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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
New York, USA
79 stories took place here — most often featuring 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Juliet Thompson and Howard Colby Ives.
New York (today: New York, USA)
When the landlord in New York complained about His many visitors, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not argue but moved out, showering the staff with such love that they felt ashamed and begged Him to stay.
In New York on 13 April 1912 a young single-taxer asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá what message to take to his friends. The Master laughed and told him that in the Kingdom of God there is plenty of land and no taxes.
On 13 May 1912, ill with a high fever, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá still went to speak at the New York Peace Society’s meeting at the Hotel Astor, telling Juliet Thompson that He worked by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit.
As the New York friends met to form their first Local Spiritual Assembly, a cablegram from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent them to Matthew 19:30, and they learned a lesson in humility.
Before speaking at New York’s Bowery Mission in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had two thousand-franc notes changed into quarters, and He pressed a gift of silver into the hand of each man there.
New York newspapers could not agree on how many people met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, with reports ranging from about forty to fully a thousand, and some of them added strange remarks of their own.
As the Cedric reached New York on 11 April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had telegrams sent to the believers in East and West and remarked how easily the ocean had been crossed, while messages of welcome poured in.
Worn out after seeing a hundred and forty people and speaking at the Mortens’ home in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went up to rest, but crowds followed. When Juliet Thompson asked to shut the door, He gently said to let them come.
Howard Colby Ives followed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to His room in New York. In the stillness the Master simply asked whether he was interested in renunciation, and Ives, without words, left His presence with his soul treading the heights.
On Christmas night 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to a thousand homeless men at a Salvation Army shelter in London; at New York’s Bowery Mission He spoke to the men and gave each the price of a bed.
Howard Colby Ives asked 'Abdu'l-Bahá three times what detachment meant. The Master said nothing until they reached His room, then turned and gently asked whether he was interested in detachment.
In April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to several hundred men at the Bowery Mission and placed coins in each hand. The quarters left over He gave to a chambermaid, who later came to thank Him and to ask Him to pray for her.
O thou Greatest and Most Merciful Holy Leaf!
When woman’s point of view receives due consideration and woman’s will is allowed adequate expression in the arrangement of social affairs …
In New York in June 1912, Valíyu’lláh Varqá told Juliet Thompson and Lua Getsinger how Bahá’u’lláh had taught his father, the poet Varqá, about the power of the Great Ether and the station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
In April 1912 John Bosch set out to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and, after a detour to Washington, found Him in New York. The Master told him that with him it was the heart that speaks, and welcomed him as one of the family.
In New York in 1912, John Bosch rode beside ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the way to a luncheon at the Kinneys’ home, and the Master slept on his shoulder for the whole drive.
Speaking at the Bowery Mission in New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told of a rainy night when Jesus, with no shelter, called Himself the richest man on earth because God had given Him the poor.
In 'Akká 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked May Maxwell whether she would like a child, and she answered that she chose whatever God chose. In 1910 her daughter Mary was born, and the Master urged her to raise the child as a real Bahá'í.
Boys who had shouted and thrown sticks at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's party in New York came to meet Him. He welcomed each one, called the only black boy a black rose, and gave them all chocolates.
Wary after years of disappointed hopes, Howard Colby Ives was persuaded to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at the Hotel Ansonia, where he was called into the Master's room and, in a long silence with Him, found the faith he had sought.
In April 1912 the explosives inventor Hudson Maxim argued the case for modern weapons with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at the Hotel Ansonia; the Master urged him instead to practise the science of peace and invent “guns of love.”
In New York in June 1912, before a few days' rest at Montclair, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the friends of His wish to give an outdoor feast of unity, like a Persian garden, at which all would be His guests.
On 14 April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His first public address in America at New York's Church of the Ascension. Juliet Thompson recalls how He likened material civilization to a lamp's glass and spiritual civilization to its light.
Dr. Florian Krug raged against his wife Grace’s new faith and threatened to have ‘Abdu’l-Bahá thrown out of his house. When the Master came, He asked him, ‘Dr. Krug, are you happy?’ and his opposition ended.
In late May 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had to leave His New York lodgings because of the stream of visitors, but when the staff saw His kindness as He departed, they were ashamed and begged Him to stay.
