wfn.org | BWNS -- Baha'i group pays homage to a heroine

[Bahá'í World News Service <bwns@bwc.org>]

Baha'i World News Service
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Baha'i group pays homage to a heroine
SOFIA, Bulgaria, 3 August 2005 (BWNS) -- Towering trees sheltered ornate
headstones that were almost hidden in the dense vegetation of an old
cemetery in this eastern European capital.

Amid this lush setting, a group of Baha'is from 15 countries slowly made
its way along a path towards a grave of historic significance.

As the Baha'is turned a corner, they came upon a scene that was in
complete contrast to what had come before. It was a small lawn cemetery
in immaculate condition and enclosed by a low wall.

This is the British military cemetery where British Commonwealth
servicemen from two world wars, and some civilians, are laid to rest. In
its neat precincts is the dignified grave of one who bore the nickname
of "General Jack."

This is not the tomb of a great soldier but rather of a spiritual hero
of the Baha'i world community.

It is the resting place of Marion Jack (1866-1954), who is acclaimed for
her selfless role as a "pioneer," one who moves to another country to
help establish and develop a Baha'i community.

The belief in the oneness of humanity and the conviction that world
unity is the key to a lasting international peace has inspired many
Baha'is to pioneer to ensure that the teachings of Baha'u'llah are
available to all peoples on the planet. The one acknowledged as the
greatest of those pioneers is Marion Jack.

Half a century after her passing, the group of Baha'is gathered around
her grave. They placed bouquets on the headstone.

"I had a strong feeling of respect and gratitude," Inga Daniels, a
Baha'i from Iceland, recalled later.

"A woman who demonstrated such courage and perseverance in her role as a
Baha'i pioneer is not only important to the history of the faith in
Bulgaria, but is an example for anyone who likes to be of service to a
worthwhile cause -- being at her grave was truly inspiring," said Ms
Daniels.

Like the others in the group, she had come to the cemetery after
participating in a Baha'i conference held in Sofia 30 June-3 July 2005.

The Baha'is bowed their heads as several among them recited prayers,
including one by Baha'u'llah for those who have passed away: "Cause them
to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water
and grant that they may behold thy splendors on the loftiest mount."

Those with some knowledge of the life of Marion Jack spoke quietly to
the gathering about the one whose epitaph, inscribed in gold letters,
begins with the words: "Immortal heroine."

Born and raised in Canada, Marion Jack had become a Baha'i while an art
student in Paris. In 1908 she spent some months in Acre where she had
the privilege of being with 'Abdu'l-Baha. He admired her sense of humor,
joviality, and spiritual certitude, and He gave her the affectionate
nickname of "General Jack."

During her stay in the Holy Land, she taught English to some of His
grandchildren and met another of them, the young Shoghi Effendi. Some of
her paintings done at that time are now on display in the Baha'i holy
places in Israel, including the Mansion of Bahji.

Inspired by the guidance of 'Abdu'l-Baha, Ms. Jack took the message of
the Faith to Alaska 1919-20. More than a decade later, when revisiting
the Holy Land, Shoghi Effendi, then the head of the Faith, asked Ms.
Jack, 65, to go as a Baha'i pioneer to Bulgaria. She went there directly
from the Holy Land, arriving in 1931.

In cooperation with just a handful of other Baha'is, she helped
establish thriving Baha'i communities in places such as Sofia and Varna.

In that first decade of her stay in Bulgaria, she lived through the
world economic depression sustained only by a meager pension that
afforded her basic accommodation and food. Then, during World War II,
her living conditions became immeasurably worse.

Shoghi Effendi suggested she leave the country for Switzerland. However,
he accepted, with great admiration, her plea to remain at her post. She
had told him there was nobody there at the time who could replace her as
a Baha'i pioneer.

Living in a city subject to aerial bombing and facing the possibility of
internment by a pro-Nazi government, Ms. Jack demonstrated persistence,
fearlessness, self-abnegation, and generosity.

During the Stalinist-style political era that followed the war, she
suffered from inadequate food, heating, and clothing. She lived in dank
rented rooms -- once in a damp cellar with no windows.

Among the other difficulties she faced were serious health problems,
difficulties with the Bulgarian language, theft of her belongings,
extreme cold, plagues of bedbugs, and the irregular arrival of her
pension. Yet she remained cheerful and steadfast. Shoghi Effendi said
there was never a "more inspiring pioneer."

When she passed away, aged 87, on March 27, 1954, he urged the building
of a suitable grave that was destined to "confer eternal benediction" on
Bulgaria. It would, he said, become in the future a place of visitation,
a prediction that is being borne out by such visits as the one last
month.

An extract of the tribute Shoghi Effendi paid her on her passing appears
on the headstone of her grave: "Immortal heroine...Greatly loved and
deeply admired by 'Abdu'l-Baha. A shining example to pioneers...Her
unremitting, highly meritorious activities...shed imperishable splendor
on contemporary Baha'i history...Shoghi."

Marion Jack's legacy lies in a Baha'i community now established in 100
localities throughout the country -- and in a series of beautiful
paintings adorning the meeting chamber of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha'is of Bulgaria and some of the walls of the Baha'i
holy places in Acre and Haifa.

(For more information on Marion Jack, see the book "Never Be Afraid to
Dare" by Jan Teofil Jasion, George Ronald, Publisher, 2001.
http://www.grbooks.com).