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STAR OF THE WEST
PUBLISHED NINETEEN TIMES A YEAR
In the Interest of the BAHAI MOVEMENT
By the BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, 515 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
Publishers: ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA—DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI
Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the postoffice at Chicago, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
TERMS: $3.00 per year; 20 cents per copy.
Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year.
Make Money Orders Payable to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
To personal checks please add sufficient to cover the bank exchange.
Address all communications to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
"Great importance must be given to the development of the STAR OF THE WEST. The circle of its discussion must be widened; in its columns must be published the essential problems pertaining to the Bahai life in all its phases. Its contents must be so universal that even the strangers may subscribe to it. Articles must be published, dealing with the universal principles of the Cause, the writers proving that this Cause takes a vital interest in all the social and religious movements of the age and is conducive to the progress of the world and its inhabitants. In short, the STAR OF THE WEST must promote the aspirations and the ideals that will gather little by little around these general Tablets, bringing into the light of day all the historical, religious and racial knowledge which will be of the utmost value to the Bahai teachers all over the world."
From Unveiling of the Divine Plan.
| Vol. 12 | CONTENTS | No. 11 |
| PAGE | |
| Exterior and Interior of Bahai Pilgrim House, to be erected at Haifa. | |
Drawings by Charles Mason Remey | 178 |
A Week in Abdul-Baha's Home | 179 |
| (Second installment.) | |
| By GENEVIEVE L. COY. | |
Design for Bahai Pilgrim House, Haifa | 184 |
| Letter from Charles Mason Remey. | |
Answer by Abdul-Baha to question, "Who Was Jesus?" | 188 |
| From notes of Mountfort Mills. | |
PERSIAN SECTION—Written by Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi | 192-189 |
"Today the magnetic power that attracts heavenly blessings is teaching the Cause of God. Whoever arises to perform this service the armies of the angels will grant him victory. The three conditions of teaching the Cause of God are the science of sociability, purity of deeds and sweetness of speech. I hope each one of you may become confirmed with these three attributes.
"Therefore one must be wholly cleansed from desire and self and passion, be abstracted (drawn apart) from the world of nature, become embodied light and visualized spirit and then be engaged in teaching the Cause of God. Then the fire of the love of God will flame so high as to attract the hearts of all mankind."
(Words of ABDUL-BAHA in Tablet to friends in Denver, 1914. From Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.)
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BAHAI PILGRIM HOUSE HAIFA PALESTINE EXTERIOR C M R ARCHT
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BAHAI PILGRIM HOUSE HAIFA PALESTINE INTERIOR C M R ARCHT
(See article page 184)
"We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; that all nations shall become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened, that diversity of religion shall cease and differences of race be annulled. So it shall be; these fruitless strifes; these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come."—BAHA 'ULLAH.
| Vol. 12 | Masheyat 1, 77 (September 27, 1921) | No. 11 |
BY GENEVIEVE L. COY
[Continued from page 167]IN front of the tomb of the Báb we found perhaps thirty of the men pilgrims sitting. One of the most majestic was a tall man, dressed in a long black robe,—one of the Bahai teachers from Ishkabad. And with all his dignity, he had the most beautiful laughter-wrinkles around his eyes! One soon realized the cause of the latter, for he smiled almost all the time!
"We were shown to seats in front of the Tomb, on the edge of the beautiful garden of the terrace. We were told that the Master would come soon. During the last few days I had prayed so much for the ability to learn to serve the many children of the Father. I had found myself trying to imagine what the Master's presence would be like,—and then had tried not to do that for fear I would be hindering my realization of his actual presence! And so I had tried to go to him with only the thought of the love of God in my heart.
Suddenly all of the believers rose and faced the East. Then, from around the corner of the Tomb came the Master with two of the young men walking a little behind him. He came slowly toward us,—and said, "Welcome, welcome!" in English; and then, "Sit down, sit down!" Sylvia sat next him; then Mabel Paine, myself, Cora, and Mrs. Hoagg. The other friends were beyond her, in two rows.
When the Master had walked toward us, it seemed to me that I had seen him come just that way at some previous time. He seemed to be so beautifully familiar to me! I suppose it must have seemed so because of the pictures I have seen of him, and the stories I have heard other pilgrims tell. It was a moment that one would prolong if one could, that one would never forget!
The Master began to speak in Persian,
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The Tomb of the Báb on Mt. Carmel
and Rouhi Effendi translated into English. He asked several questions; he talked of principles of living. Sometimes he would be silent for several minutes,—with his eyes looking far, far away. It is very difficult to remember much of what he said. Indeed, it was almost difficult to listen!
