"... motion without a motive force, and an effect without a cause are both impossible ..."

"In fine, that Universal Reality with all its qualities and attributes that we recount is holy and exalted above all minds and understandings. As we, however, reflect with broad minds upon this infinite universe, we observe that motion without a motive force, and an effect without a cause are both impossible; that every being hath come to exist under numerous influences and continually undergoeth reaction. These influences, too, are formed under the action of still other influences. ..."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel

" ... all these interactions are linked by an unseen, all-embracing power ..."

"For instance, as we have observed, co-operation among the constituent parts of the human body is clearly established, and these parts and members render services unto all the component parts of the body. For instance, the hand, the foot, the eye, the ear, the mind, the imagination all help the various parts and members of the human body, but all these interactions are linked by an unseen, all-embracing power, that causeth these interactions to be produced with perfect regularity. This is the inner faculty of man, that is his spirit and his mind, both of which are invisible."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel

"For whatsoever can be conceived by man is a reality that hath limitations and is not unlimited ..."

"Now concerning the Essence of Divinity: in truth it is on no account determined by anything apart from its own nature, and can in no wise be comprehended. For whatsoever can be conceived by man is a reality that hath limitations and is not unlimited; it is circumscribed, not all-embracing. It can be comprehended by man, and is controlled by him. Similarly it is certain that all human conceptions are contingent, not absolute; that they have a mental existence, not a material one. Moreover, differentiation of stages in the contingent world is an obstacle to understanding. How then can the contingent conceive the Reality of the absolute? ..."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel

" ... for man to comprehend the Divine Essence and the nature of the great Hereafter is in no wise possible."

" ... In like manner for man to comprehend the Divine Essence and the nature of the great Hereafter is in no wise possible. The merciful outpourings of that Divine Essence, however, are vouchsafed unto all beings and it is incumbent upon man to ponder in his heart upon the effusions of the Divine Grace, the soul being counted as one, rather than upon the Divine Essence itself. This is the utmost limit for human understanding. As it hath previously been mentioned, these attributes and perfections that we recount of the Divine Essence, these we have derived from the existence and observation of beings, and it is not that we have comprehended the essence and perfection of God. When we say that the Divine Essence understandeth and is free, we do not mean that we have discovered the Divine Will and Purpose, but rather that we have acquired knowledge of them through the Divine Grace revealed and manifested in the realities of things."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel

"GOD, of a truth, revealed unto Me in the sacred house of the Ka‘bah, “Verily, I am God, no God is there but Me. ..."

"GOD, of a truth, revealed unto Me in the sacred house of the Ka‘bah, “Verily, I am God, no God is there but Me. I have singled Thee out for Myself and have chosen Thee as the Remembrance. Indeed, whosoever beareth allegiance unto Thee by walking in the way of the Báb, for him the recompense of the next world hath surely been prescribed.…” It is ordained in the Book that upon the realization of the Cause of the Remembrance, the Most Great Event will have come to pass according to the dispensation of Providence, and God, truly, is potent over all things. Chapter LXXIX."

-The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb

Happy Declaration of the Báb! "I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit ..."

"I AM the Mystic Fane which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared. I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche and caused to shine with deathless splendor. I am the Flame of that supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay concealed in the midst of the Burning Bush. Chapter XCIV."

-The Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb

" ... as we reflect, we observe that man is like unto a tiny organism contained within a fruit ..."

"And as we reflect, we observe that man is like unto a tiny organism contained within a fruit; this fruit hath developed out of the blossom, the blossom hath grown out of the tree, the tree is sustained by the sap, and the sap formed out of earth and water. How then can this tiny organism comprehend the nature of the garden, conceive of the gardener and comprehend his being? That is manifestly impossible. Should that organism understand and reflect, it would observe that this garden, this tree, this blossom, this fruit would in no wise have come to exist by themselves in such order and perfection. Similarly the wise and reflecting soul will know of a certainty that this infinite universe with all its grandeur and perfect order could not have come to exist by itself."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet to Dr. Auguste Forel





Raphel Soyer