The Puppet Show

From His childhood Baha’u’llah showed extraordinary intelligence and understanding. He noticed many things, and understood points that even the elders had never thought of. For instance, while still very young, He attended His older brother’s wedding. According to the custom of those days they had celebrations for seven days and seven nights. On the last night there was a puppet show, and many important guests had come to see it. Baha’u’llah too was present.

As the curtain went up, a few dolls entered and announced that King Salim was about to come. Many other dolls entered the stage with much excitement and made a show of welcoming the King. Some swept the floor, others sprinkled water on the path and a few more rolled out a beautiful carpet. There was a general air of excitement and all the people were moving about swiftly trying to keep everything in order.

Just then the announcer entered once more to say that everyone should prepare themselves to hail the King. The whole court stood up. At last king Salmi entered with great majesty and splendor. He was dressed in magnificent clothes; a beautiful crown rested on his head; he had many ornaments round his neck and fingers, and held a jewelled sceptor in his hand. As he entered, the sound of guns and trumpets was heard. The King walked slowly and grandly towards his throne and sat down while the entire court bowed in awe and respect.

Some guards then entered, leading a thief, and waited for the King’s command. The King ordered for the thief to be beheaded. Immediately an executioner came forward and obeyed the King’s command. Blood, in the form of red fluid, started to gush out of the puppet's neck.

The Báb’s short stay in Isfahán

In September 1846, after being banished from His home in Shíráz, Persia (now Iran), the Báb set out for Isfahán, a city known for its wise religious leaders. Its governor was Manuchihr Khán, a trusted friend of the sháh. As He neared the city the Báb wrote to the governor, who insisted He be warmly welcomed.

In Isfahán, visitors flocked to see the Báb, Who was a guest in the home of the chief priest. Even the governor met Him and was impressed by His wisdom and insight. But people’s respect and admiration for the Báb led to jealousy among many of Isfahán’s religious leaders. First, they began to spread false rumors about Him. Then they signed a letter calling for His execution.

When the governor learned of this threat to the Báb’s life, he created a plan to protect Him. He ordered 500 guards to escort the Báb to Tihrán. He wanted religious leaders, the people of Isfahán, and almost all of the guards to believe that the Báb was being exiled. But the governor never intended to send Him away. He told his 10 most trusted guards to bring the Báb back to Isfahán in secret.

The Báb stayed in Isfahán for several months as an honored guest of the governor, who became a Bábí. When he expressed concern about the Bab’s future safety, the Báb told him, "Fear not I have committed Myself into the hands of God. My trust is in Him."

The governor longed to help the Báb spread His message, but he became sick and passed away. The sháh learned that the Báb was still in Isfahán and asked to meet with Him.

But the sháh’s prime minister was afraid of losing his own power. He told the sháh that the Báb was dangerous, and convinced him to change his plans. The sháh exiled the Báb to Máh-Kú, an isolated castle in the mountains of Persia. These men thought that sending Him away would end His influence.

The long and challenging path to Máh-Kú took the Báb and His guards through the city of Tabríz. As the Báb entered, people crowded the streets in their eagerness to see Him. The city rang with their cries of ‘Alláh-u-Akbar," meaning ‘God is the Most Great.’

The Báb stayed in Tabriz for about 40 days before finishing His journey to Máh-Kú. He spent the final three years of His life banished to remote regions of Persia. Though He was in prison, the power of His message continued to spread as He revealed writings that guided His followers and prepared them for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh. 

(Brilliant Star magazine, vol. 50, no. 4, 2018)

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s meeting with children in Esslingen, Germany, April 4th, 1913

The believers had secured a very pretty hall, which was most beautifully decorated with greens, plants and flowers, with large and small tables near the walls and round tables in the center. About fifty children and eighty adults were present. In a smaller room adjoining the hall the children had been assembled holding flowers in their hands, forming two lines for ‘Abdu’l-Baha to pass through. It looked most beautiful as ‘Abdu’l-Baha came upstairs. He passed through a short hall and looked so pleased and delighted to see the dear children.

One of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Easter attendants was overcome with feelings: "I was overcome with surprise, emotion and joy, and could not contain myself; the tears filled my eyes. It was the most beautiful, the most heavenly, the most artistic picture that I have ever seen in all my life. It was so beautiful! I cannot describe these things; one must feel them, see them. It was a glorious day for these believers, in a far-away town in Germany, to see with their own eyes the Beloved of all nations. What love! What attraction! What enkindlement these German believers have!”

