BICENTENARY CELEBRATIONS A report on the bicentenary celebrations 2017 in the state of Gujarat, India
It is extremely joyful to receive the continuous inspiring reports from the communities in Gujarat State about the bicentenary celebrations of the birth anniversary of Baha’u’llah taken place in the spiritually uplifting atmosphere of devotion and dedication. So far more than 6500 people participated in 51 events organized in 36 communities across Gujarat State. Not less than ten thousand people have been approached to invite for the celebrations and given them the Message. The topics of conversation during
the visits carried out for Invitation and during the celebrations were: Mission and Life of Baha’u’llah, His Message for the Unification of Mankind, Purpose of Life, How the believers are striving diligently towards fulfilling His Mission through the process of community building at the local level. The programs included spiritually awakening prayers and devotional songs, inspiring talks and presentations, short films depicting the Life and Mission of Baha’u’llah and community building process across the World, cultural programs, meals and refreshments, etc. Every Individual believer has tried their best to contribute in one or the other way to make this historical celebration memorable and fruitful. The center of celebrations was local communities in Gujarat, and all the programs
included establishing conversations with the largest possible number of people during the invitation campaigns or during the celebrations. The Local Spiritual Assemblies, Local communities, Individual believers and Agencies or believers from nearby communities where assistance required played a major role. In order to encourage and inspire the Institutions and Agencies of the Faith continuously, the State Baha’i Council in collaboration with the Auxiliary Board Members was able to organize consultative gatherings at different level from regional to local. The Local Spiritual Assemblies and the communities tried various strategies to establish conversation with largest possible number and connect them with the Life and Mission of Baha’u’llah and invite them to become an active support in the community building process. They also approached media, used banners, Informative booklets, pamphlets, etc. The booklet prepared by the National Task Force was translated into Gujarati and 5000 copies were printed for wide distribution. Keeping in mind the guidance from the Universal House of Justice, the Auxiliary Board Members, State Baha’i Council, State Training Institute Board and the coordinators, Cluster level agencies, the Local Spiritual Assemblies and every individual in the community have played an important role in making this celebration fruitful that would lead towards strengthening of the community building processes at local level and awakening the souls to embrace the Cause of God. The programs were self-supported by the friends either by the Local Spiritual Assemblies, community members or nearby communities. This reflects how deep rooted the love of Bicentenary celebrations report - Gujarat | Page 1