Life of Ahmad — Page 478
CONFERENCE OF RELIGIONS as 478 of the conference were fixed for December 26th, 27th and 28th, 1896. Six gentlemen were appointed to direct the proceedings. These were (1) R a ’ai Bah a dur Pratul Chandra Chatterji, Judge of the Punjab Chief Court. (2) Khan Bah a dur Shaikh Khud a Bakhsh, Judge of the Lahore Small Cause Court, (3) R a ’ai Bah a dur Pandit Radh a Kishen, Vak i l of the Chief Court and ex-Governor of Jammu, (4) Maulaw i N u r- ud-D i n ra , Physician to H. H. The Mahar a ja of Kashmir, (5) R a ’ai Bah a dur Bhav a n i Darsan, M. A. Settlement Officer, Jhelum, (6) Sardar Joahar Singh, Secretary, Kh a l s a College Committee, Lahore. Many of the most eminent exponents of the different religions sent their contributions to the conference, which necessarily excited great public interest. People attended the sittings with great eagerness. In fact, the conference had assumed the Messiah’s as claim were amazed at a demonstration of this mentality and the spiritual shallowness which it indicated. The Promised Messiah as , when sending his representatives to the conference, specially instructed Khw a ja Sahib to have a poster (which he wrote personally for this purpose on December 21st, 1896) published and distributed in Lahore to the effect that it had been revealed to him (the Promised Messiah as ) by God Almighty that his paper would, with one voice, be acclaimed as the best read in that conference. But Khw a ja Sahib’s misgivings, had obtained such a firm hold on him that he did not do so, as probably he considered that such a poster would only add to the humiliation when the paper was read. The other Companions of the Promised Messiah as , however, who, unlike the Khw a ja Sahib, were firm of faith, pressed him to publish the poster and he yielded at the very eleventh hour, the poster being affixed to walls in various places in the town at the dead of night immediately, preceding the day on which the paper was to be read. It was affixed in positions and places where it was least likely to attract attention on the morrow. One wonders if feebleness of faith could have sunk lower.