A Wise Man from the East ======================== Exported from Holy-Writings.com on 2026-06-18 1 clipping 1. A Wise Man from the East By Felicia R. Scatcherd ("Felix Rudolph") Reprinted from the "International Psychic Gazette." W HEN Abdul Baba first came to England, I refused all invitations to visit him. I had met those who had made pilgrim- ages to his prison-l1ome in Akka, and they talked so much about "'"fhe Blessed Perfection" and '' The Manifested Splendour" that, though interested in what seemed a useful enough form of hero-worship for those to whon1 it appealed, I had no desire to see Abbas Effendi for myself. Yet from the first moment that I heard of the Bahai movement I recognised its value, and in London and Paris promoted its interests when- ever the occasion occurred. One day in February, 1907, I met that earnest Bahai, Mr. Arthur Cuthbert. He introduced his companion, Mr. Sidney Sprague, as one who had come from America to spread the Bahai teaching. Mr. Sprague had been sometime in England, but progress had been slow, and he was slightly disheartened. I took my card from my pocket, and giving it to Mr. Sprague, said : " tell the Edi tor of the Review of Revie'le,s I want him to interview you. If he does this, and becomes your friend, you will have all the impetus you need.'' That one page interview in the March number I of the Revie'lv of T?.evieivs for 1907, written by t\lr. W. rr. Stead, still seen1s to me one of the clearest sun1maries of the T3ahai teachings. Fron1 ti1ne to ti1ne I attend_ed ~ Dahai assetnbly, but re1nained as aloof from its influence as ever. In European 'T'urkey \vhere it was i_nost needed it n1ade little progress. I had pointed out to Aluned Riza, then President of the l"urkish Chan1 ber, and others, how grievous it \Vas for their country, that the Young Turk Reformers ,vere mainly Positivists or Atheists, and suggested the initiation of a movement that should attempt to bring out the spiritual truths of Islam \vhile dropping the accretions of the ages. But these well-intentioned Rationalists only began to attend the orthodox services in their mosques, and the people despised them yet more heartily for this sad surrender. So I had only made matters worse. I was some,vhat indignant that the drawing rooms of London, Paris and Ne,v York \Vere coquetting with this ne\ver faith, instead of endeavouring to spread it among the peoples whence it had sprung, ,vho ,vere in sore need of its enlightenment. Then in the spring of 1911, a clear friend compelled me to accompany her to a reception of Abdul Baha, then, as now, the guest of Lady Blomfield, of 97, Cadogan Gardens. The submissive s,veetness with which the venerable man received the homage of his followers affected me strongly. I ,vondered ,vhether, like the gifted Heinrich Heine, he ever shrank from the burden of an enforced role of ?ivinity. And an impulse seized n1e to see hi 111 10 converse with an intellectual and spiritual peer. But when I cast about to find such a one, I realised the true greatness of the n1an in .. ..., \\Those presence I found n1yself. I did not go forward ,vi th the rest to greet hi1n on this first occasion. I stood at the door busy with my thoughts. And as if he knevv these thoughts, as be passed out, he gave me a playful slap on the ann, as one would administer reproof to a wilful child, and his eyes danced vvith merriment. Again and again I have noticed evidence of his a \Vareness of the mental states of those around hin1. And I am assured that this keen intuition has been observed in his correspondence. 'fhose ,,rhom he has never seen have been amazed to receive, from the Prophet in Akka, correct perceptions of conditions pertaining to them in America. Then it occurred to me that Mr. Stead vvas the person I wished to see in converse with the teacher from the East. During that memorable 111eeting I gained much insight into the characters of these two remarkable men. Abbas Effendi was delighted ,vhen he learned that, from its inception, the Review of Reviews had been already a pulpit from which the leading tenets of Bahaism had been vigorously enunciated. To explain ho\v I obtained the portrait published in this month's Gazette, I will quote from one of my note books :- Alex:andrz.'a, Sun. 2I Jan., 19I2. A beautiful morning, my second Sunday in Egypt. We are on our way to see Abbas Effendi, Dr. and l\frs. Platon Drakoules and n1yself. I had met this ]eader and inspirer of his fellows many times before under the grey skies of London, when his smile of sunny welcome seemed to atone for the absence of the sunshine, due even on an English autumn day. Years ago, l\fr. Sidney Sprague, had been the guest of Dr. Drakoules, and had held a Bahaist meeting in the Doctor's Oxford home, when he had ardently desired that the Greek Heformer should make the personal acquaintance of the " Great Teacher from the