In New York a young supporter of tax reform asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá what message to take back to friends. Laughing, the Master said to invite them into the Kingdom of God, where there is plenty of land and no taxes on it.
On the morning of 30 June 1912 in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá served His companions tea with His own hand and told them that every confirmation they received came from Bahá'u'lláh.
Before leaving New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave Edward Kinney a pair of His boots. When the treasured boots vanished, Mr. Kinney examined his own conduct, prayed for forgiveness, and found them back in their drawer.
In New York in 1912, Lua Getsinger told Grace Robarts that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wished her to marry Harlan Ober, a man she scarcely knew. Grace obeyed, and the Master Himself performed their marriage.
In April 1912 John Bosch hurried from California to New York to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. When he said he had come three thousand miles to see Him, the Master laughed and answered that He had come eight thousand miles to see John.
In June 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá sat for the painter Juliet Thompson in New York. At the first sitting, in a cramped and dark entrance hall, He asked her to paint His Servitude to God.
While Juliet Thompson painted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s portrait in America, He told May Maxwell she had a kind heart, Lua Getsinger a tender heart and Juliet an emotional one, and said that united they would make a great heart.
When Helen Goodall, Ella Cooper and Harriet Wise came from California to New York in 1912, they found ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sitting on the steps of the house where He was staying, waiting for them. Days later He spoke to them of the kindness of God.
When the Cedric reached New York on 11 April 1912, reporters came aboard to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá why He had come. He told them His object was universal peace and the unity of humankind.
On December 5, 1912, Mahmúd's Diary records, a great crowd of believers from New York and other cities filled the lounge of the SS *Celtic* to bid 'Abdu'l-Bahá farewell. In His parting address He summed up the teaching of His American journey: the whole earth is one globe, and all nations one family.
On 19 April 1912, His last evening in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Earl Hall, Columbia University, on science, the power of the human spirit and the oneness of humanity. Afterwards so many came to meet Him that a planned tour of the university was given up.
Mahmúd's Diary records 'Abdu'l-Bahá serving tea to His companions with His own hand, cooking for guests, and waiting on the friends at dinner during His 1912 journey through America.
In Washington, Chicago, Kenosha, St. Paul, San Francisco and New York, Mahmúd's Diary records 'Abdu'l-Bahá meeting children during His 1912 journey: embracing and kissing them, taking them on His lap, and giving them flowers and sweets.
In April 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the Bowery Mission in New York to about four hundred poor men, telling them that Jesus Himself had been poor and that the poor are very dear to God. Then He stood at the door and gave each man a coin.
After His journey to California and back, 'Abdu'l-Bahá returned to New York in November 1912 and received crowds of friends and seekers until He sailed on the Celtic on 5 December.
While Juliet Thompson was painting 'Abdu'l-Bahá's portrait in New York on June 19, 1912, the Master suddenly appointed Lua Getsinger the Herald of the Covenant and declared that He was the Covenant appointed by Bahá'u'lláh.
Louis Gregory, an African American lawyer, and Louisa Mathew, an Englishwoman, met as pilgrims in 1911. 'Abdu'l-Bahá expressed the wish that they marry, and on 27 September 1912 they became the first interracial Bahá'í couple in America.
Howard Colby Ives, a minister who had long searched for God without finding Him, met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912. His doubts did not end that day; certainty came months later, after the Master had left America.
On 13 April 1912, three weeks after Naw-Rúz, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at a New York home about the seasons. The coming of each Manifestation of God, He said, is a divine springtime, and Bahá'u'lláh has renewed that springtime.
Howard Colby Ives recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, after listening to the executive committee of the New York Spiritual Assembly deliberate for half an hour, paused at the door and asked why they did not execute.
Driving back to His hotel through the park roads of New York in April 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foresaw America's rapid progress but voiced concern about high buildings and crowded cities.
After His visit to the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emptied the leftover quarters into a hotel chambermaid's apron, and she resolved to give every cent of it away.
Resting in Central Park after a visit to the Museum of Natural History, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told a puzzled watchman that one does not lose the material world by attaining the spiritual, just as going upstairs does not mean leaving the house.
In New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá held up the book of the Hidden Words and said that whoever does not live up to its words is not of Him.
