“Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows — then let your heart say in silence, “God rests in reason.”
And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky — then let your heart say in awe, “God moves in passion.”
And since you are a breath in God’s sphere, and a leaf in God’s forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.”

Khalil Gibran

In the early twentieth century, New York City was a meeting point of artists, writers, reformers, and spiritual seekers, all responding to rapid social change. During Abdu’l-Baha’s 1912 visit to the United States, He spoke in churches, universities, temples, and at a peace conference, offering a vision of unity, justice, and spiritual renewal.

let your heart say in silence, “God rests in reason”, and in awe, “God moves in passion.”

Among those drawn to his message were Juliet Thompson and Khalil Gibran, both living in New York’s creative circles. Thompson, a painter and devoted Baha’i, hosted gatherings in her home where artists and thinkers discussed art, faith, and politics. She moved among spiritual and artistic communities that were searching beyond traditional religious structures for broader meaning.

Gibran, a Lebanese-born writer and artist, was also part of this intellectual climate shaped by spiritual exploration and social reform movements. He was deeply interested in questions of unity between religions and the nature of the divine. Through Thompson, he was introduced to Baha’i writings, including Baha’u’llah’s Hidden Words, which he called “stupendous literature.”

In His smile “there was the mystery of Syria and Arabia and Persia.”

Gibran later met Abdu’l-Baha and was profoundly affected by him, saying: “For the first time I saw form noble enough to be a receptacle for the Holy Spirit.” While painting a portrait of the Master, he heard Abdu’l-Baha say, “Those who work with the Spirit work well…”, and later wrote that in His smile “there was the mystery of Syria and Arabia and Persia.”

Sources:

Thompson, Juliet. The Diary of Juliet Thompson.

Ahdieh, Hussein. Abdu’l-Baha in New York.

Mahmud-i-Zarqani. Madmud’s Diary.