William Garlington, who has done much anthropological work of the Bahá'í community in India, posted a copy of a letter he received. Though brief, its glimpse into the life of an Indian convert to the Faith is useful. Garlington explains the letter:
Below is a translation of a letter I received while I was in India in 1974 from Daya Ram Malviya, one of the early villagers in Malwa to "declare" himself a Bahá'í and who in the mid to late 60s became a leading" traveling teacher." I thought his own story, limited in length, and somewhat disjointed though it is, might be of interest to some on the list, especially as reards his own form of istikharih." -W.G.
At one time a famous Hindu pandit lived in Harsodan. He had composed a famous discourse about Satya-Narayan(2) which is still recited throughout the region today. His sons have accepted the Bahá'í Faith.
My father was fairly prosperous, but because of his jati(3) the wealthy and powerful jatis(4) became upset. One day these people came prepared to attack us and divide up our land amongst themselves. At this time I was 15 or 16 years old. But my father saw them coming with their sticks and guns and became terribly angry. He grabbed a sharp sword from the house and went out to meet them. When they saw him in this rage they quickly fled. I was also with my father. For some time we were fearful of our enemies, and on occasions they brought harm to us. Today, however, there are Rajputs and Kulmis who are Bahá'ís.(5)
I first heard the message of the Bahá'í Faith in 1941 when Mr. Boman(6) Shirin Mummy(7) and Dr. Munje(8) came from Bombay (via Ujjain) for the first visit to Harsodan. My father immediately accepted the Faith and with him two or three other members of his jati. I also accepted. I was twenty-one or twenty-two at the time. In 1944 my father became seriously ill with tuberculosis and could not be saved. At this time although I had accepted the Bahá'í Faith I was not aware of its complete truth or the depth of its teachings. I only knew that the path of all religions is the same, but this truth was not apparent to me from observing the followers of different religions. They said the words and they called Ishvar's name(9) but they often deceived others in various ways. Having seen all of these things I became very sad and wondered why Bhagavan(10) had created people who for their own gain and benefit cheated and deceived others.
After seeing this type of deception I slowly began to think how I might become more wealthy and make myself more comfortable in life. And as a result I began to think of some evil things. I was tested. It happened in this way. I had gone to the home of Kishan Lal Malviya(11) in Shajapur (the Malwa villager who had first come to Harsodan with Mr.Boman and Shirin Mummy) where we were discussing different ways and means of making money. In the process I thought of some not-so-proper ways. Then I thought of making separate pieces of paper with the name of a different occupation on each and in the name of Bhagavan, without looking, I would draw one piece of paper, and whichever one I picked, that would be my life's career. Among these were: thief, bandit (dacoit), pimp and other thugi-like(12) occupations. On other pieces I worte more respectable occupations such as hotel owner, shop keeper, farmer etc. And on one piece of paper I wrote: "Service to the Bahá'í Faith." In this fashion, having recited Bhagavan's name, I picked out one of the papers and opened it. And this is what I saw: "Service to the Bahá'í Faith." When I saw this I became anxiety free. A year later Shirin Mummy and Dr. Muhajir made me a traveling teacher. Then I had the opportunity of reading the holy books and came to understand the depth of truth within them.
But now the chance of my serving God's religion has been stopped. Therefore I pray that Bahá'u'lláh might again give me the power of serving Him.(13)
Notes