A series of exploratory consultations with leading Baha'is made it clear
to the Guardian that even a formal discussion with qualified believers
about the creation of an international secretariat would be not only
useless, but probably counterproductive. It was alone, therefore, that
Shoghi Effendi set out on the task of propelling forward the vast
enterprise entrusted to his hands. How completely alone he was is almost
impossible for the present generation of Baha'is to grasp; to the extent
one does grasp it, the realization is acutely painful.

Initially, the Guardian assumed that the members of the Master's extended
family, whose distinguished lineage brought them immense respect from
Baha'is everywhere, would welcome the opportunity to assist him in
realizing the purpose that the Master's Will had set out in language so
imperative and moving. Accordingly, he invited his brothers, his cousins
and one of his sisters, whose education made them qualified for the
purpose, to provide the administrative support that the demanding work of
the Guardianship required. Tragically, as time passed, one after another
of these persons proved dissatisfied with the supporting role thus
assigned and careless in the discharge of its functions. Far more
seriously, Shoghi Effendi found himself facing a situation in which the
authority conferred on him, although expressed in uncompromising terms in
the Will and Testament, was seen by those related to him as relatively
nominal in character. These individuals preferred to regard the leadership
of the Faith as essentially a family affair in which great weight should
be placed on the views of senior figures among them, who were supposedly
qualified to assume such a prerogative. Beginning with demonstrations of
sullen resistance, the situation steadily deteriorated to a point where
the children and grandchildren of 'Abdu'l-Baha felt free to disagree with
His appointed successor and to disobey his instructions.

Ruhiyyih _Kh_anum, who saw this process of deterioration in its later
stages and herself suffered greatly in witnessing its effects on both the
work of the Cause and the Guardian personally, has written:

...one must understand the old story of Cain and Abel, the story of family
jealousies which, like a sombre thread in the fabric of history, runs
through all its epochs and can be traced in all its events.... The
weakness of the human heart, which so often attaches itself to an unworthy