Teaching Race Unity by Example

‘Abdu’l-Bahá often spoke of racial harmony and the unity of humankind.

In a talk at Howard University in Washington, DC, He said:

Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God. I see white and black sitting together. There are no whites and blacks before God. All colors are one, and that is the color of servitude to God. Scent and color are not important. The heart is important. If the heart is pure, white or black or any color makes no difference. God does not look at colors; He looks at the hearts. He whose heart is pure is better. He whose character is better is more pleasing. He who turns more to the Abhá Kingdom is more advanced.

The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Talk at Howard University, Washington, D.C.

He did not just teach these principles with words, He also taught by powerful example, even if breaking the social conventions of the time. Although Washington was a racially and socially mixed Bahá’í community, it still was influenced by deep-rooted practices of racial segregation which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá challenged by example.

Louis Gregory, a prominent African American Bahá’í of the time, visited with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when he spoke at Howard University. After the talk, as luncheon was announced, Louis Gregory attempted to leave the house unobtrusively, according to the social protocol of the time. After everyone was seated,‘Abdu’l-Bahá stood up and was very insistent that Mr. Gregory be found. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá rearranged the place setting and gave him the seat of honor at His right, and stated He was most pleased to have Louis Gregory there. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá then continued in a most natural way and proceeded to talk on the oneness of humankind.  (source ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst by Earl Redman)

How do you think the community at the time learned from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? Do you have any other favorite anecdotes of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá teaching by example? Let us know in the comments!

Follow Along on the Journey!

There are many wonderful website and blogs you can find for more information about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s journey. This beautiful website, Commemorating ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ in America, is a treasure house of information!

You can follow along on the Timeline, see where He was speaking, read what the news reports said, view a transcript of the talk He gave, and hear an audio file of someone reading it. There are plenty of photos, background information, and links to numerous resources. 

Enjoy exploring Commemorating ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ in America and let us know what you think of the site in the comments below. Did you read or see something inspirational on the site? Did you learn anything you haven't heard before?

Words of Encouragement

`Abdu'l-Bahá often spoke words of encouragement and reminded us of the great value of these days in such a pivotal point in human history. He told us of the many opportunities we have to serve. As always, He told us to have absolute love for one another.

Awake ye to the realization of this heavenly opportunity. Strive with all the power of your souls, your deeds, actions and words to assist the spread of these glad tidings and the descent of this merciful bounty. You are the reality and expression of your deeds and actions. If you abide by the precepts and teachings of the Blessed Perfection, the heavenly world and ancient Kingdom will be yours—eternal happiness, love and everlasting life. The divine bounties are flowing. Each one of you has been given the opportunity of becoming a tree yielding abundant fruits. This is the springtime of Bahá’u’lláh. The verdure and foliage of spiritual growth are appearing in great abundance in the gardens of human hearts. Know ye the value of these passing days and vanishing nights. Strive to attain a station of absolute love one toward another. By the absence of love, enmity increases. By the exercise of love, love strengthens and enmities dwindle away. 

Promulgation of Universal Peace, Talk given by `Abdu'l-Bahá

What are your favorite words of encouragement from `Abdu'l-Bahá? Let us know in the comments below.

Comparing 1912 to today

As we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the visit of `Abdu'l-Bahá to the United States, it is interesting to compare and contrast the conditions in 1912 to the world situation today.

The world in 1912 was engaged in an arms buildup, the United States was increasingly involved in global affairs, the Titanic disaster reminded us of our mortality and limits to progress, a war in Europe was on the horizon, and the United States was racially segregated. In this context, `Abdu'l-Bahá visited the United States and spoke to the needs of the day.

From Shastri Purushotma in 2012: A Special Year for American Baha'is

The American Baha'is had provided money for Abdul Baha to sail on the Titanic. He asked instead that the funds be given to the poor and chose to travel on a more modest ship to New York in April 1912. From there he began an extensive speaking tour to discuss issues critical for the modern world that America and humanity were moving toward. On many occasions, he warned of an impending war in Europe and outlined mechanisms for global peace and disarmament. In synagogues, he warned of the possibility of a holocaust in Europe. In a highly segregated country decades before the civil rights movement, he spoke at the national meeting of the NAACP, Howard University and elsewhere about the critical importance of racial harmony to America. He spoke about economic issues that are topics of heated debate right now: the need for the elimination of the vast extremes of wealth and poverty, and the importance of just ways to harmonize labor and capital.