The children handed ‘Abdu’l-Baha their flowers as He came to them and greeted them. When ‘Abdu’l-Baha's hands were full, He handed the flowers to one of His Persians attendants, and went up one side and down the other. Then He gave them small boxes of chocolates and bon-bons. They were radiantly happy. Then He spoke to them, saying:

The Prisoner with power

Julie felt it happening. Surprising things often happened during Baha’i class that made her heart race fast. And it was happening again—ARRRGH! YAAAAAHHEE! - Julie’s heart was racing a zillion beats a minute as she struggled with some heavy chain she was trying to break apart with her bare hands!

Each of the kids in the class had a piece of chain they were trying to break. Yells and grunts filled the air as they pulled at the chain with all their might. Gradually they got tired and fell to the floor, panting and giggling.

“So, kids, who was able to break one of the chains?” asked Ms. Bates, their teacher.

The class laughed, because no one had been able to do it. “It's really hard,” Willie said to the teacher “I don’t think anyone could do it, not even a grown up like you, Ms. Bates."

Ms. Bates picked up a piece of chain and struggled to break it, but had no success either. She held the chain up for everyone to see. “You’re right, Willie, I can’t do it either; none of us can. But Baha’u’llah did do something like breaking a chain—in fact. He did something even more amazing.”

“‘Abdu’l-Baha says that one of the most important ways we can know that Baha’u’llah was a Prophet of God is that prisons and chains could not stop Him,” Ms. Bates continued. “Although He was always a prisoner to the end of His life, He was not really in prison.”

Now Julie’s heart was really racing. It was like a riddle—How could you be a prisoner and yet not in prison? Julie thought, “What is Ms. Bates talking about?”

“Although not always in chains, Baha’u’llah was a prisoner for most of His adult life,” Ms. Bates said. “In fact, the cruel king who sent Baha’u’llah to prison never wanted Baha’u’llah to go free. The king wanted Baha’u’llah to be kept in prison forever, always with a guard near Him and never having visitors. The king’s plan was for Baha’u’llah to be so locked up that everyone would forget about Him. He thought that prison and chains could stop people from loving Baha’u’llah and wanting to learn from Him.”

“But the king made a mistake, didn’t he, Ms. Bates?” Stuart said, dropping his chain with a loud chunk.

God’s Will

[We must realize that everything which happens is due to some wisdom and that nothing happens without a reason. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ‘Paris Talks’)]

"I wish that car would go faster!" Alain muttered, his hands gripping the steering wheel. "We’ll be late for Feast!"

Papa shrugged. "Perhaps it is God’s will."

Alain glanced at Papa in disbelief. "Why would God want us to be late for Feast?”

"Sometimes it’s hard to understand the will of God," Papa told him. "Did I ever tell you about the brothers from the city of Mashad in Persia?"

Alain relaxed his grip on the steering wheel.

Papa began, “Sháhvirdí and his brother ‘Azíz were merchants. Sháhvirdí was a Bahá’í, but his brother was not. Together they traveled throughout Persia. Although they sold little of their merchandise, they were always greeted warmly by the Bahá’ís in each town. Nevertheless, ‘Azíz wanted nothing to do with this "new" Bahá’í religion.

"‘Azíz worried much of the time. He worried that they would never sell their goods and return to Mashad. He worried that they would be robbed by the bandits that hid along the roads.

"When ‘Azíz expressed his concerns, Sháhvirdí would calmly answer, ‘Inshá’lláh! (God willing) Then he would return his gaze to the books that he read — books that he kept like a treasure in their own case.

Chicago Temple: - The stone that was rejected by the builder

In the grand city of Chicago, near the site of a building under construction, in a pile of stones beside a wall, rested an ordinary stone with a special destiny. The stone was not aware of the windy rains and the warming sunshine that brought spring to Chicago. It was not aware of the journey it would soon take this particular spring, in the year 1912.

This stone was one of many that had been delivered to the construction site. Who knows how many days it had laid ready to be used by the builder? Who knows how many times the hands of the builder passed over this stone and reached for another one?

There came a time when the stone was piled near the wall with the other rejected stones. Who knows why the stone was not used? Maybe it was too large or too small. Maybe it was the wrong shape or the wrong color. Maybe it was chipped or broken. We don’t know why the stone was not chosen by the builder, but it was not.

Many people lived in Chicago in 1912 and some of them must have passed by the building site. Nettie Tobin did. She was a Bahá’í who lived nearby.

Nettie had heard that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whom she called the Master, was coming from way across the ocean to visit North America. He was traveling to Wilmette, Illinois, which is very near Chicago, where Nettie lived. He was coming to dedicate the land where the first Bahá’í House of Worship of the western hemisphere was to be built. Nettie knew it was important to begin building a House of Worship in this part of the world.