Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Baby girl teaches the Faith!


Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum in one of her memories says that she was once in a fireside with a group of Persian and British pioneers. One of the seekers was a black man who was sitting there and was listening carefully.
Suddenly the door opened and the daughter of one of the English pioneers came in with her milk bottle in hand and looked at the audience and went directly to the black man and made it to his laps and managed to sit there, she smiled at him, and kissed him, and started to drink her milk from the bottle.
One of the Persian ladies tried to reach the baby to grab her from the man's laps, but Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, told her in Persian, "let her be, she is teaching the Faith in her own way."
After the meeting, the man approached the Khánum and told her that he would like to be like her and go wherever she went to teach the Faith. Khánum looked at him and asked if he was a Baha'i? And he said yes, he was. Rúhíyyih Khánum was astonished and asked, "Since when? How and why?"
He said that, "Since an hour ago when that little girl went to me, kissed me, and sat on my laps and slept there with great calm. Since that moment I thought to myself that she had a different and brilliant education where there was no hint of racism. Her parents must have had no prejudice in educating her like that, and then I said this is the Faith I must grasp."
"That is why I am a Baha'i now."

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

A lovely story

A lovely story to share, for the upcoming celebration of the Day of the Covenant.
 
 It was the custom of Shoghi Effendi to walk on Mount Carmel, and at times he invited the Persian men believers to walk with him.  They would walk a few paces behind him, out of respect.  Ali-Kuli Khan was a member of one of these groups of men, and at one point Shoghi Effendi stopped, and turned to the men, and said, "Although I am Abdu'l-Baha's successor, I am not His equal.  His station is far greater than my own."  Then he turned, and continued walking.  Ali-Kuli Khan burst into tears.  When he finished weeping, one of his fellow pilgrims asked him, "What Shoghi Effendi said was very beautiful, but why did it have such an effect on you?"  Ali-Kuli Khan answered, "Many years ago, I was here on Pilgrimage during the days of Abdu'l-Baha.  One day I was walking with Him on the slopes of Mount Carmel, and He stopped, at that very same spot, and turned to me and said, "Although I am the Successor to Baha'u'llah, I am not His equal.  His station is far, far greater than My own."  And of course, as we were walking behind the beloved Guardian, I recalled the sweetness of that moment.  And then I saw that we were approaching that spot where the Master had spoken, and to my astonishment, Shoghi Effendi stopped, and spoke at that same spot.  And when he said what he did, then I understood the greatness of this Cause."



 
            Ali Kuli Khan (c.1879-1966) and his wife Florence Breed
 
Ali Kuli Han was an eminent Iranian Baha'i who served briefly as 'Abdu'l-Baha’s English-language secretary between 1899-1901. He was subsequently sent to America where he was the first to translate into English some of the most important works of Baha’u’llah, such as the Kitab-i-Iqan, the Seven Valleys and the Glad-Tidings. He also continued to translate 'Abdu'l-Baha’s correspondence with the American Baha'is. Ali-Kuli Khan was appointed Iranian charge d'affaires in Washington in 1910 and later served in various high-ranking diplomatic positions. His marriage to Boston society girl Florence Breed (1875-1950) in 1904 not only caused comments on two continents, but was praised by 'Abdu'l-Baha as the first marriage between East and West, a symbol of the unity taught by the Baha’i Faith. Their daughter, Marzieh Gail (1908-93), also became an eminent Baha'i writer and translator.



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"There are many mirrors reflecting the Light, but though the mirrors should be shattered the Light would still remain"