Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
By Howard Colby Ives · 1937 · George Ronald
Formative Age (1921–1957) · in copyright
Howard Colby Ives' memoir of his encounters with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1912. Use brief paraphrases only.
About Howard Colby Ives
American Unitarian minister who became a Bahá'í after extended encounters with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York during the Master's 1912 tour. *Portals to Freedom* is his memoir of those meetings.
1867–1941
Featured figures
“Are you interested in renunciation?”
“Are You Interested in Renunciation?”
“different colored flowers in the Garden of God.”
From A Black Rose
“The Bowery Boys and the Black Rose”
From A Black Rose
“Dost thou desire to serve God, serve thy fellow man for in him dost thou see the image and likeness of God.”
The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation
Cited in Authoritative HistoryNabíl-i-A'ẓam · 1932
God Passes By
Cited in Authoritative HistoryShoghi Effendi · 1944
The Chosen Highway
Secondary RetellingLady Blomfield · 1940
The Diary of Juliet Thompson
Secondary RetellingJuliet Thompson · 1947
World Order
Secondary RetellingWorld Order Editors · 1935
The Promised Day Is Come
Cited in Authoritative HistoryShoghi Effendi · 1941
Howard Colby Ives went to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá what renunciation means. The Master talked about something else on the walk back, and then asked Howard a question of His own.
A crowd of boys came to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York. The only Black boy among them was afraid he would not be welcome, but 'Abdu'l-Bahá greeted him, loud enough for all to hear, as a black rose.
'Abdu'l-Bahá asked Lua Getsinger to take food to a sick, poor man and care for him. She ran from the dirty house, and He sent her back, telling her He had done it for the man many times.
Howard Colby Ives invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá to speak at the church he had named the Brotherhood Church. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke on brotherhood, Howard felt ashamed of how little he had lived the word.
A few days before 'Abdu'l-Bahá sailed from America, Howard Colby Ives sat close to Him as He gave His last instructions to His friends, and later put all of the words into his book.
Howard Colby Ives wished he could meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá alone, without even an interpreter. At a crowded New York hotel, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called him over, sent everyone out, and sat with him in silence.
Saying goodbye to 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the ship that took Him from America, Howard Colby Ives knelt and placed the Master's hand on his head. He never forgot how still that hand lay.
After a long, tiring day, 'Abdu'l-Bahá came home so weak that His friends had to help Him inside. Fifteen minutes later His strong voice rang through the house again.
'Abdu'l-Bahá listened while a committee in New York talked things over. Then He stopped at the door and asked them one question.
A boy of about thirteen, the only Black boy in a group visiting 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York, was afraid he might not be welcome. 'Abdu'l-Bahá called him "a black rose" in front of everyone.
On a long trolley ride, Howard Colby Ives noticed the young woman beside him looking at his book, so he moved it over to share. By the end of the ride she wanted to know who had written it.
Early one morning a lady looked out of her window and saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá give a poor old man the trousers He was wearing.
In 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá united two American Bahá'ís in marriage. At the wedding, before guests from many countries, He chanted a prayer for them.
Howard Colby Ives, an unhappy minister, met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912. Months of study and turmoil followed, and when his Brotherhood Church had to close, 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to him that it had happened to free him to call people to the Kingdom.
Howard Colby Ives made a special journey to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá about renunciation. On the walk back the Master spoke only of horizons; then, in His room, He asked Ives whether he was interested in renunciation.
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 pilgrimage in 'Akká, Lua Getsinger was sent by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to care for a sick, poor friend of His, and fled from the filthy house. He sent her back, telling her He had done this for the man many times.
On May 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke on brotherhood at the Brotherhood Church in Jersey City, where Howard Colby Ives was the unpaid minister. Ives, who had named the church, felt ashamed of how little he had lived the word.
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.
A group of boys from New York's East Side came to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The only Black boy among them feared he might not be welcome, and the Master greeted him before them all as "a black rose."
On a trolley to Newark, Howard Colby Ives shared his copy of Some Answered Questions with the young woman beside him. At the end of the ride she asked who the author was, and the next Sunday she came to hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
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 17 July 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá united Harlan Ober and Grace Robarts in marriage. At the evening ceremony, performed by Howard Colby Ives before guests from many lands, the Master chanted a prayer for the couple.
At the farewell aboard the S.S. Celtic in December 1912, Howard Colby Ives knelt and placed 'Abdu'l-Bahá's hand on his head. The hand lay still, and Ives remembered it ever after as a sign of the Master's humility.
After an exhausting day of speaking, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had to be almost carried into the house. Within fifteen minutes He was calling for His secretary with more than His usual energy. An incident recorded by Howard Colby Ives.
'Abdu'l-Bahá listened for half an hour to a meeting of the executive committee of the New York Spiritual Assembly. Then He rose, paused at the door, and asked why they did not execute.
Early one morning in Dublin, New Hampshire, a guest at the inn saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá call back a ragged old man and give him the trousers He was wearing.
See also: all sources · editorial process · library stats