Degrees of spirit: one bounty, differing capacities

God's grace is like the rain that cometh down from heaven: the water is not bounded by the limitations of form, yet on whatever place it poureth down, it taketh on limitations---dimensions, appearance, shape---according to the characteristics of that place. In a square pool, the water, previously unconfined, becometh a square; in a six-sided pool it becometh a hexagon, in an eight-sided pool an octagon, and so forth. The rain itself hath no geometry, no limits, no form, but it taketh on one form or another, according to the restrictions of its vessel. In the same way, the Holy Essence of the Lord God is boundless, immeasurable, but His graces and splendors become finite in the creatures, because of their limitations, wherefore the prayers of given persons will receive favorable answers in certain cases.

And whensoever thou dost gaze upon creation all entire, and dost observe the very atoms thereof, thou wilt note that the rays of the Sun of Truth are shed upon all things and shining within them, and telling of that Day-Star's splendours, Its mysteries, and the spreading of Its lights. Look thou upon the trees, upon the blossoms and fruits, even upon the stones. Here too wilt thou behold the Sun's rays shed upon them, clearly visible within them, and manifested by them.

The first emanation is the outpouring grace of the Kingdom, which has emanated from God and has appeared in the realities of all things, even as the rays emanating from the sun are reflected in all things. And that grace---the rays---appears in infinite forms in the realities of all things, and is specified and individuated according to their capacity, receptivity, and essence.

The spirit is a divine bounty that has shone upon all created things, and all created things have received a portion and share of that bounty, like the sun which shines upon all earthly creatures, for all existing things on earth are nurtured by the sun's bounty and receive its rays and light. However, this bounty appears in each rank according to the capacity of that rank. The sun's ray has one effect and radiance in mineral bodies, but in transparent bodies it has another manifestation and appearance. Though there is but one sun, its manifestation varies in different bodies.

Similarly, the spirit's manifestation in the degrees of existence is according to the requirements of those degrees.

… But when spiritual people speak of the spirit, they do not mean this spirit. They mean that eternal spirit, that life of faith, that spirit of which Christ says man must be baptized with it, and until he is baptized with that spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

Question: What is the difference between mind, spirit, and soul?

Answer: It was already explained that, in general, spirit is divided into five categories: the vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, the human spirit, the spirit of faith, and the Holy Spirit.

Know that in general there are five kinds of spirit. First is the vegetable spirit, which is the power that results from the composition and combination of the elements according to the wisdom and decree of the Most High, and from their mutual arrangement, their influence upon and their interconnection with other created things. When these parts and elements are separated, the associated power of growth likewise ceases to exist. So, to give an analogy, electricity results from the composition of certain constituent parts, and as soon as these parts are separated the electrical force is immediately dissipated and lost. Such is the vegetable spirit.

After this is the animal spirit, which also results from the combination of elements that are brought together in a single composition. But this composition is more complete, and when by the decree of the almighty Lord it reaches a fuller degree of combination, the animal spirit, which consists in the power of the senses, comes to exist. This power perceives sensible realities--that which can be seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched. After the separation and dissolution of these composed elements, this spirit will also naturally cease to exist. It is like this lamp before you: When oil, wick and flame are brought together, light is produced; but when the oil is exhausted, the wick consumed, and the constituent parts separated, the light will also be extinguished and lost.

As to the human spirit, its likeness is that of a glass and the bounty of the sun. That is, the body of man, which is composed of the elements, is the most perfect form of composition and combination, the soundest arrangement, the noblest composition, and the most perfect of all existing things. It grows and develops through the animal spirit. This perfect body can be compared to a mirror and the human spirit to the sun: If the glass is shattered or the mirror destroyed, no harm befalls the outpouring grace of the sun, which continues unabated.

This spirit is the discovering power that encompasses all things. All the wondrous signs, all the crafts and discoveries, all the mighty undertakings and momentous historical events of which you are aware have been discovered by this spirit and brought forth from the invisible realm into the visible plane through its spiritual power. Thus it abides upon the earth and yet makes discoveries in the heavens, and deduces that which is unknown from known and visible realities. For example, man is in this hemisphere, but through the power of reason he discovers, as Columbus did, another one--the Americas--which until then was unknown. His body is heavy, but he flies through the air by means of vehicles of his own devising. His movement is slow, but he journeys rapidly through East and West by the aid of the devices which he has fashioned. In short, this power encompasses all things.

But this human spirit has two aspects: one divine and one satanic--that is, it is capable of both the greatest perfection and the greatest deficiency. Should it acquire virtues it is the noblest of all things and should it acquire vices it becomes the most vile.

As to the fourth degree of spirit, it is the heavenly spirit, which is the spirit of faith and the outpouring grace of the All-Merciful. This spirit proceeds from the breath of the Holy Spirit, and through a power born of God it becomes the cause of everlasting life. It is that power which makes the earthly soul heavenly and the imperfect man perfect. It cleanses the impure, unlooses the tongue of the silent, sanctifies the bondslaves of passion and desire, and confers knowledge upon the ignorant.

The fifth degree of spirit is the Holy Spirit, which is the mediator between God and His creation. It is like a mirror facing the sun: Just as a spotless mirror receives the rays of the sun and reflects its bounty to others, so too is the Holy Spirit the mediator of the light of holiness, which it conveys from the Sun of Truth to sanctified souls. This Spirit is adorned with all the divine perfections. Whensoever it appears the world is revived, a new cycle is ushered in, and the body of humanity is clothed in a fresh attire. It is like the spring: when it arrives it transports the world from one condition to another. For at the advent of springtide the black earth, the fields and the meadows become green and verdant, flowers and sweet-scented herbs of every kind spring forth, trees are endowed with a new life, wondrous fruits are produced, and a new cycle is inaugurated.

It is the same with the manifestation of the Holy Spirit: Whensoever it appears it invests the world of humanity with a new life and endows human realities with a new spirit. It clothes all existence with a glorious attire, disperses the darkness of ignorance, and causes the light of human perfections to shine resplendent. It is with such a power that Christ renewed this cycle--whereupon the divine springtide pitched its tent, with utmost vitality and grace, in the realm of humanity, and perfumed the senses of the enlightened souls with its life-giving breezes.

In the same way, the manifestation of Baha'u'llah was a new springtide which appeared with the sweet savours of holiness, with the hosts of everlasting life, and with a power born of the celestial kingdom. He established the throne of God's sovereignty in the midmost heart of the world, and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, revived souls and ushered in a new cycle.

The vegetable spirit is the virtue augmentative, or growing or vegetative faculty, which results from the admixture of the simple elements, with the co-operation of water, air and heat.

The animal spirit is the virtue perceptive resulting from the admixture and absorption of the vital elements generated in the heart, which apprehend sense-impressions.

The human spirit consists of the rational, or logical, reasoning faculty, which apprehends general ideas and things intelligible and perceptible.

