The honor and exaltation of every existing being depends
upon causes and circumstances.
The excellency, the
adornment and the perfection of the earth is to be verdant and
fertile through the bounty of the clouds of springtime. Plants
grow; flowers and fragrant herbs spring up; fruit-bearing
trees become full of blossoms and bring forth fresh and new
fruit. Gardens become beautiful, and meadows adorned;
mountains and plains are clad in a green robe, and gardens,
fields, villages and cities are decorated. This is the
prosperity of the mineral world.
The height of
exaltation and the perfection of the vegetable world is that a
tree should grow on the bank of a stream of fresh water, that
a gentle breeze should blow on it, that the warmth of the sun
should shine on it, that a gardener should attend to its
cultivation, and that day by day it should develop and yield
fruit. But its real prosperity is to progress into the animal
and human world, and replace that which has been exhausted in
the bodies of animals and men.
The exaltation of the
animal world is to possess perfect members, organs and powers,
and to have all its needs supplied. This is its chief glory,
its honor and exaltation. So the supreme happiness of an
animal is to have possession of a green and fertile meadow,
perfectly pure flowing water, and a lovely, verdant forest. If
these things are provided for it, no greater prosperity can be
imagined. For example, if a bird builds its nest in a green
and fruitful forest, in a beautiful high place, upon a strong
tree, and at the top of a lofty branch, and if it finds all it
needs of seeds and water, this is its perfect prosperity.
But real prosperity
for the animal consists in passing from the animal world to
the human world, like the microscopic beings that, through the
water and air, enter into man and are assimilated, and replace
that which has been consumed in his body. This is the great
honor and prosperity for the animal world; no greater honor
can be conceived for it.
Therefore, it is
evident and clear that this wealth, this comfort and this
material abundance form the complete prosperity of minerals,
vegetables and animals. No riches, wealth, comfort or ease of
the material world is equal to the wealth of a bird; all the
areas of these plains and mountains are its dwelling, and all
the seeds and harvests are its food and wealth, and all the
lands, villages, meadows, pastures, forests and wildernesses
are its possessions. Now, which is the richer, this bird, or
the most wealthy man? for no matter how many seeds it may take
or bestow, its wealth does not decrease.
Then it is clear that
the honor and exaltation of man must be something more than
material riches. Material comforts are only a branch, but the
root of the exaltation of man is the good attributes and
virtues which are the adornments of his reality. These are the
divine appearances, the heavenly bounties, the sublime
emotions, the love and knowledge of God; universal wisdom,
intellectual perception, scientific discoveries, justice,
equity, truthfulness, benevolence, natural courage and innate
fortitude; the respect for rights and the keeping of
agreements and covenants; rectitude in all circumstances;
serving the truth under all conditions; the sacrifice of one's
life for the good of all people; kindness and esteem for all
nations; obedience to the teachings of God; service in the
Divine Kingdom; the guidance of the people, and the education
of the nations and races. This is the prosperity of the human
world! This is the exaltation of man in the world! This is
eternal life and heavenly honor!
These virtues do not
appear from the reality of man except through the power of God
and the divine teachings, for they need supernatural power for
their manifestation. It may be that in the world of nature a
trace of these perfections may appear, but they are unstable
and ephemeral; they are like the rays of the sun upon the
wall.
As the compassionate
God has placed such a wonderful crown upon the head of man,
man should strive that its brilliant jewels may become visible
in the world.
-`Abdu'l-Bahá
