How the Master met a Western pilgrim for the first time

When luncheon was announced, Miss… came for me, and we walked across the courtyard to the small dining room where the Master was standing, waiting for us to appear. Shall I ever forget how he came and took me by the hand! It was not in the ordinary way in which one is greeted when meeting a stranger for the first time, but as though my host were continuing a friendship which had always existed. He took me by the hand, turned his back to me, and led me to my seat at the table, and not one word was spoken. The Master’s two youngest daughters were also at the table, together with Miss… and the man with the red fez, who met me at the gate.

The Master asked about my trip from Port Said, and I told him of the difficult landing the night before in the small boat, but that I had no fear because I knew I was coming to my Lord. He smiled and said, “Yes,” and told me a story of Baha’u’llah, how one man walked for days to see him, suffering hardship and fatigue. The Master said those who love feel no fear or fatigue.
- Mary L Lucas  (‘A Brief Account of My Visit to Acca’, Published by the Baha’i Publishing Society, September 1905)

Haifa 1911: “The meekness of the servant, the majesty of the king” – by Louis Gregory

When ... I saw him ['Abdu'l-Baha] for the first time he was about sixty-seven years of age, about the medium height, with a strong frame and symmetrical features. His face was deeply furrowed and his complexion about the shade of parchment. His carriage was erect and his form strikingly majestic and beautiful. His hands and nails were shapely and pure. His silver hair touched his shoulders. His beard was snow white, with eyes light blue and penetrating, his nose somewhat aquiline. His voice was powerful, but capable of infinite pathos, tenderness and sympathy. His dress was that of the Oriental gentleman of rank, simple and neat, yet very graceful. The color of his apparel was light, the outer robe being made of alpaca. On his head rested a light fez surrounded by a white turban. The meekness of the servant, the majesty of the king, were in that brow and form· 

- Louis Gregory  (From his pilgrimage in 1911; ‘To Move the World’, by Gayle Morrison)

Akka 1905: The Master’s household

The household consists of the Master, the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Holy Mother, two married daughters, their husbands and children, Rooha and Monever Khanom (the Master’s two youngest daughters), besides some little children who are orphans and have no one to take care of them, and women who are widows, their husbands having suffered martyrdom in the Path of God. These serve in some capacity in the household, and the sentiment of love and equality in every member of this home is a living example for the world. Everything is done in the spirit of love.

These women whose husbands have been martyred who are now living under the Master’s roof, are very happy, as their beaming faces testify, for all their sorrow is forgotten in the Presence of this Great One. Through Him they are learning the reality of life. 

- Mary Lucas  (Observations during her pilgrimage in 1905; ‘A Brief Account of My Visit to Acca’, by Mary Lucas)

New York 1912 - John Bosch: “when I saw Him I suddenly felt quite empty”

When the news came that 'Abdu'lBaha was on the way to America, John Bosch had such an overwhelming desire to see Him he started for New York on April 12, 1912. At Chicago, hearing that 'Abdu'l-Baha was in Washington, he went there instead, only to find that 'Abdu'l-Baha had not yet left New York. So he hurried on to that city, arriving very early on a cold and snowy morning. As soon as he had secured his room in the Hotel Ansonia he stole to 'Abdu'l-Baha's suite and was admitted almost immediately. Relating his experience to a friend, he said:

When I entered the room I had a pocketful of questions to ask 'Abdu'l-Baha, but when I saw Him I suddenly felt quite empty. I never took the questions out. Eventually 'Abdu'l-Baha told me all that I had wanted to ask Him. Foolishly I remarked that I had come three thousand miles to see Him, and He smilingly replied, "I came seven thousand miles to see you." I told Him that I, being a foreigner, had not the capacity of a speaker and that my work so far had been to circulate books and a few pamphlets. 'Abdu'l-Baha said: "You are doing very well; you are doing better than talking. With you it is not words or the movement of the lips; with you it is the heart that speaks. In your presence silence speaks and radiates." Then tea was brought in and after we had both partaken of it 'Abdu'l-Baha said: "You are now one of the family. You may come and go as you please." 

- (Adapted from ‘In Memoriam’ section of The Baha’i World 1946-1950: ‘John David Bosch’, by Charlotte M. Linfoot)

London: “His love had kindled love”

A profound impression remained in the minds and memories of all sorts and conditions of men and women.... Very greatly was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s sojourn in London appreciated; very greatly His departure regretted. He left behind Him many, many friends. His love had kindled love. His heart had opened to the West, and the Western heart had closed around this patriarchal presence from the East. His words had in them something that appealed not only to their immediate hearers, but to men and women generally. 

- Lady Blomfield  (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi in ‘God Passes By’)