Now these "spirits" are not reckoned as Spirit in the terminology of the Scriptures and the usage of the people of the Truth, inasmuch as the laws governing them are as the laws which govern all phenomenal being (i.e., all existences belonging to the phenomenal or material universe, called "the world of generation and corruption"), in respect to generation, corruption, production, change and reversion, as is clearly indicated in the Gospel where it says: "Let the dead bury their dead;" "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit"; inasmuch as he who would bury these dead was alive with the vegetative, animal and rational human soul, yet did Christ--to whom be glory!--declare such dead and devoid of life, in that this person was devoid of the Spirit of Faith, which is the Kingdom of God.

Know thou that spirits are divided into the animal spirit, the human spirit, the divine spirit, and the heavenly spirit.

… The divine spirit, which is of God's command, represents the holy power, divine confirmations, heavenly assistance, divine knowledge, and celestial sciences with which God aids whomsoever He willeth among His righteous servants. Through it they attain mystic revelations and undoubted visions, win the complete preceding mercy and abundant grace, enter the garden of oneness and the divine paradise, and rejoice and delight in what God hath given them of His bounty, thanking Him for His favors and blessings.

As for the heavenly spirit, it is a holy essence, a perfect word, a complete sign, the mystery of existence, and the reality hidden from the eyes of all beings. It is the Supreme Pen, the Most Merciful Soul, and the manifestation of Truth from the dawning-place of creation and its sun at the point of invention. This is specifically for the Prophets in the worlds of creation.

Besides these spirits which I have explained and mentioned to thee, God hath created spirits beyond count or reckoning, including the vegetable spirit, the celestial spirit, the spirit of might, and the intellectual spirit.

Know that spirits are divided into animal spirit, human spirit, divine spirit, and heavenly spirit.

… Beyond these spirits that I have explained and mentioned to you, God has created countless other spirits, including the vegetable spirit, the angelic spirit, the celestial spirit, and the intellectual spirit.

As to the question concerning the soul, know thou, verily, that "soul" is a term applied to numerous realities, according to the exigencies of the following relations with respect to development in the world of existence:

(1) In the mineral kingdom, soul is called "latent force," silently working for the disintegration of the substance of the mineral.

(2) In the vegetable kingdom it is called "virtue augmentative" or the power of growth, which attracts and absorbs the delicate materials of inorganic substance found in the mineral kingdom of matter, and transforms them into the condition of growth.

… (3) In the animal kingdom it is called "sense perception" or instinct. This term soul, as applied to the animal kingdom, is also a natural quality resulting from the mixture of the elements, and it appears from their mingling and combination, for it is a quality which results from the composition of bodies (organisms), and is dispersed at their decomposition.

… (4) In the human world, soul signifies the "rational being" or mind.

… (5) If the angelic aspect becomes more powerful, and the divine power and brightness surround man, then the second birth takes place, and eternal life is found at this point. Man becomes then the noblest among creatures.

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

The word "spirit" has several different significations, or rather there are several degrees of spirit. Spirit in the vegetable world is the life of plants- the power by virtue of which they grow. Spirit in animals confers the capacity of sensation upon physical bodies compounded of associated elements. By virtue of it animals see, hear, feel, and have other sensations.

Spirit in man is the perceiving soul, able to understand the realities of things and predominating over all things else. The spirit of faith endows man with the capacity to love God and to know God.

… The spirit of faith is like the ether regarded as the vehicle of light. Etheric matter is found everywhere; but only where it is in undulation does light appear.

The Bounty of God is bestowed upon the mineral, the vegetable, animal, and man, but their life, or essence, is not the Spirit of God.

You ask about the soul and its multiple stations. People have concluded that it is a single reality which multiplies according to ranks and stations, for it progresses from the lower realm to the higher realm - like the progression of the mineral from the realm of solidity to the realm of growth, and the progression of the plant from the realm of growth to the realm of sensation. When it reaches the human realm it becomes determined and individualized with complete determinations. And when it is baptized by the Holy Spirit, it attains eternal life.

This matter is correct, but what is meant by spirit is existence and life, for existence has a single concept that is not multiple. Existence has ranks, and in each rank it has determination, individuation and special capacity. For example, the mineral, plant, animal and human realms are all in the realm of existence, and none of these realities is deprived of that concept.

The spirit however possesseth various grades and stations.

As to the existence of spirit in the mineral: it is indubitable that minerals are endowed with a spirit and life according to the requirements of that stage.

… In like manner the mind proveth the existence of an unseen Reality that embraceth all beings, and that existeth and revealeth itself in all stages, the essence whereof is beyond the grasp of the mind.

When we view the world of creation, we find that all living things may be classified under two aspects of existence. First, they possess bodies composed of material substance common to all -- whether vegetable, animal or human. This is their point of agreement or, as it is philosophically termed, their point of contact. Second, they vary and differ from each other in degree and function -- that is to say, in their respective kingdoms. This is their point of distinction and differentiation.

When we look upon the world of existence, we realize that all material things have a common bond; and yet, on the other hand, there are certain points of distinction between them. For instance, all earthly objects have common bodily ties. The minerals, vegetables and animals have elemental bodies in common with each other. Likewise, they have place in the order of creation.

When we examine all things with the eye of discernment, we observe that they are generally confined to three categories: mineral, vegetable, and animal. Thus there are three classes of beings and each class has its associated species. Man is the most distinguished species in that he combines the perfections of all three classes--that is, he possesses a material body, the power of growth, and the power of sensation. Beyond the mineral, vegetable and animal perfections, however, he also possesses a special perfection of which other created things are bereft, namely, the perfections of the mind.

If we look with a perceiving eye upon the world of creation, we find that all existing things may be classified as follows: first, mineral -- that is to say, matter or substance appearing in various forms of composition; second, vegetable -- possessing the virtues of the mineral plus the power of augmentation or growth, indicating a degree higher and more specialized than the mineral; third, animal -- possessing the attributes of the mineral and vegetable plus the power of sense perception; fourth, human -- the highest specialized organism of visible creation, embodying the qualities of the mineral, vegetable and animal plus an ideal endowment absolutely absent in the lower kingdoms -- the power of intellectual investigation into the mysteries of outer phenomena.

