Dear Friends:  more notes from a pilgrim      14 April 1996

  One of the first visitors to arrive in Akká in hopes of attaining the presence of Bahá’u’lláh was an elderly Persian believer named Ustad Isma'il, who was half blind.

He had traveled by road from Mosul, Iraq hundreds of miles away to reach the high walls of Akká at a time when no one was allowed to enter the prison to see Bahá’u’lláh.  Unable to meet his Beloved within the prison walls, Ustad Isma'il made his residence in a remote cave on Mount Carmel.  According to '‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that early pilgrim "obtained a tray in which he displayed a few inexpensive rings, thimbles and pins.  With these wares he walked the streets (of Haifa) from morn till noon."  He made very little money but had enough "to eat his meager meals and to praise and magnify the Name of his Lord.  He was always contented and thankful."  The patience of Ustad Isma'il was eventually rewarded with his being able to attain the presence of his Lord, Bahá’u’lláh.

  Another early pilgrim was Haji Amin, who was "the first to reach Bahá’u’lláh after His imprisonment in the prison of Akká."  Somehow Haji Amin was able to pass by the guards and enter the prison, and it was arranged by one of the Bahá’í prisoners for him to see Bahá’u’lláh only in the public bath with the condition that "he should see Bahá’u’lláh without approaching Him or giving any sign of recognition."

  Indeed, life was not easy for those first pilgrims, many of whom had already suffered afflictions and imprisonment themselves for their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.  However, several months after the passing of Mirza Mihdi, the Purest Branch, within the prison walls in 1870, the prison officials relaxed the restrictions and allowed Bahá’ís and others to enter the prison for the purpose of meeting Bahá’u’lláh.  Bahá’u’lláh, as you know, had offered to save His youthful son, the Purest Branch, from death after he had fallen through a skylight on the prison roof one night while pacing the roof in a state of prayer. The Purest Branch, instead, offered up his life as a ransom so that those who wished to attain the presence of his Father would be able to do so.  

  Today thousands of Bahá’ís make their pilgrimage each year. We arrive usually by jet airplanes, ride in air-conditioned taxis and stay in comfortable hotels. We are officially greeted by the Universal House of Justice in the reception hall of their magnificent building, the seat of the Universal House of Justice. The members of that supreme institution then mingle with the pilgrims and warmly welcome us to the Most Holy Land.  During the nine days, we are assisted by loving Bahá’í guides, cared for by gracious

servants in the pilgrim houses and given enough love to last a lifetime.  I feel that we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mirza Mihdi, the Purest Branch, for they spiritual bounty of pilgrimage.  He sacrificed his very life, so the door of pilgrimage would be open to Bahá’ís around the world.

  And that's not all.  After each wonderful day of prayer and visits to some of the many historic and holy Places of our Faith in the area, we would gather at the pilgrim house close to the Shrine of the Báb and often find Hand of the Cause of God Mr. Furutan or Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Muhammad Varqa (or both of them!) waiting to share their marvelous wisdom and experiences with us from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.  With such love these precious souls would speak about the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, or about

teaching the Faith and serving it. 

  Then, at 8:00 p.m. (after a brief pause to eat and rest) the evening presentation would begin.  One night a Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre would speak; the next night a member of the Universal House of Justice would come, and so on during the pilgrimage.  Those presentations lasted but a quick hour, but I can tell you that by the end of that hour all those in the pilgrim house would be filled with a joy and a new dedication to serve. 

  Here are a few comments and stories that I wrote down, which are not authoritative statements in any way, but are my "pilgrim notes":

Dr. Farzam Arbab, member of the Universal House of Justice, spoke about Joy. He described it as a spiritual quality and not simply an emotion.  A spiritual quality, he noted, is independent of what happens in the world, whereas emotions respond to what happens in this world.  In this sense, Joy as a quality of God has nothing to do with healing or sickness, of being rich or poor, free or imprisoned.  The source of joy is recognition of Beauty. Dr. Arbab emphasized that as the world is increasingly governed by hopelessness, the Bahá’í life should express joyfulness, because the world is losing its capacity for joy.  If we are not the bringers of joy, he asked, what do we have to offer humanity?  This is what humanity needs.  Dr. Arbab suggested that we pray to become a source of joy.    He told us that the next Plan (the Four-Year Plan) has only one aim -- a considerable advance in the process of entry by troops.  There is no other distraction. Teach and bring in people.  To do this we need to sit back and rethink our own activities and the way one teaches.  The question to ask ourselves is:  What do I have to do now in the simplest basics to be a teacher of the Cause?  Success means enrolments.  One does not teach so no one becomes Bahá’ís.  The purpose of teaching is to have people become Bahá’ís and join us to learn capacities and build a new world.  If we can answer the question, how can I become a bringer of joy? then we will have the answer to the other question, “How can I be a teacher of the Cause?”