One June day in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá slept long enough to keep His audience waiting. He told them He had awoken with one word on His lips, ‘Imtiyáz’ (Distinction), and would speak on that subject.
In New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá invited a believer to come at dawn to learn to pray. After hours kneeling in silence across from the Master, he found himself truly praying, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá told him how to pray.
Howard Colby Ives recalls a Sunday in New York in April 1912 when some twenty or thirty boys from the East Side came to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and He welcomed the only Black boy among them, before them all, as a black rose.
On December 2, 1912, three days before He sailed from America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave His last instructions to a group of friends in New York. Howard Colby Ives, sitting close to Him, later quoted the talk in full.
In April 1912 Howard Colby Ives went without an appointment to the Hotel Ansonia in New York. 'Abdu'l-Bahá beckoned him across a crowded room, sent everyone else out, and sat with him alone.
On April 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to several hundred poor and homeless men at the Bowery Mission in New York, called them His friends and comrades, and afterwards placed silver coins in each man's hand.
On June 2, 1912, speaking for the second time at the Church of the Ascension in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the church as a collective center and the Manifestations of God as the real Collective Centers of mankind.
On June 15, 1912, in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the Bahá'ís that He did not want them distinguished by wealth or worldly success, but by love, justice, steadfastness and service to humanity.
At the Church of the Divine Paternity in New York on May 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá taught that religions are many but the reality of religion is one, that religion must agree with science, and that it must bring unity.
At a reception given by the New York Peace Society at the Hotel Astor on 13 May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told some two thousand people that there is no greater glory than service in the cause of the Most Great Peace.
At the International Peace Forum in New York on May 12, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá expressed the hope that America would be first to raise the banner of peace, since a nation with no colonies to protect could not be suspected of selfish motives.
At the Krug home on Park Avenue, New York, on July 15, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá contrasted thanks spoken by the tongue with thanks felt in the heart and shown in deeds, and asked the friends to love one another.
O thou lady of the Kingdom! Thy letter sent from New York hath been received.
Juliet Thompson's diary records how, in April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had her change a thousand-franc note into quarters for the men of New York's Bowery Mission, and how He gave the coins that were left to a hotel chambermaid.
In 1919 the Star of the West reported the unveiling of nine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan at the Convention of the Covenant in New York, and printed them in the issues that followed.
In New York on 19 June 1912, as Juliet Thompson painted His portrait, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá appointed Lua Getsinger the Herald of the Covenant and declared Himself the Covenant appointed by Bahá’u’lláh.
O ye beloved friends of Abdul-Baha! The detailed letter which you have written was received and it was read with the greatest attention.
O ye sons of the Kingdom! At a time when conditions were most difficult and oppressive and the reception of letters hard and impracticable, your letter was received.
On a drive meant to show Him New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid His head on John Bosch's shoulder and slept for nearly half an hour, waking just as the car stopped at the Kinneys' home.
Boys who had followed the Master's party noisily on the way to the Bowery Mission came to see Him; He welcomed each one, called a dark-skinned boy a black rose, and shared chocolates.
After Juliet Thompson lost her temper with her mother and stormed out, 'Abdu'l-Bahá greeted her by asking whether her mother was happy, and sent her straight home to her.
Learning that Juliet Thompson's mother was grieving, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent for her in the midst of a thunderstorm. Though exhausted, He welcomed and comforted her, and the next day she said all her bitterness had gone.
At the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke on the station of poverty, then stood by the door and gave coins to each of some four hundred men, with money left over for others.
At the Bowery Mission in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed some four hundred of the city’s poorest men, shook every hand and placed coins in each palm; back at His hotel a moved chambermaid resolved to give as He had given.
Grace Robarts begged to serve in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s household in New York. For days He ignored her as she worked from five in the morning until long after midnight; when she grasped the spirit of true service, He welcomed her.
To Mrs Smith, a new Bahá'í from a distinguished Philadelphia family who was suffering with a headache, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained that happiness keeps our health while depression of spirit begets diseases.
In New York, two women wept when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Margaret He prayed for her late parents. With hands outstretched to calm them, He exclaimed in English, “Laugh! Laugh!”
On Riverside Drive in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met a poor man whose trousers were in rags, took him behind some shrubbery and gave him His own, then came back laughing with His aba wrapped around Him.