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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."
199 stories on this theme.
Riding to a hotel in Chicago, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that He bore the hardships of His travels in America because He feared that, after Him, self-seeking persons might disturb the love and unity of the friends.
At the dedication of the Wilmette Temple site on 1 May 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá set aside the golden trowel He was given and broke the ground with an ordinary axe and shovel.
To show the need for one common language, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told of four hungry travellers who quarrelled over what to buy for supper until a donkey laden with grapes showed that all four wanted the same thing.
After His release in 1908, American believers begged ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to visit. In 1911 He told Juliet Thompson that His invitation to America would be the unity of the believers.
At the Unity Feast in West Englewood in June 1912, a sudden storm broke just as the meal was announced. Juliet Thompson watched ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sit at a distant crossroad, His face upturned to the sky, until the clouds raced away.
When a merchant in ‘Akká seized the exiles’ charcoal, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sat quietly in his shop for three hours. Their talk about Christ won the merchant’s respect; he paid back the money and became a lifelong friend.
At the dedication of the Temple site in Wilmette on 1 May 1912, the golden trowel could not break the ground, so ‘Abdu’l-Bahá swung an axe. Women and people of many races then dug, and He declared the Temple already built.
On pilgrimage in ‘Akká in 1909, Juliet Thompson stayed up late instead of resting as the Master had asked, and argued about whether the New York Assembly was united. The next morning ‘Abdu’l-Bahá looked deep into her eyes and took her hand in a clasp of love.
On 13 September 1911, nine days after arriving in London, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the home of Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper and described the meeting as a reflection of the heavenly concourse.
The magnet of your love brought me to this country.
During the last six thousand years nations have hated one another, it is now time to stop.
The Universal Races Congress was good, for it was intended for the furtherance and progress of unity among all nations and a better international understanding.
To most men who have not heard the message of this teaching, religion seems an outward form, a pretence, merely a seal of respectability.
We have met together to bid farewell to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and to thank God for his example and teaching, and for the power of his prayers to bring Light into confused thought, Hope into the place of dread, Faith where doubt was …
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was asked if he recognized the good which the Theosophical Society has done.
At ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s table in ‘Akká an American pilgrim sat among people of many races who had come to love one another, and heard the Master speak of meeting again in the worlds of God.
At a crowded meeting in the Hotel Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, some guests had to sit on the floor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was delighted: the Occident was sitting on the floor like the Orient, and He called it a cause of unity.
The Washington Bahá’ís were divided by the racial customs of the day. When a Unity Feast was booked at a hotel that refused Black guests, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá insisted that all attend, and they sat side by side.
O ye friends of God! Today is the day of union and this age is the age of harmony in the world of existence. “Verily, God loveth those who are working in His path in groups, for they are a solid foundation.”
I have come from distant lands to visit the meetings and assemblies of this country.
The Spiritual Meeting of men and the Spiritual Meeting of women in Chicago are indeed endeavoring to serve.
Organize ye Spiritual Assemblies; lay ye the foundation of union and concord in this world; destroy ye the fabric of strife and war from the face of the earth; construct ye the temple of harmony and agreement …
The spiritual love of God maketh man pure and holy and clotheth him with the garment of virtue and purity.
If any differences of opinion may arise in those regions you must keep yourself entirely aloof and show forth love and kindness to all, saying it is better to refer to the ordained Center all the affairs.
TO THE ASSEMBLIES AND MEETINGS OF THE BELIEVERS OF GOD AND THE MAID-SERVANTS OF THE MERCIFUL IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: Upon them be Bahá’u’lláh El-Abhá!
Every flock of the sheep of God which is protected under the shadow of the Divine Shepherd will not be scattered, but when the sheep are dispersed from the flock, they will necessarily be caught and torn by the wolf.
What is real unity? When we observe the human world we find various collective expressions of unity therein. For instance, man is distinguished from the animal by his degree or kingdom.
Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the organization of an assembly in that city. Look not at the small number; nay, rather seek the pure hearts.
In our solar system, the center of illumination is the sun itself.
Praise be to God! that ye are gathered in one assembly like unto the stars of the Pleiades, are illumined with the light of the knowledge of God and through the outpouring of the cloud of the love of God …
This recent war has proved to the world and the people that war is destruction while Universal Peace is construction; war is death while peace is life; war is rapacity and bloodthirstiness while peace is beneficence and humaneness …
Before leaving London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá married a young Persian couple, asking each whether they loved the other with all their heart and soul. The writer recalls the simplicity of His own wedding and His words on the holiness of marriage.
