A Few Reminiscences about Shoghi Effendi Taken from Pilgrim Notes of January 1955

A Few Reminiscences about Shoghi Effendi Taken from Pilgrim Notes of January 1955,
from the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly Film Retrospective, and from
Some Other Words of the Beloved Guardian

While interviewing me in the film Retrospective, Douglas Martin asked, "You and Audrey were playing key roles in the Faith in Canada. Why did you leave?"

I said, "We wanted to pioneer. We had offered to go twice, but the national spiritual assembly requested we stay in Toronto. In 1953 when Shoghi Effendi launched his worldwide Ten-Year Crusade, we cabled him, offering to go wherever he wished. He replied: 'BECHUANALAND HIGHLY MERITORIOUS. LOVE, SHOGHI.'"

That cable came to my office. I telephoned Audrey and asked her, "Where is Bechuanaland?" She said, "I think it's in Africa." I suggested, "We must find out. That's where we're going."

She consulted the encyclopedia. Bechuanaland seemed to be highly uninviting. But the Guardian had chosen it; it must be perfect for us. And it was for the thirteen years we were able to remain there, until 1966 when the House of Justice requested we return to Canada. We loved Bechuanaland and its black-skinned people.

Douglas Martin, recalling that it was in January of 1955 that Audrey and Patrick and Nina and I went to Haifa on our pilgrimage said, "Something that always struck me, I think from the first time I met you, was how real the Guardian seemed to be to you, even before you met him. What impression did he make on you when you finally arrived in Haifa in 1955?"

He made an impression on me that seized my heart. I loved him so much, as I think everybody did. The first evening, about ten of us went to [p172] the dining room. Shoghi Effendi was there, and he placed us at the table. He put Audrey at the head. He sat at her right and placed me opposite him, where I could look right into his face. I was nor three feet away from him. Ruhiyyih Khanum was on his right. I had a wonderful opportunity to see them both. We occupied those seats for the seven days we were in Haifa. There were two other days in Bahji.

That first evening I asked the Guardian if I could take notes. He said with a smile that the pilgrims were not permitted to take notes, but in view of the importance of my work in Bechuanaland, he would make an exception for me. At age seventeen, I was secretary to a Canadian Railway superintendent. I travelled with him in his private railway car and did shorthand at a fair rate of speed, but by 1955, after thirty-seven years, my speed had slackened. Shoghi Effendi spoke quickly, and I missed much of what he said.

I should like to write in greater detail about Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. Shoghi Effendi, in a message to Canada, referred to her as: "...she who won the immortal distinction of being called upon to be my helpmate, my shield in warding off the darts of the Covenant-breakers and my tireless collaborator in the arduous tasks I shoulder."

Ruhiyyih Khanum told us that one day Shoghi Effendi had received word from three pioneers that they had had to leave their posts. He felt sad. She told us that whenever he learned that someone was pioneering or arriving at a goal, he would write their names in a little black notebook, and when they left, he would cross off their names. She said that this time three had had to leave, and she noticed he crossed off only two names. So she said to him later, "Shoghi Effendi, you only crossed off two." "Yes," he said, "I'll cross the other one off later." He could not bear to cross three off at one time.

In speaking about our pioneering in Bechuanaland, Shoghi Effendi said we were there to teach the blacks. The pioneer is in Africa to teach the Africans, who must be in the majority. We must disperse. We must love the natives and have no prejudice at all. The natives will be attracted by our unprejudiced love. We should cultivate the less prominent Africans and not take risks that may affect the Baha'i Faith. I judged he was telling us we should not invite certain prominent black people to our home, as I had told him we had done. We should form black spiritual assemblies, and move on, remaining in the background.

