One of the strangest things witnessed is that the
materialists are proud of their natural proclivities. They state, that which is
sensible or tangible is worthy of credence, but that which is not within the realm
of the sense perceptions is unreasonable. By their own statements they are
captives of the senses. Of the spiritual world they are uninformed: of the
Divine Kingdom they are unaware; of the Divine bestowal they are unconscious.
If this be a virtue, the animal has attained to a superlative degree, for the
animal is absolutely unaware of and not at all in touch with the spiritual
realm.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (From a talk, June
9, 1912’ Baptist Temple, Philadelphia; Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 7, July
13, 1914)
