as a consequence of the plans of Abdu'1-Baha and Shoghi Effendi." 16
Craig Loehle. On the Shoulders of Giants. Oxford: George Ronald, 1994, pp. 132-
133.
Craig Loehle. On the Shoulders of Giants. Oxford: George Ronald, 1994, pp. 133-
134.
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 93
I am reminded of the directives from Shoghi Effendi in the last year of his
earthly life to the friends in both India 17 and North America 18 to establish
a Spiritual Assembly on afirmand enduring basis with a nucleus of about
fifteen Baha'fs in the community so that the other believers are free to
disperse and teach elsewhere, and that they should consider it their duty to
do so.
In fact, this same process, as directed by the Universal House of Justice,
is at work in the microcosm of the virgin territory of mainland China,
which called for the establishment of four hundred localities throughout
the mainland and with hundred and fifty of these localities populated by
fifteen local believers in the space of a few short years and under the
protection of obscurity. At last count, there are already two hundred and
ninety localities throughout mainland China, and thirty-five of these
localities havefifteenor more local believers.
Shoghi Effendi, in a letter dated 30 June 1952 written on his behalf to a
National Spiritual Assembly, has affirmed that "as-the Cause spread all
over the world its rate of acceleration increases, too ..." and reassured us,
if we were wondering whether it is worth the enormous effort, and the
expenditure of our limited resources, to establish the Faith in remote parts
of the world, that "new centres in Africa, in some mysterious way, have
spiritual repercussions which aid in forming new centres everywhere." 19
The Baha'i Community Today
When the Guardian launched the World Spiritual Crusade in 1953 the
Faith was still in the stage of obscurity. The crusade paved "the way for,
Shoghi Effendi. Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent, 1923-1957.
Compiled and Edited by Iran Furutan Muhajir. New Delhi: Baha'i Publishing Trust,
1995, p. 414.
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1970, p. 128.
Letter dated 30 June 1952 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a National
Spiritual Assembly. Cited in Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by
Troops" prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated
October 1995.
94 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'i STUDIES REVIEW
and constitute the prelude to, the initiation of the laborious and
tremendously long process of establishing in the course of subsequent
crusades in all the newly opened sovereign states, dependencies and
islands of the planet, as well as in the remaining territories of the globe,
the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith, with its attendant
agencies, and of eventually erecting in these territories still more pillars to
share in sustaining the weight and in broadening the foundation of the
Universal House of Justice." 20
Twelve National Spiritual Assemblies wore entrusted with the execution
of the crusade. By the end of the crusade in 1963, fifty-six National
Spiritual Assemblies were established to elect the first Universal House of
Justice. And by Ridvan 1996, the pillars of the Universal House of Justice
will have totaled a hundred and seventy-nine.
According to The BaháT World, 1992-1993, the number of Local
Spiritual Assemblies have risen from 3,555 in 1963 to 20,435 in 1993,
and the number of localities where BaháTs reside stands at 120,046.
Altogether, it is estimated that at least 2,112 different ethnic and tribal
backgrounds are represented in the BaháT community. With its diffusion
to 205 countries, the BaháT Faith, according to Encyclopedia Britannica,
1992, is now the second most wide-spread of the world's religions,
exceeded only by Christianity. The membership of the BaháT world
community has also increased dramatically from an estimated 408,000 in
1963 to over 5 million today.21
Rapid Growth
Such deep roots and worldwide spread are the necessary conditions within
the Faith for rapid growth. The BaháT world community is ready.
Therefore, I welcome this process.
Shoghi Effendi. Messages to the Baha'i World, 1950-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1971, p. 152.
