1. `. . . there hath appeared and above its horizon there hath shone forth the Orb of the beauty of the great, the Most Mighty Branch of God -- His ancient and immutable Mystery . . .' Bahá'u'lláh, `Law
h-i-Ar
d-i-Bá' (Tablet of the Land of Bá),
Tablets, p.
227.
2. Since Ma
hmúd wrote his diary, several books have been published of transcripts or notes of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks given on His travels to Europe and America. Among them are
The Promulgation of Universal Peace, a collection of His talks in the United States in 1912,
Paris Talks and
`Abdu'l-Bahá in London, notes of His discourses in those cities in 1911-12.
3. See the Báb's address to the Letters of the Living: `Such must be the degree of your detachment, that into whatever city you enter to proclaim and teach the Cause of God, you should in no wise expect either meat or reward from its people. Nay, when you depart out of that city, you should shake the dust from off your feet. As you have entered it pure and undefiled, so must you depart from that city.' Nabíl,
Dawn-Breakers, pp.
92-3.
4. Thus far only the volume relating to `Abdu'l-Bahá's journey in North America has been translated.
5. See
Paris Talks, a collection of `Abdu'l-Bahá's addresses in Paris and London in 1911-13.
6. The SS Cedric was built by Harland and Wolff, a Belfast firm.
7. `Mashaeen' (the Peripatetics) were followers of the school of thought originated by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle; the `Ishraq' (Illuminationists) followed the Sophists, such as the Persian philosopher and physicist Shahabidin Sohrehvardi, who lived in the 12th century.
8. See Shoghi Effendi,
God Passes By, pp.
107-9.
9. In Persian,
tasbih, a rosary of 95 beads for reciting the Greatest Name of God, Alláh-u-Abhá (God is the Most Glorious).
10. From Jalálu'd-Dín Rúmí, eminent Sufi mystic and poet (1207-73).
11. Ma
hmúd states that `Abdu'l-Bahá cited a poem of
Háfi
z which says, `Is there any relationship between piety and uprightness and hypocrisy?'
12. Three other sources indicate that the arrival of `Abdu'l-Bahá to America was on April 11, 1912: Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 172;
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 3; and `Abdu'l-Bahá,
Promulgation of Universal Peace, p.
3. It may be because the Muslim calendar begins and ends at sundown that April 11 was indicated by Ma
hmúd as April 10.
13. `Abdu'l-Bahá is reported to have said when He saw the Statue of Liberty, `There is the new world's symbol of liberty and freedom. After being forty years a prisoner I can tell you that freedom is not a matter of place. It is a condition. Unless one accept dire vicissitudes he will not attain. When one is released from the prison of self, that is indeed a release.'
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 4.
14. When `Abdu'l-Bahá saw the New York City skyline He is reported to have said, `These are the minarets of Western World commerce and industry . . .'
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 4.
15. Juliet Thompson records that Edward Kinney `was called to come on board the ship'. Although most of the Bahá'ís left the pier, Marjorie Morten, Rhoda Nichols and Juliet hid themselves to catch a glimpse of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 233-4.
16. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
3-4.
17. The events described here took place on Friday, April 12, 1912.
18. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
4-7.
19. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
7-9.
20. The events described here took place on Saturday, April 13, 1912.
21. At 141 East Twenty-first Street, New York. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
9-11.
22. The events described here took place on Monday, April 15, 1912.
23. For a transcript of this interview see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 4-5.
24. For a transcript of this interview see
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 5-11.
25. According to
Promulgation of Universal Peace, the talk at the home of Mountfort Mills was on April 15, 1912. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
16-18.
26. The sinking of the
Titanic in the North Atlantic occurred on the night of April 14, 1912. The discrepancy in the date is no doubt due to the fact that Ma
hmúd assembled and wrote the diary months later, using notes he hastily took at the time.
27. At Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street, New York. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
11-13, and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 7-8.
28. That is, they were awe-inspired. This is an allusion to a Persian proverb. When the iguana hunts flies, it sits on a rock facing the sun. In Persian, an iguana is called
aftab parast, `sun worshipper'.
29. Union Meeting of Advanced Thought Centers, Carnegie Lyceum, West Fifty-Seventh Street, New York. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
14-16.
30. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
23-5.
31. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
25-9.
32. According to
Promulgation, p.
32, `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to the Bowery Mission in New York City was on April 19, 1912. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
32-4 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 11-12.
33. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
29-32.
34. The celebrated lover of ancient Persian and Arabian lore whose beloved was Laylí.
35. Joseph Hannen notes that `Receptions were held at the home of Mrs Parsons every afternoon at about 5:00 o'clock [sic], from Monday to Friday, inclusive'.
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 7.
36. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, p.
35.
37. Located at Thirteenth and L Streets, Washington DC.
38. For another transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
39-42.
39. `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk was at the home of Mr and Mrs Arthur J. Parsons, 1700 Eighteenth Street, NW, Washington DC. For a transcript see
Promulgation, pp.
43-4.
40. Agnes Parsons states in her diary that this talk was given on April 23, 1912 at the Parsons's home and this is confirmed by
Promulgation, pp.
46-8, which is a transcript of the talk. Mrs Parsons states: `From the Khan's we returned to this house where were found the place thronged. There were probably 250 people present, many standing. Abdul Baha [sic] spoke about the Titanic Disaster.' Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 35.
41. This dinner party was held on April 22, 1912. Agnes Parsons states: `A Persian dinner, cooked by Mirza Sohrab, was served by Abdul Baha about 8 o'clock . . . Abdul Baha served and talked while the others ate.' Also at the dinner were Siyyid Asadu'lláh-i-Qumí, Ali Kuli Khan, Mírzá `Alí Akbar Khán, Dr Faríd, Edward Getsinger, Charles Mason Remey, Joseph Hannen, Ahmad Sohrab and Mírzá Ma
hmúd. Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 25-6. Marzieh Gail notes that `Mrs Parsons's house had a large ball-room that would seat around two hundred people, and a crowd of this size would be invited whenever He spoke in her home'. Gail,
Arches of the Years, p. 80.
42. Howard University was founded in 1867 `to educate newly freed slaves' and was in 1912 `one of the foremost black universities in the country'. (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 29, note 42.) Allan Ward notes that `well over a thousand students, faculty members, administrators, and guests jammed Rankin Chapel'. (Ward,
239 Days, p. 40.)
43. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
44-6.
44. Joseph Hannen notes that `This was a most notable occasion, and here, as everywhere when both white and colored people were present, Abdul-Baha [sic] seemed happiest. The address was received with breathless attention . . .'
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 7.
45. Ali Kuli Khan was the ChargÃ(c) d'Affaires for the Persian Legation. Agnes Parsons states that there were 19 people present at the luncheon apart from `Abdu'l-Bahá, including Ali Kuli Khan, his wife, Florence, and two children; `Mrs Breede ' (probably Alice Ives Breed, Florence Khan's mother), Mrs Severance, Helen Goodall, Ella Cooper, Miss A Dorr, Edward Getsinger, Dr Faríd, Ahmad Sohrab, Juliet Thompson, Louis Gregory, Charles Mason Remey and Agnes Parsons. (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 31.) It was at this luncheon that `Abdu'l-Bahá rearranged the seating, asking Louis Gregory to sit beside Him, although Mr Gregory had not been invited to the luncheon. (See
Bahá'í World, vol. 12, p. 688.) For Juliet Thompson's account of this luncheon see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 269-70.
46. Juliet Thompson describes this as a `reception' attended by the Turkish Ambassador
Díyá Páshá, Admiral Peary and Alexander Graham Bell. (
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 270-3.) Agnes Parsons indicates that the Turkish Ambassador went on with the party to the Parsons home, where `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke again. (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 34).
Promulgation, pp.
46-52, indicates that `Abdu'l-Bahá gave three talks on April 23, 1912: at Howard University, at the home of Mr and Mrs Arthur J. Parsons and at the Bethel Literary Society.
47.
Promulgation, pp.
46-8, indicates that `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke about the tragedy of the sinking of the
Titanic and the relationship between material and the spiritual worlds.
48. According to Mrs Parsons these were Mr and Mrs Arnault Belmont, Juliet Thompson and two Iranians. Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 35-6.
49. `Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the Bethel Literary Society at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, M Street, NW Washington DC. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
49-52. Joseph Hannen notes that `again the audience taxed the capacity of the edifice in which the meeting was held'.
