The Food Spiritual

Julia Grundy's Ten Days in the Light of 'Akká is made up mostly of short notes of what 'Abdu'l-Bahá said at table and in conversation during her pilgrimage. One of them begins with a plain observation: during dinner, she writes, 'Abdu'l-Bahá ate entirely with His fingers.

After a while He spoke about it. Grundy records His words:

In the East there are many peoples who never use a knife or fork. To eat with their fingers is custom among them, just as the Western nations have their own peculiar customs. We must each view with respect the customs of the other. There is a kind of food which needs neither knife nor fork and of which every one may partake with perfect ease and benefit. It is the food spiritual. This food brings life and stimulation instead of indolence and apathy. It brings peace and content to the one who partakes of it; the more food, the more joy and peace. For the Spirit is always eager to furnish sustenance to the soul.

A retelling based on Ten Days in the Light of Akka by Julia M. Grundy. For the fuller account, see the original.

Grundy, J. M.. (1907). *Ten Days in the Light of Akka*. Bahai Publishing Society. https://bahai-library.com/grundy_ten_days_akka