East." And now by a strange coincidence th is wish was to be realised, and l\fr. Sprague was to be the interpreter between these two devoted souls-the younger standing for _tl~eSocial ~ege_neration of_ i\1ankind, the elder reprt:senting ~ptntual Illum1nal1on and Umty. In London surro~tnded by the leaders of Western thought, Abdul 13aha h;d rendered null and void K.ipling's dictum : ,, For East is East, and vVest is West, But they twain shall never meet." Here in the East, I wondered what effect would be produced upon' us, where his picturesque personality had no longer the charm of uniqueness. Vie found him in a villa, opposite the new Victoria Hotel, Rameleh. Although only 10 a. m., he had been astir for hour;;, attending to his enormous corresponde nee, and receiving visitors. Again, in his presence, the old sense of goodness and simplicity overwhelmed one. The venerable figure in its Persian costume, was just as unique in its Eastern setting, as in London. Of middle-stature, and broadly-built, he yet strikes one at times, as if he were tall, and is undoubtedly imposing. 0val- faced, and large-featured, with heavy eyebrows, a nose resembling that of General Booth, he has the compelling personality of all born leaders of men. His grey eyes are unusually expressive. In moments of excitement they become dark and deep in the piercing intensity of their gaze. I have seen them flash as if generating a kind of lightning, and then they soften and brighten and change expression with all the varying moods of his active mentality. But whether under the influence of sorrow or joy, indignation or pity, they are always surcharged with sympathy. One who knows no word of Persian can share the emotions of his soul by watching the lights and shadows in his eyes. When, as often, he closes them, then one need only follow the movements of his no less wonderful hands. I will not dwe11 on the details of the glad welcome, the oriental hospitality, the fragrant Persian tea, and the groups of waiting disciples from all quarters of the globe. I will only summarise the points in the discussion not generally dwt:lt on:- Dr. Drakou1es asked, whether Abdul Baha did not think that injustice in industrial arrangements, resulting in antagon- ism between classes, owing to the existence of extreme poverty and excessive riches, militated against his teaching3 of Love and Unity. He replied, that he could assure him on the authority of his father, Baha'u'llah, that the legislation of the world was approaching a time when it would become illegal to own more than a certain atnount of wealth. He added that the principle of unity was as~erting itself more and more, and that under its influence class antagonis1n will be recognised as immoral. This led' the conversation. to the subject of ethics, especially in relation lo the lower animals. Dr. Drakonles asked, whether he did not hold it to be inunoral to exploit the sub-human races for our benefit, either in the domains of science, diet, or amusement? Abdul Ilaha gave a definite reply in the affirmative. That is, he emphasised his beli~f that the destruction of humble life for the benefit of hu1nan life was inconsistent with the principle of Unity. He said, that this teaching would become accentuated later on. At the present time mankind is not ripe for certain aspects of truth. Even as Jesus, the Christ, refrained from saying to the world at large what he deemed it necessary to impart to his esoteric circle, so he, Abdul Baha, felt his general teaching circumscribed by the same necessity. But further manifestation of the Divine would lead to freer and fuller exposition of the fact of the Oneness of all Life-the basic principle of unity or love. \Vhile in Cairo we made the acquaintance of other members of Abdul Baha's family. His I believe, owing to his daughter's persuasion. You see, I felt unless the prophet adopted the veil the women ,vere casting on one side he could not avoid portraits being taken. One fine one had already been made, and he had been photographed several tin1es without permission. Then he gave me the now well-knov;n photo at the head of this article, with leave to do what I liked ,vith it, so l have let the I~ditor use it for his l)ortra it c;al lery. I ,v i~hed i\Ir. Lc \v i s to see :\ lJbas E ffend i for hi1nself. 