“O thou artery pulsating in the body of the world!...”
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas, (1909) · 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)
O thou artery pulsating in the body of the world!
Verily I read thy recent letter which indicated conscious joy and abundant happiness from the glad-tidings of the Kingdom of El-Abha. Know, verily that the feast is the day wherein God opened thine insight through the Manifest Light, showed thee unto His Great Kingdom and granted to thee to drink from the chalice overflowing with the wine of divine guidance among the maid-servants. Is there a feast more happy and more noble than this? No, indeed, by the Lord of Heaven, it is a day wherein the thirsty one attaineth to the Spring from which gusheth forth cool and refreshing water, the lover meeteth his Loved One and the sick one is healed by the remedy of the Physician. Blessed art thou for attaining unto this!
Verily, the people who rejoice in the day of the feast and enjoyed the tree126 (which) was decorated, following the custom of ancient times, are the people of superstitions. By the Majesty of thy Lord! Were they in the time of Christ, they would turn their backs and would not behold His smiling, glorious face; but today they play in the shallow waters of their superstitions without discretion.
Therefore, thank God for His having privileged thee to attain nearness to the Blessed Tree which is grown upon the highest Sinai and is set aglow with the fire of God’s love, calling unto responsive listeners. I supplicate God to heal thee from all troubles and diseases and make thee a sign of guidance and a standard of the Supreme Concourse in those regions and particularly at Green Acre.
Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas (1909). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19312.
Discuss this story
For adults
- What stands out about 'Abdu'l-Bahá's response in this account?
- What might 'Abdu'l-Bahá's example ask of us in our own circumstances?
- Where do you see joy appearing — visibly or quietly — in this passage?
For teens
- Who is someone you know who lives out joy the way this story describes?
- If you were going to tell a friend this story in two sentences, what would you say?
Reflection
- 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?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "“O thou artery pulsating in the body of the world!...”" 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
'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1909). *Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19312/pg19312-images.html
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
“Glory be unto Thee, O Thou whose mercy hath encompassed...”
178 Glory be unto Thee, O Thou whose mercy hath encompassed all things, whose gift is made perfect, whose power hath encircled the world, whose proof is demonstrated, whose signs have become manifest, whose words are promulgated, whose…
“My Lord! My Lord!...”
My Lord! My…
“O my spiritual friends!...”
O my spiritual friends!291…
“O seeker of the truth!...”
O seeker of the…