Thursday, April 19, 2012


100 Years Ago: April 19, 1912 — 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke in Earl Hall at Columbia University at 5:00 P.M.

April 19, 1912, New York City: ’Abdu’l-Bahá spoke in Earl Hall at Columbia University, at 5:00 p.m.  It was his last day in New York before leaving for Washington and Chicago.  He told His audience "It is our duty to put forth our greatest efforts ad summon all our energies in order that the bonds of unity and accord may be established among mankind."
p. 36 - 239 Days, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, by Allan L. Ward, ©1979,  National Spiritual  Assembly of the  Bahá’ís of the United States

April 20, 1912. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left New York City early for Washington DCa five-hour railroad trip. 
p. 38 239 Days, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, by Allan L Ward, ©1979
 
That evening He spoke at a public library to some 400 people and at five reporters.

Agnes Parsons in Washington, had received a telegram from the Master saying that He and His translator would come and stay at the house of the Parson’s, Agnes Parson and her husband, Jeffrey. Other members of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s entourage lived in a rented house in the city during this time. 

                                       Background concerning the Bahá'í community in Washington, D.C. 

NOTE:
it ... was home to the most diverse Bahá’í community in North America: it had within its fold a large group of African-Americans, and virtually all social classes—from the working poor to the social elite were represented in it.  As part of the American South, Washington, D.C. was also a city in which racial segregation was a fact of life, and it was on the issue of racial equality that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was most uncompromising during his visit to America. On one occasion which is mentioned briefly in this diary (Agnes Parsons’ Diary) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shocked some of the white socialites present by insisting that Louis Gregory, an African-American Bahá’í and lawyer, be seated next to him at a society luncheon. In such a milieu, the Bahá’ís found it challenging to comply with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s instruction that they should hold racially integrated meetings.  Even locating a public site for a community dinner honoring ‘Abdu’l-Bahá proved difficult, since no hotels in the city would allow an integrated meeting.
  (Agnes Parson’s Diary, ©1996, Kalimát Press, Footnote #15)                                        
 
NOTE: There is scarcely a mention of any of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s talks at the homes of Andrew Dyer and Joseph Hannen,  both of which were sites of racially integrated meetings for the Washington, D. C. Bahá’í community, (Book Footnote #18) or at African -American venues, such as the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, presumably because Mrs. Parsons did not attend most of these events. Such activities were not part of the social world in which she lived. It is remarkable, then, that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá chose Agnes Parsons to spearhead the Racial Amity campaign initiated by the Bahá’í community and just as remarkable that she transcended her social milieu in order to carry out this mandate. 
                                                            #6, p. xvi
 
NOTE: Agnes Parsons’ careful documentation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s meetings with prominent figures of the day alone ensures the importance of her diary’s account as a source for the study of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s American travels, the reconstruction of the full details of which will challenge those future historians of the Bahá’í Faith to whom Shoghi Effendi assigns the important task of examining the processes which led to the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith in the New World. (Book Footnote #52).
                                                            #6, p. xviii.
 
Abdul Baha has His meals  as follows:
            7 A.M. Tea and bread
            1:30 P.M. Dines with the family
            4 P.M. Tea
            7:30 P.M. Sits with the family at dinner but partakes of no food Himself
            10: P.M. Simple meal
                                                            #6, p. 13
NOTE: See Juanita Storch diary (partial)  in World Order, Vol. 25, no 1, Fall 1993, pp. 25-42.

Saturday, April 14, 2012


14 April, 1912, New York City, Sunday morning

On His first Sunday in America ‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes His first public talks. 

In the morning He spoke at the Church of the Ascension (located at Fifth Avenue and 10th Street) at the invitation of Dr. Percy Grant, the rector and long time friend of Juliet Thompson. (Dr. Grant, the minister, had, just a few months before, warned his congregation about the 'Bahá'í sect!)   239 Days, p. 21
Following Dr. Grant’s introduction ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “Dr. Grant has just read from the thirteenth Chapter of Corinthians that the day would come when you would see face to face.”