The greatest power in the realm and range of human existence is spirit -- the divine breath which animates and pervades all things. It is manifested throughout creation in different degrees or kingdoms. In the vegetable kingdom it is the augmentative spirit or power of growth, the animus of life and development in plants, trees and organisms of the floral world. In this degree of its manifestation spirit is unconscious of the powers which qualify the kingdom of the animal. The distinctive virtue or plus of the animal is sense perception; it sees, hears, smells, tastes and feels but is incapable, in turn, of conscious ideation or reflection which characterizes and differentiates the human kingdom. The animal neither exercises nor apprehends this distinctive human power and gift. From the visible it cannot draw conclusions regarding the invisible, whereas the human mind from visible and known premises attains knowledge of the unknown and invisible. For instance, Christopher Columbus from information based upon known and provable facts drew conclusions which led him unerringly across the vast ocean to the unknown continent of America. Such power of accomplishment is beyond the range of animal intelligence. Therefore, this power is a distinctive attribute of the human spirit and kingdom. The animal spirit cannot penetrate and discover the mysteries of things. It is a captive of the senses. No amount of teaching, for instance, would enable it to grasp the fact that the sun is stationary, and the earth moves around it. Likewise, the human spirit has its limitations. It cannot comprehend the phenomena of the Kingdom transcending the human station, for it is a captive of powers and life forces which have their operation upon its own plane of existence, and it cannot go beyond that boundary.

There is, however, another Spirit, which may be termed the Divine, to which Jesus Christ refers when He declares that man must be born of its quickening and baptized with its living fire. Souls deprived of that Spirit are accounted as dead, though they are possessed of the human spirit. Jesus Christ has pronounced them dead inasmuch as they have no portion of the Divine Spirit. He says, "Let the dead bury their dead." In another instance He declares, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." By this He means that souls, though alive in the human kingdom, are nevertheless dead if devoid of this particular spirit of divine quickening. They have not partaken of the divine life of the higher Kingdom, for the soul which partakes of the power of the Divine Spirit is, verily, living.

This quickening spirit emanates spontaneously from the Sun of Truth, from the reality of Divinity, and is not a revelation or a manifestation. It is like the rays of the sun. The rays are emanations from the sun. This does not mean that the sun has become divisible, that a part of the sun has come out into space. This plant beside me has risen from the seed; therefore, it is a manifestation and unfoldment of the seed. The seed, as you can see, has unfolded in manifestation, and the result is this plant. Every leaf of the plant is a part of the seed. But the reality of Divinity is indivisible, and each individual of humankind cannot be a part of it as is often claimed. Nay, rather, the individual realities of mankind, when spiritually born, are emanations from the reality of Divinity, just as the flame, heat and light of the sun are the effulgence of the sun and not a part of the sun itself. Therefore, a spirit has emanated from the reality of Divinity, and its effulgences have become visible in human entities or realities. This ray and this heat are permanent. There is no cessation in the effulgence. As long as the sun exists, the heat and light will exist, and inasmuch as eternality is a property of Divinity, this emanation is everlasting. There is no cessation in its outpouring. The more the world of humanity develops, the more the effulgences or emanations of Divinity will become revealed, just as the stone, when it becomes polished and pure as a mirror, will reflect in fuller degree the glory and splendor of the sun.

The mission of the Prophets, the revelation of the Holy Books, the manifestation of the heavenly Teachers and the purpose of divine philosophy all center in the training of the human realities so that they may become clear and pure as mirrors and reflect the light and love of the Sun of Reality. Therefore, I hope that -- whether you be in the East or the West -- you will strive with heart and soul in order that day by day the world of humanity may become glorified, more spiritual, more sanctified; and that the splendor of the Sun of Reality may be revealed fully in human hearts as in a mirror. This is worthy of the world of mankind. This is the true evolution and progress of humanity. This is the supreme bestowal. Otherwise, by simple development along material lines man is not perfected. At most, the physical aspect of man, his natural or material conditions, may become stabilized and improved, but he will remain deprived of the spiritual or divine bestowal. He is then like a body without a spirit, a lamp without the light, an eye without the power of vision, an ear that hears no sound, a mind incapable of perceiving, an intellect minus the power of reason.

Man has two powers; and his development, two aspects. One power is connected with the material world, and by it he is capable of material advancement. The other power is spiritual, and through its development his inner, potential nature is awakened. These powers are like two wings. Both must be developed, for flight is impossible with one wing. Praise be to God! Material advancement has been evident in the world, but there is need of spiritual advancement in like proportion. We must strive unceasingly and without rest to accomplish the development of the spiritual nature in man, and endeavor with tireless energy to advance humanity toward the nobility of its true and intended station. For the body of man is accidental; it is of no importance. The time of its disintegration will inevitably come. But the spirit of man is essential and, therefore, eternal. It is a divine bounty. It is the effulgence of the Sun of Reality and, therefore, of greater importance than the physical body.

I pray for you. You have come to visit me, and I am most grateful. I shall ask confirmation and assistance for you from God, the Generous, the Bestower, that you may be aided in serving the world of humanity.

There are three general classes of creations-mineral, vegetable, and animal. Nothing is outside of these three classes. The mineral is a solid body. Its only power is that it has form; its only virtues are in having this body. The vegetable is distinguished from the mineral because in addition to the virtues contained in the mineral, it has also the power of growth. Then comes the animal kingdom, which possesses the virtues of the other two kingdoms, and in addition to them has the faculty of sensation.

It is evident that man is the highest of God's creatures on the face of the earth. For example, there are certain attributes which are apparent in the mineral kingdom. The vegetable kingdom has the attributes existing in the mineral kingdom with another attribute, which is the power of growth. The animal has the attributes of the mineral and the vegetable kingdoms but with another attribute, which is the power of instinct.

I will explain the station of mankind. When we say man, we mean one endowed with all the attributes of the contingent beings. These properties are common to all men, i.e. man has the mineral property, yet he has an animal quality. Man, in this station, is endowed with the power of speech, but man can comprehend most important things, while animals cannot. It is impossible for an animal to know whether the earth is a sphere or a plane, while man can know. It is impossible for an animal to know that the sun is the center around which the earth rotates, because an animal can only know things which can be seen or felt, but man can also understand what he senses by the intellect. It is understood that we mean by senses, those things known by sight, feeling and taste.

Man has three powers - the power of growth, feeling and intellect. These three powers are called by different names, according to different interpretations, signifying powers. One signifies spirit, soul - the growing soul - the sensitive soul - and the intellectual soul. The different branches of men are associated with each other by these souls in this world. One is not called alive, unless he possesses the endowment of the Divine Spirit, though he may possess the other qualities. That is what Christ meant when He said: "He who is born of the flesh is flesh, and he who is born of the spirit is spirit;" also: "Let the dead bury the dead."

The Holy Spirit is given only to the Prophets; the people can only possess the rays of the Holy Spirit. Those who believe in God have four qualities - growth, sense, intellect, and spiritual or divine life. Man cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless he possesses the Divine Spirit. If man desires to ascend, he can attain the highest possible station, but if not, he is in the lowest. If he turns from the low station, he will attain the image of God, but if not, man continues to stay in the lowest degree.

