At Byfleet. [edit]
ON the afternoon of September 9th, a number of working women of the Passmore Edwards’ Settlement, who were spending their holidays with Miss Schepel and Miss Buckton at Vanners, in Byfleet, a village some twenty miles out of London, had the great privelege of meeting Abdul Baha. They wrote a short record of his sayings to keep for themselves. The following is an extract:
We gathered round him in a circle,
and he made us sit beside him in the window
seat. One of the members, who was ill,
had a specially beautiful greeting from him.
Abdul Baha began by saying, as he seated
himself: “Are you happy?” and our faces
must have shown him that we were. He
then said: “I love you all, you are the
children of the Kingdom, and you are
accepted of God. Though you may be
poor here, you are rich in the treasures of
the Kingdom. I am the Servant of the
poor. Remember how His Holiness, Jesus,
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said: ‘Blessed are the poor!’ If all the
queens of the earth were gathered here, I
could not be more glad!”
Abdul Baha knew that we had a treasury box from which we try to help people less fortunate than ourselves. Presently he rose, and said: “You are dear to me. I want to do something for you! I cannot cook for you (he had previously seen us busy in the kitchen), but here is something for your fund.” He went round the circle to each, with a beautiful smile, shaking hands with all, and giving the Bahai greeting: Allah o Abha!
Later on he walked in the village, and many poor children came to him, and mothers with sick babies and men out of work. He spoke to them all, through an interpreter. At tea-time other friends joined us. Abdul Baha liked the cottage garden at Vanners, the little orchard and the roses. He said: “This is like a Persian garden. The air is very pure.”
On leaving for London he presented every one with a purple heartsease from the garden, and said again and again: “Good-bye” in English.
On the 28th September, Abdul Baha again
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visited Vanners, the little farm house on
the old royal manor that dates back to the
time of Edward II. He motored down
from London and stayed over night, returning
on the evening of the second day.
Abdul-Baha was much struck during the drive by two detachments of Boy Scouts tramping the road. When told of the Scouts motto, “Be Prepared,” and that an act of kindness each day is one of their laws and that some of these boys had put out a fire and assisted at a recent railway accident, he said, “This makes me very happy.”
Arriving at Vanners, he found a large, strangely mixed crowd, assembled about the gate to welcome him, from the quite poor to the wealthy who had motored over from their country places. A great number followed him, and as many as could do so pressed into the garden and sat down around him. The silence was most impressive. The same attention and eagerness to hear was noticed among the people each time Abdul Baha appeared in the village.
After expressing his joy at being with them, he began to speak to the little group in answer to a question about the elaborate civilization of the West.
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THE CAPTIVITY OF MAN
Abdul Baha said:—“Luxuries cut off the freedom of communication. One who is imprisoned by desires is always unhappy; the children of the Kingdom have unchained themselves from their desires. Break all fetters and seek for spiritual joy and enlightenment; then, though you walk on this earth, you will perceive yourselves to be within the divine horizon. To man alone is this possible. When we look about us we see every other creature captive to his environment.
“The bird is a captive in the air and the fish a captive in the sea. Man alone stands apart and says to the elements, I will make you my servants! I can govern you! He takes electricity, and through his ingenuity imprisons it and makes of it a wonderful power for lighting, and a means of communication to a distance of thousands of miles. But man himself may become a captive to the things he has invented. His true second birth occurs when he is freed from all material things: for he only is free who is not a captive to his desires. He has then as Jesus has said, become captive to the Holy Spirit.”
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THE POWER OF GOD
A friend asked Abdul Baha how far the individual could attain to that Christ consciousness in himself of which St. Paul speaks as our hope of Glory.
Abdul Baha turned with a look of great joy and said with an impressive gesture, “The bounty and the power of God is limitless for each human soul. Consider what was the quickening power of the Christ when He was on earth. Look at His disciples! They were poor and uncultured men. Out of the rough fisherman he made the great Peter, and out of the poor village girl of Magdala he made one who is a power in all the world to-day. Many queens have reigned who are remembered by their dates in history, and nothing more is known of them. But Mary the Magdalene is greater than them all. It was she whose love strengthened the disciples when their faith was failing. What she did for the world cannot be measured. See what a divine power was enkindled in her by the power of God!”