Dr. Peter Khan, member of the Universal House of Justice, spoke about the present state of the world and the needs of the Faith.  As to where the Faith is in relation to the world, Dr. Khan mentioned three things: 1) the unprecedented disorder in the world has made it difficult for the Faith's administration to function in some countries; 2) that the Faith is experiencing growth in receptivity to the Teachings; and 3) the first signs of opposition to the Faith warned about in our Teachings are being evidenced.

As to the needs of the Faith, Dr. Khan mentioned teaching, the education of children and to have a conscious effort to become familiar with the spiritual nature of the Arc Project, which he said, is not a material concept just to beautify the mountain.  

As to teaching the Faith, Dr. Khan suggested that we contact people we've taught before even if they didn't previously show interest, because those same people may now be receptive; that we relate the Teachings to the problems causing concerns to the people around us; and that we need to do a lot more to encourage Bahá’ís doing studies in colleges and universities to relate what they are learning to the Bahá’í Teachings.

Mr. Kiser Barnes, member of the International Teaching Centre, spoke one evening about the gifts of God and particularly the gift of service and the gift of teaching.  Different people and different cultures understand things differently.  He said that we should teach people to their understanding and he shared a story told to him by a professor in Nigeria to illustrate the point:

Once in London an Englishman came to a cemetery to pay respects to his father with roses for the grave.  Not far from his father's grave, he saw a Chinese man sprinkling rice and seeds on another grave, the grave of the Chinese man's father.  The Englishman was a bit surprised to see this and so he asked the Chinese man, "When do you think your father will appear to eat the rice and seeds?"  The Chinese man humbly replied, "At the same time that your father will appear to smell the flowers."

Mr. Barnes also emphasized that it takes determination to serve God and determination to express gratitude to God for His gifts.  This determination has to be realistic or we become frustrated. (Such as in setting teaching goals.)  We should be determined to teach a few souls and to have constancy in our teaching.

The only time that it was universally forbidden to teach the Faith was the brief time when the Báb told Mulla Husayn that he should not tell anyone about the Báb until the remaining Letters of the Living accepted the Báb by their own powers. Mr. Barnes told us that the greatest danger is inactivity. 

Mr. Donald Rogers, Counsellor-member of the International Teaching Centre, spoke about the Art of Teaching and the importance of summoning the people to Bahá’u’lláh.

Before he spoke, he invited Dan Seals, a noted country singer from the US who was also on his pilgrimage, to sing for us, which he did beautifully.    The "Art" of teaching includes 1) understanding the nature of teaching, 2) the condition of the teachers, and why are some so successful and others who make effort don't seem to be so effective; and 3) the art of teaching, which requires practice.  The Guardian referred to the art of teaching and told us we could improve as teachers through practice.  We don't give enough attention to practicing the art of teaching.

Mr. Rogers told us that around you are probably several hundred people who know you and have a high regard for you.  A percentage of these would become Bahá’ís if you would pray for them and invite them to embrace the Faith.  

Mr. Rogers said that the Faith is scientific but also supernatural. Proclamation is to let people know of the existence of the Faith; Teaching is confirming souls!  The sooner you get the new believers involved in teaching the better.  Make of your home a center of learning.  The nucleus of institutes can be your own home. 

  Of course, the above only gives a taste of the talks from some of the distinguished speakers.  Always there is so much to digest and more importantly, to try to put into action.  As Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Varqa told us one afternoon: "To arise and serve is up to you.  It doesn't matter if you are children, youth or adults.  We are the elements."                                       With warmest Bahá’í love, Chris