Following this statement He swerved to another subject.

 “I have come hither,” He said, “to find that material civilization has progressed greatly, but the spiritual civilization has been left behind. The material civilization is likened unto the glass of a lamp chimney. the spiritual civilization is like the light in that chimney. The material civilization should go hand-in-hand with the spiritual civilization. Material civilization be likened unto a beautiful body, while spiritual civilization  is the spirit that enters the body and gives to it life. With the propelling power of spiritual civilization the result will be greater.”   He continued on . . . . 
(The Diary of Juliet Thompson ; by Juliet  Thompson. ©1983 by Kalimát Press. First edition.  Published from the 1947 typescript prepared and annotated by Juliet    Thompson. (Juliet  Thompson’s house located at 48 West Tenth Street–in 239 Days?)  p. 245.

*He spoke to a congregation of two thousand. . . .[ On the following day, Monday, the New York Herald reported
 “ ‘Abdul Bahå in Episcopal Pulpit’ Leader of Oriental  Cult Causes Stir by Preaching in Church of the Ascension”]
           239 Days, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America, by Allan L. Ward, ©1979,  National Spiritual  Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, p, 22-23. 

 Sunday eveningApril 14,  ‘Abdu’l Bahá  gave His second public talk of the day when He spoke at the 
Carnegie Lyceum for the Union Meeting of Advanced Thought Centers.(See Promulgation of Universal Peace,
 2nd ed. pp. 14-16.



The Titanic's Forgotten "Survivor".
- The Huffington Post

« Le “Survivant” oublié du Titanic »
- The Huffington Post

Ainsi que nous avons été rappelés, à d'innombrables reprises, au cours des dernières semaines, il y a cent ans, "l'insubmersible" Titanic a coulé dans l'Atlantique Nord, engloutissant avec lui plus de 1500 vies. Cette tragédie est devenue pour certains un conte épique.
De toutes les histoires, l'une des plus extraordinaires, est celle d'un Persan âgé de 68 ans, qui n'était pas sur ce malheureux navire, sur lequel il était censé être.
Abbas Effendi – connu sous le nom de 'Abdu’l-Bahá, c’est-à-dire “le Serviteur de Dieu" – a été présenté par la presse, en Europe et aux États-Unis, en tant que philosophe, Apôtre de la Paix, et même le Retour du Christ. Ses admirateurs américains lui avaient envoyé des milliers de dollars afin qu’il achète un billet pour le Paquebot “le Titanic“, en le priant de monter sur ce navire de luxe.  Il a refusé et a donné l'argent à la charité.

« On m'a demandé de naviguer sur le Titanic," at-il dit plus tard, "mais mon cœur ne m'a pas suggéré de le faire. »
Au lieu de cela, 'Abdu’l-Bahá a navigué vers New York sur le modeste “SS Cedric”. Les grands journaux de New York ont écrit des articles sur son arrivée le 11 avril et sur ses 8 mois de voyage [sur le continent nord-américain], d’un océan à l’autre. Cet étranger, en turban, portant des vêtements orientaux, faisait la “une“ de la presse.
Le New York Times a rapporté que sa mission était de «faire tomber les préjugés ..., préjugés de nationalité, de race, de religion". L'article le cite également, directement : "Le temps est venu pour l'Humanité de relever le niveau de l'unité du Genre humain, de sorte que les formules dogmatiques et les superstitions prennent fin".
La presse l’a souvent appelé “Prophète”, en particulier le " Prophète persan". Un journal avait titré son article, à la suite de son discours à l'Université de Stanford : « Le Prophète dit qu'il n'est pas un prophète !".
‘Abdu’l-Bahá était, en réalité, le Chef de la Foi Bahá'ie, [religion] qui venait de naître, mais il a constamment nié être un Prophète.