INSPIRED MESSENGERS
When asked if it would be always necessary
for prophets to come from time to time—[Page 89]
“would
not the world in the course of events
through progress reach to a full realization
of God?”—Abdul Baha replied: “Mankind
needs a universal motive power to quicken
it. The inspired messenger who is
directly assisted by the power of God brings
about universal results. Baha’u’llah rose as
a light in Persia and now that light is going
out to the whole world.”
“Is this what is meant by the Second Coming of Christ?” “Christ is an Expression of the Divine Reality, the Single Essence and Heavenly Entity, which hath no beginning or ending. It has appearance, arising, and manifestation and setting in each one of the Cycles.”
Those who have been with Abdul Baha notice how, often, after speaking earnestly with people, he will suddenly turn and walk away to be alone. At such times no one follows him. On this occasion, when he finished speaking and went out through the orchard gate into the village, all were struck with his free and wonderful walk which has been described by one of our American friends as that of a shepherd or a king.
As he passed along the ragged children
clustered about him by dozens, the boys
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saluting him as they had been taught in
school, showing how instinctively they felt
the greatness of his presence. Most noticeable
was the silence of even the roughest men
when Abdul Baha appeared. One poor tramp
exclaimed “He is a good man,” and added,
“Ay, he’s suffered!”
He took particular interest in the sick, crippled and poorly nourished children. Mothers carrying their little ones followed him, and a friend explained that this great visitor had come over the seas from the Holy Land where Jesus was born.
All day long people of every condition gathered about the gate for a chance of seeing him, and more than sixty drove or cycled to Vanners to see him, many wishing to question him on some special subject. Among them were the clergy of several denominations, a head master of a boys public school, a member of Parliament, a doctor, a famous political writer, the vice-chancellor of a University, several journalists, a well known poet, and a magistrate from London.
He will long be remembered as he sat
in the bow window in the afternoon sunshine,
his arm round a very ragged but very happy
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little boy, who had come to ask Abdul Baha
for sixpence for his money box and for his
invalid mother, whilst round him in the
room were gathered men and women discussing
Education, Socialism, the first Reform
Bill, and the relation of submarines and
wireless telegraphy to the new era on which
man is entering.
During the evening a young betrothed couple in the village, who had read some of the Bahai books, begged permission to come to him. They entered shyly, the man, led by the girl. Abdul Baha rose to greet them, and made them take a place in the circle. He talked earnestly to them upon the sacredness of marriage, the beauty of a real union, and the importance of the little child and its education. Before they left he blessed them, and touched their hair and foreheads with a Persian perfume.
EDUCATION
Abdul Baha laid great stress on Education. He said “The girl’s education is of more importance to-day than the boy’s, for she is the mother of the future race. It is the duty of all to look after the children. Those without children should, if possible, make themselves responsible for the education of a child.”
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The condition of the destitute in the
country villages as well as in London impressed
Abdul Baha greatly. In an earnest
talk with the Rector of a Parish, Abdul Baha
said: “I find England awake; there is spiritual
life here. But your poor are so very poor!
This should not be. On the one hand you
have wealth, and great luxury; on the other
hand men and women are living in the
extremities of hunger and want. This great
contrast of life is one of the blots on the
civilization of this enlightened age.
“You must turn attention more earnestly to the betterment of the conditions of the poor. Do not be satisfied until each one with whom you are concerned is to you as a member of your family. Regard each one either as a father, or as a brother, or as a sister, or as a mother, or as a child. If you can attain to this, your difficulties will vanish, you will know what to do. This is the teaching of Baha’u’llah.”
THE CHANGE OF HEART
To one who spoke of the people’s desire
to possess the land, and of the strong undercurrent
of rebellion on the part of the
labouring classes, Abdul Baha said: “Fighting,
and the employment of force, even for the
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right cause, will not bring about good results.
The oppressed who have right on their side,
must not take that right by force; the evil
would continue. Hearts must be changed.
The rich must wish to give! Life in man
should be like a flame, warming all with
whom it comes into contact. The spiritually
awakened are like to bright torches in the
sight of God, they give light and comfort
to their fellows.”
