April 11, 2012
To the American Bahá'í community on the centenary of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá’s visit to America
Brothers and Sisters in the Love of the Blessed Beauty,
A hundred years ago today, a small contingent of Bahá'ís waiting breathlessly for His arrival in New York at last caught sight of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, “the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh’s peerless and all-enfolding Covenant,” “the perfect Exemplar of His teachings,” and “the unerring Interpreter of His Word,” as He disembarked from the ship that had carried Him across the Atlantic. His love for them and their determined unity had drawn Him to North America, beginning a continent-wide journey whose ramifications for the future of this nation—indeed, for the future of this world—are of such profound significance as to still be largely immeasurable. At this moment of joyous remembrance, our hearts turn to Him, brimful with love and gratitude for the boundless affection, the ceaseless encouragement, and the understanding and fatherly care He showered upon this people and this community during the precious few months of His visit.
In the weeks and months to come, we will take time to revisit the remarkable episodes of the Master’s historic American sojourn and to read again the words He addressed—in a myriad settings—to multitudes of listeners. As we do so, we will experience anew His eloquent and forceful summons to us all, echoing down the decades, to scale ever greater heights of love, unity, and consecration. We will recall the galvanizing effect of His instruction on the little band of His American disciples and the innumerable victories they subsequently won for this community through their sacrifice and heroism. We will be edified and inspired by the example of His modesty, dignity, and selfless servitude; by the boldness, logic, and tact with which He shared the teachings of the Faith; and by His warm and genuine interest in—and all-encompassing love for—every soul with whom He came in contact. Far from mere exercise in nostalgia, these commemorations will serve to kindle in us renewed resolve, in response to the current Five Year Plan, to share that same accepting love in meaningful conversations with friends and neighbors about the person and teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, to strive to imbue the young with spiritual perception and empower them to confidently meet the challenges of life, and— together with a growing number of people who are also attracted to the Bahá'í vision—to work to develop the capacity of youths and adults alike to build the kind of community ‘Abdu'l-Bahá envisioned in countless writings and remarks.
We pray that our deeds in the coming years will be responsive to the Master’s stirring call to this community to arise and take action in the campaign for the spiritual conquest of the planet—the prerequisites of which were so masterfully elaborated upon by the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, in The Advent of Divine Justice. In our daily struggles to lead a “chaste and holy life,” in our efforts to achieve a “rectitude of conduct and an abiding sense of undeviating justice” worthy of the Bahá'í standard, in our resolution to cleanse our hearts of every trace of racial prejudice—these three weapons that we “can and must wield” in our “double crusade, first to regenerate the inward life of [our] own community, and next to assail the long-standing evils that have entrenched themselves in the life of [our] nation”—and in our enthusiasm to embrace the infallible guidance of the Universal House of Justice in stewarding the progress of this unifying Cause, may we prove ourselves worthy of the manifold blessings bestowed on us and the priceless heritage that is ours.
Beloved friends! Let each of us pledge to contribute our full share to the reconstruction of society, so that America will, in accordance with the Master’s promises, “evolve into a center from which waves of spiritual power will emanate, and the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in the plentitude of its majesty and glory, be firmly established.” Let each of us redeem the sacrifices of livelihood, home, security—even life itself—being made by our valiant sisters and brothers in the Cradle of the Faith through a “living sacrifice” of our own that justifies our legacy as the “spiritual descendants of the dawn-breakers.” Let each of us forsake every mundane and trivial pursuit, every secondary and unworthy ambition, and advance together in such love and unity that we will gladden the soul of the ever-caring, ever-vigilant Master Who watches over us, and attract His mighty confirmations. Let each of us ensure that our words and actions reflect well on the loving care and patient instruction He lavished on us and bespeak our thankfulness for the privilege of inclusion in the community of the Greatest Name.
May our services hasten the coming of a day when the ear of every American will have hearkened to the Master’s call, when every one of our fellow citizens realizes the incalculable blessing this land received when His footsteps were first taken on its soil.
