Farewell Aboard the Celtic

On December 5, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sailed from New York on the SS Celtic, bound for Liverpool. His American journey, which had begun in the same harbour on April 11, was over.

Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání, who sailed with Him, records that a great number of believers from New York and other cities came aboard to bid Him farewell. Many wept, and the sobs of young and old could be heard from afar. The first-class lounge, large as it was, could not hold them all; some sat inside, others stood outside its doors. The Master moved among them, consoling and exhorting them, until the time came for the friends to go ashore.

Then He gave His parting words. “This is our last day and my last meeting with you,” He began. “In a few minutes our steamer will leave these shores and this is my last exhortation to you.” He reminded them that He had repeatedly called them to the oneness of humanity, and said:

We must also be kind to the people of the world and forget all religious, racial, patriotic and political prejudices. The whole earth is one globe. All nations are one family.

He went on to say what that kindness asks of a believer: to bring pleasure to a heart, to give food to the hungry and clothes to the naked, to love all, even one’s enemies. He spoke also of the war then being fought in the Balkans, where, He said, human blood was being spilt and children made orphans.

A few days earlier He had also spoken of war. On the afternoon of December 1 He told a group of Christian ministers in New York that the teachings of Christ were forgotten:

Consider that Christ commanded Peter to sheathe his sword... But now, contrary to these teachings, see how Christians are killing one another.

Maḥmúd records that the passengers and officers of the ship, seeing the reverence of the friends, asked who this personage could be. One by one the friends came to shake His hand, and then left the ship. They stood on the wharf, weeping, their hands lifted in prayer. As the steamer moved out to sea, the believers on the wharf waved farewell to the Master until He was far in the distance.

A retelling based on Mahmúd's Diary: The Diary of Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání (George Ronald, 1998), entries for December 1 and 5, 1912. For the fuller account, see the original.

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