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IN MEMORIAM
ADELBERT MUHLSCHLEGEL 1897—1980
On 16 October 1920 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed the following Tablet t0 Adelbert Mühlschlegel:
O thou son of the Kingdom! Thy letter hath been received. It was like unto a bag of musk. When I opened it, the fragrance of the love of God was perceived. [t is my hope that thy rivulet may develop into a sea and surge with the breezes of divine guidance, casting a wave to the East and another to the West.
Be thou deeply thankful to thy teacher and show unto her heartfelt and spiritual gratitude, because it was she who caused thee to hear the divine call and it was through her that thou didst attain to eternal grace. Thou wert earthly and thou becamesl heavenly; thou wert in darkness and thou didst attain illumination; thou wert Of the world of matter and thou becamest divine, and thou didst obtain a portion and share of the eternal bestowal. Be filled with happiness and derive joy from the melody of the Supreme Concourse!
It is my hope that thou wilt follow in the path of Bahá’u’lláh. Thine honoured wife will be favoured at the threshold of Oneness and looked upon with the eyes of the merciful Lord. Upon thee be the Glory of the AllGlorious.
This hope of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that Adelbert Mühlschlegel would walk in the path of Bahá’u’lláh came true and he continued in this path devotedly to the end of his life. He was born on 16 June 1897 in Berlin. His father was a military doctor in the service of the King of Wfirttemberg, which influenced young Adelbert’s choice of profession. His mother was the daughter of the pastor of Biberach, and she passed on to her son the longing for spiritual values. Adelbert described his childhood, part of which was spent in Stuttgart, as a cheerful one. He lived for many years in a house with a large garden. His parents gave him much love and attention. He had the example of his mother’s pious and radiant soul as well as his father’s discipline and encouragement in sports. In
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addition, he had a charming little sister who later emigrated to eastern Europe and accepted the Faith there.
During World War I Adelbert served in the medical corps and struggled to harmonize within himself the hard facts of medicine with the longing for spiritual enlightenment. His medical studies took him to Freiburg, Greifswald and Tfibingen. He grew increasingly convinced that a new era was coming into being and he became a true seeker. In 1920 he received a letter from his mother in which she said that she had found a new and universal Cause, the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. He studied the few texts which were available at that time, realized that it was the truth he had been searching for, and accepted the Faith.
In 1922 he opened his first medical practice, in Stuttgart. There followed a time of inner struggle to harmonize his profession and his private life with the Teachings. He participated in the community life of.Stuttgart, gave talks and wrote a melodrama for the third ‘Bahá’í Congress’, held in September 1924. Two years later he married Herma Weidle. They had two girls and three boys of whom one died in early childhood. Herma was a radiant mother and Adelbert‘s close companion in all his Bahá’í activities until she was called to the Abhá Kingdom in 1964.1 They had the great privilege of making a pilgrimage together in 1936 and of being in the presence of Shoghi Effendi who walked alone with Adelbert for a quarter of an hour in the gardens.
Then came the time in 1937 when the Faith was prohibited in Germany. Throughout the years of the Second World War Adelbert remained with his family in Stuttgart, as a doctor. Their apartment was bombed. In 1945, in their new home, Adelbert and Herma created a true centre for Bahá’í activities and, in addition, a place to which many young Iranian Bahá’ís turned upon their arrival in Germany. A warm atmosphere full of humour enveloped everyone. If any material difficulty arose, as was not unusual in those post 1 See ‘In Memoriam‘, The Bahá’í World, vol. XIV, p. 367.
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war years, Adelbert would compose a song making light of the problem. He continued to provide translations of Bahá’í literature and widened his working knowledge of a number of European languages. He wrote many articles on Bahá’í subjects that appeared in various publications. For many years—and until January 1958—he served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria, and was often its chairman.
In February 1952 Adelbert Mfihlschlegel was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God and from 1959 devoted his entire time. to service to the Faith. In 1957 a profound spiritual experience deeply affected him, preparing him for a life of complete dedication to service to Bahá’u’lláh. In that year, when the beloved Guardian passed away, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum asked Adelbert to wash the body of Shoghi Effendi before interment. This experience is best described in his own words:
‘Something new happened to me in that hour that I cannot, even after a few days, speak of, but I can mention the wisdom and love that I felt pour over me. In that roomwhich to worldly eyes would have appeared so
THE Bahá’í WORLD
different—there was a tremendous spiritual force such as I have only felt in my life in the holy Shrines. My first impression was the contrast between the body left behind and the majestic, transfigured face, a soul-stirring picture of the joyous victory of the eternal over the transient. My second impression, as I prayed and thought and carefully did what I had to do, was that in this degree of consecration to the work of God I should work all my life, and mankind should work a thousand years, in order to construct “the Kingdom” on earth; and my third thought was, as I washed each member of his body and anointed it, that I thanked those beloved hands which had worked and written to establish the Covenant, those feet that had walked for us, that mouth that had spoken to us, that head that had thought for us, and I prayed and meditated and supplicated that in the short time left to me, the members of my body might hasten to follow in his path of service; and my last thought was of my own distress because I felt how unworthy my hands were to anoint that blessed brow with attar-ofrose as the Masters of old were wont to do to their pupils; and yet what privileges, what duties fall to us, the living, to watch over what is past and mortal, be it ever so exalted. A great deal of mercy, love, and wisdom were hidden in this hour.’|
The Hand of the Cause Adelbert Mühlschlegel was one of the Chief Stewards of the Cause who guided it through the dark corridor from 1957 to 1963 when the Universal House of Justice was elected. During this time he visited many European countries, assisting in increasing the number of National Spiritual Assemblies there from three, in 1953, to sixteen, in 1963. In 1958 Dr. Mühlschlegel and his wife pioneered from Stuttgart to various centres and finally to Tiibingen where Herma passed away in 1964 following a long and severe illness during which she was cared for by her husband. A shining light had left this world to continue her services in another realm, and to assist her dear husband in this one.
