Throughout the universe the divine power is effulgent in
endless images and pictures. The world of creation, the world of humanity may
be likened to the earth itself and the divine power to the sun. This Sun has
shone upon all mankind. In the endless variety of its reflections the divine
Will is manifested. Consider how all are recipients of the bounty of the same
Sun. At most the difference between them is that of degree, for the effulgence
is one effulgence, the one light emanating from the Sun. This will express the
oneness of the world of humanity. The body politic, or the social unity of the
human world, may be likened to an ocean, and each member, each individual, a
wave upon that same ocean.
The light of the sun becomes apparent in each object
according to the capacity of that object. The difference is simply one of degree
and receptivity. The stone would be a recipient only to a limited extent;
another created thing might be as a mirror wherein the sun is fully reflected;
but the same light shines upon both.
(‘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’)
