M. E. Lukmani
Dr. M. E. Lukmani | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1896 |
| Died | October, 1981 Aurangabad, India |
| NSA member | India & Burma ???? - ???? ???? - 1959 India 1959 - ???? |
Dr. Mohammed Ebrahimji Lukmani (1896 - October, 1981) was an early Indian Bahá’í who served as a National Spiritual Assembly member and pioneered to Sri Lanka opening the nation to the Bahá’í Faith.
Biography[edit]
Lukmani studied homeopathy and established a professional career as a physician. He was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith in his youth by Mihr'ali Munji and studied the religion with him for several months before becoming a Bahá’í in 1920. He was an active teacher of the Faith after his declaration.[1]
In the 1920's Lukmani served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Bombay, now Mumbai, and helped promote teaching activities in the city arranging for Bahá’í speakers including Keith Ransom-Kehler, Siegfried Schopflocher, and Mírzá Mahmúd-i-Zarqání, to deliver talks in the city. In the 1930's he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Burma and India and in 1936 he was invited on pilgrimage and met Shoghi Effendi in the Holy Land.[1]
After his pilgrimage Lukmani dedicated himself to undertaking travel teaching trips across India and in the 1940's he pioneered to Hyderabad, Surat, and Sholapur.[2] In Sholapur he established a Homeopathic Dispensary and his teaching efforts resulted in a Local Spiritual Assembly forming.[3] He also spoke at summer schools across the country, accompanied visiting travel teachers, and assisted with securing a national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds for India.[2]
In the late 1940's Shoghi Effendi asked the Bahá’í community to establish the religion in Sri Lanka and Lukmani was the first Bahá’í to pioneer to the country settling in 1949. Shoghi Effendi would later refer to him as the spiritual conqueror of Ceylon and he received a letter from Shoghi Effendi shortly after pioneering which included the following:
"Your spontaneous and exemplary response has rejoiced my heart and evoked my intense admiration . . ."[2]
While in Sri Lanka he successfully assisted in the establishment of several Local Spiritual Assemblies before returning to India, settling in Aurangabad, in 1956. He was re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma and then served on the independent National Spiritual Assembly of India after it was formed in 1959.[4]
Lukmani passed away in Aurangabad in 1981.[2]The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:
GRIEVED PASSING DEVOTED PROMOTER FAITH DR. LUKMANI. HIS LONGSTANDING RECORD SERVICES LOVINGLY REMEMBERED. PRAYING SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL. CONVEY RELATIVES LOVING SYMPATHY.[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 771. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 772. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1945). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 9 (1940-1944), Pg(s) 60. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1960). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 353, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
