On the topic page daily life of a Bahá’í I shared the following quote by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
| Wherefore must the loved ones of God associate in affectionate fellowship with stranger and friend alike, showing forth to all the utmost loving-kindness, disregarding the degree of their capacity, never asking whether they deserve to be loved. In every instance let the friends be considerate and infinitely kind. Let them never be defeated by the malice of the people, by their aggression and their hate, no matter how intense. If others hurl their darts against you, offer them milk and honey in return; if they poison your lives, sweeten their souls; if they injure you, teach them how to be comforted; if they inflict a wound upon you, be a balm to their sores; if they sting you, hold to their lips a refreshing cup... Walk ye in such wise that this fleeting world will change into a splendour and this dismal heap of dust become a palace of delights. -Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá |
‘Abdu’l-Bahá is to Bahá’ís the perfect Exemplar of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. We learn more of what it means to be a Bahá’í by looking at how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lived, and by reading his writings. And his writings were not simply high-minded ideals, they were his way of life. We will read some from Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá compiled by Gloria Faizi, and then consider the question, how can we better emulate the example of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá?
Attitude towards material things
| During His prison life in ‘Akká, Abdu’l-Bahá often gave His bed to those who had none, and He always refused to own more than one coat. “Why should I have two,” He said, “when there are so many who have none?”
One day ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was to entertain the Governor of ‘Akká. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s wife felt that His old coat was hardly good enough for this important visit. She wished very much that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá might have a better coat, but He never noticed what He wore, so long as it was clean. She wondered what she should do. Finally, she decided that she would have a new coat made for Him, and on the morning of the visit she would put out the new one instead of the old. She felt He would surely never notice the difference. So she ordered a fine and rather expensive coat to be made by a tailor. And on the important day she laid it where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would be sure to find it. But when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá got ready to dress, He noticed right away that something was wrong. So He went searching through the house. He called, “Where is my coat? Where is my coat? Someone has left me a coat which is not mine!” His wife then tried to explain what had happened, but ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who always thought of others before He thought of Himself, said, “But think of this! For the price of this coat you can buy five such as I ordinarily use, and do you think I would spend so much money upon a coat which only I shall wear? If you think I need a new one, very well, but send this one back and for the same price have the tailor make me five such as I usually wear. Then, you see, I shall not only have a new one for myself, but I shall also have four more to give away.” |
Service to mankind
| Lua Getsinger, one of the early Bahá’ís of America, tells of an experience she had with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká. She had made the pilgrimage to the prison-city to see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. She was with Him one day when He said to her that He was too busy that day to call upon a friend of His who was very ill and poor. He wished Lua to go in His place. “Take him food,” He said, “and care for him as I have been doing.” He told her where this man was to be found, and she went gladly, proud that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá should trust her to do some of His own work.
Lua went, but she returned quickly. “Master,” she exclaimed, “surely you cannot realize to what a terrible place you sent me! I almost fainted from the awful smells, the dirty rooms, the low condition of that man and his house. I ran away before I should catch some terrible disease.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá looked at her sadly and like a firm father. “If you want to serve God,” He said, “you must serve your fellow-man, for in him do you see the image and likeness of God.” He then told her to go back to the man’s house. “If the house is dirty”, He said, “you should clean it; if this brother of yours is not clean, bathe him; if he is hungry, feed him. Do not return until this is done. Many times ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has done this for him; cannot you serve him even once?” This is how Abdu’l-Bahá taught Lua to serve her fellow-men. |
Attitude to those who wished him harm
| Some of the Governors of ‘Akká were very kind to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but others listened more to His enemies than to His friends and did very cruel things. For instance, some enemies of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at one time started a rumour that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had left ‘Akká and gone to Haifa. With the help of His many friends, they said, He was building a strong fort on Mount Carmel. Very soon, He would take over all of Palestine and Syria, and the Turkish Government would be driven out.
