All the Prophets have come to promote divine bestowals, to
found the spiritual civilization and teach the principles of morality.
Therefore, we must strive with all our powers so that spiritual influences may
gain the victory. For material forces have attacked mankind. The world of
humanity is submerged in a sea of materialism. The rays of the Sun of Reality
are seen but dimly and darkly through opaque glasses. The penetrative power of
the divine bounty is not fully manifest.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a talk, New York,
14 April 1912; ‘The Promulgation of
Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United
States and Canada in 1912’)
