Horace Holley: “In ‘Abdu’l-Baha I felt the awful presence of Baha’u’llah …I realized that I had thus drawn as near as man now may to pure spirit and pure being…”

It was while Horace and his wife were living in Siena, Italy, in 1911, that he heard of the arrival of ‘Abdu’l-Baha and his party in Thonon-les-Bains, France, As they had been hoping to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to meet the Master they lost no time in seizing this golden opportunity to attain His presence and left immediately for the small watering place on Lake Geneva, where they arrived on the afternoon of August 29th. Horace, in his account of this meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Baha, wrote that he had felt that if he could only look upon the Master from a distance, this would satisfy his pilgrim’s heart. He then goes on to describe what this privilege of spending a few days near ‘Abdu’l-Baha meant to him:

“I saw among them a stately old man, robed in a cream-coloured gown, his white hair and beard shining in the sun. He displayed a beauty of stature, an inevitable harmony of attitude and dress I had never seen nor thought of in men. Without having ever visualized the Master, I knew that this was He. My whole body underwent a shock. My heart leaped, my knees weakened, a thrill of acute, receptive feeling flowed from head to foot. I seemed to have turned into some most sensitive sense-organ, as if eyes and ears were not enough for this sublime impression. In every part of me I stood aware of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s presence. From sheer happiness I wanted to cry -- it seemed the most suitable form of self-expression at my command. While my own personality was flowing away, a new being, not my own assumed its place. A glory, as it were from the summits of human nature poured into me, and I was conscious of a most intense impulse to admire. In ‘Abdu’l-Baha I felt the awful presence of Baha’u’llah, and, as my thoughts returned to activity, I realized that I had thus drawn as near as man now may to pure spirit and pure being... I yielded to a feeling of reverence which contained more than the solution of intellectual or moral problems. To look upon so wonderful a human being, to respond utterly to the charm of His presence -- this brought me continual happiness. I had no fear that its effects would pass away and leave me unchanged. I was content to remain in the background...

America: An example of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s sense of humor

'Abdu'l-Baha spoke at length to the press representatives [in America], answering all their questions about peace, war, the rights of women, freedom of the press, education, true liberty and true religion.

'Abdu'l-Baha displayed wisdom, love and a sense of humour as He chatted with the press reporters in His stateroom. He recalled an incident from the previous winter when a young Christian was about to set off on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The pilgrim was worried, feeling that he did not have the right spirit and sense of reverence.

“The proper spirit in which to visit places hallowed by remembrances of Christ,” 'Abdu'l-Baha told His young visitor, “is one of constant communion with God. Love for God will be the telegraph wire, one end of which is in the Kingdom of the Spirit, and the other in your heart.”

‘I am afraid my telegraph wire is broken,' the would-be pilgrim complained.’

“Then,” said 'Abdu'l-Baha, laughing heartily, “I told him: ‘You will have to use wireless telegraphy.’” 
- William Sears  (‘The Flame, the Story of Lua’, by William Sears & Robert Quigley)

London: ‘Abdu’l-Baha used “the power of Baha’u’llah” -- an incident witnessed by Lady Blomfield

One day after a meeting when, as usual, many people had crowded round Him, 'Abdu'l-Bahá arrived home very tired. We were sad at heart that He should be so fatigued, and bewailed the many steps to be ascended to the flat. Suddenly, to our amazement, the Master ran up the stairs to the top very quickly without stopping.

He looked down at us as we walked up after Him, saying with a bright smile, from which all traces of fatigue had vanished:

"You are all very old! I am very young!"

Seeing me full of wonder, 'Abdu'l-Bahá said: "Through the power of Bahá'u'lláh all things can be done. I have just used that power."

That was the only time we had ever seen Him use that power for Himself, and I feel that He did so then to cheer and comfort us, as we were really sad concerning His fatigue.

Might it not also have been to show us an example of the great Reserve of Divine Force always available for those of us who are working in various ways in the "Path of the Love of God and of Mankind." A celestial strength which reinforces us when our human strength fails. 
- Lady Blomfield  (‘The Chosen Highway’)