When I was a young Baha’i in the 1960s and 1970s, we all longed to meet those very special individuals known to Baha’is as “Hands of the Cause”. These were people chosen for their great spiritual capacity to encourage, guide and protect the Baha’i community. They had no administrative powers; they were not decision-makers; they encouraged, uplifted, protected - they diffused the divine fragrances.

We considered it a great privilege to meet one of the Hands - John Ferraby, Bill Sears, John Robarts, Ugo Giachery, Paul Haney, Ali-Akbar Furutan, Abul-Qasim Faizi were amongst those I had the great joy of encountering - to listen to their wisdom, to be inspired by their vision.

And now the last of these spiritual giants has passed away. On 23 September the Universal House of Justice wrote to the Baha’is of the World:

With grieving hearts we bid farewell to the last of that noble company, the Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth, into which he is now gathered in realms of deathless delight and joy. The fervor of his love for the teaching work inspired countless believers across the globe, whether at the events he attended as the representative of the Guardian or of the Universal House of Justice, or in his extensive travels to promote the goals of the Master’s Divine Plan.

Dr Varqa carried the office of Trustee of Huququ’llah (the Right of God - the financial contributions made by Baha’is as a percentage of their surplus wealth to a central fund which is used at the discretion of the Universal House of Justice for the good of humanity), a mantle that had passed from his father to him, with integrity and honour.

He will also be remembered for his character. As the Universal House of Justice wrote in its message of 23 September:

Throughout the many years of his valiant endeavor to maintain the integrity of the two offices of so high a rank [Hand of the Cause and Trustee of Huququ'llah] to which he was simultaneously elevated, his manner was imbued with a luminous gentleness, a genuine kindliness and a natural dignity which combined to reflect the character of a saintly personality. For these exemplary traits he will ever be remembered.

At a large Baha’i conference in Dublin in the 1980s, John Robarts - a man of great humour - wondered aloud what it would be like to be the last Hand of the Cause left alive. He might be carried on a stretcher into a conference such as the one in Dublin to wave to the gathered multitudes and to say, in a quavering voice, “Allah-u-Abha” ["God is most glorious", often used by Baha'is as a greeting]. Well, Mr Robarts was not to be granted that particular honour. He passed away many years ago. It fell to Dr Varqa to be the last of that glorious company of the servants of the Blessed Beauty to pass from this mortal realm to the glorious heights above.

I join my prayers for the progress of his noble soul and for the comfort of his family to those of the Baha’i world.

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