Saichiro Fujita and Abdu'l-Baha

In 1912, Saichiro Fujita, one of the earliest Japanese Baha'is, met Abdu'l-Baha in Chicago, and accompanied Him through Denver and Salt Lake City, into California.  In 1919 He relocated to the Holy Land, residing in the House of Abdu'l-Baha.  He was befriended by Abdu'l-Baha and accompanied Him during many of His activities in the Holy Land. He was a source of joy to Abdu'l-Baha, and they joked together. As these photographs and Mr. Fujita's recollections demonstrate, he always showed proper respect to Abdu'l-Baha and to Shoghi Effendi. He served in the Holy Land for many years, at the invitation of Abdu'l-Baha and of Shoghi Effendi.  Mr. Fujita was present in the Holy Land at the time of the Ascension of Abdu'l-Baha, and has left his recollections of that event, and of the reading of Abdu'l-Baha's Will and Testament.  All of the photographs on this site are © Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette, used with permission.

Fujita in Abdu'l-Baha's car

Fujita riding Abdu'l-Baha's donkey, Lightning

L-R Mountfort Mills, Hand of the Cause of God John E. Esslemont, Saichiro Fujita in front of the House of Abdu'l-Baha

L-R The Master's gardener Isma'il-Aqa, The Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins, Saichiro Fujita; apparently in the Master's garden, Haifa

Fujita with Shoghi Effendi during the years immediately preceding the Ascension of Abdu'l-Baha.

In 1950 Shoghi Effendi's secretary wrote on his behalf to a Baha'i:  "He feels you, and dear Fujita too, should devote particular attention to deepening the friends in the Covenant, which is the ark of safety for every believer."

Fujita accompanying Abdu'l-Baha on a visit to the Old Western Pilgrim House across the street from the Master's House

Abdul-Baha in front of His House with pilgrims, local Baha'is, and Indian soldiers, 1920.
More about this photograph is found here

Abdu'l-Baha with Saichiro Fujita visiting a Christian minister, Haifa, Israel.  This building is directly behind the House of Abdu'l-Baha, and faces lower Hazionut Street.  Mr. Fujita refers to this photograph in his interview with Sylvia Ioas:  "I stayed with `Abdu'l-Baha two years. I used to go around everywhere. Always He ask me to go with Him. Even on Christmas Day, we have a little church here, behind the Master's house, we call on them. Have taken a picture too, with Master and minister and myself."

The following was written of Mr. Fujita in Japan Will Turn Ablaze:

Mr. Saichiro Fujita
1886-1976

Mr. Saichiro Fujita was the second Japanese to accept the Faith. Originally from Yanai, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, he immigrated to the United States when he was a teenager. While he was attending school in Oakland, California in 1905 he was taught the Faith by Mrs. Kathryn Frankland.

He received two of the Tablets quoted below from 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1906 and 1907. In 1911 he received a Tablet urging him to complete his professional training. In 1912 Mr. Fujita had the privilege of meeting the Master and traveling with Him in the United States. In this revised edition we have included one more Tablet by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, translated in 1913, because it contains a prediction about Mr. Fujita.

Between 1912 and 1919 there were several communications from 'Abdu'l-Bahá urging Mr. Fujita to study various aspects of engineering and also advising him to study flower culture. In 1919 he had completed his studies and left for Haifa as instructed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Mr. Fujita served in the Holy Land until the end of his life except for the years between 1938 and 1955 which were spent in Japan.

Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Mr. Saichiro Fujita

O thou fresh plant in the garden of the Love of God!
      What thou hast written was considered. It was an evidence of following in the Pathway of Guidance, and a proof of the attraction of the heart to the Beauty of His Majesty, God.
      Consider what bounty God has manifested for thee, whence thou art and from whence are we. Yet, nevertheless, such a candle of love is burning in the hearts that its light is radiating from the East to the West and from the West extending to the East.
      Rest assured thy name is registered in the Book of God, and it is hoped that thou mayest enter the Paradise of the Kingdom and find stability; to reach that which is the cause of the progress of the world of humanity in the world and in the Kingdom, and with perceiving eye, attentive ear, eloquent tongue and radiant face may serve in the Vineyard of God and spread the Divine Glad Tidings. If thou art confirmed as thou oughtest to be, thou wilt certainly establish an eternal Kingdom. This Kingdom is greater than that of Mikado, for the sovereignty of the Emperor of Japan is for numbered days, but this sovereignty is lasting and will stand unto the Eternity of Eternities.
      That sovereignty can be hidden under one handful of dust, that is when Mikado goes beneath the handful of dust, he is entirely effaced and erased, but this Kingdom withstands the greatest revolution of the worlds, and will stand with perfect stability unto eternity. The former kingdom is established by the power of the sword, burning fire, devouring, and the shedding of blood, while this Kingdom is built upon freedom, glory, greatness and the love of God. Consider how much difference there is between them.
(Translated by Ameen Fareed, November 10, 1906, Chicago)