He stressed a number of times that we must sacrifice for the Africans. We must encourage them to work together and teach each other and that we should associate with the white people only as much as our business required. If we were to form all-African spiritual assemblies, the authorities could not object, but if there were racially mixed spiritual assemblies, the authorities would object. The Africans must see that the pioneer has come to bring the Cause of God to them, and they must protect us and the Cause in every way. [p173]

Someone asked if the Baha'i Faith would ever decline. Shoghi Effendi said it never would. There would be differences of opinion, crises, cases of Covenant-breaking, but there would never be a schism, never a decline. The day would never be followed by night. There will be opposition to the next Prophet, but the unity of the Faith will be preserved because it is under the protection of Baha'u'llah. His Covenant will safeguard the Faith. This is the fundamental difference between the Baha'i Faith and other religions. We have a set of laws, principles, and institutions established by Baha'u'llah as well as interpretation of writings clearly defined by Baha'u'llah -- clear guidance given to followers.

The Bible offered no guidance about right of interpretation. Jesus established no institutions. Even the passage about succession was not clear. Paul was the one who challenged Peter. There was no word in writing so it led to a split, the Greek Orthodox Church from the Catholic; a split within the Catholic Church, the Greek and Roman; Luther challenged the Church, and Protestantism developed -- nothing but division and subdivision.

These things cannot happen in the Baha'i Faith. We have an interpreter, laws, principles, institutions. Muhammad left no successor. Jesus gave laws of divorce and the sabbath, but no succession.

Night will never again overtake the day. There will be crises but no total darkness. The Baha'i civilization is not yet born. We are still in the Formative Age when the institutions are being developed.

Shoghi Effendi told us about the stages in the evolution of the Baha'i Faith: Obscurity: The first stage is that of obscurity, the stage where, as in South Africa in 1955, the Baha'i Faith is not known. People pay no attention to it or its followers. Persecution: This is the stage where the authorities, religious or civil, sense danger to their own institutions. They oppose the Baha'i Faith and do all they can to harm and obliterate it. It was like this in Persia. Emancipation: This is where the Baha'i Faith is known, and the opposition has ceased. The people and authorities tolerate it but pay little attention to it. This was the situation in Egypt in 1955. Recognition: As in the United States today, the Baha'i Faith is considered as one of the religions of the country, and it is known to the people and the authorities. Assembly incorporations are granted, the right to perform marriages is recognized, and its institutions are permitted to function freely as an independent religion. Establishment (or State Religion): Like the Church of England in England, the Baha'i Faith will be recognized and its institutions will function with the full approval of the majority of the people. People accept the teachings, realize their importance, and become followers. The Baha'i Faith would then become a State religion, as [p174] the Christian Church in the time of Constantine was the State religion of Rome. The Baha'i Faith has not been accepted in this way anywhere as yet. The Baha'i State: This will come when the Baha'i spiritual assemblies will be the local government and the national spiritual assemblies the national government. The State will be governed by the laws, the principles, and the institutions of Baha'u'llah. The Baha'i Commonwealth: This commonwealth will follow at a time when a number of states combine to work together under the laws, the principles, and the institutions of Baha'u'llah. The Baha'i Civilization: The Baha'i Civilization and the Golden Age of Baha'u'llah will be the culmination of this evolutionary process. Shoghi Effendi spoke of the Archives, showed us the drawing of the new Archives building, with which he seemed very pleased. He asked if we had seen the monument gardens, the cypress trees just brought over from Bahji. Now (1955) the Archives building is being planned and its location set. It is to be on the arc around the monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf. There will be buildings for the Guardianship, the Hands, the Universal House of Justice, all the administrative buildings. The Shrine of the Bab is the spiritual part, all the others administrative.

The Guardian spoke of the great future of Canada, materially and spiritually. 'Abdu'l-Baha had repeated this a number of times. "Unspeakably glorious." Canadians have the good qualities of the Americans and of the English but are not so conservative as the English. Shoghi Effendi asked me if I heard often from Canada, and on three occasions said, "Do not cut your ties with your homeland."

He had great praise for Canada. The administrative machinery had been established. They have a plan to guide them. Concerning obedience to government, in matters purely administrative we must obey the government, but in matters spiritual, rather than act contrary to our laws, we prefer to be martyred. In matters spiritual in character we obey only God. In matters administrative we obey the government.

