In the mourning ceremonies of 1953-54, which were being held at the residence of his eminence the grand Ayatollah Boroujerdi to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Her Holiness Lady Fatima Zahra (AS), I noticed that Imam Khomeini would sit respectfully on his two knees in the midst of average clergymen a little further away from Mr. Boroujerdi. At these ceremonies the late Mr. Torbati would sermonize. Throughout the period of these mourning ceremonies that we attended, we observed that from the beginning to the end of these sessions the Imam would sit extremely respectfully on his two knees and listen to the sermons. This was something quite strange for us as to why he would not sit near the late Ayatollah Boroujerdi but would instead sit like an ordinary participant with total humility in the company of young and unknown seminary students although enjoying a position of reverence and eminence at the Qum theological Seminary.
Narrated by: Hujjat al-Islam wal Muslimeen Sayyid Mohammad Baqer Hojjati
Taken from: Jomhouri-ye Eslami daily, special issue on the second Death Anniversary of Imam Khomeini