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O thou spiritual Youth!
      Japan has made wonderful progress in material civilization, but she will become perfect when she will also make spiritual developments and the Power of the Kingdom become manifest in her.
      One will encounter a little difficulty in the beginning of the establishment of the Cause of God in that country, but later it will become very easy. For the inhabitants of Japan are intelligent, sagacious, and have the power of rapid assimilation. For the present a perfect youth like thee is favored by the Bounty of the Kingdom, and attained to the knowledge of the Lord of the Kingdom. Show thou forth an effort that thou mayest finish that which is necessary in the acquisition and study of science and art; then travel thou toward the countries of Japan; so that thou mayest hoist the Ensign of Truth, waving upon the Apex of the Supreme Concourse. Look thou not upon thine own capability, the Invisible Divine Confirmations are great, and the Protection and Providence of the Beauty of Abha is the helper and assistant. When a drop draws help from the ocean, it is an ocean itself, and a little seed through the outpouring of rain, the favor of the sun, and the soul-refreshing breeze will become a tree with the utmost freshness, full of leaves, blossoms and fruits. Therefore do not consider thy capacity and merit, but rely upon the infinite Bounty and trust to His Highness the Almighty. Do not delay. Undertake soon that which thou art intending.
      There are prophecies concerning the Manifestation in the Buddhist books, but they are in symbols and metaphors, and some spiritual conditions are mentioned therein, but the leaders of religion do not understand. They think these prophecies are material things, yet those signs are foreshadowing spiritual occurrence.
(Revealed in 'Akká, May 29, 1907. Translated by Ahmad Esphahani,
July 21, 1907, Washington, D.C.)

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O thou servant of God
      Thy letter was received. It was an indication to the outward and inward health and safety. Therefore it became the means of joy.
      As regard to thy profession of electricity. Endeavor from every direction that thou mayest gain perfect efficiency in it -- so that I may send for thee to come with electrical machine (automobile) and lighting plant -- in order that in the Holy Land thou mayest know how to run the electrical engines and dynamos, how to install electrical lights through the buildings and how to fill the batteries of the (automobile) and act (if necessary) as chauffeur. When thou shalt learn these things then I will send for thee. Thou wilt be confirmed to render a great service and this will become the cause of thine everlasting glory.
(Translated by Ahmad Sohrab, May 15, 1913, Paris)

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After Mr. Fujita's passing the Universal House of Justice sent out the following cable:

Dearly-loved tireless steadfast Saichiro Fujita passed to Abha Kingdom after long years service sacred threshold. His rank in vanguard first Japanese believers. His labours World Center his dedication humility sincerity love will forever be remembered and provide shining example to rising generations Japanese Bahá'ís who will view with pride distinction conferred upon him. Praying Holy Shrines progress his radiant soul under loving grace his Master and Guardian both of whom he served so well.

Universal House of Justice
(Cable received May 10, 1976)
 

THE STORY OF THE “GATE OF THE GARDEN” QUOTE FROM ABDU'L-BAHA

Inez Greeven told us in approximately 1980 that she went on Pilgrimage in 1920 during the days of Abdu'l-Baha and had many heavenly experiences.  One example:  One night, she was asleep in the same bed with her dear sister India, in the pilgrim house (I assume, the pilgrim house across the street and downhill from the Master's House, the Old Western Pilgrim House).  