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 7.
50. This was held at Studio Hall, 1219 Connecticut Avenue, Washington DC. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
52-4. Joseph Hannen indicates that this was held in the afternoon, noting that it was `one of the most beautiful functions of the week': `. . . more than 100 children, with as many adults, parents and friends, gathered. Abdul-Baha [sic] received and embraced each child, seeming most happy in their presence, and then delivered a wonderful address. Abdul-Baha presented each child, before he left, with a gift.
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 7.
51. `Abdu'l-Bahá also spoke at the Parsons's home later in the afternoon. For a transcript of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
54-6.
52. Zia Bagdadi in his diary wrote of this event, `In the evening, `Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the white and colored believers and their friends at the home of Mrs Dyer, a member of the colored race.' Bagdadi, ``Abdu'l-Bahá in America',
Star of the West, vol. 19, no. 3, p. 89.
53. Alan Ward indicates that `Abdu'l-Bahá took a streetcar to the Mr Bell's home. Ward,
239 Days, p. 43.
54. This passage was translated by Shoghi Effendi. See
God Passes By, p.
293.
55. He was not the Ambassador but the ChargÃ(c) d'Affaires.
56. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to the Theosophical Society at the Parsons's home at 10:30 in the morning. For a transcript of this talk see
Promulgation, pp.
58-60 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 22-3. Agnes Parsons notes that `Abdu'l-Bahá `addressed a small group of Theosophists in my large room. I have invited them here to save Abdul Baha having to go out so much. The Theosophists had asked Him to speak to them.' Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 46.
The Theosophical Society was founded in New York in 1875 by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel H. S. Olcott and is based on Hindu ideas of karma and reincarnation, nirvana being the eventual aim.
57. That is, the Parsons's home. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
61-4 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 7-8. Agnes Parsons notes that the meeting took place in her `large room', which was `thoroughly filled'. Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 47.
58. Agnes Parsons indicates that those at the dinner were `the Ambassador, his son, his son's wife, his daughter, Mirza and Mme. Khan, Dr and Mrs Williams, Dr Fareed, the two visiting Persians, the Persian Secretary, Mr Parsons and myself.' (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 47.) `Roses had been piled along the tables and formed a mound in the center where `Abdu'l-Bahá and
Díyá Páshá sat.' (Ward,
239 Days, p. 44.)
59. Theodore Roosevelt visited `Abdu'l-Bahá at the Parsons's home on April 25, after the reception at the Turkish Embassy. He was not President at this time.
60. Agnes Parsons states that `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to the Woman's Alliance (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 50); the subject was the equal rights of men and women. Allan Ward confirms this, saying that `Abdu'l-Bahá `addressed the ladies of President Taft's All Saints Unitarian Church; the room was completely filled'. (Ward,
239 Days, p. 45.)
61. Agnes Parsons indicates that the meeting began at quarter to five in the afternoon and was held in the large room. `It was filled with people eager to hear His last talk at our house. His subject was the Human and Divine Spirit in Man. He made a little farewell talk also, expressing His gratitude and happiness and added an admonition to all who had heard the Spiritual teachings to endeavor to gain something from them.' Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 51.
62. This was the Continental Hall, the `public hall of the Daughters of the American Revolution', `perhaps the most prestigious meeting place in Washington, at the time'. (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 51-2, note 73.) Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor; Benjamin Trueblood, secretary of the American Peace Society; and A. C. Monohon of the United States Bureau of Education shared the platform with `Abdu'l-Bahá.
63. Secretary of the United States Treasury, Lee McClung. Allan Ward says that `Abdu'l-Bahá had breakfast with Mr McClung (Ward,
239 Days, p. 44). Juliet Thompson later asked Mr McClung how `Abdu'l-Bahá had impressed him. She wrote, `A shy look came into his face, and Mr McClung is anything but shy. "Well, I felt as though I was in the presence of one of the great old Prophets: Elijah, Isaiah, Moses. No, it was more than that! Christ . . . no --
now I have it! He seemed to me my Divine Father."' (
Diary of Juliet Thompson, p. 280.)
64. Agnes Parsons says: `I went down at 9:30 P.M. and found everything looking very lovely. I had arranged for Abdul Baha to sit on the large sofa in the south eastern corner of the library, but others took possession of it and as I had to receive, I haven't yet heard in detail the way and where the people were presented to Him.' Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 54.
65. Admiral Peary had attended the reception at Ali Kuli Khan's on 23 April. On that occasion `Abdu'l-Bahá had told the Admiral, in the words of Juliet Thompson, that `for a very long time the world had been much concerned about the North Pole, where it was and what was to found there. Now
he, Admiral Peary, had discovered it and that
nothing was to [be] found there; and so, in forever relieving the public mind, he had rendered a great service.'
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 272-3.
66. Edward Alfred Mitchell Innes was not the ambassador but rather an employee of the British Embassy in Washington DC. Agnes Parsons was present during the interview and remembers `Abdu'l-Bahá saying, `A man who has been injured should not retaliate -- but that the Law should carry out retribution. In its doing so, there is not the spirit of revenge, for this that the Law does is for the safety of the Body Politic.' Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 57.
67. Agnes Parsons states that she and Dr Fareed travelled with `Abdu'l-Bahá in His carriage to the station. Others at the station included the Turkish Ambassador and his son, Ali Kuli Khan and Mme Khan, Mírzá Sohrab, Charles Mason Remey, Mrs Belmont and Leona Barnitz. Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 58.
68. This may be a reference to the Síyáh-Chál (the Black Pit) in
Tihrán where Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned for eight months in 1852; to His banishment to Adrianople, `this remote prison'; or to His exile in 1868 to the prison city of `Akká.
69. Allan Ward records that the
Chicago Daily News reported `Abdu'l-Bahá missing in its April 29 edition. `In the Corinthian hall in the Masonic Temple building 170 delegates attending the Bahai [sic] convention waited for the leader of the movement.' (Cited in Ward.
239 Days, p. 47.) `The delegates expected `Abdu'l-Bahá to arrive in Chicago early on the twenty-ninth and "passed an anxious morning and afternoon meeting inward-bound trains".' (Whitmore,
Dawning Place, p. 57.)
70. The part of European Turkey where Adrianople (Edirne) is situated. At the time it was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
71. Jane Addams, a sociologist and vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, founded Hull House, one of the earliest community centers, in Chicago in 1889. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at Hull House see
Promulgation, pp.
67-9 and `Wisdom Talks of Abdul-Baha',
Star of the West, supplement to vol. 3, no. 3.
72. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the Fourth Annual Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. For transcripts of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
69-70 and `Wisdom-Talks of Abdul-Baha',
Star of the West, supplement to vol. 3, no. 3.
73. `Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the final session of the Convention held at Drill Hall, Masonic Temple. For transcripts of the talk see
Promulgation, pp.
65-7 and `Wisdom-Talks of Abdul-Baha',
Star of the West, supplement to vol. 3, no. 3.
74. Dawning-place of the praises or remembrances or mention of God. Generally, this term refers to the Bahá'í House of Worship or Temple and the dependencies clustered around it. (Momen,
Dictionary, p. 148.) For accounts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to the Temple site in Wilmette see Whitmore,
Dawning Place, pp. 60-5 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 5-6.
75. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
71-2, `Wisdom-Talks of Abdul-Baha',
Star of the West, supplement to vol. 3, no. 3 and
Star of the West, vol. 5, no, 16, p. 250.
76. Honore Jaxon reported: `Abdul-Baha [sic] next called for the implements necessitated by the gravelly nature of the soil, and in response there was brought to him first an axe and then a shovel. With these tool of every-day life of the workers of the world, Abdul-Baha and friends from every race present, excavated a resting place for a stone . . .'
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 6.
77. Pársís are Zoroastrian Persians who emigrated to India after the Arab Conquest of Iran.
78. `Abdu'l-Bahá said as He set the stone in the ground, `The Temple is already built.' Cited in Whitmore,
Dawning Place, p. 65.
79. There does not appear to be a transcript of this talk in the English accounts, if indeed `Abdu'l-Bahá gave it.
80. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
74-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 12-14.
81. From Ma
hmúd's description, this appears to be the talk delivered at the Plaza Hotel on 2 May, transcripts of which can be found in
Promulgation, pp.
