THE MASTER REMEMBERED
He was knighted by the British for averting wide-scale famine in Palestine in 1920. Kahlil Gibran said of him, ‘I have a project to write another book where the Master would be the central character.’ Emmeline Pankhurst called him a prophet. He fascinated such diverse figures as Alexander Graham Bell, Alfred Nobel, Helen Keller, Andrew Carnegie, and Theodore Roosevelt. Known by those in the Baha’i Faith as The Master, Abdu’l-Baha, the son of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith, impressed many during his life.
Now the centenary of his death is being commemorated by adherents of the Baha’i Faith in Christchurch and around the world.
After being imprisoned in the Ottoman Empire for 60 years, Abdu’l-Baha travelled to the west in 1908 to share the Baha’i teachings.
A front-page story of the Montreal Daily Star in 1912, covered Abdu’lBaha´’s prediction of an imminent war in Europe. He was quoted as saying that an era of universal peace was possible, but that he feared before this, the world was headed towards ‘‘a war of colossal proportions’’, which ‘‘would be the most appalling in the world’s history.’’
Of world peace, he said that he had found that material civilisation had progressed greatly in the west, but that spiritual civilisation had been left behind.
A proponent for education for all, he said: ‘‘The primary, the most urgent requirement is the promotion of education.
It is inconceivable that any nation should achieve prosperity and success unless this paramount, this fundamental concern is carried forward.’’
He also said, ‘‘It is your duty to be exceedingly kind to every human being’’ and, ‘‘man is in reality a spiritual being and only when he lives in the spirit is he truly happy.’’