The greatest of human virtues is knowledge. Knowledge is the cause of divine bounty's manifestation. Knowledge is the discoverer of mysteries. Knowledge is like a mirror in which the images of all things are reflected. Knowledge gives to each person the learning of all humanity, and makes each individual human being equivalent to all humanity, because knowledge teaches one whatever all humanity has discovered - that is, whatever is known by all humanity. It is knowledge that makes one aware of all events of past times. It is knowledge that makes one the discoverer of future mysteries.

Regard this globe. Its divisions are mineral, vegetable and animal. Man is the result of all these; therefore man is the result of all existence here.

In the world of existence there are three stages, the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal. In the animal kingdom the most distinguished product is man. These kingdom form an endless chain of existence, and one is merged imperceptibly into the other.

Answering them, the men of divine knowledge have said that all existing phenomena may be resolved into grades or kingdoms, classified progressively as mineral, vegetable, animal and human, each of which possesses its degree of function and intelligence.

In the realm of existence - that is, existence which is a mental concept and is contingent - there are degrees. The first degree is mineral, then comes the vegetable degree.

Each kingdom of creation is endowed with its necessary complement of attributes and powers. The mineral possesses inherent virtues of its own kingdom in the scale of existence. The vegetable possesses the qualities of the mineral plus an augmentative virtue, or power of growth. The animal is endowed with the virtues of both the mineral and vegetable plane plus the power of intellect.

It is therefore clear that in man's innate nature there is a difference in degree, aptitude, and capacity, but it is not a matter of good or evil---it is merely a difference of degree. One occupies the highest degree, another the middle degree, and yet another the lowest degree. Thus man, the animal, the plant, and the mineral all exist, but the existence of these four kinds of beings is different. Indeed, what a difference there is between the existence of man and that of the animal! Yet all these do exist, and it is evident that in existence there are differences of degree.

Question: Christ says in the Gospel: "many are called, but few are chosen", and in the Qur'an it is written: "He singleth out for His mercy whomsoever He pleaseth." What is the wisdom of this?

Answer: Know that the order and perfection of the universe require that existence should appear in countless forms. Created things cannot therefore be realized in a single degree, station, manner, kind, or species: Differences of degree, distinctions in form, and a multiplicity of kinds and species are inevitable.

… Now, so long as the degrees of created things are different, some will naturally rank above the others. Thus, since the election of certain creatures, such as man, for the highest degree; the maintenance of others, such as plants, in the middle degree; and the relegation of yet others, such as minerals, to the lowest degree are each and all due to the divine will and purpose, it follows that the singling out of man for the highest degree is through the grace of God, and that the differences among men with regard to spiritual attainments and heavenly perfections are likewise due to the choice of the All-Merciful.

… As for material beings, they are not to be blamed, judged, or held accountable for their own degrees and stations. Thus the mineral, the plant, and the animal are each acceptable in their own degree, but if they were to remain deficient in that degree they would be blameworthy, the degree itself being wholly perfect.

God created the mineral, the vegetable, the animal, and man. Had He created only man there would be no world.

Here we are from the East and you are from the West. This very fellowship and assembly is proof that harmony between East and West is possible, for it is the first radiance of love. We thank God that the means of love and fellowship have been provided for us. When we look upon creation, we see that every being possesses perfections. The mineral kingdom has its perfections, the vegetable kingdom has its perfections, but the vegetable world possesses the perfections of the mineral kingdom and additionally has vegetable perfections. Likewise, the animal possesses vegetable perfections and beyond that has animal perfections, until we come to man who is the noblest of all creatures and who combines all shared perfections plus the special human perfection.

We declare that love is the cause of the existence of all phenomena and that the absence of love is the cause of disintegration or nonexistence. Love is the conscious bestowal of God, the bond of affiliation in all phenomena. … The power of cohesion expressed in the mineral kingdom is in reality love or affinity manifested in a low degree according to the exigencies of the mineral world. We take a step higher into the vegetable kingdom where we find an increased power of attraction has become manifest among the composing elements which form phenomena. Through this degree of attraction a cellular admixture is produced among these elements which make up the body of a plant. Therefore, in the degree of the vegetable kingdom there is love. We enter the animal kingdom and find the attractive power binding together single elements as in the mineral, plus the cellular admixture as in the vegetable, plus the phenomena of feelings or susceptibilities. We observe that the animals are susceptible to certain affiliation and fellowship and that they exercise natural selection. This elemental attraction, this admixture and selective affinity is love manifest in the degree of the animal kingdom.

This stone is the lowest degree of phenomena, but nevertheless within it a power of attraction is manifest without which the stone could not exist. This power of attraction in the mineral world is love, the only expression of love the stone can manifest.

O thou who art yearning to discover! The discoverers of the mysteries of existence and those who comprehend the qualities and hidden secrets hold that a wondrous force of attraction and a strange magnetic power of connection permeates and encompasses all these infinite beings and successive contingent things, both physical and spiritual, and is equally present in them all. And it is through this universal force that the individual essences of the different simple elements come together, and due to the diversity and differences of parts, the multiplication and contrast of the infinite diverse realities of existing things come into being. … And in human reality it has become the power of yearning, bringing about enthusiasm and passion and attraction.

Again looking into the mineral kingdom we observe that this law of cohesion is working in the same manner in that kingdom, for we see that many atoms go into the composition of a piece of stone which through purification may reach to the state of a mirror.

This is the way and manner how the creative and eternally creating (engendering) word of God, that is, the logos, is manifested and produces its effect in all atoms. In the mineral kingdom, the logos shows itself as attraction and repulsion, thus as earth magnetism.

When we look with the eye of truth upon all created things, we observe that every created thing possesseth life. In ancient philosophy it was held that mineral matter was lifeless, but through profound investigation it hath now been established that minerals too possess life, and scientific proofs in modern philosophy have been advanced to demonstrate this. We shall speak briefly and say that all created things possess life, but the life of each creation is according to its capacity. For example, in the mineral kingdom there is life, but it is exceedingly weak, like the embryo in the mother's womb which, though possessing a spirit, is very feeble.

Yes, the latest scientific discoveries prove to us that even mineral has some form of life, and that it also needs water for its existence.

I thought of how the spirit radiates in all the realms of nature according to the receptive degree. In the mineral world the spirit shows itself, but limited to that mineral condition. It is proved through science that the mineral has the power of attraction, the vegetable has the power of growth; life is according to capacity.

Abdul Baha said: These lower kingdoms are not without certain sensibilities, but compared to man they are without sense. There is nothing without life: The spirit is according to its degree in creation.

Although sensitivity in plants is slight as compared with that manifested in animals, within their own kingdom they have sensitivity and vegetable spirit.

Then he spoke about the sensitiveness of the plants and how they have a degree of "feeling" according to their environments. There are various degrees of sensitiveness in all the Kingdoms of creation.

The Master replied: Once it was said that the plant had a spirit and the spirit of the plant is the name which was given to it. Once it was said that the animal had a spirit, and the spirit of the animal is the sensation which it feels; that is, animals are a composition of the elements. They have feeling and sensation, but no mind (comprehension).