May the Light of Union radiate with greater clearness and brilliancy day by day among the people in your great country—for to this country God has given much and much is expected from it.
O my dear sister!
We rejoiced greatly to learn of the unity among the friends, their staunchness, their ardour, and the fact that they have established a Spiritual Assembly.
Despite our overwhelming sorrows and afflictions, our heart-burning and depth of woes, you are always in our thoughts and we call to mind your cheerful face.
All praise to the omnipotent Lord, that in this auspicious day He Who is the Sun of bounty has shone out so fair and bright as to light up the world of the hearts.
The good news has come that the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may our lives be sacrificed for His meekness, has been read at the meetings of the friends …
At this hour while yet the heart burns with the anguish of sorrow, and the gloom of bereavement still hangs low, my thoughts turn in loving remembrance to my sincere beloved sisters and brothers in the Cause.
O steadfast ones, gathered beneath the Abhá Beauty’s standard of oneness, O faithful lovers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!
We were delighted to receive your excellent letter ... and read it with joy.
Your letter of 12th October 1922 is just received and refreshed in our memory the many beautiful days that you spent here when the Beloved Lord, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was still on this earth.
Praise be to God that through the gracious assistance of the Abhá Kingdom those devoted friends have been enabled to achieve that which befits the glory of the Cause of God and the protection of the community of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Pen of the divine Ordainer has so decreed that this house of sorrows should be encompassed by unending calamity and pain.
It is a very long time since we have had any news from you and we are quite longing to have one of your interesting and beautiful letters, that brings us always comfort because of your sincerity, your love for the Cause and your constant energy in the work for the Cause.
Your short and loving note of June 25th has been received.
Your charming letter of June 20th has arrived and with it the spiritual waves of your love and devotion to the welfare of the Cause of God and to the prosperity of the dear friends throughout America.
Your numerous letters written to the beloved Guardian and myself have all arrived and brought with them the sweet perfume of your devotion, sincerity, strong faith and active and beautiful services you are inexhaustibly rendering to the Cause of God.
The position of Bahá’u’lláh among the Prophets is unprecedented and unique, because the condition of the world at the time of His advent was unprecedented and unique.
Amid these troublous times, however, the Cause of God will prosper.
During the past century scientists have devoted an immense amount of study to the struggle for existence in the plant and animal world, and, amid the perplexities of social life …
Bahá’u’lláh’s mission in the world is to bring about Unity—Unity of all mankind in and through God.
When asked on one occasion: “What is a Bahá’í?” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied: “To be a Bahá’í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.”
To know the Manifestation of God means also to love Him. One is impossible without the other. According to Bahá’u’lláh, the purpose of man’s creation is that he may know God and adore Him.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá attaches the greatest importance to regular meetings of the believers for united worship, for the exposition and study of the teachings and for consultation regarding the progress of the Movement.
The unification of the world of humanity, the welding together of the world’s different religions, the reconciliation of Religion and Science, the establishment of Universal Peace …
The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
He was then in His seventieth year, and His long and arduous labors, culminating in these strenuous Western tours, had worn out His physical frame.
Never, perhaps, did the world seem farther away from religious unity than in the nineteenth century.
Many are the wars which have been fought over pieces of territory whose possession has been coveted by two or more rival nations.
All the signs of the times indicate that we are at the dawn of a new era in the history of mankind.
In all ages the Prophets of God have foretold the coming of an era of “peace on earth, goodwill among men.”
The different religious communities have failed to unite in the past, because the adherents of each have regarded the Founder of their own community as the one supreme authority, and His law as the divine law.
“Ye are all fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch, the flowers of one garden.”
Having glanced at the principal causes of war and how they may be avoided, we may now proceed to examine certain constructive proposals made by Bahá’u’lláh with a view to achieving the Most Great Peace.
Speaking to the Esperanto Society in Edinburgh in January 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told of two friends in Baghdad whose gestures were misunderstood because they had no language in common.
A fable for children: jealous of her dark twin, Moonshine tells Nightshadow that the creatures fear her, and Nightshadow leaves the sky, until Moonshine learns that each sister is needed and begs her forgiveness.
As a small Mohawk boy in Ontario, Jim Loft was waved to by 'Abdu'l-Bahá from a passing train. Years later, as a Bahá'í, he returned to his reserve at the Guardian's request to teach the Faith.
Speaking in New York on 14 April 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá compared humanity to one great tree and used the image of a seed, which holds the whole tree within it, to explain the unity of the world of humanity.