Historical photo of the Old Western Pilgrim House on Haparsim Street

Photograph taken approximately 1925, Copyright 2006

Baha'i International Community, Used with permission

In the middle of the night she awoke, and something was different.  She couldn't put her finger on it.  Then as she awoke more fully, she could see that she was floating several feet above the bed.  She was startled, and got down, and began to walk around the room. She bumped into things and the noise awoke her sister.  “What's wrong?” her dear sister asked.  “I was floating in the air!” she said. “And I don't understand why...” and as she reflected on it, she knew for a certainty that at that very moment, Abdu'l-Baha was praying for her in the Shrines.  Later that day she was walking in the streets of Haifa, and she saw the Master.  He saw her, and walked over to her, smiled and asked, “Did you know I was praying for you?”  She said yes, she did.

The Master also told her that she and her sister were permitted to come on Pilgrimage, because their mother was a good woman.

Near the beginning of her Pilgrimage, the Master asked her, “Where is your husband?” This was the one question she did not want Him to ask.  She replied, “Well, he's not here, Abdu'l-Baha.”  “Yes, I can see that he is not here.  Where is your husband?”  She replied that her husband had left her for another woman.  “Yes, I know,” the Master said.  “And because you have forgiven him, God has forgiven him.”

This would have referred to her husband at the time, presumably a Mr. Cook, because at the time of her first Pilgrimage her name was Inez Cook. Later, she married Max Greeven, an American Baha'i resident in Germany, greatly praised by the beloved Guardian. More about the two of them is found in "Dear Co-worker: Messages from Shoghi Effendi to the Benelux Countries," (Leuven: Brilliant Books, 2009) ISBN 9789057210006.

Here is Inez during her 1920 Pilgrimage.  She is standing directly above Abdu'l-Baha's blessed head, holding the Greatest Name and a rose He gave to her.

On her return trip on the ship back across the Atlantic Ocean, she began to reflect on how she could convey her experiences to her friends. In particular, she wanted to share the grandeur of the Faith and of the Master, with two of her friends to whom she was teaching the Faith.  She then thought of the idea of having them go to the Holy Land themselves.  She thought that as soon as they met the Master, they would understand that this Faith is from God.  She sent a cable to `Abdu'l-Baha and asked permission for her friends to go to the Holy Land and meet Him and visit the Holy Places, and He cabled back that permission was granted.

In those days it was quite an adventure to travel that far and visit the Holy Land.  She made arrangements, and saw her friends off at the dock in New York as their ship sailed away.  Some weeks later she came to the dock to welcome them home.  She eagerly anticipated that they would tell her that they had become Baha'is.  As they came down the walkway from the ship, she greeted them and gave them hugs, excitedly asking, "Well?  Well?"

One of her friends said, "Oh, our trip was wonderful!"

"Well, tell me all about it!"  Inez said.

"Well, first of all we visited the pyramids in Egypt."

"Yes, yes, go on," Inez said somewhat impatiently.

"And then we went to the Holy Land."

"Yes, yes!"

"And we went to Jerusalem and visited all the holy places."

"Yes, yes!"

"And then we went to Mount Carmel, and we met your Master."

"YES!"

"And he invited us into his home, and we had meals with him and his family. Why, they were the *nicest* people!  And he told us funny stories.  And they took us to beautiful gardens and shrines.  It was wonderful."

Inez paused.  "Is that all?"

"Is that all?  What do you mean!?  We had a wonderful time! Thank you for arranging it!"

So neither of her friends had become Baha'is, and she did not understand this.

Inez was apparently a wealthy woman, as she lived in a hotel in New York. The following year, in 1921, Inez returned to the Holy Land for a second Pilgrimage. This was not long before the end of the Master's life, as official immigration records show that she came back to the USA just a week before His passing.

During this second visit, she decided to ask him why her friends had not become Baha'is.  She said words to this effect: "My friends came here, and they met you, and they visited the Holy Places, but they were unaffected.   When I came here I was completely intoxicated with the greatness of the Cause.  Why didn't they become Baha'is?"

`Abdu'l-Baha's answer was,

“At the gate of the garden,
some stand and look within, but do not care to enter. 
Others step inside, behold its beauty, but do not penetrate far.
Still others encircle this garden, inhaling the fragrance of the flowers;
and having enjoyed its full beauty, pass out again by the same gate.
But there are always some who enter,
and becoming intoxicated with the splendor of what they behold,
remain for life to tend the garden."

The translator wrote this down for Inez, whose name at that time was Inez Cook.

On the long ocean voyage home, Inez thought about this, and thought about her two friends.  She decided that what she would do, was to tell her friends everything. So after her return to New York, she met with her friends, and told them exactly what had happened.  She then gave both of them a copy of `Abdu'l-Baha's beautiful statement about the gate of the garden, which is on the same theme as Jesus' parable of the sower and the seed. 