It was true that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had moved to the fresh air of Haifa with His family, and it was true that He had many friends of all nationalities, but the so-called fort He was building was really the sacred Shrine of the Báb. The Governor, however, believed the stories the enemies told, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s family was brought back to the prison-city of ‘Akká once again. On one occasion an unfriendly Governor who hated the Bahá’ís decided to take over their shops and leave them with no means of making a living. So he gave orders to the police: “There are fifteen shops owned by Bahá’ís; go tomorrow morning early, lock them up, and bring the keys to me.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called the Bahá’ís to Him that same evening and said, “Do not open your shops tomorrow, but wait and see what God will send us.” The next morning, the Governor waited for the keys. The police came to him and said that the shops were closed. The Governor sent the police out again, and said, “See if the shops are open now.” The police returned and said that the shops were still closed. They waited and waited. At ten o’clock the shops were still not open, although they were usually open for trade at seven in the morning. However, the Governor knew that the shops must open sometime, so he waited. In the meantime, the High Priest of the town came to the Governor. “How are you?” asked the Governor. “Quite well,” the High Priest answered. “But I am very sad. I have a telegram here from Damascus which fills me with sorrow.” The Governor took the telegram and was shocked to see the message which had been received from the Central Government. It said that the Governor had been removed from his office, and that the police should take him to Damascus immediately. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá heard of the Governor’s misfortune, He went to visit him. “You must not be sad because of this,” He said. “Everything in this world changes. Can I do anything for you?” The Governor was surprised at His offer, but very grateful. He said, “Now that I am being taken away from my loved ones, there will be no one to take care of them. My dear family will be sad, lonely, and helpless, with no one to advise them and help them in their need.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “Do not be unhappy, but tell me where you want your family to go.” “If only they could follow me to Damascus!” he said. “Now trust in me,” said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “and let your heart rest easily. I will gladly send your wife and children to Damascus under very special care. You will find that they will be there soon after you arrive yourself.” And so it was done. When the family arrived in Damascus the Governor was very happy. He asked the guard who brought them there what the cost was for the journey. The guard answered, “It is nothing. I am only obeying the command of the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.” The Governor then wished to give the guard a present for himself, but he said, “I want no reward. I am only obeying the Master’s command. I can accept nothing.” When the Governor invited him to stay the night so he could rest and have some food, the guard said, “I obey the Master’s command to return immediately.” “Then please take a letter to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,” the Governor insisted. And he wrote the following letter: “O ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I pray you pardon me. I did not understand. I did not know you. I have done you great evil. You have rewarded me with great good.” |
His patience and love for guests
| One day a Christian minister came to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to get information for a magazine article. It was obvious that the minister, who was quite old, was not really interested in the Bahá’í Faith or in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He did most of the talking himself and asked only such questions as would help him in writing his article. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered his questions with short sentences, or with answers like “Yes” or “No”. He never lost interest in the interview, but it seemed that He was more interested in the questioner than in the questions. He sat perfectly relaxed, His hands in His lap with palms upward, as He usually did. He looked at the interviewer with an expression of understanding love which could not be described. His face was radiant with an inner flame.
The minister talked on and on. The other people with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá became very impatient. Why did not Abdu’l-Bahá stop the interview? they thought. Did He not see that it was useless? This man was not really interested in anything but making money from his article. But ‘Abdu’l-Bahá listened and encouraged the man to express himself fully. At last the minister paused. There was a silence for a moment, and then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá began to talk in His softly resonant voice. Sentence by sentence the interpreter translated. He spoke of His Holiness Christ, of His love for all men, strong even unto the Cross, of the importance of the Christian ministry “to which you, my dear son, have been called”, of the need for clergymen to “characterize themselves with the characteristics of God” so that the clergy would attract the hearts of men to the divine life. He spoke, too, of the coming Kingdom of God on earth for which Christ had told us to pray and which Bahá’u’lláh had come to this world to establish, as Christ had promised. Within five minutes, the questioner had become a different person. He was humble and, for the moment at least, a disciple at ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s feet. He seemed to have been carried away to another world, as were all those in the room. His face shone faintly as though he had received an inner light. Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arose. He lovingly embraced the minister and led him towards the door. At the door He paused. His eyes fell on a large bunch of beautiful roses which one of His friends had given to Him that morning. There were at least two dozen of them, perhaps three dozen. There were so many, and their stems were so long, that they had been placed in an umbrella stand as nothing else would hold them. No sooner had ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s eyes lighted upon the roses than He laughed aloud. His boyish laughter rang through the whole room. He stooped, gathered the whole bunch of roses in His arms, and placed them all in the arms of the visitor. And there stood the minister — his round, grey head above that huge bunch of lovely flowers — so surprised, so radiant, so humble, so completely changed!” |
How ‘Abdu’l-Bahá treated people in general
| ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was a man who had spent more than fifty years of His life in exile and in prison. He had never been to school as a child. He had not mixed with high school or university students during His young manhood. Even in His old age, He had never read the world’s important books, nor had discussions with highly educated men.
But when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went to Europe and America, He talked with scientists and philosophers, important men and great leaders. You would think that His past experience would not have prepared Him for this. But ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was never out of place. No matter what subject was brought up, He was perfectly at home in the discussion. In fact, He always seemed to know more than anyone else and was never lost for an answer to any question or problem. But at the same time, He never let people feel that He was better or greater than others. He was always modest, loving, and considerate of other people’s opinions. And He was always courteous towards everyone He met because He “saw the Face of His Heavenly Father in every face.” |
How can we better follow the example of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá?
First, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was not God or a prophet, and we do not worship him, but we look to him as an example of what it means to be a Bahá’í. In this last story we read that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá “saw the Face of His Heavenly Father in every face.” These are the words of Bahá’u’lláh in the Hidden Words: “O Son of Man! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me.” We see in this how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lived the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
If someone wrongs us do we get upset, or can we respond immediately with love? If we see someone in need do we stop to help or leave it to others? If we have money do we think of what we can buy, or how we can use it to serve others? What follows are my thoughts on these questions as an individual.
