The Káshi

We are told that in the province of Káshán in Persia the people are very peace-loving, and so gentle are they that violence of any kind is enough to make them very frightened.

One day Bahá’u’lláh was making a journey and with Him was a Káshi, as these people are called. They were riding along the road in the dark, their donkeys going as fast as they could to reach the place where they were going to stay for the night. When the place was reached, they cast themselves down and slept, for the journey had been long and they were very tired. 

Next morning when the Káshi awoke, he saw that the donkey on which he had been riding was saddled with a tiger skin. So timid was he that the thought of riding on a tiger skin made him very much afraid, and he would not ride on the donkey again but chose another instead.

When Bahá’u’lláh and the Káshi resumed their journey, news was brought to them that several hundred men were coming to kill them, for as you know, Bahá’u’lláh had a great many enemies. The Káshi was terribly afraid, but Bahá’u’lláh told him to buckle a large sword round his waist. 

"Who, me?" answered the Káshi, shaking with fear, 

"Yes, you, My friend,’’ answered Bahá’u’lláh.

So, although he was very afraid, he buckled on a large sword for who could disobey such a Master? 

The Káshi was very small and the sword very long. When he tried to walk he nearly fell down, for the long sword kept getting between his legs. 

Soon the enemy came in sight, shouting fierce cries and waving their swords and guns.

"What now, Master?" asked the little man, still shaking with fear. 

"You must go and defeat them," he was told.

The Ocean of Knowledge

When Baha’u’llah was twenty-one years old, His father passed away and the Government wanted Him to take up His father’s position in the Ministry, as was customary in Iran. But Baha’u’llah did not accept the offer. The Prime Minister then said : “Leave Him to Himself. Such a position is unworthy of Him. He has some higher aim in view. I cannot understand Him, but I am convinced that He is destined for some lofty career. His thoughts are not like ours. Leave Him alone.”

Once when Baha’u’llah was quite young He travelled to Nur, a district of Mazindaran where His relatives lived. There is a village in Nur, by the name of Takur, and Baha’u’llah's father owned vast property there. It was here that the family spent most of their summers.

In those days, there was a religious teacher named Muhammad Taqi. He was very famous for his knowledge of religion and his students were proud of having him as their teacher.

One day in his class of about 200 students, Muhammad Taqi read an Islamic tradition and asked his students to interpret it. None of them could answer correctly. Baha’u’llah, who was also present, asked permission to explain the tradition and did so in very simple and sweet words. Everyone was astonished. Muhammad Taqi was very upset at the weakness of his own students. When Baha’u’llah left, the teacher told his students that it was a shame that after all these years of study not one of them was capable of answering, and the Youth (Baha’u’llah) who had never attended any school gave the meaning so simple and beautifully. Of course Muhammad Taqi was not aware of the fact that Baha’u’llah was not an ordinary person and therefore His knowledge and understanding were not ordinary either. He had innate divine knowledge.