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`Abdu'l-Bahá in London
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Pages 123-125
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Greetings by `Abdu'l-Bahá from Paris to London. October 1911.
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Spoken to Mrs. Enthoven for conveyance to all the friends,
and now written from memory.
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`ABDU'L-BAHÁ sent his greetings to all,
begging all to go on acquiring strength in
their belief and courage in its proclamation.
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He spoke much of the pleasure he had felt in
the atmosphere of England. He said there was a
strength of purpose in the English people and a
firmness which he liked and admired, There was
honesty and uprightness. They were slow in
starting a new idea, but, when they did, it was
only because their minds and common-sense had
told them that the idea was sound.
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The English as a nation had pleased him
greatly.
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Believers, he added, must show their belief in
their daily lives, so that the world might see the
light shining in their faces. A bright and happy
face cheers people on their way. If you are sad,
and pass a child who is laughing, the child, seeing
your sad face, will cease to laugh, not knowing
why. If the day be dark, how much a gleam of
sunshine is prized; so let believers wear smiling
happy faces, gleaming like sunshine in the
darkness. Let the Light of Truth and Honesty
shine from them, so that all who behold them may
know that their word in business or pleasure will
be a word to trust and depend upon.
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Forget self and work for the whole race.
Remember always that one is working for the
world, not for a town or even for a country;
because, as all are brethren, so every country is,
as it were, one's own.
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Remember, above all, the teaching of Bahá'u'lláh
concerning gossip and unseemly talk
about others. Stories repeated about others are
seldom good. A silent tongue is the safest. Even
good may be harmful, if spoken at the wrong
time, or to the wrong person.
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Finally `Abdu'l-Bahá sent his greetings and
blessings to all, and assured me he was constantly
thinking and praying for all.
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To a gentleman who was questioning him, he
remarked "The beginnings of all great religions
were pure; but priests, taking possession of the
minds of the people, filled them with dogmas and
superstitions, so that religion became gradually
corrupt. I come to teach no new religion. `My
only desire is, through the blessing of God, to
show the road to the Great Light." Touching the
gentleman gently on his shoulder, as a loving
father might touch a son, he went on to say, "I am
no Prophet, only a man like yourself."
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November 26th, 1911.
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