Bittersweet, the journey today. Three souls leaving--one, the young Shoghi Effendi. We can feel the heaviness of their sorrow. And the Master's sense of persecution. . . . And the connection to Christ and to history. Is part of the wisdom related to sacrifice and testing?
The Woodcocks and the Austins, along with Louisa Mathew, are now among the travelers--and the East-West bonding is palpable and attractive. Leaving Naples, the next stop will be New York! Oh, what joy!
Mahmúd writes: Saturday, March 30, 1912 [aboard the Cedric]
`Abdu'l-Bahá bestowed upon those three souls His utmost kindness and blessings and bade them farewell. With great sadness and dejection they left the ship. The Master's heart was broken and all of the companions were very sad. `Abdu'l-Bahá said, `There is a wisdom in this matter which will become known later.' Much of His time that day was spent on this issue until the steamer left Naples for New York in the afternoon.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's companions were now three Persians -- Siyyid Asadu'lláh-i-Qumí, Dr Faríd and myself -- and the six Americans -- Mr and Mrs Woodcock, Miss Woodcock, Mr and Mrs Austin and Miss Mathew, who with great joy remained in the presence of their beloved Lord. We were all of us now in first class near `Abdu'l-Bahá.
In the afternoon the Master invited us to His cabin for tea. He later took His dinner in the main salon and said, `I have come to the table tonight out of regard for you and have even taken a hearty meal.' Then He remarked:
These Italians took us for Turks. They sent a report to this effect and stopped three of our party from proceeding. One was a secretary, the other a cook. If they had stopped only these two it would have mattered little. But why should they treat that tender youth Shoghi Effendi so harshly? They have treated us with injustice; nevertheless I have always helped and am still helping them, whether at Alexandria or at Haifa. It has invariably happened that the friends of God have been afflicted. How sorely the disciples of Christ were persecuted on the ship and with what great affliction they were carried to Rome.
That evening the Master and His company of friends and believers presented a very unusual and beautiful sight, the intermingling of the Eastern and Western friends attracting all eyes.
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I do enjoy the phrasing Mahmúd uses--or perhaps it is the beauty of translation.
We can sense the bonding of the group as it collectively laments the sacrifices made and rejoices at the voyage to come!
Having always associated yellow roses with the Master, I planted a yellow rose bush in His honor some weeks ago, and this morning the top bud opened! It was my first sight upon awakening! So, on this, the day He actually sets sail for America, we have a fragrant blossom symbolizing the journey!
this is the underlying current, the persian american alliance, notice how our Master created the number 9. There is a mystery here, the mystery of sacrifice. I can not imagine the amount of time in prayer Abdu'l Baha spent, is spending, supplicating our Lord in behalf of Shoghi Effendi. The currents run deep, passing through history, finding moments now, in the present, yearning for the vision .... `Abdu'l-Bahá' in America ... glad tidings ... oneness dh
ReplyDeleteI am so enjoying your comments on the journey! Thank you for your special perceptions and articulations.
ReplyDeleteHi Anne. as mentioned before, i followed this blog somewhat last year, i was impressed then and now i am doubly impressed.I like the idea of us being spiritually linked forever with our master. ... ... Once I thought it might be fun to create a day by day autobiography of Him. For instance, I am 47, i wonder exactly where Abdu'l Baha was when He was 47 .... ??? ... ??? ... perhaps day by day would be excessive, but surely there must be some sort of retelling of the years somewhere ... so, for now, i am a very satisfied with being with this blog ... ... yearning for the vision .... `Abdu'l-Bahá' in America ... glad tidings ... oneness dh
DeleteSo the eye infection was only a pretext? There was no real disease at all?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for your centenary blog, which I follow with great interest.
Hi Lars, I am Dean, i hope you can continue to study and enjoy this little blog and i pray that you and I may have a chance to have a little bit of a dialogue, for your comment i just read is very astute and i would enjoy getting to know you and your love for our Master a little bit better. ..... You may find it somewhat of an interest to know that I love our Hidden Words, in some ways The Word gives me a way for me to understand the relationship(s) within our land, specifically the cause and effect relationships .... ... "like seeketh like" ... ... thus if i want glad tidings, i will be glad tidings ... ... "like seeketh like" ... ... as a side note, i am twice divorced, so, in many ways, glad tidings are sometimes a very scare commodity for me, ... yet, i struggle on, even to the extent that both exs would consider me a causal friend and neither would consider me an enemy ... .... "like seeketh like" should suffice, yet i am compelled to mention two more things, both come from researching the word pretext and strangely enough both come from THE MASTER’S LAST TABLET TO AMERICA ... .... .... The brothers of the Blessed Beauty detached themselves from Him, and the Blessed Beauty never met them. ... ... ... ... .... In the early days, after the Ascension of the Blessed Beauty, the center of violation was alone; .... ... .... ..... glad tidings, 1 dh
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