A seed planted this morning will not feed anyone tonight, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says this is not a limit on God’s power but a choice of His wisdom: the One who could ripen a tree in an instant prefers to lead every creature through its ordained stages. Embryo, flower and planet all grow by degrees, and so do souls, communities and the religion of God itself. The same sun that merely warms a stone kindles fire in a crystal and shows its whole disk in a polished mirror; rain has no shape of its own yet takes the form of each pool it fills. Growth is a meeting between boundless bounty and a receptivity that striving can enlarge. Mark’s parable of the seed that sprouts while the farmer sleeps, until the sickle is ready, holds the same balance of labour, patience and recognised ripeness [1]. Tending what is still becoming leads on into the development of capacity and readiness, into acting according to the exigencies of the day, and into the slow, unstoppable growth of the Cause.
For everything there is a special time. There is a special time to plant the seed; there is a special time for its growth; a special time to gather the harvest; a special time for the threshing. When the seed is first planted, you cannot expect to gather the harvest immediately.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mary Lucas and other pilgrims, spoken on 1905-Feb-02 -- ABU2503)
02
Say: The likeness of the creation of your souls is as the likeness of what groweth in the earth. How do ye preserve it until there cometh forth from the earth a tender shoot? Then, when days pass over it and ye nurture it, it reacheth a station wherein fruits appear. Thus do ye witness in every Revelation the creation of your souls like unto this.
(The Báb, Mina'z-Zahiri fi'l-Mir'at, 1265 or 1266 [1848-1849] -- BB00193)
03
Moderation is necessary in all affairs. Man must take a lesson from divine actions and deeds for God suffers a tree to grow a long time before it attains to perfection. He is able to make a tree grow to fruition in an instant, but wisdom requires a gradual development.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1910-Apr-03, to Ida A Finch -- AB11424)
04
Know thou moreover that if thy Lord should wish to raise all created things from the state of a drop to maturity in less than the twinkling of an eye, He would verily be able to do so through His all-pervading, all-encompassing power. Yet He hath loved to cause all things to progress through their ordained stages and gradual development, according to a wisdom which none save His all-compelling, all-informed Self hath comprehended.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Ibrahim, to Muhammad Ibrahim known as Haji Khalil -- BH00627)
05
When you consider this universal order, you see that not a single thing reaches the limit of perfection immediately upon coming into existence, but grows and develops gradually until it reaches that stage.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 51, The Appearance of the Spirit and the Mind in Man, 1904-Oct ca. -- AB00722)
06
For example, the human embryo grows and develops gradually in the womb of its mother, and assumes different forms and conditions, until it reaches maturity with the utmost beauty and appears in a consummate form with the utmost grace. In like manner, the seed of this flower which you see before you was in the beginning a small and insignificant thing, but it grew and developed in the womb of the earth, and assumed different forms, until it appeared with such perfect vitality and grace in this degree. It is likewise clear and evident that this terrestrial globe came to exist, grow and develop in the matrix of the universe, and assumed different forms and conditions, until it gradually attained its present completeness, became adorned with countless beings, and appeared in such a consummate form.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 47, The Evolution of the Universe and the Origin of Man, 1904-Oct ca. -- AB00077)
07
The human spirit has certain signs and manifestations in the stage of the embryo and yet other splendours and expressions in the stages of childhood, adolescence, and maturity. The spirit is one, and yet in the embryonic stage it lacks the powers of sight and hearing, whereas in the stages of adolescence and maturity it appears with the utmost splendour and radiance.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 37, The Connection between God and His Manifestations, 1904 ca. -- AB00105)
08
Verily, I say unto thee that the gifts of thy Lord are encircling thee in a similar way as the spirit encircles the body at the beginning of the amalgamation of the elements and natures in the womb; the power of the spirit begins then to appear in the body gradually and successively according to the preparation and capacity to receive that everlasting abundance.
This flower has been created to mirror forth a harmonious ensemble of color and perfume. Each kingdom of nature holds potentialities and each must be cultivated in order to reach its fulfillment. The divine teachers desire man to be educated that he may attain to the high rank of his own reality, the deprivation of which is the rank of perdition.
