A great steamship has been lost at sea. Today newspaper accounts of the Titanic are reflecting the sorrow and mourning of the whole world, all the power of man, all his pride and the skill of human invention were helpless against the power of the sea. Men of great wealth, men of prominence and celebrity, likewise men who were unimportant and unknown in the eye of the world,—all have found the same tomb under the waves. If this fate marked the end of human accomplishment, if this death was oblivion to human hopes and possibilities, the whole world might mourn. Unless the soul of man is quickened by the breaths of the Holy Spirit and he becomes vivified by the life of the Supreme Kingdom, all his powers, efforts and accomplishments are in vain. Look about you as we ride in this automobile. Shall any of these things you are now looking upon remain or endure? If you possessed all you could wish for,—these great buildings, wealth, luxury, the pleasures of life in this world, would any of these things increase your eternal happiness or insure you everlasting existence? I am summoning you to the world of the Kingdom. I am calling you away from this world. Nothing you can ever think of here will remain. You, yourself, will pass away as the roses wither at the touch of winter’s breath. I wish for you heavenly happiness. I am praying that the confirmations of God may descend upon you, that you may become His servant, that you may go forth to save mankind from the bondage of this mortal world. I wish you to escape from this hell of materialism. Be not occupied with material things. Have no anxiety about your affairs. You are under the protection of Baha’u’llah, —in His service. Live in the spiritual world as I do. Think of nothing else.
Look out upon this great city through which we are passing. Then think of the wealthy men entombed in the ocean’s depths. The powers of man in material civilization are wonderful, but all his accomplishments are as nothing,—he, himself, is as non-existent unless he upbuilds in himself the civilization spiritual. ‘Abdu’l-Baha has no other thought than this. This is his heart, his soul, his station, his service,—to quicken mankind with Divine breaths and walk in the pathway of the Heavenly Kingdom.
When I was a young man I was devoted to music. So charmed and delighted was I with it that even an Arab clapping two sticks together in rude rhythm gave me great pleasure. Now my love for these things has gone completely. On the steamship crossing the sea a great modern orchestra played each night. The passengers listened to it with the deepest interest and enjoyment. But although the music was the very finest, the orchestra modern and most excellent, I found it occupied and disturbed my thoughts to such an extent that I retired to quiet reflection upon spiritual things.
I wish you to live in the world of the Spirit—to see the Divine Reality in every- thing,—to behold the illumination of the world of the Kingdom beyond and within the gloomy mask of this mortal existence. For the world of the Kingdom is a world of Lights, a world of happiness, a world of accomplishment, the real and eternal world. [After a long pause,—looking reflectively out the window] I was asked to sail upon the Titanic, but my heart did not prompt me to do so.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha to Howard MacNutt; Star of the West, volume 4, no. 12, October 16, 1913)