79-83 and in
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 15-17. There is no indication that this was given to Unitarians.
82. This talk was given the following day, May 4, 1912. For a transcript of the talk see
Promulgation, pp.
87-91.
83. According to
Promulgation, `Abdu'l-Bahá went to this church at 935 East Fiftieth Street on May 5, which is supported by other sources (Ward,
239 Days, pp. 55-6;
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 22). Balyuzi states that the talk was given on May 4 (Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 188). For transcripts of the talk see
Promulgation, pp.
93-6 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 22-4.
84. This was perhaps a visit to the grave of Corinne True's son Davis, who died shortly after `Abdu'l-Bahá's arrival in Chicago. Rutstein,
Corinne True, p. 103.
85. According to
Promulgation, `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk took place on May 5. Allan Ward confirms this, adding that `The meeting was held, since the congregation had no building of its own, at the Abraham Lincoln Center at 700 East Oakwood, a building with a seating capacity of seven hundred.' (Ward,
239 Days, pp. 56-7.) For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
97-100 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 24-7.
86. According to Allan Ward, `Abdu'l-Bahá had `especially invited the children to be brought to the Large Parlour. He talked to each one of them, held them in His lap, embracing and kissing them, whispering in their ears.' (Ward,
239 Days, p. 55.) For an account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's meeting with the children see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 6-7. For other translations of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
91-3 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, p. 22.
87. `Abdu'l-Bahá's train arrived in Cleveland at 4:00 p.m. Ward,
239 Days, p. 60.
88. For an account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit and a transcription of His talk see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 5-6. A different translation can be found in
Promulgation, pp.
104. Both accounts indicate that `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk was given at Dr Swingle's sanatorium, 8203 Wade Park Ave. N.E.
89. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
101-3 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 29-32.
90. For transcripts of`Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
105-10 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 2-8.
91. Agnes Parsons states that Ali Kuli Khan and his wife, Mr and Mrs Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, Ahmad Sohrab, Joseph and Pauline Hannen and herself were at the train station to meet `Abdu'l-Bahá. Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 61.
92. The apartment belonged to the family of William P. Ripley, who temporarily vacated it for `Abdu'l-Bahá and His party. Mrs Parsons gives the address as 1336 Harvard Street N.W. (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 59, note 80.) According to Allan Ward, the address was 1340 Harvard Street. (Ward,
239 Days, p. 64.)
93. Agnes Parsons notes that `Abdu'l-Bahá `had a ten o'clock dinner at Mrs Hemmick's'. Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 65.
94. Agnes Parsons notes that the carriage to take `Abdu'l-Bahá to the railway station did not reach His apartment in time, so `Abdu'l-Bahá missed the train. Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 66.
95. Hudson Apartment House, 227 Riverside Drive, New York, overlooking the Hudson River. Juliet Thompson notes: `A few of us gathered in His rooms to prepare them for Him and fill the room with flowers; then to wait for His arrival: May Maxwell, Lua Getsinger, Carrie Kinney, Kate Ives, Grace Robarts, and I. Mr Mills and Mr Woodcock were waiting too . . . His flat is on one of the top stories, so that its windows frame the sky.'
Diary of Juliet Thompson, p. 282.
96. Theodore Roosevelt was president from 1901 to 1909; William Howard Taft was president during the period of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to the United States.
97. For other transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
111-13 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 11-13.
98. See
Diary of Juliet Thompson, p. 284 for a description of this event.
99. For the stenographic notes of this address taken by E. Foster see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. pp. 12-13.
100. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
113-16 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 13-14.
101. `Ayn-`Ayn = `Abdu'l-Bahá `Abbás.
102. Meeting of the International Peace Forum held at the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, West 104th Street, New York.
103. For another transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
116-22.
104. This meeting was held at the Hotel Astor, New York. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
123-6 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 14-15. For transcripts of the other speeches made on this occasion see
Star of the West, pp. 10-14.
Juliet Thompson notes, `The Master was really too ill to have gone to this Conference. He had been in bed all morning, suffering from complete exhaustion, and had a high temperature. I was with Him all morning. While I was sitting beside Him I asked: "
Must You go to the Hotel Astor when You are so ill?" "I work by the confirmation of the Holy Spirit," He answered. "I do not work by hygienic laws. If I did," He laughed, "I would get nothing done."'
Diary of Juliet Thompson, p. 285.
105. A four-wheel carriage with a top divided into two sections that can be let down, thrown back or removed, with a raised seat outside for the driver.
106. The night before `Abdu'l-Bahá left Lake Mohonk, He gave Dr Zia Bagdadi the key to His New York apartment, requesting him to bring back a Persian rug by 10:00 a.m. the following day. Since no trains ran at night, Dr Bagdadi jumped on the caboose of a moving train heading for New York. He collected the rug, caught an early morning train back to Lake Mohonk, hitched a ride with the mail carrier and arrived back at the conference site at 10:00 a.m., just as `Abdu'l-Bahá was shaking hands with Mr Smiley in farewell. See Ward,
239 Days, pp. 68-9.
107.
Promulgation, pp.
126-9 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 9, pp. 9-12 indicate that this talk was given on Sunday, May 19, 1912.
108. For Ives's account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at his church see
Portals to Freedom, pp. 80-7. Ives notes that `it was one of the briefest of `Abdu'l-Bahá's public talks (p. 87). He further comments, `To me `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk in the Brother Church and the address before the Unitarian Conference in Boston marked a new phase in my spiritual journey from self to God' (p. 90).
109. The Woman's Suffrage Meeting was held at the Metropolitan Temple, Seventh Avenue and Fourteenth Street, New York. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
133-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 15-20.
110. For an account of this day see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 288-93.
111. The name is unclear in the original. It could be read Blake.
112. It was `Abdu'l-Bahá's sixty-eighth birthday. He was born on May 23, 1844, the same date and year as the Declaration of the Báb.
113. For another account of this event see Gail,
Arches of the Years, p. 89.
114. Also called the Unitarian Conference, held at Ford Hall, Boston. For a transcript of the talk see
Promulgation, pp.
140-3.
115. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk and prayer see
Promulgation, pp.
143-6.
116. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
147-50 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 20-2. For another account of the evening see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, p. 296.
117. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk, see
Promulgation, pp.
150-3, and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 14-21, both of which state that the talk took place on May 28.
118. For another transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 7, p. 21.
119. The events described here took place on Thursday, May 30, 1912.
120. For transcripts of this talk see
Promulgation, pp.
156-60 and
Star of the West. vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 55-8.
121. Hoar's Sanitorium was located in Fanwood, New Jersey.
122. For a transcript of the talk given at the Fanwood Town Hall see
Promulgation, pp.
161-3.
123. For other transcripts of the talk of `Abdu'l-Bahá see
Promulgation, pp.
163-71,
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 24-9 and
Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 16, pp. 246-50.
124. The events described here took place on Tuesday, June 4, 1912.
125. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's answers to questions put to Him see
Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 9, pp. 77-84.
126. Ashrafi, Persian gold coins (about 22 to 24 carats, weighing approximately 9 to 12 grams).
127. The house at 309 West 78th Street belonged to Mrs Champney.
128. This is in reference to Amín'u'lláh Faríd who often solicited money and gifts in the name of `Abdu'l-Bahá despite the Master's explicit instructions to the contrary. Faríd later, owing to his further disobedience to `Abdu'l-Bahá, was declared a Covenant-Breaker. See Smith, `The American Bahá'í Community',
Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History, pp. 188-9.
129. Balyuzi notes that this was on Saturday, 8 June 1912. See Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 209.
130. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks in Philadelphia and an account of His visit there, see
Promulgation, pp.
172-82,
Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 83-90 and
Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 99-106.
131. One was the Unitarian Church at 15th Street and Girard Avenue and the other the Baptist Temple, at Broad and Berks Streets, Philadelphia. According to
Promulgation, both meetings took place on June 9, 1912. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá talk at the Unitarian Church see
Promulgation, pp.
172-6; for a transcript of the talk at the Baptist Temple see
Promulgation, pp.
176-82.
132. According to Balyuzi and Ward, the events recorded here took place on Monday, June 10, 1912. See Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 211 and Ward,
239 Days, p. 88.
133. Bahá'u'lláh,
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, para.
53 (translated by Shoghi Effendi).
134. The events described probably took place on Tuesday, June 11, 1912.
135. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks given on June 11, 1912 see
Promulgation, pp.
