The Table of the Master

The dining table in the household of 'Abdu'l-Bahá at 'Akká was, in the recollection of every pilgrim who joined it, the spiritual centre of the home. The bahaistories.com archive draws together several of these recollections, all of them returning to the same characteristic shape.

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The table was set at one level. There was no head of the table in the European sense. The Master sat where the arrangement of the chairs had placed Him, often midway down the long side. The senior pilgrims and the most junior attendants were distributed around the table without attention to formal rank. The household servants who were not actively serving the meal sat at the table as well. Bahíyyih Khánum, the Master's sister, sat where she preferred. The grandchildren ran in and out as the meal progressed.

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The Master's own behaviour was the most distinctive feature. If a visitor's cup was empty, He would rise Himself to refill it. He would not ask a servant. He would walk the few steps around the table, ladle from the pot, return to His own seat. He did this so naturally that visitors, on first witness, would sometimes try to intervene out of embarrassment. The Master would gently set the visitor's hand back on the table and complete the small service.

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> At My table, all are guests of the Lord.

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The phrase, paraphrased through several of the bahaistories.com pieces, named the principle. The Master was, in His own house, the host who served. The visitors were the guests of God whom He had been honoured to invite. The hierarchy of master and servant did not enter the dining room.

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