I wished only to look and look at the beauty of his face! For that was what impressed me first,—the exquisite beauty of the Master. It was like the most beautiful pictures we have of him, with life and color added. His is a face of living silver—the wonderful silver of hair and beard, and the blue of his eyes. The side face is majestic and sweet and loving. It was that which we saw most of the time. The full face is more dignified;
to me it seemed more awe-inspiring. And yet, when he smiled, it was most exquisitely friendly, and human!
But he looked very, very tired. And one of the secretaries had said in the morning that he looked more rested than when he had gone up to the Tomb a few days before. It hurt poignantly that any face of such beauty should be
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Abdul-Baha's Home, Haifa
so weary. We had brought letters from friends in America to give to him, but when we saw the weariness of his face, we could not bear to add at all to the burdens he has to carry.
And yet the weariness was not, I think, a weariness of spirit. I cannot tell why I felt that way, partly because he can reach, as no one else can, the infinite sources of spiritual strength.
I had no desire to speak to the Master; there was nothing that I could say. I do not know what happened in my mind and heart. There was no shock, no surprise, no sadness, no thought of my own faulty past. But I came to understand that for one who has been long in his presence, there can be no desire except to serve him; that one's life would be happy only as one pleased him; that one would be sad only as one grieved him. I felt then that I had begun to learn,—that the will to serve was becoming greater, as I had prayed that it might. Having seen the Master but once, I could make no promise to myself that that longing would carry me through and beyond all my selfish habits of the past. But I knew that to be in his presence would mean that I must love him, that I must do his will.
After a time, perhaps half an hour, some English visitors came; the Master begged to be excused; we rose and watched him until he disappeared from sight. Afterward we walked about the garden at the front of the Tomb. We saw the big reservoir for rain-water, built into the terrace, which supplies water for the garden and for many of the people of the neighborhood. Mirza Lotfullah brought us figs from one of the trees in the garden. We looked across the beautiful blue waters of the bay, to Acca, shining in the distance. We caught a suggestion of luxuriant growth of trees, and were told that it marked the Tomb of BAHA'O'LLAH. The sun sank behind the mountain, and finally Mrs. Hoagg said it was time for us to be going down but that first we might see the interior of the Tomb.
The care-taker opened a door at the southwest corner of the Tomb, and spread a piece of matting in front of it. Mrs. Hoagg went with us to show us the custom used in entering the Tomb. We removed our shoes, and then the caretaker poured rose-water on our hands, from a little glass cruet. We followed Mrs. Hoagg into the first room. It was perhaps fifteen feet square, and the floor was covered with a beautiful dark Persian carpet. There was no furniture of any kind. Directly in line with the outer door was a second door that led into an inner room. That was also covered with beautiful rugs. Standing on the floor were exquisite glass vases with candles burning in them. They were in groups, perhaps of three, and they gave
the impression of flowers of living flame. I think there must have been other objects, a few, in the room. But the whole impression was one of exquisite beauty, simplicity and peace. The inner room was raised several inches above the outer, and the raised threshold was covered with an embroidered cloth.
Mrs. Hoagg walked slowly up to the threshold, knelt there a moment in prayer and then came back to a corner of the room. Cora followed her, and then came my turn. I had heard of the custom of prostrating oneself at the threshold of the Tomb, and I had wondered whether it would not seem stilted and formal. But it did not in the least! Perhaps it was the dignity and majesty of the Tomb, perhaps it was because we had been with the Master so recently. I was filled with a feeling of humility, with a longing to be "evanescent at His threshold," and the kneeling in prayer seemed the most natural thing in the world! After that moment at the threshold, I walked to the back of the room while Sylvia and Mabel in turn went forward. We knelt in prayer a long time. I cannot guess what was in the hearts of the others, but my own was filled with a great longing to lose my old selfish self, and to acquire the unselfishness of service. It was a wonderful time. I thought of that "radiant youth called the Bab," who had given everything,—friends, family, life itself, to prepare the way of the Lord. I thought of the Master and the years of imprisonment and hardship that he had spent in the service of the Blessed Beauty. For the first time, since coming to Haifa, I was almost ready to weep,—not from sorrow, but from the sense of the greatness of the power of God.
No thought of death entered my mind while I was there. It was not a place of mourning! When I thought of the Bab, it was to be happy that one so pure of heart had lived and served. The only grief was for my own faults and failures; and the future, with the hope of service, was much more vivid than the past!
