Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum in one of her memories says that she was once in a…
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When in Bahá'í history
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum in one of her memories says that she was once in a fireside with a group of Persian and British pioneers. One of the seekers was a black man who was sitting there and was listening carefully. Suddenly the door opened and the daughter of one of the English pioneers came in with her milk bottle in hand and looked at the audience and went directly to the black man and made it to his laps and managed to sit there, she smiled at him, and kissed him, and started to drink her milk from the bottle. One of the Persian ladies tried to reach the baby to grab her from the man's laps, but Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, told her in Persian, "let her be, she is teaching the Faith in her own way." After the meeting, the man approached the Khánum and told her that he would like to be like her and go wherever she went to teach the Faith. Khánum looked at him and asked if he was a Bahá’í? And he said yes, he was. Rúhíyyih Khánum was astonished and asked, "Since when? How and why?" He said that, "Since an hour ago when that little girl went to me, kissed me, and sat on my laps and slept there with great calm. Since that moment I thought to myself that she had a different and brilliant education where there was no hint of racism. Her parents must have had no prejudice in educating her like that, and then I said this is the Faith I must grasp." "That is why I am a Bahá’í now."
Source: Source unknown
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: teaching).
Discuss this story
For adults
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
- What in your own life does this story bring to mind?
- Where do you see faith appearing — visibly or quietly — in this passage?
For teens
- What is one quality you'd want to carry forward from this account?
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
Reflection
- If you could bring one quality from this story into your next conversation, what would it be?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice faith?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum in one of her memories says that she was once in a…" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/teaching
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