Letters Addressed to the Baha’i Youth of India
Letters Addressed to the Baha’i Youth of India
Letter of June 19, 1941
Though as yet your youth group is small in number he hopes that through your efforts during the coming year it will grow and become a strong and vital one and play an important part in helping the youth of India to better serve the Cause of Baha’u’llah.
The field of work open to Baha’i young people is very great, and they must increasingly bear their share of the all-important teaching campaign which the Indian Baha’is have embarked upon.
June 19, 1941
Letter of May 5, 1943
[From the Guardian:]
I have just heard the very sad news of the passing of your dearly-loved father. This is a great loss to the Baha’i Community in that land and indeed to the Baha’i world. His exemplary devotion, his indefatigable efforts, his shining faith, his unswerving fidelity, his zeal, his magnificent achievements, in both the administrative and teaching spheres of Baha’i activity have enriched the annals of the Cause of Baha’u’llah. I personally greatly loved and admired him. The Beloved, I assure you, was pleased with him, and will now bless his soul in the Great Beyond. I will pray for him from the depths of my heart. (Letter addressed to the daughters of Mr. N.R. Vakil).
May 5, 1943
Letter of June 6, 1941
The responsibility of young believers is very great, as they must not only fit themselves to inherit the work of the older Baha’is and carry on the affairs of the Cause in general, but the world which lies ahead of them — as promised by Baha’u’llah — will be a world chastened by its sufferings, ready to listen to His Divine Message at last; and consequently a very high character will be expected of the exponents of such a religion. To deepen their knowledge, to perfect themselves in the Baha’i standards of virtue and upright conduct, should be the paramount duty of every young Baha’i.
June 6, 1941
Letter of June 19, 1941
He was very happy to see how active and devoted the young Baha’is of India are. The interests of our beloved Faith require that the youth in particular exert every effort to spread it, while at the same time deepening their own knowledge of the Teachings and perfecting their private lives in accordance with the standards of conduct laid down by Baha’u’llah.
Upon the present generation of youth will devolve the weighty task of helping to construct a new world after the effects of this tragic war have passed away. They must be ever conscious of their supreme duty towards their fellow-men — the duty of holding up to their enquiring gaze the model upon which a sound future society can be constructed. This is the system of Baha’u’llah which the Baha’is must first learn themselves to live up to, and then share with the whole world.
June 19, 1941
Letter of June 19, 1941
He has been most encouraged by the increasing evidences of the activity of the Baha’i youth of India and their determination to play their part in the great teaching campaign which the believers of that country have undertaken.
The responsibility of the Baha’i youth is very great indeed, as they constitute the generation of Baha’is who will be called upon to help re-construct the world after this devastating war is over. They should devote their lives to the supreme objective of perfecting themselves as members in Baha’u’llah’s divine World Order.
The Guardian hopes that during the coming year an ever-increasing number of young believers will devote themselves to teaching the Cause and helping the Six-Year Plan to be fulfilled.
June 19, 1941
Letter of June 19, 1941
The Guardian feels that the role of Baha’i youth in these days is becoming increasingly important, and that your Committee, as well as all local youth committees, should do all in your power to encourage the Baha’i young people to a greater activity and sense of responsibility. In the field of teaching, in pioneer service and settlement, in the administration of the Cause, they must increasingly take an active part, as upon these same youth will devolve the many and heavy responsibilities of the future when the Baha’is will be called upon to demonstrate to their fellow-men the perfection of Baha’u’llah’s laws and World Order in such a manner that bewildered humanity will turn to them as their only refuge.
[From the Guardian:]
I was greatly cheered and heartened by the expressions of devotion, determination and loyalty conveyed in the welcome message enclosed in your letter, attesting the significant spirit that animates the Baha’i youth of India. They are indeed the object of my unfailing solicitude and of my ardent and constant prayers. I feel proud of the work which they are so strenuously promoting. Baha’u’llah is indeed well pleased with them, and our Beloved Master will no doubt reinforce their labours. May their work prosper, and their numbers increase, and their influence extend and their enterprises be consolidated and their highest hopes be fulfilled.
