1Jnit'! - :Lender and Compa:Hionafe
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' NEWS PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA'ts OF THE UNITED STATES NO. 336 BAHA'I YEAR 115 FEBRUARY 1959 1Jnit'! - :lender and Compa:Hionafe W THENEVER r eligion becomes a matter of passiv e lievers. Let u s sh are our resources with the local and W belief and the performance of ritual, human so n ational Baha'i Funds. Let us open our homes for ciety reveals fatal symptoms of self-destruction. At teaching inquirers. Let us realize that from day to day such a time the Prophet m anifests the Divine Will, re our individual lives, unassuming though they may out vealed as hope to those who recognize Him but a s wardly appear, contain the germ of superhuman qual terror to those who deny. ity and influence bestowed upon u s by our Creator . The In the Faith of Baha'u'llah the nature and purpose buried seed cannot yield up its treasure in cold, hard of religion is for the first time completely unveiled. ear th, nor can our latent virtues and capacities mani We who recognize in Baha'u 'llah the Word of God are fest their powers in an indifferent personality. called upon to demonstrate what faith in God actually It is not for any of us to cherish indifference a s a means at this stage in the evolution of man and reaction to what other believers do or fail to do. We society. each stand forth in the ey es of God as His creation, For Baha'is not only have access to truth ; we not meriting His blessing or His condemnation, as weighed only have before us supreme examples of heroism in the scales of perfect love and justice. As others and sacrifice ; we not only stand obligated to exercise join us in our effort to create unity, the rivulet of certain virtues and qualities; above all we are spiritu individual resolve becomes the irresistible torrent. ally obligated to establish the new world order, with Upon the Baha'is of the world rests the future des its local, national, and international elective institu tiny of mankind. We who call ourselves Baha'is, let tions. us disclose the m ystery of faith to our fellow me.n . It is through the Baha'i community that the bless This is the eloquence which surpasses the powers of ings of the new day are poured forth. The more speech, the understanding which human education can unified and active our community, the greater the never bestow. Unity , tender and compassionate, can bounty received in terms of assurance, justice, peace, alone survive the imminent perils of our day. brotherhood, and true progress. -U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY Your National Spiritual Assembly is grieved and shocked to report a poor attendance at state conven tions and a small number of votes cast by mail. Such William Sears, Hand of the Cause, a situation appears as a symptom of an ill that must To Serve in the Western Hemisphere be cured before it becomes a disaster to ourselves, our nation, our religion, and to the world. The American Hands of the Cause have been in Is the potency of our faith so weak that we tend to formed by the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land reduce the teachings of Baha'u'llah to mere passive that it has been decided William Sears " will proceed beliefs? Have we become like the Christians, whose to the Western Hemisphere and reside there for the religion no longer guides the individual nor determines present. He will serve with the other Hands of the the great issues of a civilization? Cause residing in that hemisphere. " Beloved friends! Your National Spiritual Assembly When Mr. Sears arrives in America plans will be appeals to every individual believer to realize that formulated under which he will visit local communi our first and most important Baha'i obligation is to ties in the United States, and as far as possible in take an active part in the life of the Baha'i com Alaska and Canada. munity. Let u s each resolve to attend each Nineteen -CORINNE TRUE Day Feast with a heartfelt devotion to our fellow-be- H ORACE HOLLEY 2 FEBRUARY 1959 First Visit of a Hand of the Cause to Fiji and Samoa Islands Brings Great Bounty to Baha'is and Warm Public Reception AND of the Cause Enoch Olinga, following his nine contact an isolated Fijian Baha'i who was able to intro Hday visit to New Zealand in October 1958 (January duce him to several friends, and a small gathering BAHA'i NEws), journeyed to Fiji and Samoa, where he ensued that evening. The result was that some Indian and the Message he brought were as warmly received school teachers were so impressed that they sent a as in New Zealand. special request to Suva that they be allowed to arrange On Sunday evening, October 26, Miss Lily Buksh had a public meeting for him to address upon his return the great bounty and privilege of meeting and wel from Samoa. This was agreed upon. coming the first Hand of the Cause to visit the Fiji Islands. From the very moment that he stepped from First Public Proclamation of Fa ith in Suva the plane, Enoch Olinga radiated love and joy to all he On Tuesday Mr. Olinga arrived in Suva, where he met. Even the Fijian porters refused to take the cus spent forty-three crowded hours before leaving for tomary tip for carrying his luggage, as they felt that Apia. He was first taken to the radio station, where here, indeed, was someone different. an interview was recorded. Then he was taken by a The following morning Mr. Olinga was driven by Fijian Baha'i for an interview with a reporter of the friends to Sigatoka, where it had been arranged that he local newspaper. As a result of this, a sympathetic article on the Baha'i Teachings appeared in the press on the morning of the public meeting. His first evening in Suva was spent with the Baha'is who had gathered at the I:Ia'.?iratu'l-Quds to meet him. After lovingly greeting everyone, he conveyed words of greeting from the Hands of the Faith in Haifa, and from the Baha'is of Africa, Australia, and New Zealand . He spoke of his experiences with the Guardian, and emphasized the Guardian's words that in these days it was not enough just to agree and sympathize with the fine ideals of the Baha'i Faith. We must be con verted to the Faith. But conversion was not enough, we had to have faith. But faith was not enough alone, we had to have great love. And even that was not enough, we had to teach the people and spread the Cause throughout all the peoples of the world. The Baha'is should not remain passive, but should become dynamic. Previously the Fijian Baha'is had worked quietly among the people, without attracting any public at tention, but with such a distinguished visitor coming it was determined to seize the opportunity to come out into the open.: The task was then to make sure that the Suva Town Hall was filled for this occasion. The public meeting was advertised over the radio in both the Hindustani and Fiji languages, 400 invitations were distributed, and the information was passed around verbally. As a result people of four races, representing five major religions, packed into Town Hall. It was esti mated that over 400 persons listened raptly, sympa thetically, and admiringly to Mr. Olinga's message. The leaders of an Indian religious society approached the Baha'is with a plea that they be allowed to ar range another public meeting during the few days that he would be in Suva upon his return from Samoa, and that the Baha'is were to be their invited guests. Early Thursday morning Enoch Olinga left by flying boat for Apia. Bus Load of Baha'ls Give Samoan Welcome Reproduction of a photo-mural in the Israeli Pavillion On the day of Mr. Olinga's arrival in Samoa, Oc at the Brussels World's Fair, showing the Bay of 'Akkci, tober 29, the friends hired a bus to travel the twenty the city Haifa, and the Shrine of the Bab . two miles to the airport to welcome him. On the way BAHA'I NEWS 3 hospitality and gratitude, and time was limited, they decided to combine into two meetings. On Saturday, November 1, a party of the Apia friends accompanied Mr. Olinga to Fasito'otai, where the B aha'is of the vil lage of Fasito'outa, Nofoali'i, and Fasito'otai had ar ranged a meeting. He was made ceremoniously wel come in a fale (Samoan house) , beautifully decor ated for the occasion, by the chiefs of the villages, Baha'i and non-Baha'i, and speeches of welcome were made. Highest Samoan Honor Given by Chiefs Mr. Olinga gave a short talk in reply on the unity of mankind and religion. This was followed by the king's kava ceremony, which is the highest honor that can be offered in Samoan custom. He was then presented with a kava root, and another was presented by the Baha'is, to be taken to the Holy Land. In Samoa the fale has no fixed walls, and so all afternoon people came by, watched, and listened. Many chlidren gathered around, as if drawn by a magnet. The Baha'i children presented a beautiful program, and many were moved to tears to hear the gems of Baha 'u'llah from their lips.