The world has become a new world. The darkness of night
which has enveloped humanity is passing. A new day has dawned. Divine
susceptibilities and heavenly capacities are developing in human souls under
the training of the Sun of Truth. The capacities of souls are different. Their
conditions are various. For example, certain minerals come from the stony
regions of the earth. All are minerals, all are produced by the same sun, but
one remains a stone while another develops the capacity of a glittering gem or
jewel. From one plot of land tulips and hyacinths grow; from another, thorns and
thistles. Each plot receives the bounty of the sunshine, but the capacity to
receive it is not the same. Therefore, it is requisite that we must develop
capacity and divine susceptibility in order that the merciful bounty of the Sun
of Truth intended for this age and time in which we are living may reflect from
us as light from pure crystals.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 17 April 1912, New
York; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