We must not dishonor the Faith. We may retard progress by not teaching. If a Baha'i recants, it will be a stain on the Faith. We must not allow anything to happen that will bring shame to the Faith. To retard progress is not so serious. In Germany, the Baha'is obeyed the government. They stopped teaching. We must never recant or renounce our Faith. To whatever is the province of God, we are loyal. To whatever is the province of the government, we are loyal. We must distinguish between matters spiritual and matters administrative.

One evening, Shoghi Effendi showed us a map of the world with the names of the Knights of Baha'u'llah, and the illuminated scroll to be placed [p175] in the Shrine of Baha'u'llah. These were the first pioneers who settled in the goals of the Ten-Year Crusade. Audrey's and my names were there, but not those of our three children who had pioneered, Patrick and Nina to Bechuanaland with us, Aldham to Nigeria.

I asked if Patrick's and Nina's names might be included. He said children who pioneered with their parents could not be, but Patrick, who had sent his own cable to Shoghi Effendi, should and would be included. While I was accompanying Shoghi Effendi home that evening after dinner, he again assured me that Patrick's name would be included. Aldham's name was not there because Nigeria was a consolidation area, having been opened to the Faith before the launching of the Ten-Year Crusade.

One evening Patrick did not come to dinner because of an attack of hiccups. The Guardian said we must have a doctor for him. Audrey told Shoghi Effendi she thought Patrick's trouble stemmed from his worry about whether or not to go back to university.

He said, "Patrick must have time to make his decision. He should not be forced." He asked what Patrick's father wanted him to do. I said I would like him to go back. I would be glad to pay his expenses, but I thought he should make up his own mind. Patrick did go back to university, changed from engineering to architecture, did well, and became an outstanding architect in Kampala, Uganda.

I was asked if I had had any time alone with Shoghi Effendi. That is an honor few people receive, but I did have briefly on two occasions. I was asked by Ruhiyyih Khanum to escort Shoghi Effendi to their home, across and down the street a few steps to the home of 'Abdu'l-Baha where they lived. During the nine days of our pilgrimage, one of the two Hands who were there, Mason Remey and Leroy Ioas, had that privilege, but on two evenings they were away, and she asked me to accompany him. I did with joy. I was not a Hand then.

One evening as we arrived at his door, he said to me, "I hope you will serve on the national assembly to be formed in Africa next year (1956)." I'll never know why I said it, but I replied, "Shoghi Effendi, that is an honor I had hoped to be spared."

In parting he said again, "I hope you will be on that assembly. My prayers will always be offered on your behalf, you may be assured." I knew from then on that I would be on that assembly, and I was.

Audrey and I had brought a kaross to the Guardian from Bechuanaland -- a mat made from the skin of a springbok, inlaid with designs in other animal skins, black and white. On our first evening we laid it out on the floor beside his chair. It was a lovely thing. He said, "That is beautiful! Beautiful! I shall put it in the mansion."

That was in 1955. He died in 1957, and then the Hands met for the first conclave in the mansion, just after his funeral. The large conference [p176] hall has twelve rooms leading from it, one of which was Ruhiyyih Khanum's bedroom. I searched every room but that one. I told Audrey, "I don't think the Guardian put the kaross in the mansion."

She said, "He must have. He said he would. It must be there." A year later at the second conclave, I again looked for the kaross, and finally asked Ruhiyyih Khanum if Shoghi Effendi had brought it to the mansion. She said, "Yes, indeed he did. Come into my room and see it." There it was on the floor beside his bed. She said, "That was his prayer mat. He loved it."

Hand of the Cause Mr. Collis Featherstone photographed it for me. I held it in front of me as high as I could reach, and all that can be seen of me are my fingers. How proud that springbok must have been in its exalted state!

Douglas commented to me, "I often remember, John, your saying that to know Shoghi Effendi was to want to make him happy, to serve him in any way you could, and in 1957 he gave you an opportunity to serve him in a very special way when he made you a Hand of the Cause. Did the appointment come as a surprise to you?"