Read the rest of the article here: 2012: A Special Year for American Baha'is

How do you think the message of  `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1912 is relevant to conditions today?

Hope for 2012 - An Auspicious Year

"Lift up your hearts above the present and look with eyes of faith into the future! Today the seed is sown, the grain falls upon the earth, but behold the day will come when it shall rise a glorious tree and the branches thereof shall be laden with fruit. Rejoice and be glad that this day has dawned, try to realize its power, for it is indeed wonderful! God has crowned you with honor and in your hearts has He set a radiant star; verily the light thereof shall brighten the whole world!" — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks

This is a beautiful example of the encouragement and hope Abdul-Baha offered in his talks.  The re-enforcement of each person's honor also is such an important theme his message conveys.  Here's to auspicious beginnings and a wonderful, brilliant year in 2012.

Mark Your Calendars: June 9, 2012 Centenary Celebration

'Abdu'l-Bahá at the Rittenhouse Hotel (Philadelphia, 1912)

'Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, called on America to become a land of spiritual distinction and leadership in establishing the oneness of humanity. After a lifetime of imprisonment and persecution in the Middle East, He traveled to America in 1912 to spread this message: that America has a spiritual destiny to lead the way in establishing the oneness of humanity, unity among the races, equality between men and women, and a balance of material and spiritual progress.

'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed these themes in His talk on June 9, 1912, at the Temple Baptist Church in Philadelphia. We have the blessing of gathering in the same venue in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the Philadelphia community exactly 100 years ago. Come be a part of this historic celebration on June 9, 2012.

Baptist Temple (Philadelphia, present-day)

Stories of 'Abdu'l-Bahá

In searching for stories about `Abdu'l-Bahá, this is an exerpt from the foreword to `Abdu'l-Bahá in America: The Diary of Agnes Parsons, by Sandra Hutchinson:

In 1912, `Abdu'l-Bahá `Abbas (1844-1921), recently liberated by the Young Turk's Revolution from his forty-year long confinement in the prison city of Akka, set sail for America. He came, in the twilight of his years and on the eve of world war, to promulgate universal peace, a central teaching of the new religion for whose cause he had been imprisoned and at whose head he stood: the Bahá'í Faith. During his sojourn in the United States, poets and leaders of thought sought his counsel in private interviews, and seekers of all races and classes attended his public talks. Journalists, struck by his charismatic personality and by the modernity of his teachings, described him as a "Prophet from the East" and an "Apostle of Peace."

For the small community of his American disciples, however, `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit had a significance far beyond that ascribed to it by an eager public and in the newspaper reports of the day. A few American Bahá'ís had been able to make the arduous and costly journey to the Holy Land to attain his presence, but for most, `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to their country offered a first and probably an only opportunity to meet the leader of their faith, the one appointed by its founder, Bahá'u'lláh, to be the interpreter of his teachings after his passing. `Abdu'l-Bahá's presence amongst them fired the imaginations of the Bahá'ís about the teachings they had embraced as he, "the Perfect Exemplar" of those teachings, demonstrated first-hand their application to daily life.

But the fealty of the American Bahá'ís to `Abdu'l-Bahá was inspired by more than a recognition of his station. To them, he was "the Master" -- a loving teacher who had nurtured them from afar through scores of letters and a Christ-like figure about whom they had heard numerous tales from returning pilgrims to the Holy Land. In fact, many of the early American believers believed that he, not Bahá'u'lláh, represented the return of Jesus as prophesied in the New Testament, and it took numerous reiterations to disabuse them of this notion: his only station, he told them, was the station of servitude and the name he wished to be called by was `Abdu'l-Bahá -- the "Servant of Bahá."

Today `Abdu'l-Bahá's travels in the United States hold an unrivalled place in the spiritual heritage of the American Bahá'í community. This legacy is honored by the reverence paid to the places associated with his travels, some of which have become sites of regional pilgrimage, and by the ardent study of the transcripts of hundreds of talks he delivered during his sojourn in America. Another way in which this legacy is celebrated is by the frequent repetition of anecdotes about `Abdu'l-Bahá's encounters with the diverse array of people he taught and counselled in the course of his journey. In fact, so important a place do such stories hold in the collective imagination of the American Bahá'í community that they have taken on a life of their own, forming an oral tradition about the sayings and doings of the Master.