The spirits of the sons of the Kingdom after the
disintegration of this body ascend to the world of Eternal Existence; but
should you ask of the place, know thou that that world of existence is the
world of unity, but the grades are different. For instance, the mineral
existence has a grade, but that mineral being has no knowledge of the vegetable
kingdom. It (the mineral existence) has no information of a higher realm nay,
rather, according to appearances, it may deny the higher grade. Likewise the
vegetable life has no knowledge of the animal kingdom. It is entirely heedless
and unconscious of that kingdom, because the grade of the animal is higher than
that of the vegetable. The vegetable, according to its limited environment, is
veiled from the knowledge of the animal kingdom, and it may deny it, although
the animal, the vegetable and mineral live in the world of existence. Likewise, the animal cannot comprehend the
intelligence of the faculties of man, which is the generalizer of the universal
and the discoverer of the mysteries of beings, so much so that while living in
the East he organizes and founds institutions in the West, and he reveals
hidden things. Though he abides in Europe he discovers America. Though he
dwells upon the earth, he unravels the realities of the solar system. The
animal is entirely unconscious, nay, rather, a denier of this intelligent
force, which penetrates into the unknown and comprehends the general as well as
the particular ideas of this illimitable universe.
Likewise the people of the world lack the knowledge of the world of the Kingdom, nay, rather, they deny it. Do we not hear from their lips the words, such as these: "Where is the Kingdom? Where is the Lord of the Kingdom?" But these souls are like unto the mineral and vegetable who know nothing of the animal and human kingdoms. They neither see nor search. However, the mineral, the vegetable and the animal kingdoms all live in this world of existence.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet, Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 5, June
5, 1911)
