i Dedicated to the memory of Shoghi Effendi in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand. ii "AROHANUI" The word "Arohanui" is a Maori word and, as with many Polynesian words, there is no direct translation into English. The literal meaning is "big love", or "much love" or "great love". And, like most words in most languages, it has several meanings. In naming this book, "Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand", "Arohanui" is used in its more expressive meaning, "enfolding love", or "that love which binds a community together", or "that love which creates bonds of mutual trust and loyalty", or "that love which builds and carries forward culture or civilization". iii AROHANUI Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand iv Bahá'í publishing trust ------------- Suva, Fiji Approved for publication by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand Inc. (c) 1982 Bahá'í PUBLISHING TRUST SUVA, FIJI ISLANDS v "You are destined to achieve great things for our beloved Cause and my constant prayer is that your vision may be clear, your purpose unshaken, your zeal undiminished, your hopes undimmed. Let not obstacles and disappointments, which are inevitable, dishearten you and whenever you are faced with trials recall our Beloved's innumerable sufferings." From a letter to the first New Zealand Bahá'í dated August 12th, 1926. xiii The letters in this compilation were written by various secretaries of the Guardian at his specific direction. Spelling and other inconsistencies are a reflection of the fact that different secretaries were used. Those passages actually written by the Guardian himself are printed in italics. The messages are numbered sequentially for the convenience of the reader and as an aid to indexing. The numbers appear before the date of each letter. AROHANUI, Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand (Suva, Fiji, 1982) FILENAME: ARO.FN FILEDATE: 1-1-95 +P1