It certainly did. It came as a shock. On that morning of the launching of the first Sputnik, October 5, 1957, a cable arrived, addressed "ROBARTS (our cable address), BULAWAYO, RHODESIA."

It read, "LOVING CONGRATULATIONS ELEVATION HAND CAUSE GOD. FERVENT PRAYERS DIVINE GUIDANCE ALWAYS. LOVE," signed by an old friend who was at that time visiting in Kampala.

I looked at this and thought, "This is for me." I read it again. I saw "ROBARTS," and suddenly a new light dawned. I handed the cable to Audrey and said, "Audrey, you are a Hand of the Cause!"

She said, "I certainly am not!"

I said, "Neither am I."

She passed it back. And we wondered. Two hours later another cable arrived, addressed to John Robarts. It was for me from Hand of the Cause Mr. Musa Banani, saying: "...PLEASE COME TO KAMPALA FOR FIRST MEETING HANDS AFRICA OCTOBER 15TH."

I should like to say a few things about the Hand of the Cause, Mr. Musa Banani, whom Shoghi Effendi certainly loved very much and referred to as "the Father of Africa." As a young man and a relatively new believer, Mr. Banani had a pilgrimage and the joy of twenty-six days in the presence of the beloved Guardian, who said of him, "He is equal to a thousand." He and his dear wife Samihih, his daughter Violette, his son-in-law 'Ali Nakhjavani, and his granddaughter Bahayyih all pioneered to Kampala, in Uganda, Africa. Mr. Banani responded with "instant, exact and complete obedience" to every wish of Shoghi Effendi. On the final day of their pilgrimage later, Shoghi Effendi told them he had already announced to the Baha'i world his appointment of Musa Banani as a Hand of the Cause. Mr. Banani protested, "I am not worthy. Give this mantle to 'Ali Nakhjavani. He is doing the lion's [p177] share of the teaching in Africa." The Guardian replied, "It is your arising that has conquered the continent. 'Ali's turn will come."

I must quote Musa Banani's son, Amin:

He was, at the end of his earthly life, a truly inspiring example of the triumph of the spirit over every earthly limitation. He had made a fortune and raised a Baha'i family earlier; now he had spent most of his material substance in the crowning nineteen years of his life opening a continent to the Faith and adding thousands to the Baha'i family of the world. He was able to look back upon his life with a profound sense of humility and gratitude. He felt that God had been extremely generous to him. Baha'u'llah had given him everything in this life that he had ever wished for, and he was given the opportunity to give it back to Him. His death in Kampala on September 4, 1971, and his interment in his favorite spot in the soil of Africa, within the shadow of the Mother Temple of that continent, was the generous fulfilment of his last wish.

I have a great personal love for Mr. Banani. I served under him as an Auxiliary Board member and a Hand, and found him to be consistently loving and sweet and helpful during those years from 1954 until his death in 1971 -- even though we had only two words in common, "Allah'u'Abha" and "Inshallah!" We were blessed to have 'Ali to translate for us, sometimes also Aziz Yazdi, and dear Mamajan (Samihih) too, although during our visits she seemed to spend most of her time in the kitchen preparing wonderful meals for us.

One dear friend said, "John, you are one of the few people who has had the rare bounty of having been received by both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice. Was there any difference in those two experiences?"

I replied, "To meet with the Guardian was one of those joys one cannot describe. One felt the power of the Holy Spirit, the love, the power of the Guardian, of God. When we first met with those glorious members of the House of Justice, there was a similar feeling, the same love. I remember after our first meeting in London with them, some of the Hands said, "You felt the power of infallibility when in their presence, didn't you?" I have met a number of times with the House of Justice, and each time it was a joy. I felt it was like meeting with the beloved Guardian.

Asked if I still feel that same sense of oneness with the Guardian that I did while working during his lifetime on his Plans, my response was, "Without a doubt. I am sure none of the Hands could ever lose that joy, that great love of Shoghi Effendi."