He was very happy to note the spirit of true and profound dedication to
their holy task of spreading the Faith in India and Burma which the
members of the N.S.A. manifest, and he feels sure that, if they exert the
utmost effort, they will, through the confirmations of Baha'u'llah,
succeed in fulfilling what is required of them under the Six-Year Plan.
He regrets very much that circumstances have prevented any active
furtherance of the teaching work during the past Baha'i year. Because of
this the Guardian felt impelled, after reading your Assembly's letter, to
transmit by cable the sum of two hundred pounds sterling to be set aside
by your Assembly as the nucleus of a special fund to be established for
the specific purpose of furthering the all-India teaching campaign of the
Six-Year Plan. He trusts that this will stimulate the body of Indian and
Burmese Baha'is to also contribute to this fund generously and by
providing the necessary means to enable them to speedily fulfil the task
they have vowed to carry out.
Concerning the methods to be adopted for the realization of your urgent
task, Shoghi Effendi approves of the suggestion that some business firms
open branches in new districts and thus provide Baha'i settlement by this
means. However, he feels that this will not be enough, and that all the
Spiritual Assemblies, as well as each individual believer, should rally to
this great opportunity which, indeed, may not again be presented to them,
of spreading the Faith through the length and breadth of India while they
are still in a position to do so. The world is day by day becoming
increasingly involved in this cataclysmic struggle, but so far the Baha'is
of India, Australia, New Zealand and the American continents have not felt
either the dangers or the restrictions imposed on less fortunate
communities which find themselves either over-run and temporarily
eclipsed, or in the actual theatre of war. Therefore the believers of
India should not allow these truly priceless days to slip by without
exerting themselves to the utmost and sacrificing comfort, home, and
money, to the great duty of giving the Divine Message to the people of
their vast country.
Smallness of numbers, lack of skilled teachers, and modesty of means
should not discourage or deter them. They must remember the glorious
history of the Cause, which, both in East and West, was established by
dedicated souls who, for the most part, were neither rich, famous, nor
well educated, but whose devotion, zeal and self-sacrifice overcame every
obstacle and won miraculous victories for the Faith of God. Such spiritual
victories can now be won for India and Burma by the friends. Let them
dedicate themselves--young and old, men and women alike--and go forth and
settle in new districts, travel, and teach in spite of lack of experience,
and be assured that Baha'u'llah has promised to aid all those who arise in
His Name. His strength will sustain them; their own weakness is
unimportant.