…when
a man looks at creation, he sees two things: that which is perceptible to the
senses and that which is abstract. The things that are perceptible to the
senses, such as vegetables, minerals and animals, that can be seen by the eyes,
heard by the ears, smelled, touched or tasted, are subject to change. But
rational powers are not perceived by the physical senses. The power of the mind
and knowledge are intellectual realities and are not subject to change or
alteration. The eye cannot see them; the ear cannot hear them. It is impossible
that knowledge, which is an intellectual reality, be changed into ignorance.
The soul, too, is one of the intellectual realities: it is unalterable and is
not subject to annihilation.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, excerpt from a talk at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Parsons,
August 7, 1912, Dublin, USA; Mahmud’s Diary)
