The accounts of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels and of the effect He
had on those who met Him are legion. Some went to extraordinary lengths to
enter His presence — going by boat, by foot, or even under railway trains — and,
by the urgency of their desire to see Him, imprinted themselves on the consciousness
of future generations of adults and children. The testimonies of those who were
transformed by even a brief, sometimes near wordless encounter with their
beloved Master remain deeply stirring. In the wide array of visitors He
received — rich and poor, black and white, indigenous and émigré — the
universal embrace of His Father’s Faith was unmistakably in evidence. It is
impossible to adequately gauge the full scope of what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá accomplished
within this period. Many of the seeds He planted, and which He nurtured towards
maturity through an extensive correspondence that He maintained until the end
of His life, would blossom into a steadfast community capable of bearing the
great weight of work in the years to come, supporting the first structures of
national Bahá’í administration and beginning to act on the Master’s longing that
the divine teachings be brought to every city and shore.
- The Universal House
of Justice (From a message dated 5 December, 2013)