183-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 99-101.
136. The events described probably took place on Wednesday, June 12, 1912.
137. For a transcript of one of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks given on June 12, 1912 see
Promulgation, pp.
187-9.
138. The events described probably took place on Thursday, June 13, 1912. See Ward,
239 Days, p. 90.
139. The events described probably took place on Friday, June 14 or Saturday, June 15, 1912.
140. Sultan of Turkey, from 1876 until he was deposed in 1909.
141. A commission sent by the Ottoman government to investigate charges leveled against `Abdu'l-Bahá by violators of the Covenant. See Balyuzi,
'Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 112-25.
142. This talk was given at 309 West Seventy-eighth Street, New York, on June 15, not June 13. For a transcript of the talk see
Promulgation, pp.
189-90.
143. The events described probably took place on Saturday, June 15, 1912.
144. A believer mentioned in `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Memorials of the Faithful, pp.
54-7.
145. A quotation from the poet Rúmí.
146. The events described here took place on Sunday, June 16, 1912.
147. This meeting took place at the Fourth Unitarian Church, Beverly Road, Flatbush, Brooklyn. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
190-4 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 30-2.
148. For translations of the prayer see
Promulgation, pp.
193 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, p. 32.
149. For `Abdu'l-Bahá's address to the Sunday school children see
Promulgation, pp.
193-4 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, p. 32.
150. 935 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
194-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10. pp. 17-19.
151. The Central Congregational Church, Hancock Street, Brooklyn. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
197-203 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 19-22.
152. The events described here took place on Monday, June 17, 1912.
153. Although not identified, this is most likely Mírzá Valí'u'lláh Khán-i-Varqá.
154. The events described took place on Tuesday, June 18, 1912.
155. For another description of this event see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 2-4.
156. The events described here took place on Wednesday, June 19, 1912. Although not mentioned by Mírzá Ma
hmúd, June 19 was the day `Abdu'l-Bahá designated New York the City of the Covenant. See Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 220 and
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 311-16.
157. Also known as the Súriy-i-Ghu
sn, it was revealed by Bahá'u'lláh while in Adrianople. See Shoghi Effendi,
God Passes By, p.
242.
158. Those following Mírzá Ya
hyá, also known as Sub
h-i-Azal, the half-brother of Bahá'u'lláh who claimed to be the successor of the Báb.
159. A believer who had been exiled with Bahá'u'lláh to `Akká.
160. The events described here took place on Thursday, June 20, 1912. See Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 221 and
Diary of Juliet Thompson, p. 317.
161. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
206-9 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 10, pp. 23-4.
162. The events described here took place on Friday, June 21, 1912. See Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 221 and
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 317-21.
163. The events described here took place on Saturday, June 22, 1912.
164. The events described here took place on Sunday, June 23, 1912.
165. Mírzá Asadu'lláh of Khuy, on whom the Báb conferred the designation `Dayyán' (lit. `conqueror' or `judge'). After the martyrdom of the Báb, a number of His followers turned to Dayyán for guidance. He went to the length of claiming to be `He Whom God shall make manifest' but after meeting Bahá'u'lláh in Iraq, he retracted the claim. Mírzá Ya
hyá caused `the murder of Dayyán, whom he feared and envied'. See Shoghi Effendi,
God Passes By, p.
165.
166. For details of `Abdu'l-Vahháb, see the chapter entitled `The Story of a Shírází Youth' in Balyuzi,
King of Glory, pp. 94-8.
167. Juliet Thompson relates in her diary: `The Master's whole aspect suddenly changed. It was as though the spirit of the martyr had entered into Him. With that God-like head erect, snapping His fingers high in the air, beating out a drumlike rhythm with His foot till we could hardly endure the vibrations set up, He triumphantly sang "The Martyr's Song".
`I have come again, I have come again,
By way of Shíráz I have come again!
With the wine cup in My hand!
Such is the madness of Love!'
168. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
210-13.
169. The events described here took place on Wednesday, June 26, 1912. See Ward,
239 Days, p. 100.
170. This visit to Newark took place on Thursday, June 27. See Ward,
239 Days, p. 100.
171. A Persian hat, brimless, of lambskin or felt, long worn by government officials, civilians, etc. The term `hatted' refers to laymen while `turbaned' indicates the clergy or learned class. Gail,
Bahá'í Glossary, p. 27.
172. A `para' was the smallest denomination of currency of the Ottoman Empire in the 1860s.
173. A reference to Bahá'u'lláh's withdrawal in April 1854 from Baghdád to Sulaymáníyyih, a small town about 200 miles away in Kurdistán, where He resided until March 1856. See Balyuzi,
King of Glory, pp. 115-22.
174. `O God, He Who is invoked.' The cycle of every Divine Dispensation. Specifically, the time of Mustagháth is the day of the Latter Resurrection, i.e. the Advent of Bahá'u'lláh. Gail,
Bahá'í Glossary, p. 37. See also Bahá'u'lláh,
Kitáb-i-Ã?qán, pp.
229,
248.
175. He was the sole companion of Bahá'u'lláh in Sulaymáníyyih. He was set upon by highwaymen or frontier patrols and was mortally wounded. When found near death, he gave his name and bequeathed all his possessions to Darvísh Mu
hammad-i-Ã?rání, the name Bahá'u'lláh had assumed. See Balyuzi,
King of Glory, pp. 116-17.
176. The events described here took place on Saturday, June 29, 1912.
177. Roy Wilhelm's home, the venue of the Unity Feast, marks the only public memorial which the American Bahá'ís have been permitted to construct in observance of `Abdu'l-Bahá's North American journeys. For another account of this event, see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 322-5.
178. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Unity Feast see
Promulgation, pp.
213-15 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 8, pp. 16-18.
179. The events described here took place on Sunday, June 30, 1912.
180. Mr Topakyan, the Persian Consul General, resided in Morristown, New Jersey. For pictures of this event see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 8-9.
181. The events described here took place on Monday, July 1, 1912.
182. During His stay in New York, `Abdu'l-Bahá resided at 309 West 78th Street.
183. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks on July 1, 1912 see
Promulgation, pp.
216-18 and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 102-3.
184. The events described here took place on Tuesday, July 2, 1912.
185. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks on 1 July see
Promulgation, pp.
216-17 and
218.
186. The events described here took place on Wednesday, July 3, 1912.
187. The events described here took place on Thursday, July 4, 1912.
188. Juliet Thompson records that
On the fourth of July, Mamma had her birthday dinner with the Master. He was so sweet to her . . . When we sat with Him after dinner, He spoke of tests. `Even the sword,' He said, `is no test to the Persian believers. They are given a chance to recant; they cry out instead: "Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá!" Then the sword is raised,' -- He shot out His arm as though brandishing a sword -- `they cry out all the more "Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá". But some of the people here are tested if I don't say "How do you do?"'
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 326-7.
189. It is not clear on what day the events described here took place.
190. The Natural History Museum. For an account of this excursion see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, p. 329-32.
191. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's two talks see
Promulgation, pp.
218-25,
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 6-10 and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 87-90.
192. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
225-8 and
Star of the West. vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 10-12.
193. `Abdu'l-Bahá had asked Lua Getsinger to go to California to proclaim the Covenant. Juliet Thompson relates that as Lua was eager to remain with the Master, she delayed going and, in order to prevent her departure, had deliberately walked through some poison ivy during the Unity Feast at Roy Wilhelm's house, which made her feet swell. Lua said to Juliet Thompson, `
Look at me, Julie.
Look at my feet. Oh, please go right back to the Master and tell Him about them and say: "How can Lua travel now?"'
I did it, returned to the Master's house, found Him in His room and put Lua's question to Him. He laughed, then crossed the room to a table on which stood a bowl of fruit, and, selecting an apple and a pomegranate, gave them to me.
`Take these to Lua,' He said. `Tell her to eat them and she will be cured. Spend the day with her, Juliet.'
O precious Lua -- strange mixture of disobedience and obedience -- and all from love! I shall never forget her, seizing first the apple, then the pomegranate and gravely chewing them all the way through till not even a pomegranate seed was left: thoroughly eating her cure, which was certain to send her to California.
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 323-6.
