Perpetual Joy
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When in Bahá'í history
‘Abdu’l-Bahá learned well the meaning of Bahá’u’lláh’s words: “Beware, lest thou allow anything whatsoever to grieve thee.” Acquainted with sorrow, He was known to shed tears when He spoke of the hardships endured by Bahá’u’lláh, His family and His followers who went into exile with Him. Sometimes He appeared sad because not more people were responsive to His call to Bahá’u’lláh, but He truly lived what He spoke when He said, referring to the spiritual Kingdom, “A man living with his thoughts in this Kingdom knows perpetual joy. The ills all flesh is heir to do not pass him by, but they only touch the surface of his life, the depths are calm and serene.”
Source: Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Annamarie Honnold), p. 126. Bahá’u’lláh’s words are in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s are in Paris Talks.
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: grief).
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