No mere mortal in His day could claim to be His teacher
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
'Akká (today: Acre, Israel)
No mere mortal in His day could claim to be His teacher. He learned well and thoroughly. When, late in His life, Bahá’u’lláh took up residence at Bahji, the Master remained in ‘Akka to attend to a multitude of details, which otherwise might have distracted Bahá’u’lláh from His writing. But frequently the Master carried news to Bahji. He then reported on religious questions He had encountered. It was observed that Bahá’u’lláh asked for His answers and then approved them with ‘very good’. His wisdom was as astonishing as His knowledge. The Master’s profound wisdom coupled with His all-encompassing, tender love were capable of producing a revolution in the inner life of those with whom He came in contact. This revolution was a ‘change of heart’. Horace Holley became ‘conscious of a new sympathy for individuals and a new series of ties by which all men are joined in one common destiny.’ He discovered that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá restores man to his state a little lower than the angels.’
Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 117
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: abdul-baha).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Read the closing lines once more. What single phrase stays with you?
- What does the setting of this account contribute to its meaning?
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
For teens
- If you were in Horace Holley's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about love?
Reflection
- Read the passage a second time, slowly. What did you notice that you missed the first time?
- What in this account feels timely? What feels timeless?
- If you could bring one quality from this story into your next conversation, what would it be?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "No mere mortal in His day could claim to be His teacher" drawn from?
Where does this story take place?
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/abdul-baha
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
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