Posted by Misagh (64.230.27.148) on September 08, 2003 at 18:35:15:

In Reply to: Why use the word "troops"? posted by Stuart Gilman on September 08, 2003 at 07:26:40:

Excellent question Stuart, just my two cents worth:

The Guardian has described the progress of the Cause in militaristic terms many times in his writings. This he does, I think, in order to help the believers see that what we as Baha'is are doing is fighting a spiritual battle against the forces of materialism, prejudice, etc. Drawing a parallel to a physical army is a good way, I believe, of helping us envison this spiritual battle and impress upon us the importance of the fight. All this just to say that militaristic examples are not foreign to the Writings of the Faith.

Lemme quote some of the Guardian's writings: "This flow, moreover, will presage and hasten the advent of the day which,
as prophesied by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, will witness the entry by troops of peoples of
divers nations and races into the Bahá'í world -- a day which, viewed in its
proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long-awaited hour when a mass
conversion on the part of these same nations and races...[continues]

(Compilations, Promotiong Entry by Troops, p. 5)"

It seems to me that in the context of the Plans, "troops" means a large number of people becoming attracted to the Faith. This would be a prelude to the day when these same people would decide to become Baha'is (hence, mass conversion).

Entry by troops is a process, and indeed it is happening right now. The 5 Year Plan aims at advancing this process.

The topic of "entry by troops" is a big one, and I don't have all the answers. Some study using Ocean and this site may help you further answer your question.

- Misagh

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