Dearly loved friends,
With grateful and joyous hearts we extend our warmest
greetings and express our highest hopes to the followers of Bahá'u'lláh
gathered, at this critical point of the Five Year Plan, in this Conference on
Asia's eastern shore. This great continent has nourished mighty civilizations;
above its horizons the suns of major Revelations of God have risen; on its soil
many of the heroes of this New Age have shed their blood and offered their
lives in token of their love for Him Who is the Beloved of the World and the
Desire of the Nations.
What an imperishable glory has been bestowed upon the people
of Asia, the first to be illumined by the rays of God's Faith, the first
recipients of His Call and the first promoters of His Cause. Their spiritual
capacity is extolled and the great role they are destined to play in the
strengthening of the foundation of the New World Order of Bahá'u'lláh
unhesitatingly affirmed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Tablets of the Divine Plan.
This great continent contains within its boundaries the
heart of the Faith and its Cradle, the lands wherein its Founders toiled and
suffered, and not only the great majority of the human race but the great
majority of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh. The potentiality of such a situation
cannot be underestimated, nor must the great force latent within so large a
proportion of the Army of Light be neglected. They must be mobilized to
accelerate the expansion of the beloved Cause, to consolidate its victories, to
enhance its prestige and to augment its influence. We appeal to every
participant in this historic Conference to become conscious of these tremendous
but hidden potentialities which, if properly tapped and directed, can hasten
the process of the spiritualization of the nations of Asia, the influence of
which will extend far beyond the confines of that continent -- even to the
entire planet.