On pilgrimage, Corinne True met the martyr's widow who served tea to the Master's family each morning, and marvelled at His household of over forty people of many races and nations, where no word of dispute was heard.
Dr J. E. Esslemont, 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guest in Haifa in the winter of 1919–20, recalled how the Master charmed pilgrims at His table with humorous stories and gathered people of every race and religion in friendship.
Driving back to Thonon in 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stopped the car to sit above a spectacular waterfall and delighted in the beauty of the countryside. He then told Juliet Thompson that His invitation to America would be the unity of the believers.
Through the spring and summer of 1912 the California Bahá’ís longed for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to come west, while His messages wavered between hope and doubt, until in August He wired John Bosch that He would travel to the West.
In May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the peace conference at Lake Mohonk in New York State. Mahmúd's Diary records His address, His comparison of some peace workers to wine sellers, and His farewell gift of a Persian carpet.
In 1922, while Shoghi Effendi was away from Haifa, the Greatest Holy Leaf headed the affairs of the Faith. Her reply to one friend's letter asked for complete unity and looked for his return.
'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa on 28 November 1921. At His funeral some ten thousand people of every religion and race followed His coffin up Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Báb, where He was laid to rest.
When the Bahá'ís begged for a day to celebrate as His, 'Abdu'l-Bahá would not let it be His birthday, which belonged to the Báb, and gave them 26 November instead. A tablet of His calls the believers to be firm.
In 1912, on the Feast of Naw-Rúz in Alexandria, Egypt, 'Abdu'l-Bahá explained the meaning of the blessed days appointed in every dispensation — days for rejoicing together, for unity, and for leaving "tangible philanthropic or ideal traces" reaching all mankind.
The sixty-fourth Hidden Word in Arabic — Bahá'u'lláh's word that He has created His eternity and wrought His unity for the soul, and His call to the soul to clothe itself therewith.
In New York in June 1912, before a few days' rest at Montclair, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the friends of His wish to give an outdoor feast of unity, like a Persian garden, at which all would be His guests.
Ali Nakhjavani tells believers in South Africa of a short Tablet in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hopes their relationship to the Cause will be like a ray’s to the sun rather than a flower’s to a garden, and reflects on why.
While Juliet Thompson painted ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s portrait in America, He told May Maxwell she had a kind heart, Lua Getsinger a tender heart and Juliet an emotional one, and said that united they would make a great heart.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa, about ten thousand people of every religion and race followed His coffin up Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Báb.
The friends wanted to celebrate 'Abdu'l-Bahá's birthday, but that day belonged to the Báb. So He gave them 26 November, the Day of the Covenant. In one of His tablets He urged the believers to be firm.
At Naw-Rúz in Alexandria in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that a holy day should bring people together and leave behind something good that reaches everyone, not only Bahá'ís.
Nettie Tobin had no money to give, so she brought a stone the builders did not want to the land for a House of Worship. On May 1, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set her stone in the ground with His own hands.
When two Japanese Bahá'ís came to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá in San Francisco, He was very happy and said that their meeting was an historic event.
On a field beside a great lake, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dug the earth for the first stone of a House of Worship that still stands today, and friends from many lands took turns digging after Him.
On May 1, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dug the ground for the House of Worship at Wilmette with a golden trowel, American delegates and Eastern believers continued the digging, and He set in place the stone Nettie Tobin had brought.
When two Japanese Bahá'ís called on 'Abdu'l-Bahá in San Francisco on 4 October 1912, He called their meeting an historic event, brought about through the power of Bahá'u'lláh.
On May 1, 1912, at the site of the future House of Worship in Wilmette, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dug the ground for the foundation stone with a golden trowel. Believers of many backgrounds followed, and He set the stone in place.
Dr J. E. Esslemont, who had been 'Abdu'l-Bahá's guest in Haifa, describes His peaceful passing and a funeral attended by about ten thousand people of many faiths, which he saw as proof that His life's work had not been in vain.
In November 1921 the Bahá'ís of Springfield, Massachusetts, cabled 'Abdu'l-Bahá for approval of a second race amity convention. He answered, "Approved; God confirms." The convention met on 5 and 6 December, a week after His passing.
On the Tuesday after 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away in Haifa in November 1921, no fewer than ten thousand people of every religion and race followed His coffin up Mount Carmel, where nine speakers of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian Faiths gave funeral orations.
