One day in early May 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travelled by train from Pittsburgh,…
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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
Washington, D.C. (today: Washington, D.C., USA)
One day in early May 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travelled by train from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C. a twelve-hour ride. ‘His companions begged Him to take a special compartment or a berth on the train; but He refused saying, “I spend money only to help people and to serve the Cause of God; and I have never liked distinctions since my childhood.”’
Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 108
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: selfless).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Read the closing lines once more. What single phrase stays with you?
- What might 'Abdu'l-Bahá's example ask of us in our own circumstances?
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
For teens
- If you were in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's place, what might you have done?
- What does this story teach about devotion?
Reflection
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice devotion?
- Take one line from this story and let it stay with you today.
- What in this account feels timely? What feels timeless?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "One day in early May 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá travelled by train from Pittsburgh,…" 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?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/selfless
Record yourself reading this story
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