Il a prêché la foi fondée par son père, Bahá’u’lláh, dans le milieu des années 1800, dont le but est l'unité de toutes les religions. A l'époque il n'y avait que quelques centaines de Bahá'is aux États-Unis ; aujourd'hui, il y en a 150.000.
Jour après jour, mois après mois, des foules à travers l'Amérique (souvent des milliers) accouraient pour l'entendre parler. Dans les synagogues, il fait l'éloge du Christ. Dans les églises, il vantait les enseignements de Mohammad. Et tout au long de ses voyages, sa compagnie a été recherchée par des personnalités telles que : Andrew CARNEGIE, Alexander Graham BELL et Khalil GIBRAN.
Justement, comment faisait ‘Abdu’l-Bahá pour attirer un si grand nombre de personnes – ce personnage inconnu venu de l’Orient, qui avait passé 40 années en prison du fait de sa religion, qui n'avait jamais fréquenté une école et n’avait jamais été en contact avec la culture occidentale ?


Je soupçonne que cela a quelque chose à avoir, non seulement avec ce qu'il disait, mais aussi avec ce qu'il faisait. "Il est le seul homme dans le monde qui, à sa table, a rassemblé Persans, Zoroastriens, Juifs, Chrétiens et Musulmans", a écrit Kate Carew (Liz Smith, à son époque) du New York Tribune. Plus tard dans la pièce (…), elle décrit la visite de 'Abdu’l-Bahá à la Mission de Bowery, dans le Lower East Side, où ['Abdu'l-Bahá] a personnellement remis des pièces d'argent à 400 hommes sans-abri.
Tout au long de sa visite aux États-Unis, il balaya le protocole social de la ségrégation en insistant pour que, partout où il parlait, la salle soit ouverte aux personnes de toutes races. Ce qui, à l'époque, ne plaisait pas à tout le monde. A l'Hôtel Great Northern, sur la 57ème Rue (aujourd'hui le Méridien Parker), le directeur de l’hôtel avait refusé, avec véhémence, de permettre aux Noirs d’y entrer.

"Si les gens voient qu'une seule personne de couleur est entrée dans mon établissement, aucune personne respectable n’y mettra jamais les pieds", avait-il dit.
C’est ainsi que ‘Abdu’l-Bahá organisa une fête multi-raciale dans la maison d'un de ses disciples, avec des Blancs qui servaient les Noirs : ce qui était un acte révolutionnaire, voire dangereux, pour l’esprit du temps.
Seulement c’est chez les humains que la couleur de la peau est une cause de discorde, a fait remarquer 'Abdu'l-Bahá. « Les animaux, en dépit du fait qu'ils n'ont ni raison, ni entendement, ne font pas de la couleur la cause de conflits. Pourquoi alors, l'Homme, qui possède la raison, devrait-il créer des conflits ? »

Les discours de ‘Abdu’l-Bahá agissaient sur le public avec une simplicité radicale. Il avança des idées sur lesquelles les Américains débattent encore un siècle plus tard, telles que : La nécessité d’une réelle harmonie raciale, l'égalité des sexes, l'élimination de l'extrême richesse et de l’extrême pauvreté ; les dangers du nationalisme et du fanatisme religieux. Il insistait sur l’importance de la recherche indépendante [et personnelle] de la Vérité. Toutes ces idées étant encore à l’ordre du jour en 2012 !

Sa mission était d’apporter l'Unité, principe qu’il avait propagé dans toute notre nation il y a cent ans. [Son message] devrait être célébré aux côtés des messages de Gandhi, du Dalaï Lama et de Martin Luther King Jr.
Dans sa toute première allocution publique aux États-Unis – à l'église Church of Ascension de New York sur la Cinquième Avenue et 10th Street – 'Abdu'l-Bahá a salué le progrès matériel de l'Amérique dans le domaine des arts, de l'agriculture et du commerce, mais avec une mise en garde sur la nécessité de développer, aussi, notre potentialité spirituelle.
« Pour l'Homme, deux ailes sont nécessaires [afin de pouvoir voler] : Une aile est le pouvoir physique et la civilisation matérielle. L'autre est le pouvoir spirituel et celui de la civilisation divine. Avec une seule aile, le vol est impossible ! »
Il fit ce discours le 14 Avril 1912. Plus tard, dans ce même jour, le Titanic heurta l'iceberg.

