Mahmud: August 20 – People do not appreciate the value of the Manifestations of God while They are alive

On His return He said:

While the Manifestations of God are still alive, the people do not appreciate their value, they curse and execrate them; but after their ascension they worship them. Such is the case with these tent-dwellers who live outside Green Acre. Even Columbus and some ancient philosophers like Socrates were made to suffer but after a time the people took pride in praising them.

This afternoon, under the Persian pines and cypresses of that lovely plain, three hundred people heard ‘Abdu’l-Bahá draw a picture of the vista of everlasting life, its spiritual stations and eternal blessings. He then went to the ‘Bahá’í House’ where we were all His guests. Following His walk after supper, the Master stood at the front hall of the house and spoke. People were even standing in the street to listen to Him. He spoke so beautifully about the relationship of the East and the West that passersby stopped to hear what He had to say.