Indian Seminary Students Are Receiving Copies of The Urantia Book

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Across the Indian subcontinent, many seminary students and recent graduates are enjoying a new opportunity a chance to read and study a copy of The Urantia Book received as a gift. Urantia Foundation is working with our Indian friends and partners at the Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (ISPCK) in Delhi in order to place copies of The Urantia Book into the hands of thousands of students in every corner of India' s diverse geography from the sharp rise of the Himalayas to the humid tropics in the far south. We want to thank everyone who has helped to make this project a resounding success, and especially those generous individuals whose support has been crucial in getting it off the ground.

In late November, Foundation staff member Matthew Viglione traveled to Dellu to inspect the hand-stitched, gold embossed books printed in India for this program and to discuss ongoing plans with our colleagues at ISPCK. By then just over 2,300 books had peen given to students, and ISPCK staff estimated that another 1,500 books would be sent out by the end of the year. This means that in 2003, Urantia Foundation paid for almost 4,000 books that ISPCK distributed at no charge to those who received them. We are gratified and excited by these pioneering efforts half a world away, and we hope you will be too.

Reaching seminary students is not our only goal. Urantia Foundation believes in India and its people and would like them to have access to the revelation, just as we do. So Urantia Foundation is also distributing some of the books printed in India in normal retail channels at a subsidized price to ensure that many people are able to afford it. While in Delhi, Matthew traveled around India's sprawling capital to various bookstores that have begun carrying The Urantia Book in their standard inventory.

Seeds sown over the years are bearing fruit, and the experiment of printing and distributing Tire Urantia Book in India is already showing its value. Urantia Foundation has received many reply cards and website queries from Indian readers who say they want to learn more and interact with other readers.

Since this first printing in India was experimental and rather small, books will soon be in short supply in Delhi. Our associates there believe that the original 6,000 books designated for seminary students will be exhausted by midsummer 2004. Therefore, we need to reprint the book very soon so we can continue this gift book program.

During the past year, the remarkable actions and achievements of our Indian friends and associates have demonstrated their commitment. Now it is Urantia Foundation's turn to support their achievements by providing the tools the books they need to continue nourishing the fruit of so many years of careful sowing. In Samaria, Jesus told the apostles, “the fields are already white for the harvest” (p.1615, par.2). Perhaps if he were here now and were to say that today, he could well be speaking of India. But our work there has just begun, and we greatly need your support for the next printing of gift books for India.

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