In the mineral realm there was a spirit of existence; in the world of plant life and organisms it reappeared as the vegetative spirit; thence it attained the animal spirit and finally aspired to the human spirit.

Life progresses from the mineral kingdom to the vegetable kingdom, from the vegetable to the animal, and from thence to the human kingdom.

For example, the invisible molecule first appears in the mineral Kingdom, migrates in all the forms of the Mineral life, and in every form acquires a certain virtue, then having completed its apprenticeship and gained all the experiences pertaining to that world, steps into the vegetable world fully prepared for its new experiences. Slowly and by degrees it travels through the vegetable, and animal, and human Kingdoms, gathering up at every step new experiences, new forms, new images and new virtues.

A mineral compared to us may be said to be non-existent, but in its own sphere it lives. When we die our bodies return to the mineral and vegetable world. This example shows the inter-relationship of the different kingdoms which is erroneously called annihilation.

Long silence, the Master looks to be sunk deep in thought, to be looking backward and forward. After a long time - the Master appears to have forgotten those present - Miss Stevens again turns to the Master: "May we ask: What does the Prophet Baha'u'llah teach concerning the end of all times?"

The Master: "The end of all things? you ask, my daughter! The world, i.e. the universe, is eternal. The earth is but one planet where natural life is millions and millions of years old. Life on earth did not exist from the beginning and all at once, but it developed in stages and by degrees. The atoms of the elements are predisposed (programmed) to synthesis and composition according to the laws of nature; the Cosmic Spirit, the divine Primal Will operates and creates in this manner. The Primal Will operates in the element, in the primal atom, as attraction and repulsion; on the next higher level as organic life; then as animal-vegetative; and finally as spiritual life, which is destined to rise to the super-spiritual. What develops is not the physical substratum (base), which actually exists from the beginning in its different kinds, each of which then develops only within its own kind to higher perfection, but rather does the Cosmic Spirit, the divine Primal Will, unfold within the creature just as the bud of a flower unfolds ever more completely, purely and beautifully, and will finally, in the fully-redeemed, totally purified man, return to the Godhead, to be immersed and fused in the Godhead.

But the man who has subjugated himself totally to the machine or has even been sacrificed to it, cannot develop in his lifetime beyond the low degrees of human consciousness; his enslaved soul, fixed in the fetters of time and space, can be but imperfectly illumined by the Cosmic Spirit; after his physical death he will continue to exist in the world beyond and will have the chance of purification, not on another earth or on another planet, but in the uncountable spiritual worlds of God. - Has not our Lord Jesus Christ - praised be His Utterance - said: 'In my Father's house there are many mansions, I am going to make ready a place for you!' - Not by their own efforts will the departed succeed in purifying themselves, but the bounties of God will bring them to purification.

But should nine tenths of mankind fall victim to the demon of exaggerated technology, the end of the history of our earth will come about. The last of the Days of Judgment will dawn, when the Prophetic Cycle will have come to an end and the world returns to God, when all becomes lost in Him through the crashing and bursting of the elements, which means annihilation for those turned away from God, but spiritualization for those resting in God, and for those souls still in need of purification and development it is a triumphant sinking into God's infinite grace and mercy. And what is the Teaching of the Blessed Perfection Baha'u'llah, when we recognize the signs of the time and our souls would like to turn away trembling from the increasing devilry of the age of the machine?

Believe and taste, O children of man, the reality of God; in this reality reposes yesterday, today and tomorrow; to seek in Him is temporal and eternal bliss." -

Nobody dares ask any further questions for today, the Master retires for devotion; those present are dismissed.

Furthermore, spirits progress through all the worlds - just as the mineral spirit ascends to the plant world, the plant spirit to the animal world, and the animal spirit ascends and transfers to the human world. In the same way, the human spirit ascends to divine worlds and higher stations.

All beings are divided into the mineral, vegetable, animal and human kingdoms. The mineral has the chance to advance in its own kingdom--as coal has the chance to advance into diamonds, it can advance into the highest station in its own kingdom, but it cannot attain a step in the vegetable kingdom, for it has not the power of growth. As to the vegetable kingdom, a plant has the opportunity to reach the highest stage in its own kingdom, but it is not possible to leave its kingdom and enter into that of the animal. And the animal cannot enter the human kingdom.

When one considers the mineral, vegetable, animal and human kingdoms, it is observed that each progresses within its own degree.

The vegetable spirit, the animal spirit, and the human spirit---the rational soul, that is---do not return after death to this world of the "first creation".

Beginning with the mineral, the vegetable and the animal, the human follows, being at the end of the descending arc, and therefore the very lowest point of life.

The mineral is the lowest form of life, it could not go lower.

Praise be to God Who hath ever caused His Names and Attributes to penetrate the degrees of existence; Who hath made the effects of those Names and Attributes to shine resplendent and their signs to be firmly established in both the hidden and manifest worlds. By them He hath made the Sanctified Realities, they who are the Recipients of the grace of God and the Bearers of glad-tidings, to be the sole Revealers of His Being, and hath caused them to move in the firmament of perfection in descending and ascending arcs. He hath ordained them to be the origin and cause of existence in the world of creation and the source of gradated realities in the degrees of being.

"He said, may God preserve him: What is the meaning of the tradition transmitted from 'Alí (peace be upon him): "Whoso hath known his own self hath verily known his Lord'?"

Know, O brother - may God have mercy upon thee - that I counsel thee, before commencing the explanation, with counsels which, if thou accept from me, will make attainment easy for thee; otherwise, the matter will be difficult for thee, and there is no path to knowledge except through knowing these counsels:

First, thou must purify thy heart from every principle thou hast received from thy scholars, for they have drawn from turbid springs flowing one into another, some rejecting others. Hast thou not seen those who have changed God's bounty - that is, knowledge of Him - into disbelief and caused their people to dwell in the abode of perdition - Hell, wherein they burn; how evil a resting place! Soon they shall meet with destruction though they reckon they are doing good. Nay! From their hearts flows the abyss upon their tongues - the fire of polytheism and the poison of unbelief - yet they perceive not. If thou art fair to thy Lord, fearful of His station, and restrainest thyself from vain speech, thou wilt know that I am among the truthful ones. By God, I am indeed solicitous for thee and loving.

Second, compare not the words of thine Imams with the speech of creation, for speech is a manifestation among the manifestations of the speaker's action, mirrors reflecting what is in his heart. Just as their souls are conclusive proofs and decisive signs from God, glory be to Him, unto all worlds, so too are their words. Just as if all creation were to gather to produce the like of a single verse of the Qur'an they would be unable, so too are their words God's proof upon creation, and they are the perfect gatherer, for they issue from the source of purity. From a single one of their words emerges all religion, nay all existence is but the trace of a letter of His Word.

