Make ye a mighty effort: perchance ye can flood this earth
with light, that this mud hut, the world, may become the Abhá Paradise. The
dark hath taken over, and the brute traits prevail. This world of man is now an
arena for wild beasts, a field where the ignorant, the heedless, seize their
chance. The souls of men are ravening wolves and animals with blinded eyes,
they are either deadly poison or useless weeds—all except for a very few who
indeed do nurture altruistic aims and plans for the well-being of their fellow
men: but ye must in this matter—that is, the serving of humankind—lay down your
very lives, and as ye yield yourselves, rejoice.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Seletions from
the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)
