No Use for Diamond Rings
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s last days in America, the Bahá’ís were eager to show their love and gratitude by contributions of money, but these He refused. ‘I am pleased with your services,’ He told them, ‘and I am grateful for all you have done for Me …. Now you have brought presents for the members of My family. They are acceptable, but the best of all presents is the love of God which remains preserved in the treasuries of hearts. Material presents remain for a time but this lasts forever. These presents require chests and shelves for safe keeping while this is preserved in the repositories of the minds and hearts and remains eternal and immortal forever in the divine worlds. I shall, therefore, convey to them your love which is the most precious of all gifts. No one uses diamond rings in our home and no one wants rubies. That house is free from all these things. ‘I, however, accept your presents but I leave them in your safe keeping with the request that you will kindly sell them and send the proceeds to the funds for the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.’
Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 15
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: gifts).
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/gifts
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
The Stone Refused by the Builder
Nettie Tobin, who was not well off, brought a builder's rejected stone to the Wilmette Temple site by baby carriage, streetcar and a borrowed wagon, and the Master used it at the dedication of the land.
The Rich Man, the Poor Man and the Donkey
‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells of a rich man who gladly left his fortune to go on pilgrimage and a poor man who could not leave his donkey, to show that fortune is not necessarily an impediment to detachment.
I Gave My Son to God
Comforting a woman who still grieved for a baby lost more than twenty-one years before, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told her that when His own four-year-old son died, He did not grieve, for He had given him to God as a trust.
Why the Master Disliked Photographs
‘Abdu’l-Bahá never sought publicity and disliked being photographed, saying a picture of oneself emphasizes the personality; in London He at first refused, then consented to make the reporters and the friends happy.