July 26, 2025 • 15 mins
Delve into the fascinating life and journey of Thornton Chase, widely acknowledged as the first person of Western descent to embrace the Baháí Faith. Chase was a pivotal figure in organizing Baháí activities in Chicago and Los Angeles, making him a well-respected figure within the Baháí community. His 1907 pilgrimage to Akka profoundly impacted him, particularly his three-day encounter with `Abdul Bahá. So taken was `Abdul Bahá by Chases character, he bestowed upon him the title of Thábit, meaning steadfast. Upon his return, Chase penned his pilgrimage experiences, producing a richly detailed and emotive depiction of `Abdul-Bahás home, family, and personal demeanor in Akka. Published in 1908 as In Galilee, this insightful account stands as a notable contribution to the genre known as pilgrims notes.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Section seven of In Galilee by Thornton Chase. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recording by Nicholas James Bridgewater. In Galilee by Thornton Chase,
(00:23):
Section seven. The Servant of God abdul Baha is a
grand man, broad universal in thought, standing above the world
and looking down upon it in its weakness and poverty,
with a boundless love and an intense longing to lift
(00:46):
it up from its wretchedness, to make it conscious of
the rich bounties of God which are so freely offered
in this wonderful time, to remove the differences, to bring
all men, all peoples, all religions, into true manhood and religion,
(01:08):
for in reality there is but one manhood and one religion.
He stands there, erect with extended arms, the master of
the feast, calling with a loud, clear voice to all mankind. Come, Come, Come,
(01:30):
Now is the time. Now is the accepted time. Come
and drink of this sweet water which is pouring in
torrents upon all parts of the world. And as each
hungry pilgrim comes to that prison house, that banquet hall
of heavenly gifts. He takes him in his arms and
(01:54):
draws him to his breast with such sincerity and enthusiasm
of love that the petty cares. Thoughts and ambitions of
the world vanish away, and one is at peace and
in happiness because he has reached home and found love there. Father, Mother, brother,
(02:17):
all are welcoming, greeting, and embracing the wanderer in that simple,
natural welcome of abdul Baha. One wishes that the embrace
might not end. It is so joyful, so comforting. Truly,
I think it never does end. It opens a door
(02:40):
of love which shall never be closed. The home of
the heart is there. It is the home of the
universal love, not that of the individual alone. He is
no respector of persons. His own personality in the eyes
of is not to him, nor does he care for
(03:03):
the personality of others. It is not love for the
individual one, but the love of the Spirit for humanity.
Each visitor is only one of the waves of that
great ocean of mankind, and is a type, a representative
of the whole. When the servant of God embraces one,
(03:26):
he embraces all in that one the law of love.
This law of love was wonderfully proved when the Persian,
Jewish and Zoroastrian pilgrims came to visit us, one, two,
and three at a time, many of them and also
(03:49):
two old friends who had been with Baha'u'llah in Baghdad
in the early days of trial and Mirrors, a esimal law,
a sweet old man, and learned teacher, all showed the
same beautiful spirit of affection and happiness. Although we were
from widely separated religions, countries, and races, yet we sobbed
(04:14):
with joy as we were clasped in each other's arms.
It seemed as if the millennium had actually arrived, that
mankind had lost all differences, that love had conquered the world,
and that we were standing within the threshold of heaven
and in the presence of God. Abdul Baha was not
(04:38):
personally present at those meetings, but the spirit of God,
the spirit of love, the spirit of peace, was there.
The tears of those lovers of God flowed with gladness,
their eyes shone, their faces beamed, Their courtesy was unsurpassed,
(05:00):
their sincerity manifest their devotion to the cause of God Supreme.
They clearly see in such meetings of pilgrims from different
lands the beginning of fulfillment of the prophecies relating to
the spreading over the whole world of the knowledge of
(05:20):
the One God, Creator and Father of all. This coming
together of representatives of several religions in loving embrace with
tears of joy, is a certain and marvelous proof of
the truth and power of this bhigh revelation. All bowed
(05:44):
when they entered the room after removing their shoes, and
placed their hands on their hearts and forehead, exclaiming alhamdo
le Llah, praise be to God, and other words of
thankful Then they opened their arms for embraces and expressions
(06:06):
of love. None sat until requested, and not then until
the host was seated. After talking for a while through interpreters,
they again embraced and bade us an affectionate and ardent farewell,
and went backward with deep respect to the door, where
(06:26):
they put on their shoes. It should be noted that
this meeting was an event of a lifetime, that in
Persia they had been told that there were no American
Bahaigh believers, that the tales of them were false, and
when they actually met four such believers, three men and
(06:47):
one woman there in the house of Abdul Baha, their
gladness overflowed in most sincere expression of affection and unity.