Traduction de ROCHAN MAVADDAT
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Titanic's Forgotten "Survivor"

- The Huffington Post


Rainn Wilson

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Actor
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Http://i.huffpost.com/gen/566468/thumbs/sabdullarge300.jpg
As we've been reminded innumerable times over the past few weeks, one hundred years ago the "unsinkable" Titanic sank into the North Atlantic, taking with her more than 1,500 lives. The tragedy has made for some epic storytelling.
Of all the stories, one of the most extraordinary is that of a 68-year-old Persian who wasn't, it turns out, actually on the ill-fated vessel, but was supposed to be.
Abbas Effendi -- known as Abdu'l-Baha or "the Servant of God" -- was feted by the press in both Europe and the U.S. as a philosopher, a peace apostle, even the return of Christ. His American admirers had sent him thousands of dollars for a ticket on the Titanic, and begged him to ride in the greatest of opulence. He declined and gave the money to charity.
2012-04-12-titanic.jpg
"I was asked to sail upon the Titanic," he later said, "but my heart did not prompt me to do so."
Instead, Abdu'l-Baha sailed to New York on the more modest SS Cedric. Every major newspaper in New York covered his arrival on April 11 and his eight-month coast-to-coast tour that followed. This turbaned foreigner in "oriental robes" was front-page news.
The New York Times reported that his mission was "to do away with prejudices... prejudice of nationality, of race, of religion." The article also quotes him directly: "The time has come for humanity to hoist the standard of the oneness of the human world, so that dogmatic formulas and superstitions may end."
The press often called him a prophet, especially a "Persian Prophet" (ah, alliteration!). One headline, following his talk at Stanford University, read: "Prophet Says He Is Not A Prophet." Abdu'l-Baha was in fact the leader of the then nascent Baha'i Faith, though he consistently denied the whole prophet thing.
He preached the faith founded by his father, Baha'u'llah, in the mid-1800s, rooted in the unity of all religions. At the time there were only a few hundred Bahai's in the U.S.; today there are 150,000. Day after day, month after month, crowds across America (often in the thousands) flocked to hear him talk. In synagogues he praised Christ. In churches he extolled the teachings of Mohammed. And throughout his travels his company was sought by luminaries like Andrew Carnegie, Alexander Graham Bell and Kahlil Gibran.
2012-04-12-abdul2.jpg
Abdu'l-Baha (right) with his brother Mirza Mihdi / Wikimedia Commons

Just how did Abdu'l-Baha come to inspire so many -- this obscure figure from the east who had spent 40-something years imprisoned for his religion, who had never attended school or been exposed to western culture?
I suspect it has something do with not just what he said, but what he did. "He is the only man in the world who at his dinner table has gathered Persian, Zorastan, Jew, Christian, Mahometan," [sic] wrote the New York Tribune's Kate Carew (the Liz Smith of her era). Later in the piece, sans her trademark levity, she describes Abdu'l-Baha's visit to the Bowery Mission on the Lower East Side -- where he personally handed out silver coins to 400 homeless men.
Throughout his U.S. visit he swept aside the social protocol of segregation by insisting that everywhere he spoke be open to people of all races. Not the biggest crowd pleaser at the time. At the Great Northern Hotel on 57th Street (now the Parker Meridien), the manager vehemently refused to allow any blacks on the property.
"If the people see that one colored person has entered my hotel, no respectable person will ever set foot in it," he said. So Abdu'l-Baha instead organized a multi-racial feast at the home of one of his followers, with many whites serving blacks -- a subversive, even dangerous notion at the time.
2012-04-12-abdul.jpg
Only among humans was skin color a cause of discord, Abdu'l-Baha once remarked. "Animals, despite the fact that they lack reason and understanding, do not make colors the cause of conflict. Why should man, who has reason, create conflict?"
Abdu'l-Baha's talks pierced audiences with a radical simplicity. And yet he advanced ideas that Americans still wrestle with a century later: the need for true racial harmony and gender equality; the elimination of extreme wealth and poverty; the dangers of nationalism and religious bigotry; and an insistence upon the independent search for truth. Any of those ring a bell in 2012?
His mission of unity, spread throughout our nation one hundred years ago, should be celebrated alongside the messages of Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr.
In his very first public address in the U.S. -- at New York's Church of Ascension on Fifth Avenue and 10th Street -- Abdu'l-Baha hailed America's material progress in the arts, agriculture and commerce, but with a caution to also develop our spiritual potentialities.
"For man two wings are necessary. One wing is physical power and material civilization; the other is spiritual power and divine civilization. With one wing only, flight is impossible."
He gave the talk on April 14, 1912. Later that same day the Titanic struck the iceberg.
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Friday, April 13, 2012


