Universal benefits
derive from the grace of the Divine religions, for they lead their true
followers to sincerity of intent, to high purpose, to purity and spotless
honor, to surpassing kindness and compassion, to the keeping of their covenants
when they have covenanted, to concern for the rights of others, to liberality,
to justice in every aspect of life, to humanity and philanthropy, to valor and
to unflagging efforts in the service of mankind. It is religion, to sum up,
which produces all human virtues, and it is these virtues which are the bright
candles of civilization. If a man is not characterized by these excellent
qualities, it is certain that he has never attained to so much as a drop out of
the fathomless river of the waters of life that flows through the teachings of
the Holy Books, nor caught the faintest breath of the fragrant breezes that
blow from the gardens of God; for nothing on earth can be demonstrated by words
alone, and every level of existence is known by its signs and symbols, and every
degree in man’s development has its identifying mark.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The
Secret of Divine Civilization’)
