Question: ‘Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this world?’
‘Abdu’l-Bahá: 'The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most.'
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Baha; ‘Paris Talks: Addresses given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912’)