Porta

Without an Interpreter

ls to Freedom
April 13, 1912
Hotel Ansonia
2109 Broadway
New YorkNY
One day I was walking with Mountfort near his home on West End Ave. It was in February and the winter winds were chill. We walked briskly talking of the ever enthralling subject, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s approaching visit; what He looked like; what effect His meeting had on souls; stories of contacts with Him in ‘Akka and Paris. Impulsively I said:
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrives I would like very much to have a talk with Him alone, without even an interpreter.”
He smiled sympathetically but remarked:
I fear you couldn’t get very far without an interpreter, for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks little English and you, I imagine, less Persian.”
I would not be dissuaded. “If He at all approaches in spiritual discernment what I hear and read of Him,” I said, “we would get closer together, and I might have a better chance of understanding, even if no words were spoken. I am very tired of words,” I concluded rather lamely.
This was about six weeks before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá came, two months perhaps. We never referred to the subject again nor did Mountfort speak of my wish to anyone, as he afterwards assured me.

He beckoned me. Startled gives no hint of my sensations. Something incredible had happened. Why to me, a stranger unknown, unheard of, should He raise that friendly hand?

Finally the day arrived. I did not go to the steamship wharf to meet Him but I did make an effort to get at least a glimpse of Him at a gathering specially arranged for Him at the home of Bahá’í friends … within my soul was an urge, a longing, that would not be stilled nor thwarted. What was it that these people around me had which gave to their eyes such illumination, to their hearts such gladness? What connotation did the word “wonderful” have to them that so often it was upon their lips? I did not know, but I wanted to know as I think I had never known the want of anything before.
The measure of that desire and the determination to discover may be indicated in that the very next morning, early, I was at the Hotel Ansonia where the friends had reserved rooms for Him—a beautiful suite which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used only a few days, removing to a simple apartment, and refusing with kindly dignity the urgent offer of the friends to meet any expense. He said that it was not the part of wisdom.
So before nine o’clock in the morning I was there, which meant, since I lived some distance from New York, an early start indeed. Already the large reception room was well filled. Evidently others also were conscious of a similar urge. I wondered if they too felt, as I, a burning in the breast.
I remember as if it were yesterday the scene and my impressions. I did not want to talk to anyone. In fact I would not. I withdrew to the window overlooking Broadway and turned my back upon them all. Below me stretched the great city but I saw it not. What was it all about? Why was I here? What did I expect from the coming interview: indeed how did I know there was to be any interview at all? I had no appointment. Plainly all these other folk had come expecting to see and talk with Him. Why should I expect any attention from such an evident personage?

He took me under the elbows and lifted me to my feet and swept me into his arms. Such a hug! No mere embrace! My very ribs cracked.

