He has been very encouraged to see the way the Indian, and now the Burmese
friends have responded to his repeated call for greater sacrifice and for
more pioneers to go forth into the teaching field. Your country is so vast
that less valiant hearts than those possessed by the indomitable Baha'is
might well have quailed before the tasks to be undertaken. But, on the
contrary, the Indian and Burmese friends have arisen and demonstrated the
calibre of their faith and courage in a manner which excites the
admiration of their fellow Baha'is East and West.
Now is not the time to rest on their oars, but rather to re-double their
efforts and go on from victory to victory, and to add new fame to their
exploits, conscious that the eyes of their fellow-believers are focussed
upon them to see what they will achieve next.
He was particularly happy to see how active the beloved Burmese friends
are, and that through the efforts of some members of their Community and
Indian friends they have now established a new centre in Kyigone, where a
Spiritual Assembly can exist. This is a great step forward, and he hopes
many new Baha'i Assemblies will be developed in Burma during the coming
Baha'i year.
He was also very pleased to hear of the book exhibit held in Kolhapur, and
of the interest shown in our Baha'i literature by persons of standing in
the Community. Such exhibitions offer a great opportunity to show the
public what the Cause is doing and what it stands for, and every advantage
of them should be taken.
Although your Assembly has succeeded in getting out a number of new
language publications, you should not relax for a moment in your efforts
to translate and publish the New Era in the remaining languages chosen, as
this work is of the utmost importance, enables you to teach new language
groups the Faith, and adds to the prestige of the Cause not only in India
but abroad. Although you have many obstacles to overcome the results in
the future will be great.
He cannot impress too strongly upon the friends the need for action: they
must arise in still greater numbers to pioneer; those who cannot go
themselves should remember the admonition of Baha'u'llah and send, through
the N.S.A., someone in their stead; the young people should learn to teach
and go forth in the field in the days of their youth and receive this
great blessing; more qualified teachers should arise, and circulate among
the new and weak Assemblies in order to consolidate them.
[From the Guardian:]
The rich and varied material which you have been forwarding during recent
months to the Holy Land proclaim and demonstrate, beyond the shadow of a
doubt the assiduous care, the magnificent devotion, the exemplary
fidelity, the increased efficiency with which you are conducting the
affairs, and consolidating the activities of a steadily growing community.
My heart swells with gratitude as I witness, in so many fields, the
striking evidences of the growth, the multiplication and establishment of
highly diversified communities throughout the length and breadth of India
and Burma, the expansion of Baha'i literature, the rise of new
institutions, the growing consciousness and solidarity of the teachers and
administrators of the Faith, and of the contact that is being established
between them and the great masses of their countrymen, at so critical a
period in their history. However much these communities have already
achieved, they cannot afford, for a moment, to rest content with the
laurels that they have won. Spurred on by these initial and superb
victories--victories unprecedented in the annals of their Faith in that
land--they must press on, more diligently than ever, to reinforce their
unity, to deepen their understanding of the spiritual verities of their
Faith and of the administrative principles underlying its new world order,
to multiply its nascent institutions, to broadcast its Message, to
disseminate its literature, to exemplify its spirit, to proclaim its
truths, and to swell the ranks of its unreserved supporters. The greater
the effort they exert along these lines, the more abundant the measure of
celestial grace that will be vouchsafed to them from on high. That they
may go from strength to strength, that they may add still more glorious
chapters to the distinguished record of their immortal services to the
Cause of Baha'u'llah is my constant prayer and the most cherished desire
of my heart.