Home Again in New York

A retelling for children, based on Mahmúd's Diary, from the entries about 'Abdu'l-Bahá's return to New York in the winter of 1912.

In late November, after the long days of autumn, 'Abdu'l-Bahá came back to the city of New York. And this time, He was coming home — back to the place where His great journey across America had begun, back to the friends He had left behind many months before.

It had been a very long trip. Since the spring, He had been traveling almost without stopping. He had crossed nearly the whole country and back again — through Buffalo and Chicago and Minneapolis, all the way out to the Pacific Northwest, to San Francisco and the towns around the bay, and then home again by a different road, through Denver and Cincinnati and Washington. City after city, hall after hall, day after day. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was sixty-eight years old, and the journey would have worn out a person half His age. Yet through all of it, He never once complained of being tired. Mírzá Maḥmúd, who traveled with Him and wrote everything down in his diary, noticed that coming back to New York at last felt like a relief.

The New York friends had been waiting for this day for a long time. Many of them had loved 'Abdu'l-Bahá for years and years — some had even traveled across the world, long ago, to visit Him in the prison-city of Akká. While He was away in the far western states, all they could do was write letters and follow His travels from afar. Now, at last, He was coming back to them in person. You can imagine how excited they were.

When He arrived, 'Abdu'l-Bahá went to stay in the very same rooms He had used in the spring, in the New York apartment of two of His friends, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kinney. And almost the moment He was settled, He began again the work He loved best: welcoming people. Day after day, the Kinneys' home filled up once more with the friends who had missed Him so much.

If you think coming home meant 'Abdu'l-Bahá could finally rest, think again. Mírzá Maḥmúd wrote down exactly how full those December days were. Every single morning, 'Abdu'l-Bahá held a gathering for the friends. Late in the morning, He met with people one at a time, listening to each one. At midday, He shared the meal with whoever had not yet had their turn to speak with Him. In the afternoon, He gave talks — sometimes in the Kinneys' home, sometimes in a big rented hall across the city. And in the evening, still more visitors came: ministers and priests, professors from the universities, newspaper writers, and all sorts of curious people who simply wanted to meet Him and find out who He was.

From morning until night, the door kept opening, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá kept welcoming every person who walked through it — tired as He surely was, after all those months on the road.

He took care of other important work too. He met with the small group of friends who helped guide the New York community, and He talked with them about the kind of people who should one day help lead the believers — people who were truly good and kind and spiritual. The careful notes Mírzá Maḥmúd wrote down from those quiet meetings would help the New York friends for years to come.

But the friends knew, deep down, that this happy time would not last. Soon 'Abdu'l-Bahá would board a great steamship called the Celtic and sail away across the ocean, all the way home to the other side of the world — a journey none of them could follow. And so, as the last days drew near, more and more of them came to see Him, each one hoping for one more word, one more blessing, before He had to go.

Here is the thing to remember. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had every reason in the world to be tired, and every reason to want a long, quiet rest. But He did not save His best self for when it was easy. He gave the friends His full attention and His warm welcome right to the very end — because real love does not stop when we are tired. That is what made the friends love Him so.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Returning to New York: The Master After the Western Tour".

Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání, M.. (1998). *Mahmúd's Diary: The Diary of Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání*. George Ronald.