Mirza esmal Law spoke of the rapid spread of the
cause beyond his hope or expectation, and of the wonderful
(07:10):
inventions since the advent of Baha'u'llah, all due to the
breeze of the Holy Spirit which was blowing and bringing
this springtime of the New Day to the world. A bright,
intelligent young Jew from hamadon Persia said that at the
request of his parents, he had just visited old Jerusalem
(07:33):
during Holy Week, and from there he went to Bethlehem,
where he sat down and wept for the things his
people had done to Messiah in the old days. This
was the effect upon him of the Baha'i teachings concerning Jesus.
He was asked what he found at Jerusalem. He replied,
(07:55):
the city was there, but the owner was gone. I
came to Akka and found the owner of the city. Here.
He said that in Hammadan were over six hundred jew
Ba highs who were known, and there were others not
known openly the millennium in very truth was in those gatherings.
(08:18):
It has arrived. It has drawn the people of the
earth together in the bonds of love to God and
love to man. The differences between peoples and religions have
not been argued away, not changed by debate, not removed
by law nor by war. But they have been dissolved
(08:43):
in the fires of love, and have disappeared like mists
before the morning sun of godly knowledge, not by might
nor by power, but by My spirit, Saith, the Lord
of hosts. When man rises above those differences in the
(09:03):
atmosphere of spiritual truth, his humanity, his sympathy, his human affection,
spring forth and blossom in the land of the Spirit,
so that greed and ambitions are forgotten and only love remains.
This is the elixir of unity. This is the solvent
(09:26):
that shall melt the hearts of men and bring that
most great peace which Baha'u'llah said must come. When the
spirits of men actually come into contact with the spirit
of this day, this greatest revelation from God, this spirit
of self abnegating service to mankind, they simply melt and unite,
(09:52):
and all other matters and things pass into the realm
of the unimportant. Unity, love, and service. A great lesson
impressed upon us at Akka was the waste of time
and strength in observing and struggling with the little things,
(10:15):
the annoyances, the actions or efforts of opposers, the disagreeables,
which crowd against us in life. Rather, should we look
only at the good, strengthen and encourage the good, sure
in confidence that the worthless will fade away, and that
it is powerless against the valuable. To look at things
(10:39):
in a larger way than some of us have done,
to take our point of view from the mountain of
the Holy Spirit, and with full reliance thereon, to devote
ourselves to those things which are its servants. Resolved into
daily life. This means to overcome evil with good, to
(11:01):
heed not personal desires and ambitions, but rather endeavor to
serve others, make our lives useful, to serve the good
in others and veil the evil in them. To judge
not but looking keenly for the good, to encourage that
good by wise and loving service. Service is the key
(11:26):
to unity, and unity is the one great theme of
the Teacher of Aca. Without unity nothing can be accomplished.
As the unity of the world is the aim and
purpose of this ba High revelation. That unity must begin
at home, unity of the few, the assembly, many assemblies,
(11:49):
the country, many countries, the world. As the family is
the symbol of the home and its peaceful unity, so
must thee a high assemblage be the type and foundation
of the whole. And unity which is confined to the
society or assembly alone is not unity. It must be
(12:12):
open armed unity, seeking oneness of will or purpose, and
of work with all other groups and assemblies. Each individual
strengthens his individuality not by maintaining it alone, but on
the contrary, by joining himself his powers and abilities with others.
(12:35):
Thus his own efficiency is enlarged and multiplied by cohesion
with others. As a single letter is of small worth
compared to its value in a word and greater value
in a sentence, so the individual man must enter into
combination with all that he possibly can for the strengthening
(12:58):
of the cause of God, God and humanity. And this
means the increased worth of himself. This, in reality, is
the message of Baha'llah in this day. Unity, love, and
service in the name of God. Service in love, service
(13:19):
to the friends and to all living with such sweetness, usefulness, happiness,
and cheerfulness that the life of itself attracts the notice
of others and draws them to the beauty of such living.
Service to everyone around. No discrimination in service, but simply
(13:41):
a great desire to be of use in every possible
waking moment to some one of God's creatures. Some money
was offered to Abdul Baha. He took the gold in
his hand, held it for a moment, and then passed
it back, saying, give this to the poor, the very
(14:03):
very poor. Do not discriminate in favor of any one's
sect or people, but give to all. His instruction concerning
that money is the teaching for our lives. The poorer,
the more needy, more helpless, more ignorant, the more bitter
(14:26):
or hateful one is, the more shall we serve that
one with goodness, sweetness, patience forbearance, helpfulness and love. This
is the teaching today of Baha'u'llah and of his blessed son.
Every instruction of abdul Baha is of value for living.