Finally Mrs. Hoagg, Cora and I had left the Tomb. Mabel and Sylvia had not yet come out. We were about to put on our shoes, when suddenly the
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Abdul-Baha
Master came around the corner! He smiled at us, and took up the cruet of rose-water. He held it out toward us, and I realized in a few moments that he wished to pour some on our hands. But I did not dream of going into the Tomb again, and so I did not realize what he meant! So he poured some on his own hands, put some on his face, and again held out the rose-water, giving us a glorious smile as he did so. That time we understood that he was waiting to anoint our hands,—and we gladly held them out for the fragrant drops. Mrs. Hoagg whispered, "We will go in again,"—and just then the men believers came in a long line from the front of the Tomb. The Master anointed the hands of each, and they passed into the Tomb. Each knelt at the inner threshold a moment, until all had risen, and stood in a circle about
the room. The the Master spoke to Rouhi Effendi, who began to chant a long prayer, one of the Prayers of Visitation. His chanting was the sweetest, the most melodious of any I have
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Cypress trees at the Tomb of the Bab on Mt. Carmel, under which Bahá 'Ullah used to pitch his tent.
ever heard. After the prayer the believers knelt at the threshold, and then passed quietly out. We four Americans were the last to leave, and as soon as we had left the Tomb, Mrs. Hoagg came to say that the Master was waiting to say good-bye to us. He stood at the northeast corner of the Tomb, and as we passed he shook hands with each of us, adding a caress for Sylvia. We turned and watched him as he walked back to the Tomb, waiting for the last glimpse! Then we walked down the mountain in the gathering dusk, and we were very happy. On the way down Mirza Lotfullah told us interesting stories of the spread of the Cause in Persia, of the self-sacrifice and patience of the believers in trying to bring others to see the Light of this day.
Of the Master's talk on that first afternoon I can remember the following: He said that we were very welcome, and inquired whether we were well. Then almost immediately he asked about Mr. Vail. Mrs. Paine said, "He sends his love and longing. He wishes to do the Master's will."
ABDUL-BAHA: "Mr. Vail is a good man, a sincere man. He is very illumined."
CORA GRAY: "It is through his teaching that we are here."
ABDUL-BAHA: "You must be very grateful to him. He has been the cause of your life. He has educated you. He has no aim save to serve the Kingdom.
"Some people are ready for education. They are like the fertile ground. Some have not capacity, they are like the barren or salty ground. His Holiness Christ has told a story of the seed that fell on stony ground and so it could not grow. Other seeds fell in the shallow earth, and they soon withered away. But some fell on the good fertile earth, and grew and produced fruit. So it is with my words. Some fall on hearts that have no capacity; they do not take effect at all. Those people do not understand.
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Path leading to the Tomb of the Bab on Mt. Carmel.
Others hear and seem to understand, but they forget my words and do not live in accordance with them. But others have great capacity; they
hear my words; they understand; they live accordingly.
"Have you seen Jenabe Fazel in America?"
CORA GRAY: "Yes, twice, just before we left New York."
ABDUL-BAHA: "He is a very pure-hearted man. He is a real Bahai. He is confirmed in service. He who is confirmed is confirmed in all things. Of the Persians who have gone to America only two have been fully confirmed Bahais—his honor, Abul Fazl, and his honor, Fazel. They are both very good."
Then the Master told the story of Mirza Abul Fazl, and the English ladies who insisted on seeing him! Finally, when they had knocked very persistently and continuously, Mirza Abul Fazl became tired of hearing it, so he went to the door, and said, "Abul Fazl is not here." Up to this point in the story, the Master had been speaking in Persian or Arabic, and Rouhi Effendi had been interpreting, but when the Master came to this part, he spoke in English, very distinctly, and then repeated it, "Abul Fazl is not here!" and then he smiled the most adorable smile!
When we first saw the Master, he asked whether we had had any troubles or difficulties on the way. Cora replied that if we had had any, we had now forgotten all of them.
ABDUL-BAHA: "There is a Persian poet who says that when one has attained to the goal of one's journey, the end of one's search, he forgets all that has happened on the way."
Cora said that the friends in Alexandria and Cairo had been so kind to us, and had helped us so much.
ABDUL-BAHA: "That is the duty of any Bahai. He is greater who serves most. That is the way to progress. Some flowers have color and no fragrance. Some have both fragrance and color; some have neither. So it is with the hearts of men."