So I was somewhat withdrawn from the others when my attention was attracted by a rustling throughout the room. A door was opening far across from me and a group was emerging and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá appeared saying farewell. None had any eyes save for Him. Again I had the impression of a unique dignity and courtesy and love. The morning sunlight flooded the room to center on His robe. His fez was slightly tilted and as I gazed. His hand, with a gesture evidently characteristic, raised and, touching, restored it to its proper place. His eyes met mine as my fascinated glance was on Him. He smiled and, with a gesture which no word but “lordly” can describe. He beckoned me. Startled gives no hint of my sensations. Something incredible had happened. Why to me, a stranger unknown, unheard of, should He raise that friendly hand? I glanced around. Surely it was to someone else that gesture was addressed, those eyes were smiling! But there was no one near and again I looked and again He beckoned and such understanding love enveloped me that even at that distance and with a heart still cold a thrill ran through me as if a breeze from a divine morning had touched my brow!
Slowly I obeyed that imperative command and, as I approached the door where still He stood, He motioned others away and stretched His hand to me as if He had always known me. And, as our right hands met, with His left He indicated that all should leave the room, and He drew me in and closed the door. I remember how surprised the interpreter looked when he too was included in this general dismissal. But I had little thought then for anything but this incredible happening. I was absolutely alone with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The halting desire expressed weeks ago was fulfilled the very moment that our eyes first met.
Still holding my hand ‘Abdu’l-Bahá walked across the room towards where, in the window, two chairs were waiting. Even then the majesty of His tread impressed me and I felt like a child led by His father, a more than earthly father, to a comforting conference. His hand still held mine and frequently His grasp tightened and held more closely. And then, for the first time. He spoke, and in my own tongue: Softly came the assurance that I was His very dear son.
What there was in these simple words that carried such conviction to my heart I cannot say. Or was it the tone of voice and the atmosphere pervading the room, filled with spiritual vibrations beyond anything I had ever known, that melted my heart almost to tears? I only know that a sense of verity invaded me. Here at last was my Father. What earthly paternal relationship could equal this? A new and exquisite emotion all but mastered me. My throat swelled. My eyes filled. I could not have spoken had life depended on a word. I followed those masterly feet like a little child.
Then we sat in the two chairs by the window: knee to knee, eye to eye. At last He looked right into me. It was the first time since our eyes had met with His first beckoning gesture that this had happened. And now nothing intervened between us and He looked at me. He looked at me! It seemed as though never before had anyone really seen me. I felt a sense of gladness that I at last was at home, and that one who knew me utterly, my Father, in truth, was alone with me.
As He looked such play of thought found reflection in His face, that if He had talked an hour not nearly so much could have been said. A little surprise, perhaps, followed swiftly by such sympathy, such understanding, such overwhelming love—it was as if His very being opened to receive me. With that the heart within me melted and the tears flowed. I did not weep, in any ordinary sense. There was no breaking up of feature. It was as if a long-pent stream was at last undammed. Unheeded, as I looked at Him, they flowed.
He put His two thumbs to my eyes while He wiped the tears from my face; admonishing me not to cry, that one must always be happy. And He laughed. Such a ringing, boyish laugh. It was as though He had discovered the most delightful joke imaginable: a divine joke which only He could appreciate.
I could not speak. We both sat perfectly silent for what seemed a long while, and gradually a great peace came to me. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá placed His hand upon my breast saying that it was the heart that speaks. Again silence: a long, heart-enthralling silence. No word further was spoken, and all the time I was with Him not one single sound came from me. But no word was necessary from me to Him. I knew that, even then, and how I thanked God it was so.
Suddenly He leaped from His chair with another laugh as though consumed with a heavenly joy. Turning, He took me under the elbows and lifted me to my feet and swept me into his arms. Such a hug! No mere embrace! My very ribs cracked. He kissed me on both cheeks, laid His arm across my shoulders and led me to the door.
That is all. But life has never been quite the same since.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

http://239days.tumblr.com/.


A Social Media Documentary following 'Abdu’l-Bahá’s 1912 journey across North America, exactly 100 years after the events took place. 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