The House of Worship at Wilmette began with a petition from the Chicago believers in 1903. 'Abdu'l-Bahá laid its dedication stone in 1912, and the American Bahá'í community built it over the next three decades, finishing the exterior in 1942.
In a Tablet revealed in answer to a believer's questions, Bahá'u'lláh set out nine of His teachings for the rulers and peoples of the world, each called an Ishráq, a Splendour.
In New York in 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá declared His station as Centre of the Covenant and named the city the City of the Covenant. Three days before He sailed, He spoke there of the Covenant as Bahá'u'lláh's safeguard against division.
On her 1905 pilgrimage to 'Akká, Julia Grundy wrote down a talk of 'Abdu'l-Bahá on obedience, in which He likened the Covenant of God to a Lifeboat and an Ark of Salvation, and the believers to fishes in the sea.
On 29 September 1911, the eve of His departure for Paris, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave His farewell address to London at the Passmore Edwards Settlement, telling some four hundred and sixty people that the whole earth is one home.
During her 1905 pilgrimage to 'Akká, Julia Grundy recorded 'Abdu'l-Bahá telling His guests at dinner that they were all of one family, joined in spiritual relationship, and serving a Feast where believers of East and West sat together.
In 1894 Sarah Farmer opened Green Acre in Eliot, Maine, as a summer platform for speakers of every religion. After her pilgrimage to 'Akká in 1900 she offered it to the Bahá'ís, and in 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spent a week there and prayed for her.
In March 1909 thirty-nine delegates from thirty-six cities met in Chicago and formed Bahá'í Temple Unity, the national body that would hold the land and raise the funds for the first House of Worship in the West.
In 1920 the American Bahá'ís chose Louis Bourgeois's design for the House of Worship at Wilmette. He then showed his drawings to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who called the design "the most beautiful in the world."
On 10 September 1911, His first Sunday in England, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke from the pulpit of the City Temple in London at the invitation of its pastor, R. J. Campbell. It was the first public address of His life.
Asked in Paris how a new civilization would come about, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered, “Through solidarity,” and recalled young locusts on Mt. Carmel that flung themselves into a stream so that the others might cross.
November 19th How joyful it is to see such a meeting as this, for it is in truth a gathering together of ‘heavenly men’.
97 Cadogan Gardens, London, Saturday, January 4th, 1913 What a power is love!
15 Rue Greuze, Paris, December 1st When I arrived in Paris some time ago for the first time, I looked around me with much interest, and in my mind I likened this beautiful city to a large garden.
Friday, October 20th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: In the past, as in the present, the Spiritual Sun of Truth has always shone from the horizon of the East.
November 11th I spoke yesterday of the first principle of the Teaching of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘The Search for Truth’; how it is necessary for a man to put aside all in the nature of superstition, and every tradition which would blind his eyes to the existence of truth in all religions.
November 4th All over Europe today one hears of meetings and assemblies, and societies of all kinds are formed.
November 26th I am deeply touched by the sympathetic words which have been addressed to me, and I hope that day by day true love and affection may grow among us.
On June 2, 1912, speaking for the second time at the Church of the Ascension in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá described the church as a collective center and the Manifestations of God as the real Collective Centers of mankind.
At a Washington synagogue on 8 November 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá argued that Christ had spread the Torah and the name of Moses throughout the world, and that Christians and Jews should therefore love one another.
At the Town Hall in Fanwood, New Jersey, on 31 May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá traced the weakness of religion to the hatred between sects and to blind imitation, and said that the Prophets, as true shepherds, come to unite people.
On 5 December 1912, before sailing from New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to the believers who crowded aboard the Celtic to say goodbye, telling them that the earth is one native land and asking them to offend no heart.
At the Krug home on Park Avenue, New York, on July 15, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá contrasted thanks spoken by the tongue with thanks felt in the heart and shown in deeds, and asked the friends to love one another.
On October 12, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. He praised Moses and asked His Jewish hearers why they, in turn, should not acknowledge Christ and Muḥammad.
At the Hotel Plaza in Chicago on May 2, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá contrasted true consultation with parliamentary quarrelling, and described the disciples of Christ taking counsel together on the mount after His ascension.
At a dinner at the Parsons home in Washington on April 22, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told how a Zoroastrian high priest lost his prejudice against Muḥammad, and compared it with the power that had brought East and West to one table.
On 1 October 1911 in London, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá performed the marriage of Mírzá Yuhanna Dáwúd and Núr Mahal Khánum, telling them He had never before united anyone in marriage except His own daughters.
