# Ridvan 2001: Baha'i Era 158

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> To the Bahá'ís of the World
> 
> 
> 
> Dearly loved friends,
> 
> [1]  With great joy in our hearts and high
> expectations, we come to this Ridván season at a change of time,
> when a new state of mind is evident among us all. Abroad in our world
> community there is a heightened awareness of the value of process, the
> necessity of planning and the virtue of systematic action in fostering
> growth and in developing the human resources by which expansion can be
> sustained and consolidation assured. The coherence of understanding
> about these prerequisites of progress cannot be overvalued, nor can the
> importance of perpetuating them through well-ordered training be overestimated. 
> And so the arrival of our community at such a moment of consciousness is
> an occasion of significance for us. We are deeply grateful to the
> Blessed Beauty to be able to recognize and acclaim it at the very beginning
> of the global enterprise being launched during these festive days.
> 
> [2]  The power of will generated by this
> consciousness characterized the conference of the Continental Counsellors
> and the members of their Auxiliary Boards who gathered here last January
> in the Holy Land. The event produced so illuminating an experience
> as to signalize the Faith's entry into a new epoch, the fifth of it's Formative
> Age. Such a freshness of vitality as was displayed at this historic
> gathering came to be understood as a manifestation of the rising quality
> of activity throughout the community. Pursuit during the past year
> of the essentials for advancing the process of entry by troops confirmed
> this observation. The path was thus paved for the Five Year Plan,
> the first venture being entered upon in the Fifth Epoch.
> 
> [3]  In augmenting major efforts of the
> previous Four Year Plan that brought into being more than 300 training
> institutes, the Twelve Month Plan achieved its purpose. It gathered
> significance through the notable responses of institutions and individuals
> to the call for a greater focus on the spiritual nurturing of children
> and the involvement of junior youth in Bahá'í community life.. 
> The training of teachers of children's classes and the inclusion of junior
> youth in the institute process have become a regular part of Bahá'í
> activities in a number of countries. Despite its brevity, the Twelve
> Month Plan had an importance beyond the objectives specifically assigned. 
> The Plan was a dynamic link between a highly eventful epoch in Bahá'í
> history and the immensely promising prospects of a new one, for which its
> achievements have so well prepared the community. It has been etched
> in our annals, too, for the enduring effects of the Faith's activities
> at the end of the twentieth century -- a century that deserves to be reflected
> upon by any Bahá'í who wishes to understand the tumultuous
> forces that influenced the life of the planet and the processes of the
> Cause itself at a crucial time in
> humanity's social and spiritual evolution. 
> As an aid to so worthy an effort, Century of Light , a review of
> the twentieth century, was prepared at our request and under our supervision. 
> 
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> To the Bahá'ís of the World                 
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> Page 2                 Ridván 2001
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> [4]  On many occasions during this one-year
> endeavour, the external affairs of the Faith were especially visible. 
> Consider, for example, the instances of Bahá'í representatives'
> having participated prominently in the millennial events that took place
> in May, August and September at the urging of the Secretary-General of
> the United Nations. The implications of so close and conspicuous
> an involvement of the Bahá'í International Community with
> the processes of the Lesser Peace will require the passage of time to be
> properly understood. Among other highlights was the Continental Colloquium
> organized in India by the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity, a
> new agency operating under the aegis of the Bahá'í International
> Community. Adopting the theme of "science, religion and development",
> the conference featured the participation of leading non-governmental organizations
> of India, as well as that of institutions of such reknown as UNESCO, UNICEF,
> WHO and the World Bank. In October, the Bahá'í World
> News Service (BWNS) was launched on the Internet with the intention of
> reaching both Bahá'í and non-Bahá'í audiences
> with news stories about developments throughout the Bahá'í
> world.
> 
> [5]  The intensive activities at the Bahá'í
> World Centre during the last year were, for the most part, made known to
> the friends through previous reports that included references to such achievements
> as the occupation by the International Teaching Centre of its permanent
> seat on Mount Carmel; the Conference of Continental Counsellors and the
> members of their Auxilliary Boards held in the Holy Land last January;
> and the completion of the Mount Carmel projects, which are now receiving
> finishing touches in preparation for the celebratory events in May. 
> Last October, for the first time, pilgrims and visitors were received at
> the new Reception Centre in Haifa, which became fully operational. 
> At Bahjí the embellishment of the sacred site through the development
> of its gardens has proceeded continually; the effort has, however, received
> a boost from the new project initiated last year to construct a Visitors'
> Centre towards the northern end of the property beyond the Collins Gate. 
> Scheduled for completion in the next few months, the structure is fully
> in place, and work is progressing in all areas, including finishing and
> landscaping. The new facilities will improve the ability of the World
> Centre to receive increasing numbers of pilgrims, short-term Bahá'í
> visitors, and special guests.
> 
> [6]  To conclude this summary of the year,
> we rejoice in informing you that, after the lapse of almost three decades,
> the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Indonesia
> was restored at the National Convention held in Jakarta last Ridván.. 
> A ban imposed on Bahá'í activities in August 1962 severely
> restricted the actions of Indonesian Bahá'ís for all that
> time, but they remained steadfast and wise in their long-suffering until
> changed circumstances in that country resulted in the lifting of the ban. 
> May we not venture to hope, then, that a similar happy report concerning
> our beleaguered co-religionists in Iran, Egypt and other countries will
> not be too far distant ?