September 3, 1920
On September 3d we did not see the Master at all, for he was still up on Mt. Carmel. I was very, very happy, with a calm peace. During the morning I wrote in my diary. In the afternoon we had tea with the ladies at the Master's
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The Garden of Rizwan
house. Some one told Mrs. Paine to sit in the big wicker chair at the end of the room, and she was happy to sit in the Master's chair. I talked to Touba Khanum for a time, mostly about education. Her daughter, Soraya, is to go to Cairo, to the Protestant School for Girls this year, and Touba Khanum was saying how much they disliked to have to send their children away from home. But the schools in Haifa are not advanced enough for study beyond the age of fourteen or fifteen. She said, "We like to have our children at home in the evening in order that we may give them some spiritual teaching ourselves." I could faintly imagine the loss to those children from separation from the lovely daughters of the Master! Touba Khanum said that the previous year Soraya had been in a girl's school in Beirut. She had been eager to go, for
(Continued on page 186)
O thou STAR OF THE WEST!
Be thou happy! Be thou happy! Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shall become the Star of the East and shalt spread in every country and clime. Thou art the first paper of the Bahais which is organized in the country of America. Although for the present thy subscribers are limited, thy form is small and thy voice weak, yet shouldst thou stand unshakable, become the object of the attention of the friends and the center of the generosity of the leaders of the faith who are firm in the Covenant, in the future thy subscribers will become hosts after hosts like unto the waves of the sea; thy volume will increase, thy arena will become vast and spacious and thy voice and fame will be raised and become world-wide—and at last thou shall become the first paper of the world of humanity. Yet all these depend upon firmness firmness, firmness!
O ye apostles of BAHA 'ULLAH—May my life be a ransom to you!
. . . . Similarly, the Magazine, the STAR OF THE WEST, must be edited in the utmost regularity, but its contents must be the promulgator of the Cause of God—so that both in the East and the West, they may become informed with the most important events.
| Vol. 12 | Masheyat 1, 77 (September 27, 1921) | No. 11 |
Description of the design for a House for the entertainment of Bahai Pilgrims to be built for the Center of the Covenant at the foot of Mount Carmel by Mr. Wm. H. Randall.
CHARLES MASON REMEY, Architect.BEFORE I left America for Europe and the Holy Land in July, 1920, Mr. Randall spoke with me of the plan for building a Pilgrim House at the foot of Mount Carmel, which he had talked over with the Master, Abdul-Baha, on his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, telling me that the Master had spoken about my preparing drawings for the building.
In the early days of my visit with our Master last winter, he broached the subject of the Pilgrim House which Mr. Randall was to build, asking me to prepare designs for a building suitable for the purpose, to be built upon the site chosen.
The preliminary drawings for this design were made under the Master's direction. Sketches for several possible solutions were presented to him, and he chose one as being the best suited to the conditions, suggesting some changes in its arrangement. A sketch was then prepared upon these lines and this was presented to him for further corrections and alterations. This process was continued until the finished design was evolved. Then the Master told me to send the drawings to Mr. Randall, which instruction I carried out.
Since the means of travel and communication between Palestine and the rest of the world has been reestablished, after the great war, many Bahai pilgrims from all parts of the world are traveling to Mount Carmel (Haifa), and visiting the places of sacred interest to them in that vicinity. These visitors are the guests of the Master, Abdul-Baha, while in Haifa. They are entertained in two groups, Oriental and Occidental. There is a Pilgrim House up on the mountain, not far from the Tomb of the Bab, where the Oriental pilgrims are lodged, while the Occidental pilgrims are entertained lower down on the mountain in a house near the house of the Master. This Pilgrim House for the
people from the West, which is soon to be built, is to meet the increasing demand for a more adequate accommodation than this present house affords.
The Pilgrim House is to be built upon a lot in the Bahai colony at the foot of Mount Carmel, on the opposite side of the street from the house of the Master, Abdul-Baha. There is a gentle downward slope of the ground from south to
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CH CH CH DINING R PANTRY KITCHEN CH
PARLOR HALL CENTRAL HALL HALL PARLOR
CH CH CH VESTIBULE CH CH CH
ENTRANCE
SCALE FEET
BAHAI PILGRIM HOUSE HAIFA PALESTINE
PLAN C M R ARCHT
north, the lot fronting on the west side of the street which runs north and south, thus the house will front toward the east. As will be seen on the drawings, advantage has been taken of the contour of the land in order to build a basement story beneath the northern end of the building which will stand higher out of the ground than the southern end. The south end of the house will not be excavated below the main story.