In Isaiah, chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, it is said: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and…
Thy letter hath been perused. Were the truth of this Revelation to be fully demonstrated with elaborate proofs, all the scrolls that exist in the heaven and on the earth would be insufficient to contain them.
Know thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of God’s holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings.
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter dated 5 December 1918 was received.
O captive of the love of God! The letter which thou didst write at the time of thy departure hath been received.
O thou daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. It was like the melody of the divine nightingale, whose song delighteth the hearts.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant! Three consecutive letters have been received from thee.
It is daybreak, and from the rising-point of the invisible realms of God, the light of unity is dawning; and streaming and beating down from the hidden world of the Kingdom of oneness there cometh a flood of abounding grace.
O ye the sincere loved ones of the Abhá Beauty! In these days the Cause of God, the world over, is fast growing in power and, day by day, is spreading further and further to the utmost bounds of the earth.
O my spiritual loved ones!
O thou who art carried away by the love of God! The Sun of Truth hath risen above the horizon of this world and cast down its beams of guidance.
O ye who have turned your faces toward the Exalted Beauty!
O ye who are steadfast in the Covenant!
O ye concourse of the Kingdom of Abhá!
O thou who art serving the world of humanity! Thy letter was received and from its contents we felt exceedingly glad.
Although to outward seeming the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is a material structure, yet it hath a spiritual effect.
O ye who are firm in the Covenant and the Testament! Your letter was received and your blessed names were one by one perused.
Strive with heart and soul in order to bring about union and harmony among the white and the black and prove thereby the unity of the Bahá’í world wherein distinction of colour findeth no place, but where hearts only are considered.
The first Bahá'í House of Worship was begun about 1902 at 'Ishqábád in Russian Central Asia. In 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá held it up to the American believers as the example for their own Temple.
In 1914 the Star of the West reprinted a letter from 'Akká describing Indian pilgrims at Haifa, among them a young Hindu of high caste, living in the pilgrim house with Zoroastrians, Jews and Muslims, and the Master's daily service to the people of 'Akká.
At Los Angeles on October 19, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the believers not to look at their small number: if they attained faith, firmness and self-sacrifice, even two people would be equivalent in strength of character to the whole world.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls that strife grieved Bahá’u’lláh because of the unhappiness it brought others, and that He would take the blame upon Himself to restore peace.
As to [what thou hast heard concerning] the child born from Russian parentage, this is pure imagination.
Convey my respectful greetings to [Dr.] ... and say: “Have confidence in heavenly bounty and be sure of the favor of the Lord of the Kingdom. Soon thou shalt see that the East hath embraced the West and that the Occident and Orient are…
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my heart, my soul and my spirit, saying: O my God!
If you arise in accord with the exhortations and commands of the Blessed Perfection—may my life be a sacrifice to His beloved ones! —before long agreeable results will be obtained …
“It is hoped that wonderful effects will be displayed in the future, that the friends of God may live and act in accord with the heavenly teachings, in order that the region of America may become the Paradise of Abha, that desert and…
O Lord! O Beloved! The truthful servant, Mr. ........, abandoned home, left his native land and crossed the great ocean until he reached the shore of the Holy Land and arrived at the Blessed Spot.
O my dear friend!
O my God! O my God!
O my spiritual friends! What you have written is perused, all of which was an entreaty and invocation unto God and a desire for devotion unto the Most High.
O thou attracted one of the Kingdom! The epistle was received; likewise the enclosed epistle was read. The personage (Mr. .........) is in reality enraptured with the truth and seeketh the discovery of the mysteries of God.
O thou beloved of my heart! Verily, my soul longs for thee, for the lamp of the love of Baha’ is lighted within thy heart and I love to look upon thy face, for it is glittering with the light of guidance among the creatures.
O thou dear and honorable! I received thy last letter through his honor ........ and its contents imparted to me spiritual joy, for it indicated the high and good friendship between thee and the respectful maid-servant of God, .........
O thou dear wise man! They letter was considered. Its contents were in the utmost of beauty and great joy was realized therefrom.
O Thou kind God! That scattered assembly is Thine, and that gathering of friends is of Thee. Their eyes are opened, their hearts in tune with Thy love, and their ears in communion with Thy hidden mysteries.
O thou lamp ignited by the fire of the Love of God! I ask God to make thee a sign of love, standard of agreement, means of union and harmony and spreader of peace among the people.
O thou my spiritual companion! Two letter have reached me from you, and the contents of both I have considered.
O thou who art attracted by the Breath of God!
