An old Baha’i in Haifa whose former religion was Jewish had unquestioned devotion to ‘Abdu’l-Baha. One day he went to the house of the Master and started to weep and cry near the entrance door. The members of the blessed family heard the crying and weeping of the man and informed ‘Abdu’l-Baha. He called him in and consoled him and told him that in this day no one must cry for any reason, nay rather we must be very happy and contented with our lot and know of a certainty that the Lord of Hosts is with us, ready to restore our health and alleviate our burden. We must not let anything disturb the balance of our minds. Under all circumstances we must control our feeling and curb our inclinations. We must fulfill our duty, attain to the highest station of perfection, and close our eyes to all imperfections. Then ‘Abdu’l-Baha took pen and paper and wrote for him the following Tablet:
“O thou my kind friend! It is my hope that through the bestowals of the Blessed Perfection thou mayest ever become assisted and confirmed, happy and joyous; that thou mayest not cry and lament, nay rather thou mayest sing and chant. It is said that the son of the glorious Friend had a wonderful melody and a sweet voice. The Psalms of David are famous and not lamentation and mourning or crying by day and night. Therefore be thou happy and let the songs and anthems of joy be on thy lips.”
Our friend was back in the possession of a new happiness, a new inspiration, a new serenity. We all felt his joyful vibrations and watched delightedly his calm face.
Then he drew his book of poetry from his pocket and sang a stirring Baha’i song with the energy and zest of a youthful singer.
(Adapted from the diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab,
‘Abdu'l-Bahá's secretary and translator from 1912 to 1919; Star of the West,
vol. 3, no. 4, May 17, 1916)