1\nd J.,ady Hlo1nfield kindly arran,red 0 an intervie,v for us on the 2nd of Januarv. t\lr. Child, the \Yell-kno\vn pahni~t, also acco111panicd us. I longed, in tl1e interests ,,f science, to get i1npressions of those rnarvellous hands, should :\bdul Baba not object. t\lr. I..,e\vis put questions on reincarnation, the in1n1aculate conception, etc. In ans\vering the latter question, 1\bdul Baba finished \Vith one of his quaint observations, to the effect that to those ,vho accepted the creation of the first man ,vithout any hun1an parent, it should not be difficult to accept the birth of a being ,vi th one human parent only ! His ans\ver about reincarnation was ve1v., interesting. In the Contenzporary Review last year, an article appeared by that able ,vriter, Constance Maud: in which the i\Iaster's vie\YS on the subject are given at length. Then delicious tea '\\'as served in J:>ersian fashion. It made n1e feel I ,vas back in Egypt, and I dared again to 1nake a request. l~he kind and eloquent interpreter (Mirza Ahn1ad Sohrab) explained my wish, and Abdul Baha submitted to the process of having an impression of his hands taken, with the utmost graciousness and good-will, and signed the four imprints, ,vhich I hope \\till appear in next month's Gazette, ,vi th l\1r. Child's delineation. "Now, lvlr. Editor, what are your impressions of this 1"'eacher from the East?'' He~e is \Yh~t ~e thought. I quote hin1 \\'ith- out his perm1ss1011,and he will have to let it stand or fill up the gap it leaves:- l le is the posll1vc strong man, the father, the pioneer, the leader, the 1uan of dogged determination and per- severance; com'Jiued with the negative genlle man, the n1other, the shepherd, the man of patience and !-Jmpathy, intuitive and spiritual, teaching by symbuls and parables, n\ther than hy logical appeals to tl.e intellect. Ile is the mp,tic and the initiate who ha'; received Ids divine iJl11mination in the ~ilence and the solit11des, .incl whose greatest diflicuhy in life will pnlhably he lo find in this mundane world, audiences to understa1Hl aml appreciate his mystical inspirations. No,Y for a ,vord as to the I3ahai religion and its teaching. 'rile existence of a Supre1ne l3ei ng, the Goel of all religions, and of n spirit in 111an \V hich survives the death of the body, are regarded as foundation principles, never to be called in question. '"fhe chief Positive '"l'eachings may he briefly summed up as follows:- The union of all races and religions. 'fhe abolition of \Varfare and the establish- ment of international arbitration. 'Tlle adoption of a universal language. l"he equality of the sexes. rvlonogamy,as opposed to celibacy or polygamy The equal education of all children-girls as ,vell as boys-as a religious duty. The exercise of son1e profession, art or trade, compulsory for all adults 'fhe provision of \vork for all. 'fhe principal Prohibitions are equally \vise and essential:- _-\ny special p~i~stho?d, apart_ fro1n the l_a~ty, asceticism, or l1v1ng 1n seclusion, mend1c1ty, slavery, cruelty to ani cnals,. gambling, the taking of opium and alcoholic beverages, are all alike, strictly forbidden. I vri 11 conclude this desu 1tory pa per by quoting fron1 Abdul l~aha's Tablet to the l1ahais of linKland-- " O ye Sons and l)aughters of the I(ingdom ! * * '' It is easy to accept the l{ingdo1n, but it is difficult to endure therein, for the tests are hard and heavy. On all occasions the English are firn1 ... being neither prone to begin a rnatter ... nor ready to abandon it for a Ii ttle reason ... \ 1erily in every undertaking they show firmness. "l\1y hope is this :-that the out breathing of the Holy Spirit be inspired into your hearts; that your tongues begin to reveal the mysteries and to expound the meaning and the truth of the Holy Books. May the friends become physicians, to cure by the Divine Teachings the deep-rooted diseases of the body of the wor Id, to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, Ii fe to the dead, and awakening to the sleepers. Be sure that the blessing of the Holy Spirit \vill descend upon you, and that the Hosts ofthe Kingdom will come to your aid. "Upon you be the Glory of God.'' (Given at Ramleh, Egypt, May, 1911. Translated by '"famadum ul l\folk). John Lewis & Compy., 5, Bridewell P/ac,, Ludgate Circus, London, E.C, BAHAI LITERATURE. The ll idden \Vords, Con1munes and Prayers. By Baha'u'llah ... 4d., by post 5d. l'he Seven Valleys. A n1ystical treatise. Hy Baha'u'llah 1 s. 2d. by post 1 s 3d. T'he Book of Ighan (Certainty) By Bahá'u'lláh . . . 4s. 7d., by post 4s. 1 1 d . ..\ Brief Account of the Bahai Moven1ent. By E. J. Rosenberg ... 1 d., by post 1 ~d. In Galilee By Thornton Chase I s. 7d.' by p Ost 1 s. 9 d. A Year with the Bahais in India and Burma 'By Sydney Sprague, PRIORY PRESS 1s. ,, 1s. 2d. The Splendour of God By Eric Hammond. MURRAY 2s. ,, 2s. 2 ~d. Bahaism. The Religion of Brotherhood (an illu11tinating retrospect on the evolution of Tru/Jt, up to its realisation in the station of Service). By F. H. Skrine. LoNGMANS 1s. 0d., by post Is. 7-4"d Abdul Baha in Paris (Addresses and notes of conversations, dealing wit}i n1any subjects not referred to in London). By Abdul Baba .. . ... . .. 2s., by post 2s. 2d. Abdul Baba in London (Addresses and notes of conversa- tions) . .. . .. 1s., by post 1s. 2d. ----- THE UNITY PRESS, 47, Vicarage Road, East Sheen, London, S. W. — A Wise Man from the East (Used by permission of the curator)