The people of
America have a great capacity for the acquisition of spiritual qualities but
they are immersed in material affairs. They are like machines which move
uncontrollably; they move but are devoid of spirit. They will attain perfection
when the spirit of divine civilization is breathed into them and this material
civilization becomes infused with spiritual refinement.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, October 5, 1912, San
Francisco, USA, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)
