This is a land of plenty, a place full of beauty, with a fire of love and a height of spiritual activity. No wonder Avatar Meher Baba has at heart a special corner for you all.

To have a special corner in Baba's heart is something very exceptional in your spiritual life. It cannot be compared to the "punya” (spiritual merit) acquired through yoga sadhana, prayers or selfless deeds. It is like a potential passport to reach to the Ultimate by the stamp of His Adhikar (authority). Humanity has to wait for 700 to 1,400 years to avail itself of such a unique privilege. But for you it is right at hand. Your love and service to the living Avatar can give you the utmost benefit of His Blessings.

There are great numbers of Baba-lovers at different Baba-centers all over the world who love Baba and serve Him by giving their time and service. Out of them there are few who receive special attention from Baba, and your Hamirpur district is one of them. Therefore, the responsibility of being a great lover and a worker for Baba devolves on each of you.

Baba is fully conscious of the circumstances in which you are placed. He knows your joy and sorrow, your hardship and comfort, and the heart-whole devotion you have for Him. It is as though Baba's presence in your heart and in your life sustains you through all the ups and downs of life, maintaining a steadfast allegiance to Him and a firm love-grip of your hand of obedience on His daaman*.

Riches matter little. Poverty makes you lose nothing. Position does not give you greater love of God, and no amount of opposition can take away from you your precious love for Baba, the Avatar of the Age—that love, whose seed was sown in your hem by Him when He first visited your district, town and villages in 1952.

What an immense joy it is for you and us all to know that your place has been the first amongst all other places of Baba-worship in this country, and in the world, to have Baba's statue installed in a special sanctuary built for

*Hem of His Garment.