194. It has not been possible to identify either Siyyid `Abdu'lláh's work or Mírzá Abu'l-Fa
dl's refutation of it. Mírzá Abu'l-Fa
dl's
The Brilliant Proof, published in 1912 to refute the criticisms of the Christian missionary Peter Z. Easton, does not contain the passages cited.
195. Naisan is the name of a Hebrew month. It had been used in the ancient Egyptian calendar and was still in use in 1912. It originated in Babylonia before its adoption by other civilizations.
196. The guinea was one pound sterling and one shilling. In 1912 the equivalent of 1,000 guineas was approximately $16,000.
197. O Ye Peoples of the World!
Know, verily, that an unforeseen calamity followeth you, and grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not that which ye have committed hath been effaced in My sight. By My beauty! All your doings hath My pen graven with open characters upon tablets of chrysolite. Bahá'u'lláh,
Hidden Words, Persian no.
63.
198. The events described here took place on Friday, July 12, 1912.
199. For Juliet Thompson's description of Percy Grant's meeting with `Abdu'l-Bahá and the meeting at her home see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 339-46.
200. The events described here took place on Sunday, July 14, 1912.
201. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the All Souls' Unitarian Church, Fourth Avenue and Twentieth Street on July 14 see
Promulgation, pp.
228-35 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 12-16.
202. The events described here took place on Monday, July 15, 1912.
203. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Krugs' home see
Promulgation, pp.
236-7. The text of this talk differs from the overview of it provided by Ma
hmúd.
204. The events described here took place on Wednesday, July 17, 1912.
205. There are several accounts of this wedding. In her obituary of Grace Ober, Mabel Rice-Wray Ives writes:
During the months of `Abdu'l-Bahá's stay in America in 1912 Mrs Ober (Grace Robarts) had the honor of being indeed the `servant' in His home in whatever city He was staying. He chose her to go ahead and secure an apartment for Him and have it in readiness upon His arrival. Then she would care for His home as a housekeeper and hostess while He and His secretaries and those Persians who had the privilege of serving Him in various capacities, remained there. She kept the home immaculate, and always ready for the constant stream of guests from morning to night, Bahá'ís and inquirers and souls in difficulty to whom `Abdu'l-Bahá was always a loving Father. It was during one of the New York City visits of `Abdu'l-Bahá that He suggested her marriage to Harlan Ober. Gaining the consent of these two devoted believers, who in His consummate wisdom He had drawn together, He, on the following day, July 17, 1912, married them in the morning according to the Bahá'í marriage.
This infinite bounty of being chosen for each other and joined in marriage by the Centre of the Covenant Himself was a unique favor bestowed upon these two souls alone, out of all America. The Bahá'í World, vol. 8, p. 658.
***
Juliet Thompson writes in her diary:
In the evening I returned from a wedding, Grace Robarts' and Harlan Ober's, where the Master, for me, as well as for the bride and bridegroom, turned the water of life into wine.
Grace and Harlan stood together, transfigured; they seemed to be bathed in white light. Mr Ives, standing opposite, married them. Back in the shadow sat the Master. There were times when I, sitting at a little distance from Him, felt His lightning glance on me. At the end of the service He blessed the marriage.
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 350-1.
***
Howard Colby Ives provides a long account of the wedding and discusses the nature of Bahá'í marriage (see Ives,
Portals to Freedom, pp. 92-113). Here he describes the Master at the ceremony:
After the simple wedding ceremony and the bride and groom had resumed their seats, `Abdu'l-Bahá rose. His cream-colored `abá fell in graceful folds to His feet. Upon His head he wore a tarboosh, or fez, of the same color, beneath which His long white hair fell almost to His shoulders. Most impressive of all His impressive aspects were His eyes. Blue they were but so changing with His mood! Now gentle and appealing, now holding a deep, tranquil lambent repose as though gazing upon scenes of glory far removed.
His brow above those wide-set eyes was like an ivory dome. His neatly clipped beard, snowy white, touched His breast, but around His mouth no straggling hairs obscured the mobile lips.
He spoke through an interpreter, as was His custom . . . He swept the room with a glance at once enfolding and abstracted. He raised His hands, palm upwards, level with His waist, His eyes closed and He chanted a prayer for the souls united by Him and by me.
***
For another account of the wedding see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 12, pp. 14-15.
206. The events described here took place on Thursday, July, 18, 1912.
207. The events described here took place on Friday, July, 19, 1912.
208. Mentioned in the
Dawn-Breakers,
chapter 5.
209. A doctor of Islamic law, who has authority to interpret and issue judgments.
210. Known as Shaykh Hindí, a poet from India.
211. Martha Root was among those in the audience that evening and was so taken by `Abdu'l-Bahá's account of the martyrdom of Varqá and his son Rú
hu'lláh that she later wrote her own moving account of the Varqá family, `White Roses of Persia'. See Garis,
Martha Root, pp. 53-4.
212. The events described here took place on Sunday, July 21, 1912.
213. It is customary in the East to show one's highest respect to a guest by apologizing for the lack of any service rendered.
214. A ruler of Egypt from 1867 to 1914, governing as a viceroy of the Sultan of Turkey.
215. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
238-9 and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 7, p. 122.
216. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to the Theosophical Society at The Kensington, Exeter and Boylston Streets, Boston. For a transcript of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
239-43.
217. For transcripts of this brief address see
Promulgation, pp.
244 and
Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 12, p. 116.
218. Yá Rasúl'u'lláh, an invocation of Muslims to the Prophet Mu
hammad.
219. For other accounts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Dublin see Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 69-124 and Ives,
Portals to Freedom, pp. 114-31.
220. Muslim clergymen, doctors of religion, by whose decisions Muslim life is regulated.
221. Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to the Shah of Persia, dispatched from `Akká, and His lengthiest to any single sovereign. The Shah put its bearer, Badí`, to death.
222. Mu
hammad `Alí Mírzá succeeded Mu
zaffaru'd-Dín Sháh to the throne of the Qájár dynasty in 1907 and abdicated in 1909.
223. From a Persian proverb, equivalent to `home is where the heart is'.
224. For an account of the visit of the Bahá'ís to Dublin see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 3-6.
225. It is possible that the events described as taking place on this date took place at some other time, as Joseph Hannen had provided transcripts of two talks `Abdu'l-Bahá gave in Dublin, one `at `Abdu'l-Bahá's house, Dublin, Wednesday morning, July 31st' and the other `at 9:30 a.m., July 31st, `Abdu'l-Bahá, on the veranda of His house'. (
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 11, pp. 4-6.) See also the entry in the diary of Agnes Parsons for Wednesday, July 31. (Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 85-8.) Mrs Parsons's diary suggests that the date of the visit to the summer school was August 1; however, there are two entries for August 1 in her diary (pp. 88-91).
226. Shoghi Effendi describes this incident:
Even in the city of `Ishqabád the newly established Shí'ah community, envious of the rising prestige of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh who were living in their midst, instigated two ruffians to assault the seventy-year old
Hájí Mu
hammad-Ri
dáy-i-I
sfahání, whom, in broad day and in the midst of the bazaar, they stabbed in no less than thirty-two places, exposing his liver, lacerating his stomach and tearing open his breast. A military court dispatched by the Czar to `Ishqabád established, after prolonged investigation, the guilt of the Shí'ahs, sentencing two to death and banishing six others -- a sentence which neither Ná
siri'd-Dín Sháh, nor the `ulamás of
Tihrán, of Mashhad and of Tabríz, who were appealed to, could mitigate, but which the representatives of the aggrieved community, through their magnanimous intercession which greatly surprised the Russian authorities, succeeded in having commuted to a lighter punishment. Shoghi Effendi,
God Passes By, pp.
202-3.
227. The events described here took place on Sunday, August 4, 1912. See Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, p. 94.
228. The author says, `
shaghul ghamar' (an impossible act).
229. `Abdu'l-Bahá's half-brother, the archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. See
God Passes By, pp.
246,
249.
230. A notorious enemy of the Faith. See
God Passes By, p.
146.
231. A comprehensive study of Islamic theology by Shaykh Ibn al-`Arabí, one of the most influential Sufi thinkers, much quoted by the `ulamá. The work contains a full exposition of Sufi doctrine. `Conquests' in a mystical context carries no military connotations but implies the opening of the heart to knowledge and understanding.
232. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the Dublin Inn on August 5, 1912. For transcripts of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
245-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 18, pp. 4-6.