#84 - 100 Years Ago, 29 March,1912:  Áqá Shoghi Effendi and Mírzá Munír required to leave the ship at Naples Áqá Mírzá Muhamúd recorded in his diary the following regarding the situation when the ship stopped at Naples and official doctors determined that the eyes of Aqa Shoghi Effendi and Mirzá Munir  were infected and that they would have to return to Egypt:
29 March, 1912When the ship stopped at Naples, Mahmúd wrote, on March 29 [1912]:
                “Some of the American friends, who were waiting for the steamer, came to see the Beloved.  Mr. & Mrs. Woodcock of Canada, Mr. & Mrs. Austin of Denver and Miss Mathew of London accompanied Him to New York. The talk of the day was that a party of doctors was to board the steamer at Naples to examine the eyes of the passengers. The doctor on ship board had already given his opinion about the  [infection?] in Áqá Khosrow’s eyes. When these doctors came and examined the eyes of the passengers, they declared the eyes of Áqá Shoghi Effendi and Mírzá Munír were also affected and that they should return. The doctors persisted that even if they went to New York, they should have to return. The Beloved, therefore, ordered them to obey.
       The Beloved bestowed utmost favors,  kindness and blessings on the three and bade them farewell. They left the steamer deeply affected and in great dejection . . . . The Beloved said, “There is a wisdom in this matter which will become known later.” The day was spent when the steamer left Naples direct for New York.
            Henceforth there were with the Beloved three Persians—Áqá Siyyid Assadu’láh, Dr. Faríd and this servant ( Áqá Mírzá Muhamúd) and six western friends—Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock, Miss Woodcock, Mr. and Mrs. Austin and Miss Mathew, who with great joy and happiness, enjoyed the Blessed Presence. p. 10. #8
                Mírzá Mahmúd-i-Zarqání’s Diary, in 239 Days.

Friday, January 27, 2012

100 Years Ago  — Abdu'l Bahá prepares to leave England and France 

                                                                                                                A Loving Farewell Greeting

                                                                                                                                                November 1921
After leaving London and during his two months stay in Paris, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá frequently sent back messages to his English friends, some of whom journeyed over to take advantage of the conferences there. On the eve of his departure for Alexandria, he gave the following admonitory farewell to the people of England and France.
“Work,” he said unceasingly, “for the day of Universal Peace. Strive always that you may be united. Kindness and love in the path of service must be your means.
“I bid a loving farewell to the people of France and England. I am very much pleased with them. I counsel them that they may day by day strengthen the bond of love and amity to this end,—that they may become the sympathetic embodiment of one nation.—That they may extend themselves to a Universal Brotherhood to guard and protect the interests and rights of all the nations of the East,—that they may unfurl the Divine Banner of justice,—that they may treat each nation as a family composed of the individual children of God and may know that before the sight of God the rights of all are equal. For all of us are the children of one Father. God is at peace with all his children; why should they engage in strife and warfare among themselves? God is showering down kindness; why should the inhabitants of this world exchange unkindness and cruelty?”
“I will pray for you that you may be illumined with the Light of the Eternal.”
·         [Author:

·         ‘Abdu’l-Bahá


·         Source:

·         UK Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1972 eleventh edition reprint