It is suggested that this building be constructed of the material quarried from Mount Carmel, such as is commonly used in that part of the country.
The cornice and base courses, corner trimmings, and the window and door jambs, lintels, and sills, etc., will be of dressed stone. The walls to be of rough stone. The columns supporting the arches of the main portico, as well as the columns of the interior supporting the central cupola of the building are to be of marble such as is commonly used in that vicinity. The main floor from the basement story as well as the roofs are
to be carried on iron girders supporting concrete, a construction common to those parts. The two domed roofs of the two circular rooms at either end of the building are to be of reenforced concrete.
Running the length of the building is a large hallway which would serve for meetings and reunions, in the center of which is an octagonal space going up into a clear story, lighted by twelve bulls-eye windows, securing ventilation. At either end of the large central hallway are two parlors with very large and high arched windows such as are common in that part of the country, separated from the hallway by arches. These rooms are
circular in form, the walls of which are divided into nine equal bays, thus each of these rooms would appear to have the form of nine sides. Opposite to the main entrance is the dining room and to the right of which is a pantry and kitchen, both fitted with closets. The sleeping rooms open out from the main central hallway, which is a plan both common and practical in that part of the country.
Chas. Mason Remey.
evidently life is a very restricted affair for a girl in Haifa! But this fall Soraya was not quite so eager to go to Cairo. Perhaps she had begun to realize how different her home in the Master's household is from the ordinary places of living!
We told the ladies that we hoped some of their children would come to America to study. But of course they think that a very long way from home to send them. Shoghi Effendi is now in England, just ready to enter Oxford, and Rouhanges, his sister, is to enter some college for girls there.
Touba Khanum, and, on another day, Rouha Khanum, spoke of their hope of the founding of a Bahai School on Mt. Carmel. They are so sweetly appreciative and kind; they act as though the person to whom they are talking had all beautiful characteristics,—and one longs to arise to meet that faith with deeds! Touba Khanum made me feel that way, when in speaking of a future Bahai school on Mt. Carmel, she said, "When such a school is founded I hope you may come and teach in it." What could be more wonderful! But one would have to "live the life" perfectly in order to be worthy to teach in such a school.
After a time Mrs. Paine told me to come over to sit in the wicker chair. That brought me near dear Rouha Khanum and the Holy Mother. They talked to me about education. The Holy Mother said that when I was teaching my classes I could show forth Bahai love and kindness, even though I could not directly give the Bahai teachings. Besides, she said, there were many of the Bahai teachings that I could mention in class, even though I did not label them "Bahai."
The Holy Mother is very, very sweet. She is quiet, calm, giving one the impression that no disturbance ever ruffles the evenness of her life. Her voice is low, and yet assured. There is a "sweet reasonableness" in it that seems to say, "Why be impatient? All will be well in God's good time!" She makes me think of the verse in the Hidden Words, "Be contented with what we have ordained for thy sake. This is for thy good if thou art content with it." The Holy Mother is content with His will. She was not in the group of prisoners who were exiled to Acca in 1868, but came from Persia with her brother. The journey was very hard. Much of the time she had to sleep at night in the same room with several men, and therefore she had to wear a veil at night, as well as in the daytime. Imagine the faith and courage of a young woman, who would come all that journey of months, through wild countries, in order that she might enter the Prison City, and marry—a Prisoner! When she reached Acca, the Bahais had been removed from the barracks, and were living in a small house, one we saw when we visited Acca. One can only faintly imagine the warmth of the greeting she must have received when she came to be the wife of the beloved Greatest Branch! At that time the Master must have been twenty-seven or
eight years old. We know that even then he was the comfort and joy of the whole Bahai colony!
One of the ladies apologized because they had not been over to the Pilgrim House to call on us, for they had been unusually busy. There is much to be done in that big household, and in addition, two or three of the children had been quite ill. I think it was Rouha Khanum who was saying that they wanted to see more of us, and she continued, "One should go and call on one's guests—and yet we do not!" Then she smiled and said, "But you are not our guests! you are members of our family!" What sweeter hospitality could one desire!
I have mentioned the big wicker chair at the end of the room. However I never saw the Master sit in it! Whenever we saw him in that room, he sat in a corner of one of the divans,—always in the same place.
I think it was this same afternoon that the ladies took us out and showed us the garden. The whole plot of ground upon which the house stands is from one-third to one-half an acre in size, and all of it is a beautifully cared-for garden, except for the parts where buildings actually stand. (There is nothing comparable in it to our American lawns of grass!)
