Praise be to God that the centuries of darkness have passed
and the age of enlightenment has arrived!
Praise be to God that all traces of superstition and
imitation have vanished and the minds and thoughts of men have broadened,
inventions have gained new life, the arts and sciences have been revived, new
plans have been evolved, discoveries have increased, all things have been
revitalized, the rulings that regulate the world have been renewed! Thus it was
necessary that the laws of God also be changed and the reality of divine
religions be renewed, for divine teachings had been forgotten and there was
nothing left but dogmatic imitation. The foundation of the divine religions is
one and that is the truth which generates love and affection and is the cause
of the unity of mankind. But imitations vary and they are the cause of
disagreements and are the destroyers of spiritual foundations.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet, ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)