Behold in truth that God, exalted be He, is eternally One, none beside Him, never changing from His single state, now as He was, His Self His Self, and creation dwells in the plane of His dominion. When He willed - and God's Will is His bringing into being, not from anything - He did not beget anything but rather created things through Will, and created Will through itself. Will is the first point mentioned in contingent existence, and it is the First Remembrance whereby God remembered Himself: "Verily I am God, there is no god but I. I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known, so I created creation that I might be known."

And God, glory be to Him, created from the evidence of this Word, which is the final degree of the Point, the water whereby all things live - though with its Creator it is but a letter, and its Creator is from God's Manifest Self that gleamed forth. Were it eternal, change would be necessitated, but He, exalted be He, never changes from His single state. Will exists in the station of thingness, which is the realm of absolute contingency, while pre-existence is His Self alone, His Self alone - no remembrance here, no trace here. The remembrance and trace we have described is His Will, which is an attribute of inference, not an attribute uncovering Him. His evidence is His signs, which are Will, and His existence is His proof, which is the sign of Oneness.

After Muhammad there is no limit to His Will, no end and no finality. All things point to Him, and He alone points to God, for in this station there is no direction for Him, and because they are the Self of God - whosoever knows them knows God - meaning the knowledge possible in the contingent realm. To them belongs creation and command, and unto them do all affairs return, for command and creation are both contingent and return not to the Ancient One, but rather return from attribute to attribute, while sovereignty endures in sovereignty. The created ends with its like - the path to eternity is barred and the quest rejected. His proof is in His signs and His existence in His confirmations.

Indeed all actions from them are from God, glorified be He, as clearly stated by the Proof in his visitation to Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri: "Your striving in God possesses God's Will." Similar statements abound in verses and traditions. Everything from them is from God, for they speak not from desire - it is naught but revelation revealed. Their words are the words of God. Whoever asks 'why' or 'how' has disbelieved, for His word encompasses all things, flowing through all worlds according to the languages of their people. In His word there is no simile, for the likened would be identical to that which it is likened to, no metaphor and no allegory, for metaphor and allegory are devices of the powerless, while He is the All-Powerful, the Mighty.

God taught Adam the names of all beneath his station, and this Adam, our father Adam, is a thousand thousand Adams removed from the First Adam, yet he cannot know the names of the Imams, for even Jesus, noblest of prophets, admitted this, as God relates his words: "I know not what is in Thy Self." What is related in traditions that God taught Adam the names of the Five for his repentance - Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn - such that none calls upon God through them but God must answer, that knowledge was at Adam's station, and nothing surpasses its source. Let this suffice you in not comparing speech.

And third, interpret not the words of the Infallible Ones as deficient, but rather as sublime and noble - "Houses which God has permitted to be raised, wherein His name is remembered." To remember from inability is lies and fabrication against God. The Imam said: "Has God permitted you, or do you fabricate against God? The fabricators - their abode is the Fire and they have no helper." Accept my counsels, and God is thy Guardian. As for the meaning of Ali's words, know and plant firm thy feet upon the Path.

God the Exalted said: "We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth."

And God the Exalted said in the Gospel: "Know thyself and thou shalt know thy Lord - thy outward is for annihilation and thy inward am I."

And the Messenger of God said: "He among you who best knows himself best knows his Lord."

And Ali, when asked by a bedouin about the higher realm, said: "Forms devoid of matter, free from potentiality and capacity, upon which He shone forth and they became illumined, and which He beheld and they became radiant. He cast into their essence His image, and thus His acts were manifested through them."

Husayn, peace be upon him, said in his prayer on the Day of Arafah: "Has any other than Thee a manifestation that Thou lackest, so that it would be that manifestation that revealeth Thee? When wert Thou ever hidden, that Thou shouldst need proof to lead to Thee? And when wert Thou ever distant, that created things should lead us to Thee? Blind be the eye that seeth Thee not!"

Ali ibn Husayn said in his dawn prayer, known as the Prayer of Abu Hamzah: "Through Thee I knew Thee, and Thou didst direct me unto Thee and called me to Thee. Had it not been for Thee, I would not have known what Thou art."

as-Sadiq said: "Servitude is a substance whose essence is Lordship. What is lost in servitude is found in Lordship, and what is hidden in Lordship is attained in servitude."

The Imam said in his prayer for the month of Sha'ban: "O my God! Grant me complete devotion to Thee, and illuminate the vision of our hearts with the light of their looking toward Thee, until the sight of the hearts penetrates the veils of light and reaches the Source of Grandeur."

The Proof said in the prayer for the month of Rajab, indicating this station: "There is no difference between Thee and them, save that they are Thy servants and Thy creation. Their analysis and synthesis are in Thy hands. Their beginning is from Thee and their return is to Thee. They are supports and witnesses, manifestations and opposites, guardians and pioneers. Through them Thou hast filled Thy heaven and earth until it became manifest that there is no God but Thee."

Look, then, with the eye of thy heart upon what hath been imparted to thee, and know with certainty that God, exalted be He, is eternally One, having neither name nor form. His Essence is His Essence, and no wings of hearts can soar to His presence, nor can any mind conceive of His holy might. He is as He Himself hath said: "No vision can grasp Him." He is One, alone, with none beside Him. There is no God but He.

When He desired to create all contingent beings, He created them in the image of His action, creating them from nothing by His power. His Will was their origination, nothing else. When He created contingent beings by His Command - and the contingent is unable to reach or ascend unto Him, and the Truth, glorified be He, is too glorious and great to be known by anyone, for knowledge is contingent upon conjunction, which is an attribute of contingency, while He, the Truth, is far more exalted and mighty than this - divine wisdom necessitated that He describe Himself to contingent beings, though His description is His origination from nothing.

This description, which nothing in creation resembleth, God made the way to know Him and the sign of His oneness, that the contingent might reach the ultimate outpouring possible in the contingent realm. God made this description the reality of the servant, and it is the Lordship of the Lord, exalted and glorified be He. It is His self [nafs] and heart [fu'ad]. God described Himself to everything through everything, and cast into the essence of everything His own likeness, until He became known; and in all things there is a sign indicating that He is One. That description is the sign of the Lord and the reality of the servant. And this description has as many stations as there are breaths of the creatures. All souls are as mirrors, and He is manifest to the mirrors through the mirrors. He is the One, the sign of God and His description. And for all things this soul exists - whoso knoweth it hath known his Lord.

The meaning is that there is no way unto God except through recognition of this soul, which is the same as the recognition of the Lord, for a thing cannot be comprehended beyond its source. Whoso knoweth his own self through the attributes of his Creator knoweth Him, and that description is the description of the Lord - there is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Most Exalted, the Most Great.

