‘Abdu’l-Bahá: New Yorker 1

‘Abdu’l-Bahá drew an analogy between human society and the structure of matter. “If the atoms which compose the kingdom of the minerals were without affinity for each other,” he said, “the universe could not have been created. When this attraction or atomic affinity is destroyed, the power of life ceases to manifest; death and nonexistence result. The purpose of man’s creation is, therefore, unity and harmony, not discord and separateness.” 2

First Days in America: New York City

That afternoon ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said to a thousand persons in the [Mr. and Mrs. Howard] MacNutt home,

Array yourselves in the perfection of divine virtues. I hope you may be quickened and vivified by the breaths of the Holy Spirit. Then shall ye indeed become the angels of heaven whom Christ promised would appear in this Day to gather the harvest of divine planting. This is my hope. This is my prayer for you.3

  1. Menon, Jonathan. “‘Abdu’l-Bahá: New Yorker.” 239 Days in America, April 12, 2012. https://239days.com/2012/04/12/friday-afternoon-in-the-city/ [return]
  2. ʻAbduʼl-Bahá. The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by ʻAbduʼl-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912. Edited by Howard MacNutt. 2nd ed. Wilmette, Ill: Baháʼí Publishing Trust, 1982, 4. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/promulgation-universal-peace/2#169029459. [return]
  3. Ward, Allan L. 239 Days: ʻAbdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America. Wilmette, Ill: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1979, 18. [return]