My Spiritual Journey - ‘Duty and Responsibility’

The pilgrims, the beloved Guardian has said, are the life-blood of this World Centre and
it has long been our cherished hope and desire to be able to grant the bounty of
pilgrimage to the Holy Land to all who can avail themselves of it.

(Ridvan Messages, Ridvan 126, 1969)

Allah’u’Abha dear friends!

My name is Irene Mushuk. I’m a Baha’i from Moldova.

I can’t wait to share with you the impressions and the feelings I had when I was in the Holy Land as a pilgrim. I think it is very important, because pilgrimage is one of the laws in Kitab-i-Aqdas and it’s our spiritual duty and privilege.

We heard this word many times even before we became Bahais, as this concept exists in all religions – the journey to the historical places of the religion, to places, where the Prophet Founders set Their feet and where the most dramatic events of Their lives took place. 

The Baha’i pilgrimage for me – is a unique opportunity to witness and spiritually experience the most significant moments from the history of the Faith, the opportunity to see with my own eyes the fulfilment of the prophecies of Baha’u’llah, the opportunity to meet the representatives of the God on earth – The Universal House of Justice, and unique people in the Baha’i Faith – the Hands of the Cause of God and, above all, it is an opportunity to realize that we are part of that history and that we also can contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God on earth.

There is no other journey, but pilgrimage, that can give such spiritual upliftment, such Devine blessings, forgiveness and insight.

- Irene and Nabil on Pilgrimage -

And now I’m going to tell you the story of my pilgrimage.

First of all I didn’t go to pilgrimage alone, but with my husband Nabil Hassim. In 2002 we received invitation from the Baha’i World Center to come to pilgrimage and we chose the period from 24th of November till 3rd of December. We were told that it was quite warm, but it was the rain season. So, we took umbrellas and raincoats with us, but, fortunately, we didn’t use them. To our pleasure, and to the Israeli’s affliction, it was dry and sunny. But I asked our new Israeli friends not to worry and told them, that as soon as our pilgrimage finished, it would rain. And exactly the day when we were leaving, it started raining.

Usually, no matter what Baha’is are doing, God sends them tests. And our journey wasn’t an exception. But all these tests, after some time, remain in our memory as merry adventures.

Let me start from telling that I travelled separately from my husband. We were supposed to fly from Chisinau (capital of Moldova) via Bucharest to Tel-Aviv. So, the problems started in our airport. They didn’t let Nabil go, as he didn’t have Romanian visa (though we had transit flight and were supposed to wait only 3 hours in the Bucharest airport). It was useless to explain anything. Though we tried our best to explain the customs officers the importance of pilgrimage, that we were waiting 7 years for it, that we were husband and wife and would like to travel together, they were deaf to our entreaties and told us that we had a choice: either we both don’t fly, or I can fly by myself, as I didn’t need visa. Almost immediately, without thinking long, I said that I would fly alone, as the only desire I had that very moment was to see the Holy Land as soon as possible. Nabil’s only reaction to my decision was silent shock. And… I flew away.

For the first time in my life I travelled alone and my only companion was Baha’u’llah, who, I’m sure, spiritually accompanied me, and all of us during this amazing journey.

However, the adventures went on. When I finally arrived in Haifa it was 3 a.m.   The sherut stopped near the Port Inn Guest House, the only open space was a long dark corridor, and the only creature who met me there, was a dog. It didn’t express any interest in me and it made me feel even more uncomfortable. Though there were two doors in that corridor, on one of which it was written “Reception”, none of them were open and it seemed that there was absolutely nobody in the building. Approximately for one hour I was unsuccessfully ringing, knocking, screaming and making all kinds of noise. And only the half-sleeping dog was sluggishly reacting to my attempts. After all these useless actions, I understood that the only reasonable way out in this situation was to pray and ask God to protect me. Finally, the sleepless night finished and with the first rays of light, I, worn out and exhausted, decided to go out and walk a little. I was walking along the empty street, trying to convince myself that from now on everything would be all right and that all the fears were left behind, when, suddenly, like a flash of lightening, I was blinded by a wonderful golden light, which was coming from the top – it was sun, reflected in the magnificent dome of the Shrine of the Bab. And all my fears and worries were immediately replaced by the endless gratitude to God for this Miracle.

From this very moment my soul was in the state of felicity and unusual conciliation, at the same time experiencing amazement, admiration and reverence.