When asked if he did not find the manners of the English rude and awkward, compared with those of the East, Abdul Baha said he had not felt this. As a nation increases in spirituality, the manners become different.
CHRIST AND BAHA’U’LLAH
A friend asked how the teachings of
Baha’u’liah contrasted with the teachings of
Jesus Christ. “The teachings are the same,”
declared Abdul Baha; “It is the same
foundation and the same temple. Truth is
one, and without division. The teachings
of Jesus are in a concentrated form. Men
do not agree to this day as to the meaning
of many of His sayings. His teachings
are as a flower in the bud. To-day, the bud
is unfolding into a flower! Baha’u’llah has
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expanded and fulfilled the teachings, and
has applied them in detail to the whole
world.
“There are no solitaries and no hermits among the Bahais. Man must work with his fellows. Everyone should have some trade, or art or profession, be he rich or poor, and with this he must serve humanity. This service is acceptable as the highest form of worship.”
ART
A painter asked: “Is art a worthy vocation?” Abdul Baha turning to her impressively, said: “Art is worship.”
An actor mentioned the drama, and its influence. “The drama is of the utmost importance,” said Abdul Baha. “It has been a great educational power in the past; it will be so again.” He described how as a young boy he witnessed the Mystery Play of Ali’s Betrayal and Passion, and how it affected him so deeply that he wept and could not sleep for many nights.
SYMBOLS
Someone wished to know if it were a
good custom to wear a symbol, as, for
instance, a cross. He said: “You wear the
cross for remembrance: it concentrates your
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thoughts, it has no magical power. Bahais
often wear a stone with the greatest name
engraved on it: there is no magical influence
in the stone; it is a reminder, and a companion.
If you are about to do some selfish
or hasty action, and your glance falls on
the ring on your hand, you will remember
and change your intention.”
ESPERANTO
A friend enquired concerning Baha’u’llah’s prophecy in the “Words of Paradise,” that a universal language would be formed, and desired to know if Esperanto would be the language chosen.
“The love and effort put into Esperanto will not be lost,” he answered, “but no one person can construct a Universal Language. It must be made by a Council representing all countries, and must contain words from different languages. It will be governed by the simplest rules, and there will be no exceptions; neither will there be gender, nor extra and silent letters. Everything indicated will have but one name. In Arabic there are hundreds of names for the Camel! In the schools of each nation the mother tongue will be taught, as well as the revised Universal Language.”
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TOLSTOY
The same questioner said: “I have read much of Tolstoy and I see a parallel between his teachings and yours. In one of his books he speaks of the Enigma of Life, and describes how life is wasted in our endeavour to find the Key. But Tolstoy goes on to say: “There is a man in Persia who holds the secret.”
“Yes,” said Abdul Baha, “I received a lettter from Tolstoy, and in it he said that he wished to write a book upon Baha’u’llah.”
HEALING
A friend interested in Healing quoted the words of Baha’u’llah; “If one is sick, let him go to the greatest physician.”
Abdul Baha said:—“There is but one power which heals—that is God. The state or condition through which the healing takes place is the confidence of the heart. By some this state is reached through pills, powders, and physicians. By others through hygiene, fasting, and prayer. By others through direct perception.”
On another occasion Abdul Baha said with
regard to the same subject, “All that we see
around us is the work of mind. It is mind
in the herb and in the mineral that acts on
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the human body, and changes its condition.”
The talk developed into a learned dissertation on the Philosophy of Aristotle.
DEATH
A friend asked: “How should one look forward to death?”
Abdul Baha answered: “How does one look forward to the goal of any journey? With hope and with expectation. It is even so with the end of this earthly journey. In the next world, man will find himself freed from many of the disabilities under which he now suffers. Those who have passed on through death, have a sphere of their own. It is not removed from ours; their work, the work of the Kingdom, is ours; but it is sanctified from what we call ‘time and place.’ Time with us is measured by the sun. When there is no more sunrise, and no more sunset, that kind of time does not exist for man. Those who have ascended have different attributes from those who are still on earth, yet there is no real separation.
“In prayer there is a mingling of station,
a mingling of condition. Pray for them as
they pray for you! When you do not know
it, and are in a receptive attitude, they are
able to make suggestions to you, if you are
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in difficulty. This sometimes happens in
sleep. But there is no phenomenal intercourse!