We close with these words uttered by Bahá'u'lláh when His beloved Son left the Holy Land briefly on a visit to Beirut:
Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His footsteps have trodden, the eye that hath been cheered by the beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath been honoured by hearkening to His call, the heart that hath tasted the sweetness of His love, the breast that hath dilated through His remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the scroll that hath borne the testimony of His writings. We beseech God— blessed and exalted be He—that He may honour us with meeting Him soon. He is, in truth, the All-Hearing, the All-Powerful, He Who is ready to answer.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES
The Holy Year Begins: Centennial Celebration of Abdu'l-Baha's arrival in New York on April 11, 1912 .... .... .... 2012-04-11 Press Release of Centenary of Abdu'l-Baha's Visit to America ... .... .... *** MEDIA ADVISORY ***
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Central Florida Baha’is Celebrate Holy Year:
Centenary of Global Leader’s Historic Journey to America Arriving on April 11, 1912
The year 2012 has been predicted by shock-mongers to be the worst global disaster since the Y2K computer scare of 2000. Members of the Bahá’í Faith, however, will ignore the prognostications of doom and instead celebrate a glorious occasion: the 100th anniversary of Abdu’l-Bahá’s unique and historic visit to America in 1912. He set sail on the U.S.S. Cedric, and had turned down passage on the Titanic.
The manifold reasons for this visit being historic begin with Abdu’l-Bahá himself: No Prophet in the past ever appeared with His Son; but for this age, Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet and Founder of the Baha’i Faith has appeared with His Son, and He made Abdu’l-Bahá His successor. Moreover, no prophet ever set foot beyond the borders of the Middle East and Egypt; however Abdu’l-Bahá traveled across Europe, to London, and in 1912 He spent 8 months from April 11 to December 5, traveling from coast to coast across America and Canada.
What made Abdu’l-Bahá’s historic journey even more noteworthy was that, at the advanced age of 68 years, Abdu’l-Bahá had spent 56 years of His life in prison and exile. What began as a 40-year period of exile and imprisonment by the Persian and Turkish empires against His Father Bahá’u’lláh, continued after Bahá’u’lláh’s passing in 1892, and was finally broken in 1908 when the Young Turks overthrew the corrupt Sultan of Turkey and ended the rule of the Islamic Sultanate.
And yet, in spite of the lifetime of hardship and persecution, Abdu’l-Bahá came to personify the love of God among mankind, and He came to this country with an inspirational message of America’s great spiritual destiny. This, at a time when World War I was about to break out in Europe. Indeed, Abdu’l-Bahá’s vision was that America will lead the way toward world peace, advance women’s rights, abolish racism, and moderate extremes of wealth and poverty.
Adorned with flowing robes and a full white beard, this “Prophet of Peace” traveled to some 50 U.S. and Canadian cities, giving more than 140 public talks with a cumulative audience of about 93,000 people—from leaders of government and industry to servants, the poor and the homeless. He was acclaimed in hundreds of newspaper articles that trumpeted the arrival of the new religion’s leader and His uplifting message for mankind. Headlines called Him the Prophet of Peace, the Apostle of Universal Peace and Brotherhood, the Persian Prophet, the Persian Sage and the new St. John the Baptist. He met prominent Americans such as former President Teddy Roosevelt, Alexander Graham Bell, Admiral Peary, Jane Addams, W.E.B. DuBois, Kahlil Gibran and Phoebe Hearst, who was one of the first Americans to embrace the Bahá’í Faith.
In His addresses, Abdu’l-Baha warned of impending war, decried outmoded prejudices and hatreds, and outlined America’s potential to lead the way toward a just and peaceful world. To achieve this destiny, He called for America to advance spiritually as well as materially and to
abolish racial prejudices, empower women as equals, recognize the unity of religions and the harmony of science and religion, and limit extremes of poverty and wealth. His Prayer for America expressed a galvanizing vision of our spiritual destiny.
Winter Park and Central Florida Baha’is are joining the hundreds of thousands of Bahá’ís across America in celebrating the centennial of this historic journey and the impact it has had on shaping America’s future.
Details of the centennial celebrations will be announced at a later date. All events will be free and open to the public.