Why the Master Bore the Hardships of Travel
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When in Bahá'í history
Chicago (today: Chicago, Illinois, USA)
A companion of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on His journey in America recorded a moment when the Master expressed His anxiety for the future: “I am bearing these hardships of travelling so that the Cause of God may push on uncontaminated. For I am still anxious about what is going to happen after Me. Had I had ease of mind on this score I would have sat comfortably in one corner. I would not have come out of [the] Holy Land … I fear after Me self-seeking persons may disturb again the love and unity of the friends.” The Master talked in sorrowful tones until the automobile stopped at a hotel in Chicago.
Source: Annamarie Honnold, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 34, from Mahmúd's Diary, 16 September 1912.
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