THE MYSTERIOUS MAN CALLED ABDULLAH
Everyone familiar with the teachings of Neville Goddard must've heard of Abdullah at one point or another.
There is a lot of mystery and enigma surrounding this man who was at the very centre of Neville's accomplishment because it was he who mentored Neville Goddard. Through him, Neville was able to learn first-hand some of the concepts that he later explained to the world.
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| A picture of a man believed to be Abdullah, perhaps when he was younger. I don't believe the picture is an accurate representation of him because, when Neville met him, he was already an old man. However, that was the only picture I could find. |
So, who exactly was Abdullah?
Abdullah was a rabbi of Ethiopian descent who was fluent in Hebrew and several other languages. He had a lot of students the most significant one being Neville Goddard who later turned his life around from a struggling dancer to a renowned teacher and author.
There are some people who believe that he was a black jew. However, I don't think that is an accurate assumption because Abdullah was a man that was proud of his culture and heritage and always identified himself as an Ethiopian.
I think that the people who assume that he was a black jew do so because of the fact that he was a rabbi, spoke Hebrew and introduced Neville to the teachings of the Kaballah - however, those are just my thoughts.
Because Abdullah was fluent in Hebrew, he was able to study the original untranslated text of the bible, but his interpretation of the bible was not religious but pointed out to the hidden meanings in the bible that man was indeed God and that man had the power to change his life with the power of his consciousness.
How Neville Goddard met Abdullah
Neville Goddard met Abdullah in the year 1931 when he attended one of his lectures and it was a funny encounter. As soon as the talk was over Abdullah walked over to Neville offered his hand and told him that he was six months late. Such were the ways of Abdullah, he had a different way of doing things and always left a permanent impression on anyone who interacted with him.
So, a perplexed Neville asked Abdullah, "I am six months late? How do you know me?" and Abdullah told him that the brothers had told him about him.
Abdullah frequently gave talks and held studies with a small circle of brothers and his students. It turns out that he knew Neville Goddard way before he even decided to attend that very first meeting.
Apparently, Neville had been invited to one of the talks that Abdullah held by a man that he considered a total fool, perhaps that explains the reason why he took such a long time to finally show up.
However, that first
encounter with Abdullah changed Neville's mind and for the next five
years, he was able to study with Abdullah personally and learn from him first hand
and they became great friends. Neville often mentioned that he and Ab were inseparable. Ab was the nickname that Neville called Abdullah.
Abdullah never sought fame or recognition
Abdullah knew that Neville was invited to his meetings but he never intervened, he just waited patiently for him to show up and sure enough he did take his time.
Abdullah never forced his message on people, his teachings were reserved only for those who were looking for answers or for those who knew that there had to be a deeper meaning to life than what the physical world dictated.
He was not a man driven by fame or recognition and he was willing to assist only those who needed help in their own spiritual awakening journey and it is because of this that very little is known of him. Apart from a few of his students who mentioned him and made him known to the rest of the world that's all we know about him. He was indeed a very mysterious and private man.
Abdullah prospered in a time of oppression and did Whatever he wanted
Abdullah was a man of colour as they call it over there in the United States which basically means a black person, or a person of African origin and black people during that era didn't have much going for them. Most of them felt that the whole world was against them simply because of the colour of their skin and the oppression that they were facing at the moment.
Abdullah on the other hand seemed to live in a different dimension. He wasn't bothered and didn't care less about all the laws that restricted and oppressed black people, he did whatever he wanted and he prospered despite having all odds against him. In fact, when he met Neville he was already living in an affluent apartment in New York City, while Neville was a struggling dancer.
Two years after meeting Abdullah, things got so hard for Neville during the great depression and he couldn't even afford a meal. In fact, Neville mentioned that during those hard times he would've danced for a meal but all the theatres were all closed down because of the great depression.
It was during the great depression after all, and I'm quite sure it affected everyone. However, Neville never mentioned that Abdullah was affected in any way during those hard times.
Abdullah had a funny way of always prospering in difficult situations!
Abdullah ate whatever he desired
Well, Abdullah loved to eat and he loved to live large and he ate everything and drank a lot. He didn't smoke only because he didn't like it but he ate everything without fear.
"And of course he would sit down and he would have 2 or 3 big shots of rye. I mean big shots of rye. And he would wash down his meal with a lot of Porta or if it wasn't beer it was ale. And then he would at the end, like Churchill, a huge big bowel of ice cream. I said, "Ab how can you do that?", "Oh," he said , "You couldn't do it, it would poison you because you have quibbles"" Neville Goddard
So, he would warn Neville not to do the same because he had quibbles. Simply by asking the question, it showed that Neville believed that it was not healthy to eat the way Abdullah did and so that was the assumption he had and that had to be his reality.
Abdullah knew the power of belief and he knew that Neville thought that eating that way was not healthy that's why he would warn him.
Abdullah ate anything and everything, the way that Abdullah ate could be considered dangerous and not very healthy by today's standards. Abdullah believed that the food that entered his body could only do good and not harm so he ate whatever he wanted whether it was considered healthy or not. He just didn't care.
Abdullah lived a long prosperous life and he lived well over 100 years of age, despite his lifestyle.
