Mr Furutan last minutes

 Mr. Furutan's last minutes of his mortal life

This is a remarkable description of Mr. Furutan's last minutes of his mortal
life.. It is truly amazing..

Enjoy,

Usually, no matter what Baha'is are doing, God sends them tests.
And our journey wasn't an exception. But all these tests, after some time,
remain in our memory as merry adventures. .

Everything I saw and experienced left an ineffaceable impression in my
soul. It seemed that I was lost in time and space. My inner being traveled
100-150 years back, was able to envision the development of the Baha'i
community in several decades, and witnessed events, the importance of which
I will be able to understand only after the lapse of years.

And now I would like to share with you the most memorable and
distinctive moment of my pilgrimage, which became a spiritual lesson and a
lodestar, which enlightened the rest of my life.

It happened 26th of November, on the Day of Covenant. That day our
group went to Akka. There we saw the Greatest Prison, where Baha'u'llah and
members of His family were kept, the house of Abbud, in which Baha'u'llah
revealed Kitab-i-Aqdas and many other Baha'i Holy Places. I was overwhelmed
and full of impressions.

But that wasn't all for that day, as in the evening at the Pilgrims
Reception Center we were supposed to meet with the Hand of the Cause of God
- Mr. Furutan. The meeting was appointed for 6 p.m.
It wasn't our first meeting with him. First time I saw him on the first day
of pilgrimage - 24th of November. He gave a marvelous speech and promised us
to come every other day. He said that before he used to come every day to
meet with pilgrims, as Shoghi Effendi mentioned, that pilgrims were the
guests of Baha'u'llah. But now doctors recommended him to come once in two
days because of the age. He asked us to come on Wednesday with children, as
he was going to speak about teaching the Faith.

Now you can imagine our disappointment, when we were told, that Mr.
Furutan wouldn't come. Then I remembered that when he first came to meet
with pilgrims, he looked very weak and fragile. It seemed to me that his
energy was slowly disappearing. Of course, the first thing I thought was
that he was not able to come because of the state of health.

Many pilgrims decided to go to their hotels, but some of us, among
whom were Nabil and me, decided to stay, hoping that the meeting will still
take place. How happy I was when ten minutes to six we were told that Mr.
Furutan would come. As soon as this unique person entered the room, it
became clear what efforts it took him to come here. He looked very pale and
even transparent. It seemed that he no longer belonged to this world.
However, notwithstanding this weakness, he went up the stage and put the
microphone.

Mr. Furutan's speech was dedicated to the Duty of teaching the Faith.
First he read the quotation of Baha'u'llah from the
"Gleanings":

"Say: Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Baha, for God hath
prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth
it as the most meritorious of all deeds. Such a deed is acceptable only when
he that teacheth the Cause is already a firm believer in God, the Supreme
Protector, the Gracious, the Almighty. He hath, moreover, ordained that His
Cause be taught through the power of men's utterance, and not through resort
to violence. Thus hath His ordinance been sent down from the Kingdom of Him
Who is the Most Exalted, the All-Wise."

Then the Hand of the Cause shared with us his understanding of the word
duty. As an example, he told us a story. It happened in Russia, when Nikolai
the II was the tsar. One day Nikolai the II was walking in the courtyard of
his palace. He noticed the guard, who looked very ill, his face was red and
swollen. He approached him and asked what illness he had. The guard answered
that he had malaria. Then the tsar told him that he needed special care and
that he could go home. But the guard replied that he was not able to leave
his post without the senior officer's permission and that it was his duty to
guard the palace till the last breath. Then Nikolai the II took his gun and
told him, that in such case, he would replace him at his post till the
senior officer came and he would inform him that he personally let the guard
go and that he fulfilled his duty. "This is what duty means" - Mr.Furutan
said. "The reason I came here today is because it was my duty to come. And
if it is a duty - you have to fulfill it."

Many people know that Mr. Furutan lived and studied in Russia and that
he still loves to speak Russian and loves those who speak Russian.
Fortunately, all the Russian-speaking friends were present at the gathering.
And when he was telling the story, he often translated some words into
Russian, and especially, the words "duty" and "responsibility". When the
Hand of the Cause finished his speech, he immediately approached the
Russian-speaking pilgrims and asked in
Russian: "Friends, did you understand what I said? Did you understand what
is duty and responsibility?"

These words were almost the last words in his life, as in few minutes
he passed away. He died before our eyes, peacefully and with dignity, on the
pilgrims' hands, whom he appreciated so much. His life and his passing away
became for me an example of true servitude, steadfastness in the Covenant,
and faithfulness to the Cause of God.
By his own life he showed us what duty is and how we have to fulfill it till
the last breath!

With love and prayers

Irina Musuc.