(14:50):
His simple words are as he says, seeds which if
they be sown in the heart, and cultivated there grow
into beautiful trees of knowledge and wisdom. As one ponders,
they develop new meanings and inner significances which are pregnant
(15:12):
with power, and they are all thoroughly practical in their
application to life. He ascribes everything to the power of
the Word of God, and his only desire is that
God's will and God's Word may spread and conquer the
hearts of men. End of section seven. Recording by Nicholas
(15:37):
James Bridgewater, recorded in London, England,
Section seven of In Galilee by Thornton Chase. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recording by Nicholas James Bridgewater. In Galilee by Thornton Chase,
(00:23):
Section seven. The Servant of God abdul Baha is a
grand man, broad universal in thought, standing above the world
and looking down upon it in its weakness and poverty,
with a boundless love and an intense longing to lift
(00:46):
it up from its wretchedness, to make it conscious of
the rich bounties of God which are so freely offered
in this wonderful time, to remove the differences, to bring
all men, all peoples, all religions, into true manhood and religion,
(01:08):
for in reality there is but one manhood and one religion.
He stands there, erect with extended arms, the master of
the feast, calling with a loud, clear voice to all mankind. Come, Come, Come,
(01:30):
Now is the time. Now is the accepted time. Come
and drink of this sweet water which is pouring in
torrents upon all parts of the world. And as each
hungry pilgrim comes to that prison house, that banquet hall
of heavenly gifts. He takes him in his arms and
(01:54):
draws him to his breast with such sincerity and enthusiasm
of love that the petty cares. Thoughts and ambitions of
the world vanish away, and one is at peace and
in happiness because he has reached home and found love there. Father, Mother, brother,
(02:17):
all are welcoming, greeting, and embracing the wanderer in that simple,
natural welcome of abdul Baha. One wishes that the embrace
might not end. It is so joyful, so comforting. Truly,
I think it never does end. It opens a door
(02:40):
of love which shall never be closed. The home of
the heart is there. It is the home of the
universal love, not that of the individual alone. He is
no respector of persons. His own personality in the eyes
of is not to him, nor does he care for
(03:03):
the personality of others. It is not love for the
individual one, but the love of the Spirit for humanity.
Each visitor is only one of the waves of that
great ocean of mankind, and is a type, a representative
of the whole. When the servant of God embraces one,
(03:26):
he embraces all in that one the law of love.
This law of love was wonderfully proved when the Persian,
Jewish and Zoroastrian pilgrims came to visit us, one, two,
and three at a time, many of them and also
(03:49):
two old friends who had been with Baha'u'llah in Baghdad
in the early days of trial and Mirrors, a esimal law,
a sweet old man, and learned teacher, all showed the
same beautiful spirit of affection and happiness. Although we were
from widely separated religions, countries, and races, yet we sobbed
(04:14):
with joy as we were clasped in each other's arms.
It seemed as if the millennium had actually arrived, that
mankind had lost all differences, that love had conquered the world,
and that we were standing within the threshold of heaven
and in the presence of God. Abdul Baha was not
(04:38):
personally present at those meetings, but the spirit of God,
the spirit of love, the spirit of peace, was there.
The tears of those lovers of God flowed with gladness,
their eyes shone, their faces beamed, Their courtesy was unsurpassed,
(05:00):
their sincerity manifest their devotion to the cause of God Supreme.
They clearly see in such meetings of pilgrims from different
lands the beginning of fulfillment of the prophecies relating to
the spreading over the whole world of the knowledge of
(05:20):
the One God, Creator and Father of all. This coming
together of representatives of several religions in loving embrace with
tears of joy, is a certain and marvelous proof of
the truth and power of this bhigh revelation. All bowed
(05:44):
when they entered the room after removing their shoes, and
placed their hands on their hearts and forehead, exclaiming alhamdo
le Llah, praise be to God, and other words of
thankful Then they opened their arms for embraces and expressions
(06:06):
of love. None sat until requested, and not then until
the host was seated. After talking for a while through interpreters,
they again embraced and bade us an affectionate and ardent farewell,
and went backward with deep respect to the door, where
(06:26):
they put on their shoes. It should be noted that
this meeting was an event of a lifetime, that in
Persia they had been told that there were no American
Bahaigh believers, that the tales of them were false, and
when they actually met four such believers, three men and
(06:47):
one woman there in the house of Abdul Baha, their
gladness overflowed in most sincere expression of affection and unity.
Mirza esmal Law spoke of the rapid spread of the
cause beyond his hope or expectation, and of the wonderful
(07:10):
inventions since the advent of Baha'u'llah, all due to the
breeze of the Holy Spirit which was blowing and bringing
this springtime of the New Day to the world. A bright,
intelligent young Jew from hamadon Persia said that at the
request of his parents, he had just visited old Jerusalem
(07:33):
during Holy Week, and from there he went to Bethlehem,
where he sat down and wept for the things his
people had done to Messiah in the old days. This
was the effect upon him of the Baha'i teachings concerning Jesus.