That which seems like phenomenal
intercourse has another explanation.” The
questioner exclaimed; “But I have heard
a voice!” Abdul Baha said: “Yes, that
is possible; we hear voices clearly in dreams.
It is not with the physical ear that you
heard; the spirit of those that have passed
on are freed from sense-life, and do not use
physical means. It is not possible to put
these great matters into human words; the
language of man is the language of children,
and man’s explanation often leads astray.”
Someone present asked how it was that in prayer and meditation the heart often turns with instinctive appeal to some friend who has passed into the next life.
Abdul Baha answered: “It is a law of
God’s creation that the weak should lean
upon the strong. Those to whom you turn
may be mediators of God’s power to you,
even as when on earth. But it is the
One Holy Spirit that strengthens all men.”
Hereupon another friend referred to the
communing of Jesus on the Mount of
Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah; and
Abdul Baha said: “The faithful are ever
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sustained by the presence of the Supreme
Concourse. In the Supreme Concourse are
Jesus, and Moses, and Elijah, and Baha’u’llah,
and other Supreme Souls: there, also, are
the martyrs.”
When asked about the individual persistence of the animal’s personality after death, Abdul Baha said: “Even the most developed dog has not the immortal soul of the man; yet the dog is perfect in its own place. You do not quarrel with a rose-tree because it can-not sing!”
A TRUE BAHAI
A student of the modern methods of
the higher criticism asked Abdul Baha if he
would do well to continue in the Church with
which he had been associated all his life,
and whose language was full of meaning
to him. Abdul Baha answered: “You must
not dissociate yourself from it. Know this;
the Kingdom of God is not in any Society;
some seekers go through many Societies as
a traveller goes through many cities till he
reach his destination. If you belong to a
Society already do not forsake your brothers.
You can be a Bahai-Christian, a Bahai-Freemason,
a Bahai-Jew, a Bahai-Mohammedan.
The number nine contains eight, and
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seven, and all the other numbers, and does
not deny any of them. Do not distress or
deny anyone by saying ‘He is not a Bahai!’
He will be known by his deeds. There are
no secrets among Bahais; a Bahai does not.
hide anything.”
SPREADING THE TEACHING
When asked by an American friend: “Which is the best way to spread the teaching?” he said: “By deeds. This way is open to all, and deeds are understood by all. Join yourselves to those who work for the poor, the weak and the unfortunate; this is greatly to be commended. To teach by words requires the skill of a wise physician. He does not offer help to those who do not want treatment. Do not press help on those who do not need your help. The work of teaching is not for all.”
The following incident shows how Abdul
Baha’s attention is given to the smallest
details where others are involved. On
hearing that some of his friends had
come down from London, and had planned
to stop the night in the village so as to be
near him, Abdul Baha immediately made
them his guests at the Inn, and being concerned
for their comfort, went over personally
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to inspect the rooms, as the nights were
getting cold.
AT BROOKLANDS
The morning of the second day, a neighbour sent over her car, asking if Abdul Baha would not like to take his guests to the Brooklands aviation ground. Though it was windy, an aviator who was on the track, when he heard who the visitor was offered to fly for him. Abdul Baha left his friends and walked out into the middle of the course, ‘where he stood alone watching the biplane making wide circles above him.
A Hindu who was learning to fly at the school joined Abdul Baha’s friends and asked “Who is the man in Eastern dress?”
When told, he exclaimed, “Oh! I know him very well through his teachings, which I have studied,” and immediately he went to meet Abdul Baha.
They talked together for some time in Arabic, the young man showing great joy at being in his presence. He afterwards said that for many years he had longed for this moment.
While having tea out of doors, Abdul Baha
and the young Hindu, sitting at the head
of the long benches that had been arranged,
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talked merrily to everyone.
Abdul Baha noticed two of the airmen who were wrestling on the grounds, and when they stopped, he went to them clapping his hands and crying in English, “Bravo! Bravo! that is good exercise.”
Since his return to Egypt Abdul Baha has sent a kind message of remembrance to the people of Byfleet, saying that he will never forget them.
