arthra

I read "Portals of Freedom" many years ago and somehow forgot or overlooked the following story told by Abdul Baha at the Mohonk Peace Conference in New York.

Now this story has significance for me because the site of the Conference was a property owned by A.K. Smiley a philanthropist who donated our town library and whose winter home overlooked the valley.. Smiley was a Quaker and a former Secretary on the Interior and Indian Affairs and had invited Abdul-Baha to speak at the Conference,


When He was at Lake Mohonk, where He spoke to
the members of the Inter-National Peace Conference,
'Abdu'l-Bahá was walking with a group of the friends one
morning when they came upon a party of young people.
After a few words of greeting He said: that He would
tell them an oriental story: Once the rats and mice held
an important conference the subject of which was how
to make peace with the cat. After a long and heated discussion
it was decided that the best thing to do would be
to tie a bell around the neck of the cat so that the rats
and mice would be warned of his movements and have
time to get out of his way.

This seemed an excellent plan until the question arose
as to who should undertake the dangerous job of belling
the cat. None of the rats liked the idea and the mice
thought they were altogether too weak. So the conference
broke up in confusion.

Everyone laughed, 'Abdu'l-Bahá with them. After a
short pause He added that that is much like these Peace
Conferences. Many words, but no one is likely to approach
the question of who will bell the Czar of Russia,
the Emperor of Germany, the President of France and
the Emperor of Japan.

~ Howard Colby Ives, Portals to Freedom, p. 196

For more on the Peace Conference in 1912 see

Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

arthra

.Albert K. Smiley (1828-1912)


Met with 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Date: 14 May 1912
Location: United States, New York, Ulster County, Lake Mohonk

Event: Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration


Juliet Thompson had previously introduced the Faith to Mr. Khan Bahadur Alláh-Bakhsh, the Governor of Lahore. On the morning of May 14th, this gentleman came to meet 'Abdu'l- Bahá who, warmly, welcomed him. The Governor sent a letter to Juliet stating: "'Abdu'l-Bahá is the Divine Light of today."

On the same day, the Master traveled to Lake Mohonk, New York, for three days at the National Conference on Peace and International Arbitration.

In 1911, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had exchanged correspondence with Mr. Albert Smiley, Founder and President of the Conference. As a result, He had been invited to be the featured speaker at the 18th Annual Conference and the Master had scheduled His visit to the United States to include this important event.

These Conferences were attended by prominent people of New York, Washington DC, and other cities and countries. 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke on the first day on "The Oneness of the Reality of Humankind." Many in attendance were impressed and came on the platform to thank Him, some embracing Him with emotion.

The Master also gave two general addresses on the teachings of the Faith and many private talks. His main address and commentaries were featured in the Conference report and two of His speeches were published in New York newspapers.

On the last evening, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had expressed regrets that He should have brought a Persian rug as a gift for Mr. Smiley. Dr. Zia Bagdadi took the challenge of going to the New York apartment to fetch the rug during the night, and to be back in time before the planned departure. After an epic trip by various cars and trains, Dr. Bagdadi arrived in the mailman's horse wagon when the Master was leaving, shaking hands with Mr. Smiley.

Receiving the rug, this gentleman exclaimed that this rug was similar to one destroyed in a fire and his wife, still heart broken over the loss, will be very happy.


Although 'Abdu'l-Bahá greatly enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and the comfortable and quiet setting of Lake Mohonk, He was glad to come back to New York. He loved the Riverside Park area. He had selected a secluded spot there where He liked to go daily and walk by Himself or "sleep on the grass" a few minutes to rest. "When I am alone, exhaustion is removed and I am relaxed," He said. Sometimes, He allowed the friends to go with Him to this "hallowed spot," "His Garden," as the friends named the place and a recurring name in Juliet's and Mahmud's diaries.

Source: 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York LAKE MOHONK PEACE CONFERENCE

The rug mentioned above is still in the possession of the descendents of A.K. Smiley.

arthra

Essence of GOD

best post ever
more stories please

Jafar

thanks Art!