One of these two women was attracted to the Cause, and became a Baha'i. Her name was Frances Esty.  She became a lifelong devoted Baha'i.  She compiled a lovely book of the Writings of `Abdu'l-Baha which she titled The Garden of the Heart.  In the front of this book, which is extremely rare, she quotes this pilgrim's note, and thanks Inez Cook for it.  It is often wondered where in the Writings this beautiful passage came from, and to whom it was revealed. It is not from the Master's Writings, it is a pilgrim's note from Him to Inez Greeven, and the earliest reference to it I know of is this early book, published by the Roycroft Press in 1930 in East Aurora, New York.

When Frances Esty died, I heard that she left her estate to the Baha'i Faith, and her community purchased a Baha'i center with the proceeds.

Brent

The Lady Who Chose Spiritual Sight

Leroy Ioas was a boy of 16 when Abdu'l-Baha came to America in 1912, and he had a number of wonderful experiences with the Master.

His daughter has written a marvelous book about Mr. Ioas, and this is one of the incidents from it:

“In later years when trying to describe Abdu'l-Baha's presence for the believers, Leroy said 'You have seen many pictures of the Master but what they don't show you is the vibrant spirit that was coursing through Him at all times.  All day long, starting at dawn, people would come to Him. They would hover around, ask questions, then a larger group would gather in His sitting room and He would talk to them about the Cause. When they left another group would come. Always they had questions for Abdu'l-Baha, questions of infinite importance to them, and His answers were given rapidly—in one second He would be deciding someone's destiny.  It showed the power of the spirit that moved within Him every moment, every second.'
    “One brief incident that made a lasting impression on Leroy illustrates this power of the Master.  It occurred one evening when Abdu'l-Baha spoke at the Masonic Temple [in Chicago]. More than a thousand people were present. The Ioas and Dealy families were very close, as it was through Paul Dealy that they had become Baha'is.  The Ioases had brought Mrs. Dealy to the meeting, as she to her great distress was going blind.  Following the Master's talk, as hundreds milled around Him, she told her son he should have an interpreter ask `Abdu'l-Baha to speak to her. Leroy, who was sitting next to her, remembers the son saying that would be impossible with all the people present.  But she insisted and he went to pass on her request.  The interpreter indicated she should sit on the aisle where `Abdu'l-Baha would leave.  As the Master went up the aisle He stopped and greeted her lovingly.  She reached for His hand and said, '`Abdu'l-Baha, please put your hand on my forehead, and I know that I will see.' 'Yes, my daughter,' He answered, 'you will see.  But you will have to choose.  You may have your spiritual sight or your physical sight—which do you desire?'  She said with emotion: 'Abdu'l-Baha, that is no choice!  I would be blind a thousand years before I would give up my spiritual sight!' 'Well said, my daughter, well said,' replied the Master as He touched her shoulder and continued on His way out.  Sitting next to her on that bench, Leroy realized with a chill how in that moment she had decided on her destiny.  She was steadfast.”
(“Leroy Ioas, Hand of the Cause of God,” by Anita Ioas Chapman, pp. 25-26 available from George Ronald Books ) 

Abdu'l-Baha during his nine-month journey through America.Behind Abdu'l-Baha, left, Mirza Mahmud Zarqani; right, Dr. Zia Bagdadi. Photograph courtesy Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette.  Please click photo for larger image

After marrying, Leroy and his wife Sylvia moved to California, where they began their lives of joint service to the Faith. In later years, Mr. Ioas served as one of the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land, and Mrs. Ioas served on both the elected and the appointed International Baha'i Council. 

The Hand of the Cause of God Leroy Ioas, standing.  Sylvia Ioas on the left, Sarah Witt on the right. Photograph courtesy Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette.

This is a photograph of (L-R) George Latimer, John Bosch, and Leroy Ioas:

(Courtesy Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette)

These three men were appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States to look into the establishment of a permanent Baha'i School.  Mr. and Mrs. Bosch donated their farm to the Faith, and it became the Geyserville Baha'i School, now the John and Louise Bosch Baha'i School a hundred miles south, near Santa Cruz, California. It appears that this photograph may have been taken at the Geyserville property.

Please see this posting about Mr. Ioas on another website