You Are Always Here in Spirit

Julia M. Grundy was an early American believer who made a pilgrimage to 'Akká in 1905. Her notes became the small book *Ten Days in the Light of 'Akká*, published by the Bahai Publishing Society of Chicago in 1907.

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In the chapter headed "Spiritual Development," Grundy records a private conversation with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Her description of the setting is characteristically brief:

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> 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent for me. I found Him in a little room opening > from the courtyard. He was sitting upon a raised chair, His > beautiful face, majestic in repose and strength, turned toward > the only window. He greeted me joyfully. Both the daughters > were present.

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He told her He wanted her to carry away from 'Akká the joy and peace of the spiritual life. He spoke of God as a calm and limitless sea whose bounty is overflowing, of the birds of Mount Carmel that fly to the highest branches of the trees, and of the love and knowledge of God as the greatest, the only real, happiness. When she answered that she wished to walk in the heavenly path He had shown her, He said:

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> You are near to God, and day by day you will progress by the > knowledge of God toward spiritual joy. Then you will be a source > of guidance to others.

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She told Him that she wished to teach, but felt her efforts were small and unimportant. He answered with a comparison: the mountain is large but has no intelligence; the diamond is small but filled with light. He said He would pray for her, and urged her in the future to sacrifice herself more and more in the Cause of God.

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Then she told Him of her regret at leaving a household where everything was in such peace and harmony. He said:

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> You are always here in spirit; you will never be absent now.

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The book closes with a separate, final summons, in which the Master again told her that only her body was going away, and that her spirit would always be there.

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*A retelling based on **Ten Days in the Light of Akka** by Julia M. Grundy (chapter "Spiritual Development"). For the fuller account, see the original.*

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