Abdullah's Unorthodox way of teaching
Abdullah was a highly respected man, quite charismatic as well and thousands of people sought his audience, powerful people and people of influence all come to him for advice and he had lots of students as well including the famous metaphysical author Joseph Murphy.
He was a stubborn man and sometimes even a little rude and he would turn down Neville's offer to help him get into places that black people at that time weren't allowed in. Neville being white didn't face any of these restrictions and so he felt it was only fair for him to help his mentor who didn't want any part of it.
To Neville's amazement, he always bought front row tickets to the opera - a black person buying front row tickets to the opera was something unheard of during those times. I think it might have been illegal or something, but no one was there to stop him because Abdullah knew that the physical world had to conform only to the imaginal world which was the source of everything.
Neville knew how dangerous it was for Abdullah to do those things. Those were the days of segregation in America and he knew of the struggles black people were facing at the time and he knew that a black person could get killed simply for sitting at the wrong place in the opera or using the wrong toilet, let alone sitting at the front row with the rest of the white people.
I don't know, but I have a feeling that the front row was reserved only for important people in the society. So, it must've been a big deal for someone to sit there.
Neville felt that he had to intervene and physically manipulate things to help out Abdullah who would always turn him down and sometimes rudely, and those were some of the most important lessons that Neville learned from him that the mind was far more powerful than any action he could've taken.
Abdullah's rudeness was a way of shutting off doubt in Neville's mind. So whenever Neville would feel doubtful that the imaginal act alone would accomplish his desire and ask his mentor questions, or whenever he felt that he needed to physically intervene which showed he didn't trust that the imaginal acts would become objectified, Abdullah would steer him towards the correct path by shutting him off and refusing to discuss anything he felt would interfere with the imaginal reality.
During the great depression when Neville had a desire to go home to Barbados, he told Abdullah about it and Abdullah told him that he was in Barbados. Of course, Neville didn't understand what he meant so Abdullah told him that evening when he went to bed he should see himself sleeping in Barbados and not New York. He told him he should see New York so far away from him like he would if he were in Barbados.
So after a few months when Neville become doubtful because he didn't see anything happening and wanted to talk to Abdullah about it, he would tell him that he was in Barbados and since he was in Barbados there was nothing to talk about and refuse to discuss anything further about it.
This is the story of how Neville went to Barbados when he was virtually penniless.
Great Inspirations from Abdullah
Abdullah taught Neville by example which is the principle that Neville picked later on and he would tell his student that they had to test the concept he taught to see if it worked or not. It's something that they had to see for themselves and he cautioned his student against mystics who demanded money for their knowledge. He wasn't joking about this because many of the lectures that he gave were actually free.
Abdullah showed us that we had the power to change any kind of situation we find ourselves in. Sometimes we may find ourselves in situations we have no control over like where we were born or how we look, but one thing is certain and that is we have the power to make a difference and live the kind of life that we desire.
Abdullah himself never wasted time complaining about the oppression that was going on or wallowing in misery, he never entertained any form of self-doubt. Neville learnt that lesson the hard way and with time he knew that when Abdullah went to his room and slammed the door it was clear that he didn't want to talk about a particular topic. So Neville knew better not to follow him.
Neville learned a lot from him and also found himself in situations he couldn't control. Neville was drafted in the army and he didn't like it, in fact, he hated it and he desired the freedom of civilian life. I think that might have been the period the world wars 1 and 2 were taking place and I also think that it was mandatory for him to be in the army so he had no choice over it.
But he desired to get out of the army and he also tried to physically manipulate things by talking with his colonel which didn't work. So when he went to sleep in his bunk bed he would see himself sleeping in his apartment and he would repeat this imaginal act until he felt like he was in his apartment. After imagining for nine days and persisting in his desire, he was eventually discharged from the army, honourably of course.
Then there was a time Neville wanted to divorce his wife so that he could marry the woman that he loved and his wife refused to divorce him. Neville explained that they got married at an early age and they hadn't been together for many years but they were still legally married. So, eventually, when he approached her to sign the papers she refused because she knew he wanted to marry another woman. Again Neville went to his imaginal acts and saw her signing the papers and eventually she did sign the divorce papers.
Final thoughts
Abdullah was wise, charismatic and knowledgeable and from the little that we know about him we are greatly inspired, he taught us that we could actually set ourselves free of any physical limitation.
He showed us how to get whatever it is that we desired if we only shut off everything else and focused on the presence of it and accept it as the reality instead of noticing the lack. I'm quite sure the vast majority of people are inclined to the latter, but a new way of thinking and looking at the physical reality taught by Abdullah will set us free.
Abdullah also showed us that can get ourselves out of whatever situation we find ourselves in if we only knew the power that we possess. His entire life was a demonstration of the facts that he taught. He was not a preach water, drink wine sort of person, his students could clearly see and relate from real-life examples from his own life.
When he taught Neville that physical circumstance had no relevance to his desires, Neville could clearly see that from the way that he lived his life!
In fact, at times Neville felt that he had to intervene somehow and help out his mentor because he didn't want him to get into trouble with the oppressive laws. But Abdullah stubborn as we came to know him would always ask Neville, "Who told you that I need any sort of help?"
The very basis of the teachings of Neville was what he learned from Abdullah first hand and he was indeed a great man. From the teachings of Abdullah, Neville himself later become a great teacher and was able to inspire, and still inspire millions of people.
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