233. This is possibly the talk recorded in
Promulgation, pp.
247-52 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 18, pp. 6-10.
234. Before `Abdu'l-Bahá went to the church He spoke with Howard Colby Ives. See Ives,
Portals to Freedom, pp. 120-8.
235. A famous 14th-century Persian musician poet.
236. Herat is present-day Kabul in Afghanistan. Bokhara is an ancient city of Persia, now a part of Russian Turkistan in the Uzbek Republic.
237. The river of Múliyán, near Bokhara.
238. Rúdakí, as translated by Edward G. Browne. See
A Literary History of Persia, vol. 1, p. 16.
239. Sa`dí, the great 13th-century Persian poet, famous in the West for his `Gulistan' or `Rose Garden'.
240. A Persian Bahá'í woman, the first Persian woman to travel in the United States.
241. A Persian expression denoting one who passes round the wine cup at joyful gatherings.
242. For an account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's arrival at Green Acre see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 15, pp. 3-4. H. M. Balyuzi writes:
Green Acre, an estate of nearly two hundred acres, lies on the banks of the Piscataqua river in Eliot, Maine, four miles from the shores of the Atlantic . . . In 1894 . . . Miss Sarah J. Farmer, a woman highly enlightened, had opened the estate as a conference center for people of advanced and liberal views. Two years later she embraced the Bahá'í Faith. And when she went on pilgrimage to `Akká, she offered the facilities of Green Acre to `Abdu'l-Bahá . . . Today the Green Acre property (the home of a well-famed Summer School) is administered by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. It includes the Inn, the Fellowship House, the Arts and Crafts Studio and a holding on Monsalvat where `Abdu'l-Bahá stood and commended the wish of Sarah Farmer that a `university of the higher sciences' should be built on that height. Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 240-1.
***
See also
Green Acre on the Piscataqua, an account of Green Acre's 100-year history, chronicling its development from a resort hotel in 1890 to its present-day use as a Bahá'í school.
243. In fact, `Abdu'l-Bahá visited Miss Farmer at the sanatorium in Portsmouth where she, an invalid, was a patient.
244. The Eirenian, the House of Peace.
245. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
253-61 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 16, pp. 5-9. Balyuzi states that this was `one of the longest talks of His entire tour'. Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 241.
246. `Abdu'l-Bahá gave several talks in Green Acre on August 17. For transcripts of these talks see
Promulgation, pp.
261-3,
263-4 and
270-5.
247. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
264-70 and
Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 76-80.
248. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 15, pp. 4-7.
249. Then called Eliot House, now Staples Cottage.
250. For Fred Mortensen's own account of his meeting with `Abdu'l-Bahá at Green Acre, see
Star of the West, vol. 14, no. 12, pp. 365-7; Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 247-51; and Ward,
239 Days, pp. 127-9.
251.
Green Acre on the Piscataqua gives two accounts of this unity feast:
After dinner He hosted a unity feast from the porch of what He called `Bahá'í Home' . . . We have only a few descriptions of the feast. Alice Tobey Cummings remembered the round peppermints that Ella Robarts had brought at `Abdu'l-Bahá's request for the refreshment table at the feast, some of which she and Louise Thompson saved and for years distributed to the friends on special occasions. She also remembered `Abdu'l-Bahá saying that He had left enough spirit at Green Acre to bring dry bones to life.
Green Acre on the Piscataqua, pp. 51-3.
After dinner `Abdu'l-Bahá emerged from what was then known as the Eliot House and, standing on the porch, spoke to those gathered. So forceful and melodious was His voice that passers-by would stop to listen.
One can imagine `Abdu'l-Bahá, a man of sixty-eight years, wearing a long flowing, cream colored robe and a dark `abá or overcoat, a white turbaned headdress on his flowing silky white hair. As He talked, He walked back and forth across the porch gesturing with His hands. His voice strong and sure, His translator by His side. Green Acre on the Piscataqua, p. 58 (based on notes of Ivy Drew Edwards).
252.
Green Acre on the Piscataqua provides several accounts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Monsalvat, among them Harry Randall's:
He went to the top of Mt. Salvat, which is a part of the Green Acre property there, and He told us that on this spot a great Mashreq'ul-Azkar [sic] would be built and that the whole hill would be covered with institutions of learning, science, and religion, and to impress us with the importance of this Center, He said already it had been created and was not a prophecy alone and the Mashreq'ul-Azkar hung low over that place.
Green Acre on the Piscataqua, p. 59.
253. Ma
hmúd describes the moving picture as a camera which rotated in two different directions when it took photographs. Its plate was about half a meter long.
254. `That evening He dined with and spoke to nineteen guests at the home of Esther Annie Magee and her daughter Edith Inglis.'
Green Acre on the Piscataqua, p. 59.
255. The Wilson house is today part of the endowments of the American Bahá'í community.
256. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk to the New Thought Forum at the Metaphysical Club in Boston see
Promulgation, pp.
276-80 and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 7, pp. 117-22.
257. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at Franklin Square House, Boston, see
Promulgation, pp.
280-4.
258. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
284-9.
259. It is likely that the wedding of Ruby Breed, youngest daughter of Francis and Alice Breed, to Clarence Johnson took place on this date. `Abdu'l-Bahá attended the wedding ceremony and afterwards gave a talk `on marriage, on the union of the sexes in all four kingdoms -- mineral, vegetable, animal and human -- and passing on to the next life in the Heavenly Kingdom'. For a description of the wedding see Gail,
Arches of the Years, p. 90; for a newspaper account see Ward,
239 Days, pp. 131-2.
260. This meeting took place at the home of Madame Morey, 34 Hillside Avenue, Malden on Thursday, August 29, 1912. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
289-96. On August 31, a local newspaper, the
Transcript, reported:
Abdul Baha Abbas [sic] . . . was the guest of honor at a reception given on Thursday evening at her residence in Malden by Mme. Beale Morey, the musician. There were nearly a hundred guests present, for whom Mme. Morey played at the piano an introductory musical programme, following which Abdul Beha Abbas [sic] gave a talk on the `Religions of the World', showing the points of similarity of beliefs of different nations and their relations in the forming of a universal brotherhood. Cited in Ward,
239 Days, p. 132.
261. The Maxwell home at 1548 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, (indicated as 716 Pine Avenue West in
Promulgation) is now a national Bahá'í endowment, given to the Faith by Amatu'l-Bahá Rú
híyyih Khánum in 1948.
262. John Lewis, editor of the
Montreal Daily Star. See Balyuzi,
`Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 256-8.
263. From Saná`í, 12th century, the first of the great Persian mystic poets.
264. Ahmad Sohrab, one of `Abdu'l-Bahá's entourage.
265. For another translation of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
297-302.
266. For transcripts of the talks of `Abdu'l-Bahá, which were given at the home of Mr and Mrs Maxwell, see
Promulgation, pp.
302-8.
267. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
308-12.
268. This is probably a believer mentioned in
Memorials of the Faithful, pp.
171-2, who at one time waited on Bahá'u'lláh.
269. The first Caliph of Islam after the passing of Mu
hammad.
270. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the St James Methodist Church, Montreal, see
Promulgation, pp.
312-19.
271. The child, Mary, was then two years old. In 1937 she married the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, and was given the title Amatu'l-Bahá Rú
híyyih Khánum. She was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God in 1952.
272. From the Persian proverb, `Your place is vacant', meaning that you are missed.
273. A title of `Abdu'l-Bahá: `When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.' Bahá'u'lláh,
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, para.
121.
274. Corinne True lived at 5338 Kenmore Avenue.
275. This is possibly Bernard Jacobsen, a prominent Bahá'í in Kenosha.
276. See
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, pp.
99-134.
277. Shu`á`u'lláh, the son of `Abdu'l-Bahá's faithless half brother Mírzá Mu
hammad-`Ali, was in the United States at the same time as `Abdu'l-Bahá. On May 4, 1912 he had written to the
Kenosha Evening News denouncing `Abdu'l-Bahá for trying to subvert the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and proposing a meeting between himself and `Abdu'l-Bahá to settle their differences. Kheiralla was also to attend. `Abdu'l-Bahá ignored the letter. Kheiralla, on July 8, also wrote to the newspaper in support of Shu`á`u'lláh. Roger Dahl notes that `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Kenosha `seems to have been primarily intended by `Abdu'l-Bahá as a means of uplifting the spirits of the Bahá'ís in Kenosha and raising the public prestige of that community in the face of opposition by the followers of Kheiralla.' Dahl, `A History of the Kenosha Bahá'í Community, 1897-1980', in Hollinger,
Community Histories, p. 1-57.
