" ... loose thy soul from the prison of self."

"O MY SERVANT! Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more."

 -Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, Persian No. 40


 THE IMPRISONMENT OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ
4 Avenue de Camöens, Wednesday, October 25th, 1911

 "I regret much that I have kept you waiting this morning, but I have so much to do in a short time for the Cause of the love of God.

You will not mind having waited a little to see me. I have waited years and years in prison, that I might come to see you now.

Above all, God be praised, our hearts are always in unison, and with one aim are drawn to the love of God. By the Bounty of the Kingdom our desires, our hearts, our spirits, are they not united in one bond?  Our prayers, are they not for the gathering together of all men in harmony? Therefore are we not always together?

Yesterday evening when I came home from the house of Monsieur Dreyfus I was very tired—yet I did not sleep, I lay awake thinking.

 I said, O God, Here am I in Paris! What is Paris and who am I? Never did I dream that from the darkness of my prison I should ever be able to come to you, though when they read me my sentence I did not believe in it.

They told me that ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd had ordered my everlasting imprisonment, and I said, ‘This is impossible! I shall not always be a prisoner. If ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd were immortal, such a sentence might possibly be carried out. It is certain that one day I shall be free. My body may be captive for a time, but ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd has no power over my spirit—free it must remain—that can no man imprison’.

Released from my prison by the Power of God I meet here the friends of God, and I am thankful unto Him.

Let us spread the Cause of God, for which I suffered persecution.

What a privilege it is for us to meet here in freedom. How happy for us that God has so decided that we may work together for the coming of the Kingdom!

Are you pleased to receive such a guest, freed from his prison to bring the glorious Message to you? He who never could have thought such a meeting possible! Now by the Grace of God, by His wonderful Power,  I, who was condemned to perpetual imprisonment in a far off town of the East, am here in Paris talking with you!

Henceforward we shall always be together, heart and soul and spirit, pressing forward in the work till all men are gathered together under the tent of the Kingdom, singing the songs of peace."

 `Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks pp. 39-41

Walker Evans

Library of Congress