In the Name of God the Clement, the Merciful
Praise and thanksgiving be unto Providence that out of all
the realities in existence He has chosen the reality of man and has honored it
with intellect and wisdom, the two most luminous lights in either world.
Through the agency of this great endowment, He has in every epoch cast on the
mirror of creation new and wonderful configurations. If we look objectively
upon the world of being, it will become apparent that from age to age, the
temple of existence has continually been embellished with a fresh grace, and
distinguished with an ever-varying splendor, deriving from wisdom and the power
of thought.
This supreme emblem of God stands first in the order of
creation and first in rank, taking precedence over all created things. Witness
to it is the Holy Tradition, “Before all else, God created the mind.” From the
dawn of creation, it was made to be revealed in the temple of man.
Sanctified is the Lord, Who with the dazzling rays of this strange, heavenly power has made our world of darkness the envy of the worlds of light: “And the earth shall shine with the light of her Lord.” [Qur’án 39:69] Holy and exalted is He, Who has caused the nature of man to be the dayspring of this boundless grace: “The God of mercy hath taught the Qur’án, hath created man, hath taught him articulate speech.” [Qur’án 55:1–3]
O ye that have minds to know! Raise up your suppliant hands
to the heaven of the one God, and humble yourselves and be lowly before Him,
and thank Him for this supreme endowment, and implore Him to succor us until,
in this present age, godlike impulses may radiate from the conscience of
mankind, and this divinely kindled fire which has been entrusted to the human
heart may never die away.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Secret of Divine Civilization’)