He was asked what he found at Jerusalem. He replied,
(07:55):
the city was there, but the owner was gone. I
came to Akka and found the owner of the city. Here.
He said that in Hammadan were over six hundred jew
Ba highs who were known, and there were others not
known openly the millennium in very truth was in those gatherings.
(08:18):
It has arrived. It has drawn the people of the
earth together in the bonds of love to God and
love to man. The differences between peoples and religions have
not been argued away, not changed by debate, not removed
by law nor by war. But they have been dissolved
(08:43):
in the fires of love, and have disappeared like mists
before the morning sun of godly knowledge, not by might
nor by power, but by My spirit, Saith, the Lord
of hosts. When man rises above those differences in the
(09:03):
atmosphere of spiritual truth, his humanity, his sympathy, his human affection,
spring forth and blossom in the land of the Spirit,
so that greed and ambitions are forgotten and only love remains.
This is the elixir of unity. This is the solvent
(09:26):
that shall melt the hearts of men and bring that
most great peace which Baha'u'llah said must come. When the
spirits of men actually come into contact with the spirit
of this day, this greatest revelation from God, this spirit
of self abnegating service to mankind, they simply melt and unite,
(09:52):
and all other matters and things pass into the realm
of the unimportant. Unity, love, and service. A great lesson
impressed upon us at Akka was the waste of time
and strength in observing and struggling with the little things,
(10:15):
the annoyances, the actions or efforts of opposers, the disagreeables,
which crowd against us in life. Rather, should we look
only at the good, strengthen and encourage the good, sure
in confidence that the worthless will fade away, and that
it is powerless against the valuable. To look at things
(10:39):
in a larger way than some of us have done,
to take our point of view from the mountain of
the Holy Spirit, and with full reliance thereon, to devote
ourselves to those things which are its servants. Resolved into
daily life. This means to overcome evil with good, to
(11:01):
heed not personal desires and ambitions, but rather endeavor to
serve others, make our lives useful, to serve the good
in others and veil the evil in them. To judge
not but looking keenly for the good, to encourage that
good by wise and loving service. Service is the key
(11:26):
to unity, and unity is the one great theme of
the Teacher of Aca. Without unity nothing can be accomplished.
As the unity of the world is the aim and
purpose of this ba High revelation. That unity must begin
at home, unity of the few, the assembly, many assemblies,
(11:49):
the country, many countries, the world. As the family is
the symbol of the home and its peaceful unity, so
must thee a high assemblage be the type and foundation
of the whole. And unity which is confined to the
society or assembly alone is not unity. It must be
(12:12):
open armed unity, seeking oneness of will or purpose, and
of work with all other groups and assemblies. Each individual
strengthens his individuality not by maintaining it alone, but on
the contrary, by joining himself his powers and abilities with others.
(12:35):
Thus his own efficiency is enlarged and multiplied by cohesion
with others. As a single letter is of small worth
compared to its value in a word and greater value
in a sentence, so the individual man must enter into
combination with all that he possibly can for the strengthening
(12:58):
of the cause of God, God and humanity. And this
means the increased worth of himself. This, in reality, is
the message of Baha'llah in this day. Unity, love, and
service in the name of God. Service in love, service
(13:19):
to the friends and to all living with such sweetness, usefulness, happiness,
and cheerfulness that the life of itself attracts the notice
of others and draws them to the beauty of such living.
Service to everyone around. No discrimination in service, but simply
(13:41):
a great desire to be of use in every possible
waking moment to some one of God's creatures. Some money
was offered to Abdul Baha. He took the gold in
his hand, held it for a moment, and then passed
it back, saying, give this to the poor, the very
(14:03):
very poor. Do not discriminate in favor of any one's
sect or people, but give to all. His instruction concerning
that money is the teaching for our lives. The poorer,
the more needy, more helpless, more ignorant, the more bitter
(14:26):
or hateful one is, the more shall we serve that
one with goodness, sweetness, patience forbearance, helpfulness and love. This
is the teaching today of Baha'u'llah and of his blessed son.
Every instruction of abdul Baha is of value for living.
(14:50):
His simple words are as he says, seeds which if
they be sown in the heart, and cultivated there grow
into beautiful trees of knowledge and wisdom. As one ponders,
they develop new meanings and inner significances which are pregnant
(15:12):
with power, and they are all thoroughly practical in their
application to life. He ascribes everything to the power of
the Word of God, and his only desire is that
God's will and God's Word may spread and conquer the
hearts of men. End of section seven. Recording by Nicholas
(15:37):
James Bridgewater, recorded in London, England,
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