If someone wrongs us do we get upset, or can we respond immediately with love?
I was considering the question one evening of how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá could show love to people under all circumstances when a few thoughts came to me about how our expectations affect our emotions. Have you ever felt an anger or happiness that was almost uncontrollable, and if so what caused that reaction? Thinking back, we might still not see how we could have reacted any differently, but my purpose in bringing this up is to ask what had been your expectation about that situation just before your emotional reaction? If it was a happy emotion it is likely your expectations for that moment was being exceeded, and for a negative emotion that your expectations were not being met. It is worthwhile to consider situations where we are carried away with emotion because even in those moments we have a responsibility towards others. Consider a time after someone has just failed to return a lent item, damaged our car, missed an important deadline, failed to show up for a meeting, spoken unkindly towards us and how we are required to show them love in return.
I think it would be quite difficult for most people to control their emotions directly, those are simply instinctive responses to what is happening at any given moment. I also think it would be all but impossible to try and anticipate all possible bad outcomes to modulate our expectations and thereby control our emotions. How then can we follow the example of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? My final thought, and I may be wrong, was perhaps ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, instead of holding outward looking expectations like we do, held only expectations on himself. Those might be expectations to love God, to be a reflection of God's love for others, to follow the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, and similar.
If we are driving down the road with the active expectation that we will reflect love for God towards others and another driver cuts us off will we get angry? The truth is, that other driver has just created the opportunity for us to practice our goal.
We know God is all-forgiving, if we have the active expectation that we will reflect God's willingness to immediately forgive when someone breaks something we own what does this situation represent to us but an opportunity to grow towards God? These tests become causes for celebration and happiness, it is even as Bahá’u’lláh has said: "O Thou Whose tests are a healing medicine to such as are nigh unto Thee..." [1]
If we see someone in need do we stop to help or leave it to others?
By profession, I am an Air Traffic Controller. Those who wish to become Air Traffic Controllers go through an interesting training process. After some limited classroom and lab training we sit down in front of our stations and start working real airplanes; a mentor stands close by, ready to jump in if necessary. There is no way to simulate the real world in a lab, and therefore no way to learn the job without performing it. At the same time, if there were no airplanes in the sky, there would be nothing to practice and nothing to learn. I think of how this is similar to what we experience in life. If we never met anyone else, there would be no opportunity to develop our spiritual qualities or to show love towards others. Conversely, any time we see a chance to help someone it becomes a precious opportunity. Think of the Air Traffic Controller, every airplane is a learning opportunity bringing the trainee one step closer to completing training. Similarly, every situation where we find people can be a spiritual learning opportunity, a chance to grow along the path God has set out for us. Shouldn't we then strive to take every opportunity to help others? You would probably want the Air Traffic Controller working your airplane to have tried to talk to as many other airplanes as possible before he came to yours. If we truly want to grow towards God, so too must we take every opportunity.
If we have money do we think of what we can buy, or how we can use it to serve others?
The Book of Matthew records a parable spoken by Jesus, sometimes called the parable of the talents, wherein a master leaves three servants each with different sums of money while he goes away on a journey. Upon his return he comes to settle accounts with his servants. To the one he left 5 talents he receives 5 extra in return. To the one he left 2 talents he received 2 extra in return, to both servants the master said ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ The last servant who was given one talent was afraid and buried it in the ground, then dug it up upon his masters return. The master was angry as that servant had done nothing with his money, and if the servant was too afraid to invest, he could have at least put that talent in the bank and earned a small amount of interest. Then the master said: So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
This is a powerful parable. Do we recognize that what we have been given actually belongs to God? And recognizing that, are we faithful trusts of his resources? God may not be standing in front of us now, but at some point in the future we will be called to give account for how we have invested what God rightfully owns. Recall how the servant who returned an extra 2 talents, and the one who returned an extra 5 were rewarded equally, even though their return was not equal. Our resources and capabilities will be different from each other. We will not be judged based on what others have done, but what we will do with the share God has given us.
Note that this is not a call to extremism, both asceticism and monasticism are forbidden by Bahá’u’lláh and the Ḥuqúqu’lláh has been established by Him to purify those excess resources God has provided us.
Conclusion
I find the connection between these themes interesting, consider how any time spent worrying about how other servants are investing their resources would be time wasted. How we should focus instead on our own capacity to assist God. Consider these words of Bahá’u’lláh: "How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others?" How any time we spend worrying about the faults of others is time wasted, and how we should be focusing on our own faults so that we can improve ourselves. Consider how one is material and the other is spiritual, and yet the principles are the same. And finally consider how, it seems, if we desire to follow the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and the example of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that we must focus so intently on our own responsibilities to God that we are neither saddened nor moved by those waves which crash around us, and so we are at all times able to reflect the love for God we hold in our hearts. I am reminded of one further quote by Bahá’u’lláh from the Hidden Words:
| Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. This is of the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it. |