Therefore did the Imam say: "Know God through God, the Messenger through his Message, and those endued with authority through their bidding to what is right and their forbidding what is wrong." This description from the Truth, from God to the servant, hath four stations through four manifestations:

First, the description of the indication of God, the One, the Single, the Eternal, Who begetteth not nor is begotten, and there is none like unto Him. This is the station of pure unity and absolute oneness - its beginning is identical with its end, and its manifestation identical with its concealment. There is no way unto Him save through what He hath described of Himself. He is the sign of God, the Ancient, Who is the Knower but hath no known thing, the Hearer but hath no heard thing, the Seer but hath no seen thing. The way unto Him is barred and the quest rejected. Second is the manifestation of His attributes, which is Prophethood. Third is the manifestation of His names, which is Divine Authority. Fourth is the manifestation of His deeds, which is the followers.

The expression of manifestation through four descriptions is outward, and God the Most High hath no description save through His deeds. Though the way of knowing Him is through the breaths of creation, it is confined to eight worlds in succession, and these are their universals: First, the world of the Point, the Alif, the Letters and the Word - this is the world of Muhammad and his household. Second, the world of the Prophets and Trustees. Third, the world of man. Fourth, the world of the jinn. Fifth, the world of angels and devils. Sixth, the world of animals. Seventh, the world of plants. Eighth, the world of minerals.

The description of each subsequent world describes the nature of the world before it unto the end of its station. Therefore it is related in the tradition that the ant claims for God two lordships, and that description which is in everything is God's lordship over it thereby. "Is it not enough that thy Lord is witness over all things?" - meaning, present in thy absence and presence. This is the pillar of light which the Imam beholds and turns toward, and through which he becomes aware of the deeds of creation. Were he to desire, he could manifest it in everything from everything, just as He manifested from Moses' staff what He manifested, and the Imam pointed to the image of the lion and it became a living creature. Through this door are opened the difficulties of most traditions, such as the saying of the Imam in the visitation prayer for the supporters of Husayn (peace be upon him): "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you." For the vision of the Imam is a sign of God within him - he sees naught but the light of God and hears no voice but His voice. There is no difference between this description of the servant and the declaration "There is no god but God" - both are created signs that point to God, for temporal existence and its attributes, insofar as they are effects of God's action, are signs of God Almighty in consciousness, without regard to their individual identity and temporal nature, meaning they are lifted up by God's leave.

At this stage, the tree of essence has no mention - it is an evil tree, uprooted from above the earth with no stability. Indeed, this description is God's judgment upon essence as it truly is, and He is not unjust to His servants. Know the essence as He made it, as Ali (peace be upon him) indicated in the Sermon of the Camel's Foam, that the tree of unbelief - meaning essence - should know that my position in relation to it is like that of the axis to the millstone. Through knowledge of itself it denied and disbelieved, yet the description is not unjust to the servants.

This tree has an effect from its shadow through the existence of light - look at the sun: when it rises its light shines upon everything, and when it falls upon the tree it creates a shadow. When the shadow rises in the shade, the shadow has neither mention nor portion before the sun. Thus does denial find its limit before recognition.

I seek God's forgiveness for excessive definition. When the Sufis reached this station they claimed they had reached God, and they wrote in their books mighty words at which the heavens almost burst and the earth split asunder. In our school this was considered unbelief - I seek refuge in God from Satan's stain. Glory be to God, far exalted is He above what the wrongdoers say!

Here the pen has stopped, yet we do not fall short in explanation. He who knows has known, and he who is ignorant remains ignorant. Give not to the foolish your wealth. Indeed, we belong to God and to Him we shall return. And praise be to God, Lord of all worlds.

But the second meaning is that the days represent ranks: the first rank is the mineral kingdom, the second rank is the vegetable kingdom, the third rank is the animal kingdom, the fourth rank is the human rational soul, the fifth rank is the realm of intellect, the sixth rank is the spiritual realm which is the Kingdom, and the seventh rank is that of Oneness, Lordship and Divinity. These ranks culminate in seven. The six ranks are the world of creation and existence, while the seventh rank is the world of Truth and sanctification from the conditions of creation. Thus this blessed Cycle falls in the seventh rank - it is the mighty Cycle, the new resurrection, the Greater Day of Judgment, the Abha Paradise, and the planting ground of the Tree of Life. Therefore, in reality it has no end or termination....

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There are seven general stages. The first is the stage of the inorganic being. From the mineral kingdom, it ascendeth to the stage of the plant…, and from the plant kingdom, it ascendeth to the stage of the animal….When it reacheth the stage of soul, spirit, and mind, then in accordance with that stage, it hath a death which will certainly destroy all privative aspects. Finally, the command will reach the stage of the inmost heart, which is the gulf of immortality and pure life, in the presence of the Lord of creation. There, for evermore, the servant will gaze towards God.

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O thou who art kindled and aglow with the fire of the love of God! Know thou that were this servant to wish to interpret this Divine (lahutiyyah) verse in all of the hidden stations and Divine realities and in the stations of Jabarut and Malakut, the existent realities, the seen and unseen worlds, the manifestations of Primal Oneness and the states of conditioned Oneness, the spiritual essences (kaynunat), the foundations of the heart, the stations (masha`ir) of reality and of the soul and that which pertains and is supplementary to this with the most complete exposition and the most perfect explanation, he would be able with the help of God, and His Power and Grace and confirmation. But souls are not able nor do they have the capacity to hear it and understand it.

Behold then with true sight and spiritual vision how the realities of created things exist in different ranks and diverse stations. That which exists in a lower rank cannot comprehend, much less inquire about, that which exists in a rank above it. Consider the ranks of mineral, plant, animal and man.

"The mineral kingdom is distinct in its conditions from the vegetable. It is impossible for the mineral to comprehend the powers of the vegetable, which grows and changes from a seed into a flower or tree, drawing its nutriment from earth and air and water. So, again, it is impossible for the vegetable to conceive of the kingdom above it, the animal who powers and senses so entirely transcend its own.

Ignorant people imagine this to be the only world of existence, but there are many, very, very many worlds of existence, many more than we can see."

The answer to the first question: the souls of the children of the Kingdom, after their separation from the body, ascend unto the realm of everlasting life. But if ye ask as to the place, know ye that the world of existence is a single world, although its stations are various and distinct.

… Those souls who are pure and unsullied, upon the dissolution of their elemental frames, hasten away to the world of God, and that world is within this world. The people of this world, however, are unaware of that world, and are even as the mineral and the vegetable that know nothing of the world of the animal and the world of man.

For example, though minerals have existence and life, compared to humans they are utter nonexistence and deprived of life, for when humans transition from life to death they attain mineral existence, thus mineral life is human death.

For example, the mineral kingdom in comparison with the vegetable kingdom is lifeless; also the existence of the animal kingdom in comparison with that of the human is death.

The mineral has existence, the vegetable has existence, but the existence of the inferior kingdom as compared with the existence of the human kingdom is as non-existence. Even the mineral is living in relation to its own kingdom: but the mineral kingdom in comparison with the vegetable kingdom is non-existent, and the vegetable with the animal is non-existence.

