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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
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"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
19 stories on this theme.
Weakened in health on His third visit to Paris in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá some evenings took only milk and bread, and on the 27th He moved to a hotel in Rue Lauriston for a few days' rest.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s family dressed simply, as an example to the rich and an encouragement to the poor. When one of His daughters married in a clean dress, He explained that what she did not need He would give to the poor.
Mary Maxwell of Montreal married Shoghi Effendi on 25 March 1937 in a simple, private wedding; as Rúḥíyyih Khánum she later served as a Hand of the Cause and travelled to 185 countries and territories.
After his father’s death, Áqá Ḥusayn-i-Áshchí was taken into Bahá’u’lláh’s household and became its cook; he recalled the meagre meals in Adrianople and how Bahá’u’lláh smiled on learning that he counted the coal for each brazier.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— Economy is the foundation of human prosperity.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's wife had a fine new coat made for Him before a visit from the Governor of ‘Akká, He asked her to send it back and have five ordinary coats made for the same price, four of them to give away.
At Lady Blomfield's table in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of the blessings of freedom and wished the courses could be shared with the poor and hungry. His hosts at once resolved to simplify their dinners.
When His wife ordered a fine new coat for a visit from the Governor of ‘Akká, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked her to send it back and have five ordinary coats made for the same price, so that He could give four away.
At Glenwood Springs, Colorado, in 1912, Saichiro Fujita brought a big watermelon back to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The Master began eating it at once with His hand, declining a knife and fork, and it was shared with all the Bahá’ís.
In 1937 Mary Maxwell of Montreal married Shoghi Effendi in Haifa. Almost no one knew beforehand, and there was no celebration, no wedding dress and no reception.
Bahíyyih Khánum remembers the day Bahá’u’lláh, disguised as a dervish, came home to Baghdad after two years in the mountains, and the simple food He had lived on there.
On her pilgrimage May Bolles heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tell how Bahá’u’lláh stayed three days with a poor hermit in his cave and shared his dry meat, dark bread and spring water as though it were a banquet.
On a twelve-hour train journey from Pittsburgh to Washington in May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's companions begged Him to take a special compartment or a berth, but He refused.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum recalls her marriage to Shoghi Effendi on 25 March 1937: a visit to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, a simple ceremony in the room of the Greatest Holy Leaf, and no celebration at all.
During His third visit to Paris in 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sometimes ate only milk and bread in the evening, calling it a healthy meal and recalling that Bahá’u’lláh had lived mostly on milk in Sulaymáníyyih.
Rúḥíyyih Khánum recalls her marriage to Shoghi Effendi on 25 March 1937: a quiet visit to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, a ring, and no celebration, flowers or wedding dress.
'Abdu'l-Bahá kept little clothing and ate little food: tea, goat's milk cheese and wheat bread to begin the day, while at the evening meal a cup of milk and a piece of bread might suffice.
Rúhíyyih Khánum recalls how the Guardian, weighed down by burdens, tore from The Times only the articles he wanted, threw the rest away, and handed her long streamers of clippings to read.
When war came and Haifa feared bombardment, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá accepted a Druze chief’s invitation and moved the Bahá’ís to the village of Abu-Sinan, where they lived simply, regained their health and were kept from hunger.