See note 11 of this paper
On the Nature ofBahďí Communities 95
Shoghi Effendi, in his directive dated July 18, 1953, during the opening
year of the crusade, stressed that the "twofold task of extension and
consolidation must be supplemented by continuous and strenuous efforts
to increase speedily not only the number of the avowed followers of the
Faith .... but also to swell the ranks of its active supporters who will
consecrate their time, resources and energy to the effectual spread of its
teachings and the multiplication of its administrative institutions." 2 '
This equally vital task — which is one that primarily concerns and
challenges each single individual believer whatever his rank, capacity or
origin — is that of "winning to the Faith fresh recruits to the slowly yet
steadily advancing army of the Lord of Hosts".23
"Such a steady flow of reinforcements is absolutely vital and is of extreme
urgency, for nothing short of the vitalizing influx of new blood that will
reanimate the world Baha'i community can safeguard the prizes which, at
so great a sacrifice involving the expenditure of so much time, effort and
treasure, are now being won in virgin territories by Baha'u'llah's valiant
Knights, whose privilege is to constitute the spearhead of the onrushing
battalions which, in diverse theaters and in circumstances often adverse
and extremely challenging, are vying with each other for the spiritual
conquest of the unsurrendered territories and islands on the surface of the
globe."24
ENTRY BY TROOPS
"This flow, moreover, will presage and hasten the advent of the day
which, as prophesied by Abdu'l-Baha, will witness the entry by troops of
peoples of divers nations and races into the BaháT world — a day which,
viewed in its proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long awaited
hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and races,
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1970, pp. 116-117.
ibid., pi 17
ibid.
96 THE SINGAPORE BAHAT STUDIES REVIEW
and as a direct result of a chain of events, momentous and possibly
catastrophic in nature, and which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized,
will suddenly revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the
equilibrium of the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical
strength as well as the material power and the spiritual authority of the
Faith of BaháVlláh." *
The steady flow of new active believers to the BaháT community will
hasten the advent of entry by troops. It is also clear what it is that must
continually concern and challenge me, the individual believer, regardless
of my rank, capacity or origin.
Conditions Outside the Faith
As the House of Justice has so succinctly pointed out, "the Four Year
Plan's aim at accelerating the process of entry by troops identifies a
necessity" not only "at this stage in the progress of the Cause" but "in the
state of human society". 26
"Our work is intended not only to increase the size and consolidate the
foundations of our community, but more particularly to exert a positive
influence on the affairs of the entire human race."
Viewed in this light, I should not only welcome this process, I should
embrace it whole-heartedly. Since the beginning of the human race, how
many can claim to have the opportunity, and certainly not due to any
merit on my part, to do something that will have a positive influence on
the whole of mankind.
So what are the conditions outside the Faith?
Seeing the trees of materialism growing ever taller in Singapore and the
trees of spirituality barely discernible above the ground, it is difficult to
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1970, p. 117.
See note 1 of this paper
On the Nature of Baha'i Communities 97
imagine that the forest of the world is facing imminent devastation. It is at
times like this that I open the book, "Citadel of Faith", turn to page 124,
and again read the passage "America Passing Through Crisis". 27
World Peril
Addressed to the American Baha'i community on July 28, 1954, some
nine years after the Second World War, and at a time when the North
American continent was incomparable in material wealth and power,
Shoghi Effendi warned that "the crass materialism, which lays excessive
and ever-increasing emphasis on material well-being, forgetful of those
things of the spirit on which alone a sure and stable foundation can be laid
for human society ... is the chief factor in precipitating the dire ordeals
and world-shaking crises that must necessarily involve the burning of
cities and the spread of terror and consternation in the hearts of men.
Indeed a foretaste of the devastation which this consuming fire will wreak
upon the world, and with which it will lay waste the cities of the nations
participating in this tragic world-engulfing contest, has been afforded by
the last World War (Second World War), marking the second stage in the
global havoc which humanity, forgetful of its God and heedless of the
clear warnings uttered by His appointed Messenger for this day, must,
alas, inevitably experience. It was this same all-pervasive, pernicious
materialism against which the voice of the Center of Baha'u'llah's
Covenant (Abdu'1-Baha) was raised, with pathetic persistence, from
platform and pulpit, in His addresses to the heedless multitudes, which, on
the morrow of His fateful visit to both Europe and America (1912-1913),
found themselves suddenly swept into the vortex of a tempest which in its
range and severity was unsurpassed in the world's history (First World
War)."
I was born after the Second World War. Butfromwhat I have heard from
my late mother, and from what I have read in the books and seen in the
movies, it was a time of extreme difficulties and great devastation. It
boggles the mind to imagine what it would be like if the Second World
Shoghi Effendi. Citadel of Faith: Messages to America, 1947-1957. Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1970, pp. 124-127.
