A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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End of Six-Year Plan Approaches |
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As the end of the Plan to which your community stands
committed inexorably approaches, my anxious thoughts increasingly
turn towards you and your fellow workers, on
whose shoulders a staggering responsibility—grave as well as
inescapable—is weighing so heavily in these days. I am fully
aware of the character of the manifold and unexpected trials
this community has been called upon to face in India, Pakistan
and Burma since its inception. The ordeal of internal
disorder and of civil strife; the dislocation of the machinery
of internal administration, the inevitable consequence
of the vast political changes that have been effected in these
countries; the reverses suffered by this same community
through the temporary seizure of its newly acquired administrative
headquarters and the loss of some of its precious
assets in both India and Burma; the hardships endured by
the pioneers of this community as well as its administrators
as a consequence of severely imposed restrictions, outbursts
of fanaticism and civil riots—have been such as to dismay
the stoutest heart and tax to the uttermost the determination
of the most resolute.
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And yet, in spite of these successive afflictions the members
of this community have forged ahead, valiantly, unitedly and
determinedly, and have even extended the original range of
their Plan by embarking on fresh and historical enterprises
beyond the confines of these territories, through the despatch
of pioneers to the neighbouring Dominion of Ceylon and the
adjacent Kingdom of Siam and the Republic of Indonesia.
Whatever the fate of the Plan which they are now seeking
to bring to its consummation, this striking evidence of the
indomitable spirit of faith that animates the rank and file of
this community, and which has prompted it to seek fresh
laurels in virgin territories beyond the frontiers of its homeland,
will, without the slightest doubt, redound eternally to
its credit, and be abundantly rewarded by a vigilant and all-Bountiful
Master.
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To enhance the value of so rich a prize won, in so
short a period, by a community so burdened by cares
and anxieties, in territories for the most part overshadowed
by discord and internal revolution, through the triumphant
conclusion of the major task entrusted to its hands,
and the successful conclusion of the second collective enterprise
embarked upon by its indefatigable and resolute members,
on the morrow of a world-encircling conflict, must now
be the paramount and all-absorbing purpose of all who are
privileged to participate in this mighty endeavour. Time is
short. Every week is precious. The resources of the community,
financial, moral and spiritual are, I firmly believe,
adequate to meet the needs of this critical hour. So golden
an opportunity, if missed, will not recur for who knows how
extensive a period. The launching of subsequent enterprises
destined to culminate in the triumph and ascendancy of a
struggling Faith in the subcontinent of India, as well
as in the establishment of its institutions in South-East
Asia, will be inevitably and indefinitely postponed.
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Undaunted by the setbacks it has experienced; heartened
by the settlement and the initial victory won by its
pioneers in the newly opened virgin territories in the
North, the South and the East; fully conscious of its ability
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to perform adequately its task and discharge befittingly its
responsibility; relying on the unfailing grace of an all-Powerful,
ever solicitous, continually watching Providence; deriving
fresh inspiration and confidence from the amazing feat
achieved, by the small band of its brethren, in the West, and
in a continent more devastated by the ravages of war than
any other continent of the globe; let this community, while
time still remains, gird up its loins, sink its differences, rededicate
itself to its urgent task, sweep away every barrier that
confronts it, and rise, with an upsurge of unprecedented
enthusiasm and determination, to those heights to which its
spiritual destiny is now beckoning it.
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With a heart, aglow with gratitude for what
this community has in the initial stage of its administrative
development accomplished, filled with confidence
in the potentialities with which our beloved
Master has endowed it in the years of His earthly ministry,
and overflowing with love for those who, through their incessant
labours and heroic self-sacrifice, have achieved unforgettable
victories in recent years, I will continue to supplicate
for all its members, at home and abroad, in their administrative
spheres of activity as well as in the teaching field
such blessings as will enable them to crown their concerted
efforts with a success that will resound throughout the
Baha’i world.
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