278. For another account of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Kenosha see Collins, 'Kenosha, 1893-1912' in Momen,
Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History, vol. 1, pp. 244-8. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was taken to the Bahá'í Center in Kensoha at Gronquist Hall, 616 Fifty-seventh Street.
279. A governor of Palestine during a period of the Ottoman Empire.
280. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
320-4.
281. Martyred in I
sfahán with his brother, the Beloved of Martyrs (Mírzá Mu
hammad-
Husayn) on March 17, 1879. See
God Passes By, pp.
200-1
282. The Walker Art Gallery. See Ward,
239 Days, p. 148.
283. `Abdu'l-Bahá gave this talk at the home of Dr and Mrs Clement Woolson, 870 Laurel Avenue, St Paul, on September 20, 1912. For a transcript of the talk see
Promulgation, pp.
329-33.
284. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the home of Albert Hall, 2030 Queen Avenue South, Minneapolis on September 20, 1912. For a transcript of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
325-8.
285. In the early days of Islam, on the recommendation of the Persian Salmán, ditches were dug to protect the believers from the onslaught of the enemies attacking the Prophet Mu
hammad.
286. Anushírván was a Sásáníd king known for his just rule. The Prophet Mu
hammad was born during his reign. Khusraw is the name of several Persian kings. Khusraw I (531-79 AD) was the greatest of the Sásáníd monarchs. He extended his rule east to the Indus River, west across Arabia, and north and northwest, taking part of Armenia and Caucasia from the Byzantines.
287. The Executive Committee of the Central Organization for a Durable Peace.
288. A low mountain near the village of Tákur, in the province of Núr, Persia, the summer residence of Bahá'u'lláh.
289. `Abdu'l-Bahá here is speaking ironically in reference to His nephew Shu`á`u'lláh, whose name means `ray of light', as being `of darkness', for shortly after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh he became a Covenant-breaker, following in the footsteps of his father, Mírzá Mu
hammad-`Alí, `Abdu'l-Bahá's unfaithful half-brother.
290. `Abdu'l-Bahá here is quoting a passage from the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, para.
37.
291. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the home of Mrs Sidney Roberts on September 14, 1912. For transcripts of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
334-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 13, pp. 219-26.
292. Although not identified, `Abdu'l-Bahá is likely referring to Fujita, who accompanied Him on His journey westward.
293. `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Second Divine Science Church, 3929 West Thirty-eighth Avenue, Denver was given on September 25, 1912. For a transcript of His talk see
Promulgation, pp,
337-42.
294. A story based on the Mathnaví of Rúmí.
295. Hajaru'l-asvad, a stone at the northeast corner of the Ka`bá, which is the holiest spot in the Islamic world, the center of pilgrimage for Muslims and the direction in which they face for their obligatory prayers.
296. See Qur'án 29:69 (Suríh of the Spider), a reference to the flight of Mu
hammad and His son-in-law `Alí to a cave outside Mecca because of persecution by the enemies of His Cause.
297. This was also the week of the State Fair and the Mormon Convention and the city was filled with people from Utah, adjoining states and beyond. For the account of Feny E. Paulson, a Bahá'í who met `Abdu'l-Bahá and His entourage in Utah, see Ward,
239 Days, pp. 159-63.
298. Siyyid Ya
hyáy-i-Dárábí, surnamed Va
híd, an devoted follower of the Báb.
299. He had been a servant of the Báb at Máh-Kú.
300. This event occurred at the home of Bahá'u'lláh when `Abdu'l-Bahá was a child of five. See Nabíl,
Dawn-Breakers, p.
432.
301. For another account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's stay in San Francisco see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 12, pp. 9-10 and vol. 3, no. 13, pp. 11-13.
302. This was Kanichi Yamamoto, the first Japanese Bahá'í.
Hasan is the name of the second Imám and means `good' while
Husayn, the name of the third Imám, is a diminutive form of
Hasan.
303. David Starr Jordan, the president of Leland Stanford Junior University.
304. A different talk is recorded as taking place at the home of Mrs Helen S. Goodall on October 3, 1912 in
Star of the West. See vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 190-4.
305. For a transcript of one of the interviews see
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 12, pp. 206-7.
306. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to the Japanese Young Men's Christian Association at the Japanese Independent Church, Oakland on October 7, 1912. For a transcript of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
343-8. The talk was translated first into English and then into Japanese. See Ward,
239 Days, p. 166.
307. Those portions of Dr David Starr Jordan's introductory and closing remarks included by Ma
hmúd have been taken directly from
The Palo Altan. The newspaper devoted its entire edition of November 1, 1912, to the visit of `Abdu'l-Bahá to Stanford University and printed, in their entirety, `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks at the university, the Emmanu-el Congregation and the Unitarian Church in Palo Alto.
308. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at Leland Stanford Junior University see
Promulgation, pp.
348-55 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 12, pp. 10-14.
309. This meeting was held on Monday, October 7, 1912. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
343-8.
310. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
355-61.
311. `Abdu'l-Bahá's statement is recorded in
Promulgation (p.
361) as:
Strange indeed that after twenty years training in colleges and universities man should reach such a station wherein he will deny the existence of the ideal or that which is not perceptible to the senses. Have you ever stopped to think that the animal already has graduated from such a university? Have you ever realized that the cow is already a professor emeritus of that university? For the cow without hard labor and study is already a philosopher of the superlative degree in the school of nature. The cow denies everything that is not tangible, saying, `I can see! I can eat! Therefore, I believe only in that which is tangible!' Then why should we go to colleges? Let us go to the cow.
312. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's interview on October 10, 1912, with Mr Tinsley, who was recovering from an accident, see
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 12, p. 205.
313. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Temple Emmanu-el, 450 Sutter Street, San Francisco.
314. For other transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
361-70 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 13, pp. 3-11.
315. Mrs Hearst took the first group of Western pilgrims to visit Abdu'l-Bahá in `Akká in 1898.
316. City and district of ancient Sumer in southern Babylonia.
317. Equivalent to about $10 in 1912 currency.
318. From the Sufi poet Rúmí.
319. Thornton Chase had died suddenly and unexpectedly on September 30, 1912.
320. Ma
hmúd is probably referring to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay.
321. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Nineteen Day Feat see
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 12, pp. 203-9.
322. For another account of the Nineteen Day Feast see Brown,
Memories of `Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 54-7.
323. A town near Shíráz where many Bahá'ís were cruelly martyred by fanatic mobs and mullás during the ministry of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
324. For another account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Thornton Chase's grave see
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 13, pp. 14-15.
325. Shu`á`u'lláh was in Pasadena, California during `Abdu'l-Bahá's travels in America.
326. And it was told him [by certain] which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it. Luke 8:20-1.
327. Bahá'u'lláh,
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, para.
53.
328. For a transcript of a talk `Abdu'l-Bahá had with one of the friends on October 22, 1912, on the meaning of sacrifice see
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 12, p. 205.
329. For another account of the morning of October 23 see Brown,
Memories of `Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 78-81.
330. This refers to Bahá'u'lláh's retirement to the mountains of Sulaymáníyyih between April 1854 and March 1856. See
God Passes By, pp.
119-126.
331. Bahá'u'lláh's companion while in Sulaymáníyyih, who was `set upon either by highwaymen or frontier patrols and was mortally wounded'. See Balyuzi,
King of Glory, p. 116.
332. This paragraph was translated by Shoghi Effendi. See
God Passes By, pp.
293-4.
333. For another account of the evening of October 24 see Brown,
Memories of `Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 83-5.
334. This was Christine Fraser, who operated a `Home of Truth' in Sacramento. The Homes of Truth were based on the teachings of New Thought developed by Emma Curtis Hopkins. Caton notes:
`Abdu'l-Bahá was met at the Central Pacific Arcade Station by Christine Fraser and Carrie Yoerk, a Sacramentan from a prominent family who was also associated with the Home of Truth. They took him, with his entourage, by car to the Home of Truth and invited him to remain for lunch and stay for the night. Goodall and Cooper, along with the other Americans, went directly from the train station to the Hotel Sacramento where they were to be staying and where `Abdu'l-Bahá was to speak that night.
