It is very strange to see how 'illusion' has taken
possession of the hearts of men while 'Reality' has no sway whatsoever. For
example, racial difference is an optical illusion! It is a figment of
imagination, yet how deep seated and powerful its influence! No one can deny
the fact that mankind in toto are the progeny of Adam; that they are offshoots
of one primal stock, yet the optical illusion has so radically misrepresented
this plain truth that they have divided and subdivided themselves into so many
tribes and nations. Although many intelligent men amongst them know that this
racial difference is an optical illusion, yet they all confess their inability
to stand firm before its uncanny, invisible power.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a
Tablet, Star of the West, vol. 20, no. 1, April 1929)