> 
> [7]  Dear Friends: Two decades from
> now the Bahá'í world will celebrate the centenary of the
> inception of the Formative Age. We look back at the dawning of the
> Age from the vantage point of attainments that could hardly have been imagined
> at the outset. Up ahead are horizons that urgently summon the community
> to even greater achievements in the short span separating it from that
> centennial. Those heights can and must be scaled. The Five
> Year Plan, to which we call the urgent and sustained attention of the friends
> throughout the world, is intended to meet this challenge. It constitutes
> the first of a series of campaigns that will be pursued during these twenty
> years. This Plan marks the next phase in the aim to accomplish a
> significant advance in
> the process of entry by troops. It demands an acceleration of this
> vital process and, furthermore, insists upon continuity in systematic endeavour
> on the part of its three constituent participants: the individual,
> the institutions, and the community.
> 
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> To the Bahá'ís of the World                 
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> Page 3                 Ridván 2001
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> [8]  No need to elaborate on the requirements
> 
> of the Plan, for these were set out in our message to the assembled Counsellors
> 
> in the Holy Land and subsequently shared with all National Spiritual Assemblies. 
> 
> Soon after their conference, the Counsellors began consulting with the
> 
> National Assemblies about the execution of the Plan in their respective
> 
> jurisdictions. The Plan's direction is therefore well known to the
> 
> friends everywhere, as regional and local preparations for pursuing its
> 
> major aim are underway. There is a general awareness by now that
> 
> efforts will be made to effect a deeper penetration of the FAith into more
> 
> and more regions within countries. For example, where circumstances
> 
> permit, local communities that exist in close proximity to each other will
> 
> be mobilized to participate in intensive programmes of growth. Other
> 
> approaches will require methodical opening of new areas for which homefront
> 
> pioneers must be raised up in the same consecrated spirit that prompted
> 
> those who scattered abroad at earlier times to open virgin territories
> 
> across continents and seas. Suffice it to say that the process animating
> 
> this divinely driven enterprise will eventually expand as related features
> 
> are gradually introduced and systematically integrated into its operation.
> 
> [9]  A feature of the Fifth Epoch will
> be the enrichment of the devotional life of the community through the raising
> up of national Houses of Worship, as circumstances in national communities
> permit. The scheduling of these projects will be determined by the
> Universal House of Justice in relation to the advancement of the process
> of entry by troops within countries. This development will unfold
> throughout successive stages of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan. 
> Upon the completion of the Mother Temple of the West, the Guardian started
> a programme of constructing continental temples. The first among
> these were the Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs in Kampala, Sydney
> and Frankfurt, which were built in response to Ten Year Plan goals. 
>  The Universal House of Justice continued along these lines with the building
> of Temples in Panama City, Apia, and New Delhi. But this continental
> stage has yet to be completed: one more edifice remains to be built. 
> It is with profound thankfulness and joy that we announce at this auspicious
> moment the decision to proceed with this last project. During the
> Five Year Plan, erection of the Mother Temple of South America in Santiago,
> Chile, will commence and thus fulfil a wish clearly expressed by Shoghi
> Effendi.
> 
> [10]  Meanwhile, the time is propitious
> that further steps be taken at the World Centre to develop the functions
> of the institutions occupying the new edifices on the Arc. The International
> Teaching Centre having advanced significantly in its work, attention will
> be given particularly to organizing the work of the Centre for the Study
> of the Texts. Enriching the translations into English from the Holy
> Texts will be a special object of this attention. The purpose
> of the institution is to assist the Universal House of Justice in consulting
> the Sacred Writings and to prepare translations and commentaries on the
> authoritative texts of the Faith. Moreover, in the Holy Land,
> a continued effort will be devoted towards the devising of measures to
> make possible a further increase in the number of pilgrims and visitors
> to the Bahá'í World Centre.
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> To the Bahá'ís of the World                 
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> Page 4                 Ridván 2001
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> [11]  In our Ridván message five
> years ago, we announced the holding of a major event at the World Centre
> to mark the completion of the projects on Mount Carmel and the opening
> of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb to the public. 
> 
> The moment is upon us, and we exult in the anticipation of welcoming the
> friends from virtually all countries to programmes that will extend over
> a five-day period, 21 - 25 May. We are also happy to say that
> steps are being taken to connect the Bahá'í world to the
> 
> proceedings through live transmissions on the World Wide Web and by satellite,
> about which information is being provided. As the World Centre focuses
> on the preparations, excitement is building up among the public in Haifa,
> where municipal authorities have undertaken to publish a book entitled
> Bahá'í Shrine and Gardens on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel:
> A Visual Journey to coincide with the event. Moreover,
> the Israel Postal Authority is pursuing its decision to release at the
> same time a commemorative stamp featuring the Terraces. The
> significance of the occasion lies principally in the pause it will allow
> for a review of the remarkable distance the Cause has covered in its development
> during the twentieth century. It will be time, too, for considering
> the future implications of the phenomenal accomplishments symbolized by
> the rise of the monumental structures on God's holy mountain -- a rise
> that opens the spiritual and administrative centres of our Faith to the
> gaze of the world.
> 
> [12]  As our community rejoices in these
> thrilling considerations, let every member bear in mind that there is no
> time for resting on laurels. Humanity's current plight is too
> desperate to allow for even a moment's hesitation in sharing the Bread
> of Life, which has come down from heaven in our time. Let there
> be no delay, then, in advancing the process that has every promise of success
> in ushering to the banquet table of the Lord of Hosts the souls of all
> that hunger after truth.
> 
> [13]  May He Who keeps watch over the destiny
> of His divine System guide and direct and confirm every effort you make
> towards the realization of the urgent tasks set before you.
> 
> [Signature:] The Universal House of Justice
>
> — *Ridvan 2001: Baha'i Era 158 (Used by permission of the curator)*