In 1935 Shoghi Effendi again presented the western Bahá'ís
with a magnificent gift, published under the title Gleanings from the Writings
of Bahá'u'lláh, which the Guardian himself described as "consisting of a
selection of the most characteristic and hitherto unpublished passages from the
outstanding works of the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation."
Remembering the scanty pages of the New Testament, the reputed
words of Buddha, and the mere handful of sayings of some other Divine
luminaries, which nevertheless have transfigured for centuries the lives of
millions of men, the Gleanings alone seems to provide a source of guidance and
inspiration sufficient for the spiritual Dispensation of any Prophet. The most
treasured tribute to this book was that of Queen Marie of Rumania who told
Martha Root: "even doubters would find a powerful strength in it, if they
would read it alone, and would give their souls time to expand." To Shoghi
Effendi himself the Queen wrote, in January 1936, after receiving from him a
copy, "May I send you my most grateful thanks for the wonderful book,
every word of which is precious to me, and doubly so in this time of anxiety
and unrest."
- Ruhiyyih Khanum ('The Guardian of the Baha'i Faith')
