(59) November 14, 1947

Dear Bahá’í Sister:

Your letter to our beloved Guardian dated October 31st has been received, and, in spite of the fact that he is terribly busy, he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf because he would not like in any way to ever hurt the feelings of one of the friends. However, he suggests in the future you refer such questions to the N.S.A. and ask them to put you in touch with a Bahá’í teacher who can correspond with you. He himself cannot do this kind of work, because he is so overworked with the more urgent administrative affairs of the Faith.

To answer you briefly what the original state of the universe was no one as yet knows. But we believe God is a spiritual Being and did create it; how we do not know. We will have experience of God’s spirit through His Prophets in the next world, but God is too great for us to know without this Intermediary. The Prophets know God, but how is more than our human minds can grasp. We believe we attain in the next world to seeing the Prophets. There is certainly a future life. Heaven and hell are conditions within our own beings.

He urges you to study carefully the Bahá’í books, and he will pray for your advancement and the success of your Bahá’í activities.

With loving greetings,
R. Rabbani

[From the Guardian:]

May the Beloved bless your efforts, guide and sustain you in your meritorious activities, in such a distant field, and enable you to win great and memorable victories in the teaching field.

Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi