What a great difference exists between men. One person
degrades himself to such a degree that he idolizes and worships stones,
lifeless images, motionless effigies, notwithstanding that God has given him
understanding and favored him with the honored robe of humanity! Another person
reaches such a pinnacle of perfection that he becomes a sign of God and an
educator of the world of humanity! Consider what a great distance there is
between the one and the other. Although the object of both Buddha and Krishna
was the one God and they proclaimed the unity of God, yet now their followers
cling to and believe in idols and images.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Commenting aboard the
Cedric, March 27, 1912, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)