June 19, 1941
Letter of December 27, 1941
The young Baha’is of India must take part in all the work of the Indian Baha’i Community, whether it be in teaching the Cause, pioneering in new territory, attending the Summer School, or aiding in the administrative work of the Faith. Only in this way can they prepare and train themselves for all that they will have to do in the future.
December 27, 1941
Letter of July 3, 1942
That at such a time the young believers should be so busy, both studying the teachings and spreading them, is an eloquent testimony to the character of their Faith and the devotion it inspires in its adherents. The Guardian hopes that in these days of universal danger and suffering, the young Baha’is of Karachi will play an ever-increasing part in the spread and consolidation of the Faith in that city and nearby centres, and arise and help lighten the load of the older believers who have so patiently and tirelessly served the Cause in that land.
July 3, 1942
Letter of June 27, 1942
He is greatly pleased to note the progress which the young Baha’is of India are making. Year by year he sees them growing stronger in faith, more conscious of their duties and privileges as Baha’is; more anxious to develop their knowledge of the teachings and their capacity to serve in the administration.
He strongly feels that now is the time for them to arise and follow the example of their American brothers and sisters, and begin, wherever possible, to undertake pioneer teaching work. The services rendered in this field by some of the American youth have been little short of astounding, and he sees no reason why the young believers of India should not win for themselves similar laurels in the path of Baha’u’llah.
Their beginning has been excellent, and he hopes that their future will be even more outstanding and praiseworthy.
June 27, 1942
Letter of April 8, 1946
[From the Guardian:]
I was deeply touched by your messages, and I greatly value the sentiments you have expressed, and your determination to promote the interests of our beloved Faith. The Plan conceived by your national elected representatives offers you a wide field in which to demonstrate your resourcefulness, your energy, your perseverance, and your devotion to the vital interests of the Cause and its nascent institutions. May the Beloved, whose Cause you are so eager to serve, bless your activities, increase your numbers, guide your steps, and enable you to contribute a notable share to the advancement of its institutions.
April 8, 1946
Letter of April 12, 1945
It pleased him greatly to see that there are so many active Baha’i youth groups in India, and his heart was particularly rejoiced to receive messages from such far-off centres as Kashmir and Baluchistan, where, a few years ago, there were practically no Baha’is at all!
He hopes that in the years that lie ahead of us — years of unrest, of trouble; of transition for the whole world — that the Baha’i youth will increasingly rise to meet the challenge of the times, and to carry the Message of Baha’u’llah, through both teaching and example, all over India and, indeed, Asia.
You who are at present in your teens, or twenties, must realize that tomorrow, to a large extent, the burden of the Cause will rest on your shoulders; you will have to be the administrators and teachers and scholars of the Faith. Now is the time to prepare yourselves for your future duties.
He hopes you will study the teachings deeply, their spiritual, moral, and administrative precepts, and at the same time take as active a part as possible in the life of your respective Baha’i communities.
April 12, 1945
Letter of October 15, 1940
He was indeed highly pleased and encouraged to note from the contents of your annual report how alive the members of the Baha’i Youth Group in Bombay are to their responsibilities and duties towards the Cause, and he will assuredly pray on their behalf that in spite of the perils, the uncertainties and dangers of the present hour their activities for the Faith may steadily gain in scope and in effectiveness, and that they may each and all receive such confirmations from On High as would enable them to forge ahead, and to attain their high destiny in service to our beloved Cause.
October 15, 1940
Letter of April 8, 1946
He feels that, in the important teaching Plans now being undertaken by the Indian Baha’is, the youth have an ever-increasingly significant part to play; they are standing at the threshold of active Baha’i service in both the pioneer and administrative fields, and they must prepare themselves for the future and follow, at the same time, the example of American Baha’i young people, so many of whom have entered the field as pioneers during the last ten years, and not only rendered the Cause great services but prepared themselves, through this experience, for their future tasks as administrators and teachers of the Faith.
April 8, 1946