In brief, all souls exist, but the existence of the heedless and the ignorant in comparison to the existence of the perfect and the wise is like nonexistence. … The intention of this discourse is that both the ignorant and the wise possess existence, but the existence of the ignorant is like that of a stone, while the existence of the perfect individual resembleth the existence of man.

For instance, a mineral substance contains life, but this life compared to the life of the vegetable is death; in like manner the life of the vegetable compared to the life of an animal is death; in like manner the life of human beings compared to the life of the children of the Kingdom is death.

O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the love of God!

In the world of existence there are higher and lower stations, and the ranks of the highest heaven and the depths of hell are visible, and the zenith of virtues and the nadir of vices are proven and known.

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Some people grew and developed with plant life, some groups became alive and animated with animal life, some communities were raised up with human spirit, some became living and vital through the spirit of faith, and some souls were resurrected through the divine spirit. These differences in degrees of life result from differences and variations in reality, capacity and aptitude - otherwise the effulgence is one effulgence, the manifestation one manifestation, and the ray is one ray.

When we look upon the kingdoms of creation below man, we find three forms or planes of existence which await education and development. … As to the human world: It is more in need of guidance and education than the lower creatures.

Now if we cast a glance in the mineral Kingdom we see that a piece of ground left without a gardener, thistles and thorns will grow on its surface and weeds and tares abound and the earth looses its fertility.

When we look at the animal Kingdom what a difference we find between the domestic and the wild animals!

The flower needs light that it may achieve its fruitage; man needs the light of the Holy Spirit, and the measure of illumination throughout creation is proportionate to the different kingdoms.

It is clear that human realities differ one from another, that opinions and perceptions vary, and that this divergence of thoughts, opinions, understandings and sentiments among individuals is an essential requirement. For differences of degree in creation are among the essential requirements of existence, which is resolved into countless forms. We stand therefore in need of a universal power which can prevail over the thoughts, opinions and sentiments of all, which can annul these divisions and bring all souls under the sway of the principle of the oneness of humanity. And it is clear and evident that the greatest power in the human world is the love of God.

This illimitable divine bounty has no beginning and will have no ending. It is moving, circulating and becomes effective wherever capacity is developed to receive it. In every station there is a specialized capacity. Therefore, we must be hopeful that through the bounty and favor of God this spirit of life infusing all created beings shall quicken humanity, and from its bestowals the human world shall become a divine world, this earthly kingdom become the mirror of the realm of Divinity, the virtues and perfections of the world of humanity become unveiled and the image and likeness of God be reflected from this temple.

There is but one reality and one essence that is expounded in the worlds of outer form and, at each of its stages, is described by a specific name... in accordance with the degrees of its particular manifestations on the plane of this limited world.

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In brief, existence hath one signification, but its manifestations, appearances, and attributes vary in every grade and station. As for the kinds of spirit, these are fixed realities each having its own specification and individualization, particular perfections and attributes, which distinguish one from another. They differ with respect to their essential qualities and what they signify. The mineral spirit, therefore, cannot be compared to the plant spirit, because the latter is the power of growth. The animal spirit, also, is a specialized reality distinct from all besides itself through its attributes and significations, for it is the power of sense perception and volitional movement.

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The animal spirit which is common to both humans and animals is perishable and disappears after dissolution of the bodies and forms, because it exists through the elements and as the elements submit to decomposition and transformation through the succession of time it must necessarily perish.

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Know thou that the spirits are divided into the animal spirit, the human spirit, the spirit of mercy (rahmaniyyih), and the Divine Spirit (Lahutiyyih).... Besides these spirits which have been mentioned for thee, God hath created innumerable spirits such as the vegetable spirit, the spirit of the Kingdom (Malakut), the spirit of the Dominion (Jabarut) and the rational spirit (ruh 'aqli).

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Spirit hath illimitable stations and innumerable conditions or degrees. But in the world of existence they are generally limited and enumerated as the cohesive mineral, the growing vegetable, the sensible animal, the mortal human, the abased soul (amarih), the self-accusing soul (lawwamih), the inspired soul (mulhamih), the assured soul (mutma'innih), the contented soul (radiyyih), the approved soul (mardiyyih), the perfect soul (kamalih), the soul of the kingdom (Malakut), the soul of the Dominion (Jabarut), [and] the Divine Soul (Lahut)....

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...it is evident that the spirit manifests different aspects and traverses various contrasting and endless grades or stations. It has capacity to become a mirror for the reflection of the manifestation of divine (Lahutiyyih) realities and a point for reflecting perfect divine attributes.

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Concerning the Divine Spirit or Soul (Lahutiyyih), it is the Supreme Reality comprising all the divine and heavenly realities manifested by the Ancient Light.... It reveals itself in various manifestations and signs. It distributes itself in different grades; it shines, encompasses and illumines every horizon...

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Concerning the grades and degrees of spirit and its conditions, elevation and abasement, we described that this supreme sign traverses from one grade to another and from one station to another because in each grade it leaves its limitations and condition and becomes overwhelmed by the potency of the signs of the station which follows and becomes vanquished or overcome by the sufferings caused by such conditions which cleanse, refine and purify it from that which is unworthy of it in the path of its Lord. As it becomes purified and freed from each lower grade and ascends through the aid of its Creator to a loftier degree, it will rise above the powers of the lower stage and will overcome the forces of the lower condition.

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The Spirit of the vegetable kingdom is a power resulting from the combination of a few elements.... Animal Spirit also results through the combination and mingling together of various elements.... But the Human Spirit is like the crystal/magnifying glass which reflects and transmits the rays.... The force in this spirit, is the Spirit of Faith and Belief.... The fifth and last degree of Spirit is the Holy Spirit.

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According to science, all forms of creation are endowed with life; this element of life and energy depending on environment and adaptations.

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...in philosophy the spirit is energy and all matter is endowed with energy; and this power is inseparable from matter, as in electricity. In other words, matter is a vehicle for spirit but the transformation of matter does not involve the extinction of that power because transformation and transference are in the properties of matter.... The manifestation or appearance of the spirit varies due to changes in matter and bodies.

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No matter how much the mineral has existence and life, yet in comparison to man, is it entirely non-existent and deprived of life.

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So the great light abides and shines, and its radiance goes out through the world in rational order and proportion...

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For there is a kind of centre, and around this a circle shining out from it, and beyond these another, light from light: but outside these there is no longer another circle of light but this next circle through lack of its own light needs illumination from another source.

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...living things are higher than things which merely exist, and sentient things than those which merely live, and reasoning things than those which merely feel, and intelligences than those which have only reason...

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Although the degrees [of existence] are limited, the divine outpourings are unlimited and the heavenly perfections are infinite.

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