98 THE SINGAPORE BAHÁT STUDIES REVIEW
War was only a "foretaste of the devastation which this consuming fire
will wreak upon the world, and with which it will lay waste the cities of
the nations participating in this tragic world-engulfing contest."
The Guardian went on to state that "the American nation ... stands,
indeed, from whichever angle one observes its immediate fortunes, in
grave peril. The woes and tribulations which threaten it are partly
avoidable, but mostly inevitable and God-sent, for by reason of them a
government and people ... will find itself purged of its anachronistic
conceptions, and prepared to play a preponderating role, as foretold by
Abdu'1-Baha, in the hoisting of the standard of the Lesser Peace, in the
unification of mankind, and in the establishment of a world federal
government on this planet. These same fiery tribulations will not only
firmly weld the American nation to its sister nations in both hemispheres,
but will through their cleansing effect, purge it thoroughly of the
accumulated dross which ingrained racial prejudice, rampant materialism,
widespread ungodliness and moral laxity have combined, in the course of
successive generations, to produce, and which have prevented her thus far
from assuming the role of world spiritual leadership forecast by ' Abdu'l-
Baha's unerring pen (in case we wonder whether He might have missed
something) — a role which she is bound to fulfill through travail and
sorrow.
Lesser Peace
Abdu'1-Baha in one of His Tablets, known as the Tablet of Seven
Candles, declared that the "fifth candle is the unity of nations — a unity
which in this century will be securely established, causing all peoples of
the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland." 28
This is that particular divine deadline.
Of course, we are not privy to the exact timing nor the exact nature of the
catastrophe that will visit humanity. But the American nation, after
passing through "fiery tribulations", will find itself "prepared to play a
preponderating role in hoisting the standard of the Lesser Peace", and the
Shoghi Effendi. The World Order of Baha'u'Uah: Selected Letters. Wilmette: BaháT
Publishing Trust, 1991, p. 39.
On the Nature ofBahá Y Communities 99
political unification of the world, in which all nations will be "forced"
into, will take place in this century.
In case I vainly imagine somehow the island of Singapore might be spared
these tribulations, I wisely recall Shoghi Effendi's warning of "the
devastation which this consuming fire will wreak upon the world, and
with which it will lay waste the cities of the nations participating in this
tragic world-engulfing contest."30 In any case, I cannot help but note that
the end of the century is just outside the duration of the Four Year Plan by
8 months. We are living in interesting times.
It is not difficult, however, to imagine "after mankind has suffered,... that
the people will enter the Cause of God in troops." In a letter dated 5
October 1953, written on his behalf to an individual believer, Shoghi
Effendi told the believer that "the Baha'is see this new condition which
will take place, as one on a mountain top sees the first glimpses of the
dawn, before others are aware of it; and it is toward this that the Baha'is
must work."31
And the Universal House of Justice, seated high on the Mountain of God,
sees "the growing receptivity of the peoples of the world to Baha'u'llah's
Message" and is convinced that "entry by troops will soon become an
established pattern for the growth of the Faith in country after country."32
Conclusion
It is clear to me that my role in the Four Year Plan is to contribute
towards hastening the process of entry by troops, for I know "the longer
Kathy Lee. Prelude to the Lesser Peace. New Delhi: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1989,
p. 86.
See note 20 of this paper
Letter dated 5 October 1953 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer. Cited in Statement and Compilation on "Promoting Entry by Troops" prepared
by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice dated October 1995.
See note 1 of this paper
100 THE SINGAPORE BAHA'f STUDIES REVIEW
the Divine Physician is withheld from healing the ills of the world, the
more severe will be the crises, and the more terrible the sufferings of the
patient."33
In the next few months, soon after the launching of the Four Year Plan, I
will have to do my part to initiate and sustain the process of Entry by
Troops. I will be analysing the approaches to be adopted and the lines of
action that I will take, which will form the second part of my report, "On
The Nature of Baha'i Communities."
c
Helen Hornby. Lights of Guidance: A Baha'i Reference. New Delhi: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, p. 89.
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