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Bombay
Founding
of Mukti Mission - Home of Salvation
Nineteen
years ago in this month of July, I started from the city of Philadelphia and
went to San Francisco, in response to the kind invitation sent by some good
friends, who took a deep interest in the well-being of the women of India. I
lived in the latter city for more than four months; and sailed from the Golden
Gate for Bombay, via Japan and China.
God in His great
goodness gave me faithful and true friends in America, who promised to help me
in my work. My work, in the beginning, was a purely educational one, and
religious liberty was to be given to the inmates of my school, and all plans
were made to start the Home for Widows as soon as I should land in Bombay.
The day for sailing
from San Francisco arrived. I felt as if I were going to a strange country and
to a strange people. Everything seemed quite dark before me. I fell on my
knees, committed myself to the care of our loving Heavenly Father, and sailed.
My religious belief
was so vague at the time that I was not certain whether I would go to heaven or
hell after my death. I was not prepared to meet my God then. How can I describe
my feelings when I heard of the disaster at San Francisco by the terrible
earthquake, and of the great destruction of human life in the harbour of Hong
Kong not long ago. How I thanked God for letting me live all these years, and
not sending the terrible earthquake and the dreadful storms, when I was not
prepared to meet Him. I deeply sympathise with the people living in both of
these places in their afflictions and pray to God that He may save each and all
of the surviving inhabitants of San Francisco and Hong Kong.
When starting from San
Francisco, and on landing in Bombay, I had resolved in my mind, that although
no direct religious instruction was to be given to the inmates of my home, yet
I would daily read the Bible aloud and pray to the only True God in the name of
Christ; that my countrywomen, seeing and hearing what was going on, might be
led to enquire about the true religion, and the way of salvation.
There were only two
day-pupils in my school, when it was started a little more than eighteen years
ago. No one was urged to become a Christian, nor was any one compelled to study
the Bible. But the Book was placed in the library along with other religious
books. The daily testimony to the goodness of the True God awakened new
thoughts in many a heart.
After the first ten
years of our existence as a school, our constitution was changed slightly.
Since then, every pupil admitted in the school has been receiving religious
instruction, retaining perfect liberty of conscience.
Many hundreds of the
girls and young women who have come to my Home ever since its doors were opened
for them have found Christ as I have. They are capable of thinking for
themselves. They have had their eyes opened by reading the Word of God, and
many of them have been truly converted and saved to the praise and glory of
God. I thank God for letting me see several hundred of my sisters, the children
of my love and prayer, gloriously saved. All this was done by God in answer to
the prayers of faith of thousands of His faithful servants in all lands, who
are constantly praying for us all.
I was led by the Lord
to start a special prayer-circle at the beginning of 1905. There were about 70
of us who met together each morning, and prayed for the true conversion of all
the Indian Christians including ourselves, and for a special outpouring of the
Holy Spirit on all Christians of every land. In six months from the time we
began to pray in this manner the Lord graciously sent a glorious Holy Ghost
revival among us, and also in many schools and Churches in this country. The results
of this have been most satisfactory. Many hundreds of our girls and some of our
boys have been gloriously saved, and many of them are serving God, and
witnessing for Christ at home, and in other places.
I have responded to
the Lord's challenge, "Prove Me now," Malachi 3:10, and have found
Him faithful and true. I know He is a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God.
His promise, "My people shall never be ashamed," Joel 2:16, and all
the thousands of His promises are true. I entreat you, my readers, to prove the
Lord as I have proved Him.
"O taste and see
that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the
Lord, ye His saints; for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young
lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want
any good thing." Psalm 34:8-10.
"O give thanks
unto the Lord for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed
of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy: And
gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the
north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way;
they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of
their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to
a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and
His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfieth the longing soul,
and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." Psalm 107:1-9.
Glorious
New Hope
This
has been literally fulfilled in me and mine. I praise the Lord Who has done
great things for us. Hallelujah, Amen.
The
most precious truth which I have learnt since my conversion is the second
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I firmly believe, as taught in the Bible, that
the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon. He will most certainly come and will not
tarry. The signs of the times in the last decade have taught me to be waiting
for Him. I was totally ignorant of this particular subject. It is not generally
taught in this country. The missionaries connected with some denominations do
not believe in it at all. They believe that Christ will come to judge the quick
and the dead at the time of the last judgement but they do not think He will
come for His servants before the time of the resurrection of the dead, and
before the final judgement.
The
hope of the appearing of our Saviour to take His redeemed ones to be with Him
has been a great help to me in my Christian life. I praise the Lord for the
great promise of His coming, and His counsel to watch and pray.
"Watch
therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Matthew 24:24.
"Take
ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is." Mark 13:33.
Unexpected
Visit From The Governor
One
day, during this month, as I was getting ready for my afternoon work, one of my
fellow-workers came to the door of the office, followed by the Collector of
Poona. Both told me that His Excellency the Governor of Bombay had come to
visit Mukti. I was taken by surprise, for I never thought that the Governor
would ever come to such an out-of-the-way place and visit an unpretending
institution, which had not earned popularity by great achievements, and by
courting the favour of the great men of the country. In a few moments my
surprise vanished, giving way to perfect pleasure, at finding the Governor so
simple and natural in his manner, though he was very dignified and grand.