Hence, I must mention, that everything turned out quite favourably. Nabil took another flight and came in one day. We had a wonderful group of pilgrims. There were representatives from USA, Canada, Western and Eastern Europe, and former USSR. And there were 8 Russian-speaking friends in our subgroup (from Tatarstan, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Moldova). We had a wonderful guide, Mrs. Ursula Grossman, who answered all our questions with astonishing memory and accuracy. We were honoured and privileged to meet with the Universal House of Justice, International Teaching Center, the Hands of the Cause of God Mr. Furutan and Mr. Varga. We also had unique opportunity to find out the detailed history and to visit the places, blessed by the presence of the Prophet Founder of our Faith – Baha’u’llah. We could see with our own eyes things that belonged to the central figures of the Faith. We saw rooms were Baha’u’llah revealed Kitab-i-Aqdas, where Abdul-Baha and Munirih Khanum were married, where Navvab passed away, where Shoghi Effendi was born, where Baha’u’llah was kept as prisoner, where Abdul-Baha received first pilgrims from the West, where Baha’u’llah and Abdul-Baha ascended.

Everything I saw and experienced left an ineffaceable impression in my soul. It seemed that I was lost in time and space. Now I travelled 100-150 years back, now I could see the Baha’i community in several decades, now I witnessed events, the importance of which I will be able to understand only after the lapse of years.

And now I would like to share with you the most memorable and distinctive moment of my pilgrimage, which became a spiritual lesson and a lodestar for the rest of my life.

It happened 26th of November, the Day of Covenant. That day our group went to Akka. There we saw the Greatest Prison, where Baha’u’llah and members of His family were kept, the house of Abbud, in which Baha’u’llah revealed Kitab-i-Aqdas and many other Baha’i Holy Places. I was overwhelmed and full of impressions. But that wasn’t all for that day, as in the evening at the Pilgrims Reception Center we were supposed to meet with the Hand of the Cause of God – Mr. Furutan. The meeting was appointed for 6 p.m.

- Beloved Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Furutan with Irene and her husband Nabil -

It wasn’t our first meeting with him. First time I saw him on the first day of pilgrimage – 24th of November. He gave a marvellous speech and promised us to come every other day. He said that before he used to come every day to meet with pilgrims, as Shoghi Effendi said that pilgrims were the guests of Baha’u’llah. But now doctors recommended him to come once every two days because of his age. He asked us to come on Wednesday with children, as he was going to speak about teaching the Faith.

Now you can imagine our disappointment, when we were told, that Mr. Furutan wouldn’t come. Then I remembered that when he first came to meet with pilgrims, he looked very weak and fragile. It seemed to me that his energy was slowly disappearing. Of course, the first thing I thought was that he was not able to come because of the state of health.

Many pilgrims decided to go to their hotels, but some of us, among whom were Nabil and me, decided to stay, hoping that the meeting will still take place. How happy I was when ten minutes to six we were told that Mr. Furutan would come. As soon as this unique person entered the room, it became clear what efforts it took him to come here. He looked very pale and even transparent. It seemed that he no longer belonged to this world. However, notwithstanding this weakness, he himself went up the stage and put the microphone.

Mr. Furutan’s speech was dedicated to the Duty to teach the Faith. First he read the quotation of Baha’u’llah from the 'Gleanings':

"Say: Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Baha, for God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds. Such a deed is acceptable only when he that teacheth the Cause is already a firm believer in God, the Supreme Protector, the Gracious, the Almighty. He hath, moreover, ordained that His Cause be taught through the power of men's utterance, and not through resort to violence. Thus hath His ordinance been sent down from the Kingdom of Him Who is the Most Exalted, the All-Wise."

Then the Hand of the Cause shared with us his understanding of the word duty. As an example, he told us a story. It happened in Russia, when Nikolai the II was the tsar. One day Nikolai the II was walking in the courtyard of his palace. He noticed the guard, who looked very ill, his face was red and swollen. He approached him and asked what illness he had. The guard answered that he had malaria. Then the tsar told him that he had to undergo some treatment and that he could go home. But the guard replied that he was not able to leave his post without the senior officer’s permission and that it was his duty to guard the palace till the last breath. Then Nikolai the II took his gun and told him, that in such case, he would replace him at his post till the senior officer came and he would inform him that he personally let the guard go and that he fulfilled his duty.

“This is what duty means” – Mr. Furutan said. “The reason I came here today is because it was my duty to come. And if it is a duty – you have to fulfil it.”

Many people know that Mr. Furutan lived and studied in Russia and that he still loves to speak Russian and loves those who speak Russian. Fortunately, all the Russian-speaking friends were present at the gathering. And when he was telling the story, he often translated some words into Russian, and especially, the words “duty” and “responsibility”. When the Hand of the Cause finished his speech, he immediately approached the Russian-speaking pilgrims and asked in Russian: “Friends, did you understand what I said? Did you understand what is duty and responsibility?”

These words were almost the last words in his life, as in few minutes he passed away. He died before our eyes, peacefully and with dignity, in the pilgrims’ arms, whom he appreciated so much. His life and his decease became for me an example of true servitude, steadfastness in the Covenant, and faithfulness to the Cause of God. By his own life he showed us what duty is and how we have to fulfil it till the last breath!

With love and prayers,

Irene.