The effect of Bahá’u’lláh’s 200th Birthday Celebrations are staggering!

The effect of this (Bahá’u’lláh’s 200th Birthday Celebrations) has been staggering. A conservative estimate indicates that across India almost 200,000 friends spoke about Bahá’u’lláh and taught the Faith to more than 400,000 others. In addition, proclamation was also done through radio coverage reaching out to a number of cities and the film ‘Light to the World’ was shown in over 150 localities which meant that tens of thousands more heard of Him. Creative activities to befittingly celebrate the bicentenary anniversary ranged from peace rallies, debates, puppet shows, tree plantations, poem recitations, traditional dance performances, book exhibitions, medical camps and even a ‘Wall of Kindness” activity! In one cluster, a number of friends each kept aside a pound of uncooked rice every day for three months and in the weeks leading up to 22nd October they visited 600 homes inviting families to the celebrations and cooking lunch for everyone. Enrollments were on the rise and more than one thousand individuals declared their Faith in Him in the short span of a few months. The upsurge in activities has also had an impact on the movement of clusters across India with 78 clusters having progressed to the next level of intensity.

Now the challenge for every individual, institution and agency will be to consolidate these hard-won victories and ensure that the gains achieved will be taken to higher levels. The Regional Bahá'í Council of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Uttarakhand has taken to heart the words of the Universal House of Justice in its message of 31st October 2017, urging the Bahá'í world “to see in each person who responded to your invitation a potential protagonist in the community-building process” and, with the full support and enthusiasm of the friends, organized eleven institutional gatherings where systematic plans were made to consolidate the teaching efforts during the bicentennial year and increase the number of core activities in the region by a further 11,500 before the end of April 2018.

THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF INDIA
30 December 2017