The Reconciliation of Races and ReligionsCheyne, T. K. (Thomas Kelly)
Religion
The Reconciliation of Races and Religions
Cheyne, T. K. (Thomas Kelly)
Bahais
'He never married, and in Akka was one of the most constant and loved
companions of Baha-'ullah. I remarked upon his cheerful appearance,
and added, "But all you Bahais look happy." Mirza Haydar 'Ali said:
"Sometimes we have surface troubles, but that cannot touch our
happiness. The heart of those who belong to the Malekoot (Kingdom of
God) is like the sea: when the wind is rough it troubles the surface
of the water, but two metres down there is perfect calm and
clearness."'
The preceding passage is by Miss E. S. Stevens (_Fortnightly
Review_, June 1911). A friend, who has also been a guest in Abdul
Baha's house, tells me that Haydar 'Ali is known at Akka as 'the
Angel.'
ABDUL BAHA (ABBAS EFFENDI)
The eldest son of Baha-'ullah is our dear and venerated Abdul Baha
('Servant of the Splendour'), otherwise known as Abbas Effendi. He
was born at the midnight following the day on which the Bāb made his
declaration. He was therefore eight years old, and the sister who
writes her recollections five, when, in August 1852, an attempt was
made on the life of the Shah by a young Bābī, disaffected to the
ruling dynasty. The future Abdul Baha was already conspicuous for his
fearlessness and for his passionate devotion to his father. The
_gamins_ of Tihran (Teheran) might visit him as he paced to and fro,
waiting for news from his father, but he did not mind--not he. One day
his sister--a mere child--was returning home under her mother's care,
and found him surrounded by a band of boys. 'He was standing in their
midst as straight as an arrow--a little fellow, the youngest and
smallest of the group--firmly but quietly _commanding_ them not to lay
their hands upon him, which, strange to say, they seemed unable to
do.' [Footnote: Phelps, pp. 14, 15.]
This love to his father was strikingly shown during the absence of
Baha-'ullah in the mountains, when this affectionate youth fell a prey
to inconsolable paroxysms of grief. [Footnote: Ibid. p. 20.] At a
later time--on the journey from Baghdad to Constantinople--Abdul Baha
seemed to constitute himself the special attendant of his father. 'In
order to get a little rest, he adopted the plan of riding swiftly a
considerable distance ahead of the caravan, when, dismounting and
causing his horse to lie down, he would throw himself on the ground
and place his head on his horse's neck. So he would sleep until the
cavalcade came up, when his horse would awake him by a kick, and he
would remount.' [Footnote: Phelps, pp. 31, 32.]
In fact, in his youth he was fond of riding, and there was a time when
he thought that he would like hunting, but 'when I saw them killing
birds and animals, I thought that this could not be right. Then it
occurred to me that better than hunting for animals, to kill them, was
hunting for the souls of men to bring them to God. I then resolved
that I would be a hunter of this sort. This was my first and last
experience in the chase.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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