After the death of his wife in 1964 Dr. Mühlschlegel moved'to Vienna to help consolidate this still struggling national com ' See The Bahá’í World, vol. XIII, pp. 218—219.
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IN MEMORIAM
munity. The secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly was Ursula Kohler who, a year later, became his wife and close collaborator. Then in 1970, when Switzerland needed help to open one of its French-speaking cantons, Dr. Mühlschlegel registered in the University of Fribourg in order to obtain his residence permit. Soon a healthy community was established in Fribourg with his help and that of his wife. From Austria and Switzerland his travels in Europe continued. When, in 1968, the Hands of the Cause were freed to serve on a world—wide basis through the establishment of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, Dr. Mfihlschlegel made his first trip to other continents. In 1969, at the request of the Universal House of Justice, he journeyed to Asia, visiting Persia, India, West Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and Nepal.
Having achieved his purpose in Switzerland, Dr. Mühlschlegel and his wife moved in 1974, at the suggestion of the House of Justice, to Hofheim, Germany, very close to the Mother Temple of Europe. Again their home became a centre of Bahá’í hospitality enriched by the great wisdom of Dr. Mühlschlegel who shared his knowledge with the visiting friends. In addition, he travelled to Africa in 1971 and 1972, and to South America in 1975. During these long trips he was accompanied by his wife, and although his heart was beginning to fail, he yet felt that he could render still another service by moving to a new countrythe source of the classical tradition so dear to his heart, namely Greece. And so in 1977, at the age of eighty, he settled, with Ursula. in their last pioneer post, Athens. The first National Spiritual Assembly of Greece was elected that year.
Now came a time of spiritual maturity for Dr. Mühlschlegel. The harmony of his home attracted friends from near and far, and all drew benefit from his combination of love and wisdom. Restricted in his travels, this faithful servant of the Cause devoted his time to study and t0 the preparation of a book concerning the achievement of maturity in the Cause. God took the pen from his hand before this work could go to the printer. However, his wife, Ursula, intends to complete for him this last effort of service. On 29 July 1980 the Hand of the Cause of God Adelbert Mühlschlegel joined his Beloved and his loved ones
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in the Abhzi Kingdom, leaving his wife, Ursula, to continue serving, assisted by him from on high. He is buried on the shores of the Mediterranean whose waters lap his resting-place and the shores of the Holy Land, which he so often Visited to pray at the holy Shrines. Dr. Mfihlschlegel had delighted a great number of friends with his poems; in 1977 a collection of these was published by the
Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Germany, com memorating his eightieth birthday. His last poem describes his dedication to the essence of life. A copy appears in the original German in the poetry section of this volume of the international record.
The Universal House of Justice informed the Bahá’í’ world of his passing in its cable of 29 July:
WITH SORROWFUI. HEARTS ANNOUNCE PASSING BELOVED HAND CAUSE ADELBERT MUHI.SCHIJEGEL. GRIEVOUS LOSS SUSTAINED ENTIRE BAHAI WORLD PARTICULARLY FELT EUROPE MAIN ARENA HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES CAUSE GOD. SERVING FOR MANY YEARS NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY GERMANY HE BECAME AFTER ELEVATION RANK HAND CAUSE ONE OF CHAMPION BUILDERS EMERGING EUROPEAN BAHAI COMMUNITY CONSTANTLY TRAVELLING ENCOURAGING RAISING SPIRITS FRIENDS RESIDING WHEREVER SERVICES MOST NEEDED FINALLY PIONEERING GREECE AND SURRENDERING HIS sour. PIONEER POST. HIS CONSTANT WILLINGNESS SERVE HIS ABILITY ENDEAR HIMSELF BELIEVERS AND OTHERS ALIKE BY HIS LOVING GENTLENESS SERENE HUMILITY RADIANT CHEERFULNESS HIS NEVER CEASING PURSUIT KNOWLEDGE AND TOTAL DEDICATION BLESSED BEAUTY PROVIDE WONDERFUL EXAMPLE BAHAI LIFE. ADVISE FRIENDS COMMEMORATE HIS PASSING AND REQUEST BEFITTING MEMORIAL SERVICES ALL MOTHER TEMPLES.
ANNEIJESE BOPP