It
was delightful to see the greatest man of this presidency taking kindly notice
of every one who happened to come in his way, enquiring with interest of every
little detail concerning the work. He seemed to be well acquainted with what
was going on here. After inspecting all parts of the Mission, he bade us
goodbye and went away. It was a very pleasant surprise, and we shall never
forget his visit and kindness to us all.
As
we did not know about his visit, we had not made any preparations to receive
him; so he saw us as we were; some walking about, some idly sitting where they
were, some doing their work properly, some sweeping the ground and doing other
housework, some dressed well and tidily, others in rags with unkempt hair, some
giving themselves to their lessons and industry with diligence, and some just
looking into the air doing nothing and thinking about nothing in particular.
It
does one good to be taken by surprise in this way. The one great thought that
filled my heart while the Governor was here, and after he went away, leaving a
very pleasant impression on our mind, was that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming
some day just in this manner, and those of us who are prepared to meet Him will
have the joy of being caught up in the air to be with Him. How blessed it will
be, not to have anything to be afraid of, or anything that belongs to the
enemy. How nice to be able to say with our Blessed Saviour, "The prince of
this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."
"The
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who
gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:11-14.
A
Loving Invitation
"And
take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon
you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face
of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray alway, that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:34-36.
If
I were to write all that the Lord has done for me, even as much as it lies in
my power to do so, the book would be too large for a person to read: so I have
made the account of my spiritual experience as short as possible. I am very
glad and very thankful to the Lord for making it possible for me to give this
testimony of the Lord's goodness to me. My readers will scarcely realise the
great spiritual needs of all my countrywomen and of my countrymen too. The
people of this land are steeped in sin and are sitting in a terrible darkness.
May the Father of Light send them light and life by His chosen ones. We need
witnesses for Christ and His great salvation freely offered to all men.
Dear
brother and sister, whoever may happen to read this testimony, may you realise
your responsibility to give the gospel of Jesus Christ to my people in this
land, and pray for them, that they may each and all be cleansed from their
filthiness, and from all their idols, that they may find the true way of
salvation.
My
prayer for those readers who have not yet been saved is that they may seek and
find Christ Jesus, our Blessed Redeemer, for the salvation of their souls.
"Our
citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we wait for the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ." Philippians 3:20.
"Unto
Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And hath made
us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen." Revelation 1:5-6.
Date:
March, 1907
Pandita
Ramabai Commemorative Stamp
In
appreciation of the work of Pandita Ramabai for the advancement of Indian
women, the government of India approved the issuance of a commemorative stamp of
Pandita Ramabai in 1989.
The following is taken from the official
brochure for the stamp from the Department of Post, India.
Pandita Ramabai, the
youngest daughter of Anant Shastri, was a social reformer, a champion for the
emancipation of women, a pioneer in education. Left totally alone by the time
she was 23, Ramabai acquired a great reputation as a Sanskrit scholar.
Deeply impressed by
her prowess, the Sanskrit scholars of Calcutta University
conferred on her the titles of "Sarawati" and "Pandita".
She rebelled against the caste system and married a shudra advocate, but was
widowed at 23, having a baby girl In 1882, she established the Arya Mahila
Samaj for the cause of women's education in Pune and different parts of Western India. This led to the formation of the Sharada
Sadan in 1889 - which school completes a hundred years this year - a school
which blossomed into an umbrella organization called Pandita Ramabai Mukti
Mission, 40 miles outside Pune.
In 1896, during a
sever famine Ramabai toured the villages of Maharashtra with a caravan of
bullock carts and rescued thousands of outcast children, child widows, orphans,
and other destitute women and brought them to the shelter of Mukti and Sharada
Sadan. A learned woman knowing seven languages, she also translated the Bible
into her mother tongue - Marathi - from the original Hebrew and Greek. Her work
continues today, a memorial to her life and path
Editor's Note:
How do we enter into
the relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ about which Pandita
Ramabai has told us? We need to understand that God truly loves us, and desires
that everyone come to know Him, the only true and holy God. But man is
prevented from knowing God because of sin.
The Bible says that
everyone has sinned, and that there is no one who is perfectly holy. God,
however, requires holy and sinless people. Because of man's sin and God's
holiness and love for us, Jesus Christ came to earth to die for our sins.
Romans 5:8 says that because of our sin and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on
the cross, that Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Jesus also
said,"...I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the
Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
You can receive Jesus
Christ as your Savior by faith. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
A way of expressing your faith is by praying a prayer such as the following:
"Lord Jesus, I
need you. I know that I have done wrong in your sight. Thank you for dying on
the cross for my sins. I now place my faith and trust in you as my Savior and
my Lord, and for the forgiveness of my sins. Thank you for forgiving my sins
and for giving me eternal life... make me what you want me to be. Amen."
You can pray that
prayer right now to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.
If you did pray that
prayer and want more information, ask the one who gave you this booklet, or
write:
Ramabai Mukti Mission
P.O. Box 4912
Clinton, NJ 08809
Contents of her Book
An
Honorable Heritage
An Unique Education
Famine, Death and Doubts
Introduction
to Christianity
Calcutta: Deeper Hindu Studies and
Skepticism
Marriage and Life in Bengal
Widowhood and Poona
England: Being Drawn to
Religion of Christ
Telling Others
Bombay: Founding of Mukti Mission - Home of
Salvation
Glorious New Hope
Unexpected Visit from the Governor
A Loving Invitation
Pandita Ramabai Commemorative Stamp
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