threatened at times to overwhelm
the administrative resources available. The victories won, however,
provide a foretaste of the confirmations that will in time bless the
efforts of Baha'i communities struggling with the same challenges on other
continents. By 1985, the growth of the Faith in India had reached the
point where the needs and opportunities of so many diverse regions called
for more sharply focused attention than the National Spiritual Assembly
alone could provide. Thus was born the new institution of the Regional
Baha'i Council, setting in motion the process of administrative
decentralization that has since proven so effective in many other lands.

In 1986, the expansion and consolidation taking place in India were
befittingly crowned with the inauguration of the beautiful "Lotus Temple".
Although the project had raised optimistic expectations as to the impact
its completion would have on public recognition of the Faith, the reality
has infinitely surpassed the brightest of such hopes. Today, India's House
of Worship has become the foremost visitors' attraction on the
subcontinent, welcoming an average of over ten thousand visitors every
day, and featuring prominently in publications, films and television
productions. The interest aroused in a Faith that could inspire and embody
itself in so magnificent a creation has given new meaning to the
description by 'Abdu'l-Baha of Baha'i Temples as "silent teachers" of the
Faith.

The progress of the Indian Baha'i community, both in its internal
development and its relationship with the larger society, was illustrated
by a pioneering initiative undertaken in November 2000 in the field of
social and economic development. Taking advantage of the reputation it had
deservedly won among progressive circles in the country, the National
Spiritual Assembly hosted, in collaboration with the Baha'i International
Community's newly created Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity,(123)
a symposium on the subject of "Science, Religion and Development". The
project engaged the participation of over one hundred of the most
influential development organizations in the country and inspired national
media coverage. Marking out a distinctive Baha'i contribution to the
promotion of social advancement, the event set the stage for symposia of
the same kind in Africa, Latin America and other regions, where creative
Baha'i communities can help shape what may well become one of the Faith