·         Pages:
 184

Monday, January 23, 2012

THE LAST MEETING

 100 Years Ago        Continuing Part 2 of Paris Talks
THE LAST MEETING  
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, 
December 1
1911
When I arrived in Paris some time ago for the first time, I looked around me with much interest, and in my mind I likened this beautiful city to a large garden.
With loving care and much thought I examined the soil, and found it to be very good and full of possibility for steadfast faith and firm belief, for a seed of God’s love has been cast into the ground.
Clouds of Heavenly Mercy showered their rain upon it, and the Sun of Truth fell warmly upon the young seeds, and today one can see in your midst the birth of belief. The seed cast into the ground has begun to spring up, and day by day you will see it grow. The bounties of the Kingdom of Bahá’u’lláh shall indeed bring forth a wondrous harvest!
Behold! I bring you glad and joyful tidings! Paris will become a garden of roses! All kinds of beautiful flowers will spring up and flourish in this garden, and the fame of their fragrance and beauty will be spread in all lands. When I think of Paris in the future, I seem to see her bathed in the light of the Holy Spirit! Verily, the day is dawning when Paris will receive her illumination, and the Goodness and Mercy of God will be visible to every living creature.
Do not allow your minds to dwell on the present, but with eyes of faith look into the future, for in truth the Spirit of God is working in your midst.
Since my arrival a few weeks ago, I can see the growth of spirituality. At the beginning only a few souls came to me for Light, but during my short sojourn among you the numbers have increased and doubled. This is a promise for the future!
When Christ was crucified and left this world, He had only eleven disciples and a very few followers; but as He served the Cause of truth, look today at the result of His life’s work! He has illumined the world, and given life to dead humanity. After His ascension little by little His Cause grew, the souls of His followers became more and more luminous, and the exquisite perfume of their saintly lives spread on all sides.
Now today, thank God, a similar condition has begun in Paris. There are many souls who have turned to  the Kingdom of God, and who are attracted to unity, love and truth.
Try so to work that the goodness and mercy of Abhá may enfold the whole of Paris. The Breath of the Holy Spirit will help you, the Celestial Light of the Kingdom will shine in your hearts, and the blessed angels of God from Heaven will bring you strength and will succour you. Then thank God with all your hearts that you have attained to this supreme benefit. A great part of the world is plunged in sleep, but you have been awakened. Many are blind, but you see!
The call of the Kingdom is heard in your midst. Glory be to God, you have been born again, you have been baptized by the fire of the Love of God; you have been plunged in the Sea of Life and regenerated by the Spirit of Love!
Having received such favour be thankful unto God, and never doubt His Goodness and Loving Kindness but have undying faith in the Bounties of the Kingdom. Consort together in brotherly love, be ready to lay down your lives one for the other, and not only for those who are dear to you, but for all humanity. Look upon the whole human race as members of one family, all children of God; and, in so doing, you will see no difference between them.
Humanity may be likened to a tree. This tree has branches, leaves, buds and fruit. Think of all men as being flowers, leaves or buds of this tree, and try to help each and all to realize and enjoy God’s blessings. God neglects none: He loves all.
The only real difference that exists between people is that they are at various stages of development. Some are imperfect—these must be brought to perfection. Some are asleep—they must be awakened; some are negligent—they must be roused; but one and all are the children of God. Love them all with your whole heart; no one is a stranger to the other, all are friends. Tonight I come to say farewell to you—but bear this in your minds, that although our bodies may be far apart, in spirit we shall always be together.
I bear you one and all in my heart, and will forget none of you—and I hope that none of you will forget me.
I in the East, and you in the West, let us try with heart and soul that unity may dwell in the world, that all the peoples may become one people, and that the whole surface of the earth may be like one country—for the Sun of Truth shines on all alike.
All the Prophets of God came for love of this one great aim.
Look how Abraham strove to bring faith and love among the people; how Moses tried to unite the people by sound laws; how the Lord Christ suffered unto death to bring the light of love and truth into a darkened world; how Muammad sought to bring unity and peace between the various uncivilized tribes among whom he dwelt. And last of all, Bahá’u’lláh has suffered forty years for the same cause—the single noble purpose of spreading love among the children of men—and for the peace and unity of the world the Báb gave up his life.
Thus, strive to follow the example of these Divine Beings, drink from Their fountain, be illumined by Their Light, and to the world be as symbols of the Mercy and Love of God. Be unto the world as rain and clouds of mercy, as suns of truth; be a celestial army, and you shall indeed conquer the city of hearts.
Be thankful unto God that Bahá’u’lláh has given us a firm and solid foundation. He left no place for sadness in hearts, and the writings of His sacred pen contain consolation for the whole world. He had the words of truth, and anything that is contrary to His teaching is false. The chief aim of all His work was to do away with division.
The testament of Bahá’u’lláh is a Rain of Goodness, a Sun of Truth, Water of Life, the Holy Spirit. Thus open your hearts to receive the full power of His Beauty, and I will pray for you all that this joy may be yours.
Now I say ‘Good-bye’.
This I say only to your outer selves; I do not say it to your souls, for our souls are always together.
Be comforted, and rest assured that day and night I shall turn to the Kingdom of Abhá in supplication for you, that day by day you may grow better and holier, nearer to God, and more and more illumined by the radiance of His Love.

[Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Ninth Edition, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles, Ninth British Edition, 1951, pp 168-172]