O thou who art attracted by the brilliant lights of the Merciful One, shining from the Supreme Kingdom!
O thou who art attracted by the Love of God! In the Persian tongue has thou written a letter; I was happy to read it.
O thou who art awakened to the Cause of God!
O thou who art baptized by the Spirit of the Love of God! Be rejoiced with this great bounty and gladdened by this mighty gift!
O thou who art confessing the Oneness of God!
O thou who art favored in the Kingdom of the almighty! The letter that thou hast written with the utmost eloquence, compassion, humility and submission of heart and spiritual emotions, hath been read.
O thou who art firm in the Covenant and Testament! Thy letter \\\ was received and its contents became known. Thou hast written regarding the election of a committee.
O thou who art gazing toward the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Its contents became known. Thank thou God that thy house became the shelter and the nest of the birds of the Kingdom.
O thou who art kindled as a lamp with the Fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire burning in the Tree of Sinai!
O thou who art uttering the mention of God!
O thou who hast gained illumination from the Light of Guidance!
O thou yearner after the Kingdom of God! The maid-servant of God, Aseyeh, hath mentioned thy name in her letter, praising and commending thee.
O ye beloved friends of Abdul-Baha! The detailed letter which you have written was received and it was read with the greatest attention.
O ye dear friends and maid-servants of God! A good fragrance is coming from the rose-garden of Kenosha and a pleasing breeze is blowing from the orchard of the hearts of the friends and maid-servants of the Merciful.
O ye esteemed maid-servants of God, and ye revered beloved ones (or men believers) of the Merciful!
O ye friends of Abdul-Baha! Verily I read your reports with great joy. They are a cause of spirituality and fragrance and a source of dilation of souls.
O ye friends of God and daughters of the Kingdom! The letter you have written was considered. It caused abundant spirit and fragrance.
O ye maid-servants of the Merciful!
O ye my divine friends!
O ye real friends of Abdul-Baha! From the gathering of those illuminated faces and flowers of the rose-garden (of God) in Camp Mineola utmost joy and fragrance (to me) was the result.
O ye servants of the True One and the maid-servants of the Merciful!
O ye shining faces and spiritual beings! Verily, I was rejoiced at beholding those merciful faces in whose brows the lights of guidance shine on account of their turning unto the Kingdom of El-Abha!
O ye sincere ones! O ye favored ones! O ye beseeching ones! O ye supplicating ones!
O ye sons of the Kingdom! At a time when conditions were most difficult and oppressive and the reception of letters hard and impracticable, your letter was received.
O ye spiritual friends of Abdul-Baha! Your long letter was considered and its contents were a source of happiness.
O ye verdant and flourishing leaves of the Blessed Tree!
O ye who are attracted! O ye who are united! O ye who are believers and assured!
To him who is looking unto God! O thou who art gazing unto the Center of the Covenant—may God confirm thee!
‘Abdu'l-Bahá came in to see us unexpectedly. He said, “I wish I might he with you always, hut unfortunately other things claim My time and keep Me sway from you. But My heart is filled with love and the thought of you. The important…
Tonight we met ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and a large number of believers from all parts of the East at the Feast, or Supper, under the shadow of the Blessed Perfection.
At dinner a violent rainstorm swept in from the sea. “May we all live in the Sea of Reality and be filled with the Love of God. Thank God we are in the Ark of the Covenant. See what great blessings God has showered upon us. How many…
Speaking through an interpreter to an early pilgrim, the Master rejoiced that the believers were becoming more united, and urged them to love one another and sacrifice themselves for each other.
Annamarie Honnold describes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s love for every human being, and records His counsel to the pilgrim Anna Kunz and her husband in 1921 to be affectionate to all, like a shepherd with his sheep.
Speaking to the Edinburgh Esperanto Society in January 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled Bahá’u’lláh’s call for an auxiliary language and urged His listeners to spread Esperanto.
In Chicago in 1912, under trees near Lake Michigan, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told His friends He had not called attention to their shortcomings, and asked them to be as considerate with one another.
Sent by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Chicago in 1901, Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl and ‘Alí-Kuli Khán found believers confused by dream-reading and the occult, and taught them to weigh every inner prompting against the revealed Teachings.
An early pilgrim called ‘Roy’ was struck by the love and harmony among the Bahá’ís in the Most Great Prison. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told him that the more the believers are united, the more they receive God’s confirmation.
In 1909 a pilgrim asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá whether He would come to America if the believers built the Temple quickly. In 1911 He wrote that they must first put away their differences if they longed for His visit.