Monthly Reflection: Qawl (Speech) – On the Manner in which Abdu’l-Baha Spoke

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They say writers work off a limited number of obsessions and I’m afraid this might be true: I’ve been reflecting about how much we have to learn from what Abdu’l-Baha said, and how He said it, for many years and it’s a theme I keep (sometimes inadvertently!) coming back to.

For example, in anticipation of upcoming celebrations for the Day of the Covenant and commemorations to mark the Passing of Abdu’l-Baha, we released this short video based on excerpts from Angelina Diliberto Allen’s book When the Moon Set Over Haifa:

Some time ago, I put together this article about Abdu’l-Baha and language and the anecdotes and vignettes shared in it still bring a smile to my face! If you have a moment, you might enjoy reading it.

A few other resources related to Abdu’l-Baha that I would like to share at this significant time of year include our most recent Studio Session from Melbourne which is based on a passage from the Writings of Baha’u’llah where Abdu’l-Baha is appointed as His successor and interpreter:

Sometimes I feel like trying to comprehend the Station of Abdu’l-Baha, the Mystery of God, can be like attempting to look directly at the sun and I find a lot of inspiration and nourishment from the stories of lives that were changed by being in His presence.

We have a whole category of tributes to luminous souls on Baha’i Blog (both early believers and more recent Baha’is), but there are a small handful I’ve been revisiting recently:

Thomas Breakwell, who gave up his wealth and livelihood in an instant;

Nora Crossley, whose sacrifice will forever be remembered;

Fujita, who humbly said he was never really of any service to Abdu’l-Baha, except, at times, to make Him laugh;

Juliet Thompson, who shared the powerful and unforgettable experience of painting the portrait of the Centre of the Covenant,

William Randall, the Herald of the Covenant;

and Thornton Chase, who worked hard to keep the U.S. Baha’i community united and whose bastion was Abdu’l-Baha.

We also have a lovely video about Fred Mortensen, who rode under and on top of trains in order to see Abdu’l-Baha, as well as the audio recording of a one-man play that tells us about the transformation of John Good, a former convict who lived on the streets of New York City at the turn of the 20th century.

These are just a few of the resources on Baha’i Blog that I’ve been re-examining as I contemplate who Abdu’l-Baha was, what His love meant, and how He shared it with everyone.

To wrap up, I’d like to highlight the special collection of essays dedicated to Abdu’l-Baha on The Baha’i World website. We recently shared this little animation based on an excerpt from one of its articles about an artist who met Abdu’l-Baha, but I also want to feature the gem-like closing paragraph of its article “Memories of Abdu’l-Baha” by Aziz Yazdi:

There is something I learned from Abdu’l-Baha which I feel should not be forgotten. His life was not really His life alone; it was the life of every one of us. It was an example for every one of us. A new generation of Baha’is is being attracted to the Faith, and a new generation is growing up within the Baha’i community. They will acquire knowledge of the Faith from books. But this is a living Faith. The Manifestation of God has appeared and initiated a new era. Baha’is have lived and worked and died for this Cause. The Faith is not something extraneous; it is not merely something beautiful, logical, just and fair – it is the very blood and fibre of our being, our very life. If men and women all over the world were to arise in ever-increasing numbers and make Abdu’l-Baha’s way of life their own, each pursuing His path with zest and confidence, what would the world be like? Would not these individuals be a new race of men?

Wishing you memorable and meaningful commemorations of the Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha.

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.