. . . there were a number of New Thought people there, and they were very interested in the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá retired to a private room to rest after lunch. At about 3:20 p.m., Cooper, Goodall, and others arrived from the Hotel Sacramento. It seems that his luncheon at the Home of Truth had come as a surprise to `Abdu'l-Bahá, since Cooper later related that he called her into his room to scold her for arranging the meeting without consulting him, and so requiring that he separate himself from the other Bahá'ís and leave them waiting at the hotel. Caton, `A History of the Sacramento Bahá'í Community, 1912-1987' in Hollinger, Community Histories, p. 245.
335. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Hotel Sacramento see
Promulgation, pp.
370-6.
336. For Lua Getsinger's notes of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Sacramento see Metelmann,
Lua Getsinger, pp. 177-8.
337. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk in the Assembly Hall at the Hotel Sacramento at 9:30 a.m. see
Promulgation, pp.
376-80 and
Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 17, pp. 259-62.
338. `And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matt. 8:11-12.
339. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
381-3.
340. This incident took place on August 8, 1912, in Dublin, New Hampshire, between Mrs Agnes Parsons and her husband, Jeffrey. See Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 97-8.
341. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
383-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 15, pp. 230-4.
342. There is nothing in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh which provides for musical instruments in Bahá'í Temples or rostrums for the delivery of addresses. Indeed, in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh states: `Ye have been prohibited from making use of pulpits' (para.
154). In the Notes (note
168) to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas the Universal House of Justice has elucidated:
These provisions have their antecedent in the Persian Bayán. The Báb forbade the use of pulpits for the delivery of sermons and the reading of the Text. He specified, instead, that to enable all to hear the Word of God clearly, a chair for the speaker should be placed upon a platform.
In comments on this law, `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi have made it clear that in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (where sermons are prohibited and only the words of Holy Scripture may be read) the reader may stand or sit, and if necessary to be better heard, may use a low moveable platform, but that no pulpit is permitted.
343. The Tarbíyat Schools were highly acclaimed. The boys' school was established in 1898 and the girls' school was founded by Dr Susan Moody after her arrival in
Tihrán in 1909. Both schools were owned and managed entirely by Bahá'ís, although children of all religions attended, particularly the children of government and civil officials. The schools closed in 1934.
344. This woman is not identified but may be Mrs Farmer.
345. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk given at the Grand Hotel in Cincinnati see
Promulgation, pp.
388-9 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 81-2.
346. The `Young Turk Revolution' of 1908 resulted in the reinstatement of the constitution, which the Sultan had suspended, and the release of all religious and political prisoners. See
God Passes By, pp.
271-2.
347. Compare with
Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p.
270:
In the Orient scatter perfumes,
And shed splendors on the West.
Carry light unto the Bulgar,
And the Slav with life invest.
348. Ma
hmúd is probably referring to the
Súriy-i-Múlúk (Súrih of Kings) revealed by Bahá'u'lláh.
349. The Sultan of Turkey at the time of Bahá'u'lláh, one of the monarchs addressed by Bahá'u'lláh in His
Súriy-i-Múlúk.
350. The revolution occurred in
Tihrán in 1905, replacing the absolute monarchy of the Qájárs with a parliamentary monarchy. In 1921 the Qájár dynasty was overthrown by Reza Shah Pahlavi, who established the Pahlavi dynasty, which was in turn overthrown in 1979 by the Ayatollah Khomeini.
351. Mrs Parsons's account of the events of November 6, 1912 differ markedly from Ma
hmúd's. See Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 127-8.
352. For Mrs Parsons's account of November 7, 1912 see Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 128-30. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's two talks given at the home of Mrs Parsons on November 7 see
Promulgation, pp.
397-9,
400-2 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 19-21.
353. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the Church of Our Father (Universalist), Washington DC at 8:15 p.m. on November 6, 1912. For transcripts of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
390-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 13, pp. 195-9.
354. For Mrs Parsons's account of the events of November 8, 1912 see Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 130-2.
355. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Eighth Street Temple (Jewish Synagogue) on November 8, 1912 see
Promulgation, pp.
402-10 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 3-10.
356. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks given at the home of Mrs Parsons on November 9, 1912 see
Promulgation, pp.
411-15,
415-18 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 11-16.
357. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Bahá'í Banquet at Rauscher's Hall, Washington DC see
Promulgation, pp.
418-21 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 13, pp. 97-9.
358. For Mrs Parsons's account of the events of November 9, 1912 see Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 132-5.
359.
The Brilliant Proof, published in Chicago in 1912.
360. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the home of Mrs Parsons see
Promulgation, pp.
421-5 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 21-4.
361. Joseph and Pauline Hannen lived at 1252 Eighth Street, NW, Washington DC. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá talk see
Promulgation, pp.
425-8 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 13, pp. 99-103.
362. For Mrs Parsons's account of the events of the day see Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 135-7. For transcripts of a talk given by `Abdu'l-Bahá at 1901 Eighteenth Street, NW, Washington DC on November 10, 1912 see
Promulgation, pp.
428-30 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 13, pp. 103-4.
363. For Mrs Parsons's account of the events of November 11, 1912 see Hollinger,
Agnes Parsons' Diary, pp. 138-41.
364. Howard and Hebe Struven lived at 1800 Bentaloo Street, West Baltimore.
365. For an another account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Baltimore see Clark, `The Bahá'ís of Baltimore, 1898-1990' in Hollinger,
Community Histories, pp. 125-9.
366. For another account of `Abdu'l-Bahá's arrival in New York see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 362-4.
367. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet to Andrew Carnegie see
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 82-3.
368. For another account of the events of November 12 see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 364-7.
369. For transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks at 48 West Tenth Street see
Promulgation, pp.
431-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 29-40. For Juliet Thompson's description of the events see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 368-9.
370. Ha
drát means `his excellency' or `his honor'. `Abdu'l-Bahá may be referring to
Tarázu'lláh Samandarí, appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi on December 24, 1951.
371. For a another transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk given at 309 West Seventy-eighth Street see
Promulgation, pp.
437.
372. See `Abdu'l-Bahá,
Memorials of the Faithful, pp.
39-41.
373. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke on November 17, 1912 at the Genealogical Hall, 252 West Fifty-eighth Street. For a transcript of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
437-42.
374. For other transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the home of Mr and Mrs Frank K. Moxey, 575 Riverside Drive, New York, see
Promulgation, pp.
442-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 6, no. 8, pp. 59-64.
375. For an account of the beginning of the Howard MacNutt affair, see Stockman,
The Bahá'í Faith in America, vol. 1, pp. 168-78. For another account of the discussion between `Abdu'l-Bahá and Howard MacNutt see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 369-72.
376. See Matt. 5:17: `Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.'
377. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
447-8.
378. For Juliet Thompson's account of the banquet see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 375-6.
379. Luke 18:16-17: `But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.'
380. For another account of the events of November 25, 1912, see
Diary of Juliet Thompson, pp. 376-80.
381. For a transcript of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the home of Mr and Mrs Kinney see
Promulgation, pp.
449-52.
382. For transcripts of other talks of `Abdu'l-Bahá delivered on Monday, December 2, 1912, at the home of Mr and Mrs Kinney see
Promulgation, pp.
452-3,
453-7 and
Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 15, pp. 253-8 and vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 7-10.
383. For other transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk see
Promulgation, pp.
357-8 and
Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 114-15.
384. `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk this evening was given to Mrs Kinney's Bible class. For a transcript of His talk see
Promulgation, pp.
458-60.
385. For the transcript of another of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talks given on Tuesday, December 3, 1912 at the home of Mr and Mrs Kinney see
Promulgation, pp.
460-1.
386. Qur'án, Súrih 48:23: `Such is God's method carried into effect of old; no change canst thou find in God's mode of dealing.' Rodwell,
The Koran, p. 462.
387. For other transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's talk at the Theosophical Society, 2228 Broadway, New York see
Promulgation, pp.
462-8 and
Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 8, pp. 69-76.
388. For other transcripts of `Abdu'l-Bahá's farewell address see
Promulgation, pp.
468-70 and
Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 18, pp. 3-4.
389. Bahá'u'lláh,
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, para.
53.
390. Early Zoroastrian Bahá'ís of India. Mr Bahrám had previously been a Zoroastrian priest.