Saturday, January 12, 2008

"...sanctified from the impurities of the world of nature."


To help you prepare to read today's main excerpt, I offer two aids:


#2 "Materially, man is the prisoner of nature; the least wind disturbs him, the cold hurts him, the heat incommodes him, a mosquito irritates him; but when we consider the intelligence of man, an elephant is powerless before him, a lion is his prisoner, and a boy of twelve can lead twelve hundred animals. Man dries up the sea, inundates the desert, circumnavigates the globe, discovers what is under the earth, rides upon the air and creates new sciences. These are the signs of the crowning spiritual power of man, -- that power which can make nature his prisoner."
--- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

"…the heart which receives a portion of the bounty of the Spirit becomes sanctified, good and pure—that is to say, the reality of man becomes purified and sanctified from the impurities of the world of nature. These natural impurities are evil qualities: anger, lust, worldliness, pride, lying, hypocrisy, fraud, self-love, etc.

"Man cannot free himself from the rage of the carnal passions except by the help of the Holy Spirit."


‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Some Answered Questions, Chapter 19: "The Baptism of Christ", p. 92