The garden has all been made since 1911 or 1912, by one faithful Bahai who loves to serve the Master in that way. I think many of the seeds, cuttings, etc., have been sent by Bahais from various parts of the world. The result of the gardener's work is a lovely place. Flowers, fruits and vegetables of many varieties grow there. We saw peaches, lemons and pomegranates hanging on the trees. The pomegranates were just ripening and one of the ladies picked some for us to taste. There were two varieties, a sweet kind, that every one likes, and a rather sour kind which reminded us of our red currants. Cora and I liked its sharp tartness, but most of the others did not care for it. The pomegranates are a beautiful fruit, with their dozens and dozens of bright red drops, crowded together within the reddish-yellow rind.
The Greatest Holy Leaf walked about several of the garden paths, looking at all the plants and trees. Some one told us that that was the first time in months that she had been in the garden! Apparently the ladies seldom go into the garden, because there are always men about who do not belong to the immediate family! And the Master says it is still not the time for the Bahai women in Haifa to go contrary to the custom of the country with regard to veiling when strange men are about. The ladies are longing for the time to come when they can lay aside the warm black veil!
To return to the garden: Several of the paths have trellises over them, with vines which make them very lovely. Above the main gateway there is a big bougonvillea plant which was covered with many blossoms when we were there. Beneath one of the arbors, against the house, and just below the Master's window, was a garden-bench, where the friends often sat and talked. Cora and I went over there and sat for an hour two or three times, drinking in the beauty and peace. I had heard much of the Master's garden, and I was so happy to see it with my own eyes!
At dinner that Friday evening the friends were very merry. There was a constant chatter, laughter and teasing! Mirza Badi (who is interpreter for the English governor) sat next Mrs. Hoagg, and they carried on a gay conversation. He has the nicest face, and his eyes twinkle with fun all the time!
We had watermelon for dessert. When the Master is not there to give the signal for leaving the table, it is the custom for all to watch until every one has finished eating; then all rise at once. But that evening, Malcolm and Mirza
Lotfullah lingered over their watermelon longer than the others!—I think Mrs. Hoagg and Mirza Badi were responsible for flashing a signal down the table, that we should rise and leave them there! So some twenty-three people rose and looked on while Malcolm and Mirza Lotfullah finished their watermelon, while everyone laughed at them! We were all like the simplest children who had played a prank on two playmates!
All day Friday we had been wondering when the Master would come down from the mountain. We were eager for him to come because we knew that we should see more of him then.—And yet, remembering how tired he had looked, I could not help but wish he might stay longer in the quiet peace near the Tomb, in the hope that he might become more rested.
All that day I had been very happy and content not to see him, but as the evening came on I began to long to see his beautiful face again! And so I could not help but be happy when we heard that he was coming down the next morning—that Esfendiar was to go up for him sometime between six and seven! And so I went to sleep in our quiet room in the Pilgrim House, rejoicing that on the morrow we should see him again.
September 4, 1920.
On Saturday morning, Cora and I rose in the darknes of 4:30 a. m., dressed, and by 5:15 we were on our way up the mountain toward the Tomb of the Bab. That early hour was a bit too late, for even then we found the climb warm, and the sun rose before we had reached the Tomb. We stopped to watch its glorious arising from behind the Lebanon hills. There were enough clouds to make a really beautiful sunrise. The valley of Acca was radiant, and the river winding through it gleamed silver! It looked, in its outward physical seeming, "a door of hope!" We continued up the hillside to the Tomb. As we passed the caretaker's house, he saw us, and by a gesture, asked whether we wished to enter his house. Perhaps he thought we had come up to see the Master, whom we knew was either in the house or at the Tomb. But we motioned toward the Tomb. He smiled, and preceding us, opened the west door into the room where we had been on Thursday. Then he quietly departed.
The candles were not lighted and the central room was not quite so beautiful on that account. But a soft light filtered in through the doors,—and the exquisite peace filled our hearts. We stayed for perhaps an hour, in meditation and prayer.
(To be continued)
Answer by Abdul-Baha to Question "Who Was Jesus?"
"Jesus was a Manifestation of God. Everything of him pertained to God. To know him was to know God. To have him was to have God. To obey him was to obey God. He was the source of all divine virtues. He was a vision of all divine qualities. In this vision the light of the Sun of Reality was reflected to the world. Through this mirror the Energy of God was transmitted to the world. The whole disk of the Sun of Reality was reflected in him."
(From notes of Mr. Mountfort Mills during his visit to Abdul-Baha.)
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