The Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are very numerous and are mostly in the form of letter to believers and inquirers. A great many of His talks and addresses have also been recorded and many have been published. Of the thousands of pilgrims who have visited Him at Akká and Haifa a large number have written descriptions of their impressions, and many of these records are now available in printed form.
His teachings are thus very completely preserved, and they cover a very wide range of subjects. With many of the problems of both East and West He dealt more fully than His Father had done, giving more detailed applications of the general principles laid down by Bahá’u’lláh. A number of His Writings have not yet been translated into any Western language but enough is already available to give deep and full knowledge of the more important principles of His teaching.
He spoke Persian, Arabic and Turkish. In His Western tours His talks and addresses were always interpreted, obviously losing much of their beauty, eloquence and force in the process, yet such was the power of the Spirit which accompanied His words that all who heard Him were impressed.
Station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
The unique station assigned to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by the Blessed Perfection is indicated in the following passage written by the latter:—“When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces towards Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.” And again:—“ ... refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty Stock.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself wrote the following:—“In accordance with the explicit text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh hath made the Center of the Covenant the Interpreter of His Word—a Covenant so firm and mighty that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like.”
The very completeness of the servitude with which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá promulgated the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in East and West resulted at times in a confusion of belief concerning His station on the part of believers. Realizing the purity of the spirit animating His word and deed, surrounded by religious influences marking the breakdown of their traditional doctrines, a number of Bahá’ís felt that they honored ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by likening Him to a Manifestation, or hailing Him as the “return of Christ.” Nothing caused Him such intense grief as this failure to perceive that His capacity to serve Bahá’u’lláh proceeded from the purity of the mirror turned to the Sun of Truth, and not from the Sun itself.
Moreover, unlike previous Dispensations, the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh had within it the potency of a universal human society. During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mission covering the period 1892 to 1921, the Faith evolved through successive stages of development in the direction of a true world order, Its development required continuous direction and specific instruction from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who alone knew the fullness of that new potent inspiration brought to earth in this age. Until His own Will and Testament was revealed after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s departure from the flesh, and its significance was expounded by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith, the Bahá’ís almost inevitably attributed their beloved Master’s guidance a degree of spiritual authority equaling that of the Manifestation.
The effects of such naive enthusiasm are no longer felt within the Bahá’í community, but with a sounder realization of the mystery of that incomparably devotion and servitude, the Bahá’ís can today all the more consciously appreciate the unique character of the mission which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá fulfilled. The Faith which in 1892 seemed so weak and helpless in the physical exile and imprisonment of its Exemplar and Interpreter, has since, with irresistible power, raised up communities in many countries,[23] and challenges the weakness of a decaying civilization with a body of teachings that alone reveal the future of a despairing humanity.