O divine friends! The Ancient Power has distinguished each of the created beings and varieties of existence with a special excellence, virtue and perfection, so that in their own rank they may become signs indicating the loftiness and exaltation of the True Educator, and each may be like a polished mirror reflecting the grace and revelation of the Sun of Reality.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-May-21, to Spiritual Assembly of Tihran et al -- AB00787)
11
Through the pure bounty of His grace and the sublime excellence of His mercy, He hath deposited within all things that are seen and known the sign of His knowledge, that no thing might be deprived of recognizing His presence according to its capacity and station. And this sign is the mirror of His beauty in creation, and the more this most exalted, most wondrous, and most impregnable mirror is polished through striving and endeavor, the more shall the manifestations of His names and attributes and the evidences of His knowledge and signs be impressed and reflected therein, to such degree that every thing may witness in its place and every thing may know its limit and measure, and may hear from all things that there is no God but Him and that 'Ali-Qabli-Nabil is the Manifestation of all names and the Dawning-Place of all attributes, that all were created by His will and all act by His command.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Hadi - On He who knoweth himself knoweth His Lord, to Mirza Hadi -- BH00210)
12
Consider the visible sun: Although it shineth with the same radiance upon all existence, and at the behest of the Lord of Revelation bestoweth light on all things, yet in each place it becometh manifest and sheddeth its bounty according to the potentialities of that place. For instance, in a mirror it reflecteth its own disk and shape, and this is due to the clarity of the mirror itself; through a crystal it maketh fire to appear; and in other things it showeth only the effect of its shining, but not its full disk. And yet, through that effect, by the command of the Creator it traineth each thing according to the capacity of that thing, even as thou dost observe.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Haft Vadi (The Seven Valleys), to Shaykh Muhiyid-Din Judge of Khaniqayn et al -- BH00047)
13
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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1905-Aug-19, to Ella G Cooper -- AB00152)
14
From that which hath been said it becometh evident that all things, in their inmost reality, testify to the revelation of the names and attributes of God within them. Each according to its capacity, indicateth, and is expressive of, the knowledge of God. So potent and universal is this revelation, that it hath encompassed all things, visible and invisible.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude), 1278 ca. [1861-1862], to Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, great uncle of the Bab (Khal-i-Akbar) -- BH00002)
15
Yea, when the Sun of My name "the Influencer" has shone upon all things, in each thing an effect and fruit appears according to its capacity, even as ye observe that poison, though lethal, yet in its own station manifests an effect and benefit.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Commentary on a verse from Sa'di -- BH00245)
16
Likewise, when the sun of My name, the All-Knowing, dawneth from the horizon of utterance, every thing receiveth from this Name the wondrous knowledge according to its capacity and measure, and there appeareth therefrom in these days by the command of the Mighty, the All-Knowing.
In each world He appeareth according to the capacity of that world. For example, in the world of spirits He shineth upon them and appeareth unto them through spiritual effects, and likewise in the worlds of bodies, the worlds of names and attributes, and worlds which none hath known save God. Each hath a portion from this Manifestation, appearing unto them in His image to guide them unto God their Lord, draw them nigh unto the seat of His command, and bring them to what hath been ordained for them.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Zuhur (Tablet of the Manifestation), to Hadi -- BH00686)
18
The realities of things are manifested in a degree proportionate to their stations, ranks, receptivity and capacity.
… As weakness and evanescence are inherent in the nature of the contingent world it was not possible that it should sustain a complete manifestation of the signs and evidences of this Revelation, which hath shone forth from the Summit of Sinai, except in a gradual manner.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Lawh-i-Aflakiyyih (Tablet of the Celestial Spheres), 1876-08 ca. -- AB00023)
19
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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 82, The Unity of Existence, 1906-Dec-12 -- AB00062)
20
All created things are resplendent signs of God. For instance, the rays of the sun shine upon all earthly things, yet the light that falls upon the plains, the mountains, the trees and fruits is only in such measure as to make them visible, to ensure their growth and to cause them to attain the object of their existence. The Perfect Man, however, is even as a clear mirror in which the Sun of Truth is revealed and manifested in the fullness of its attributes and perfections. Thus the reality of Christ was a bright and polished mirror of the greatest purity and clarity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 27, The Trinity, 1904 ca. -- AB00713)
21
The Sun of Reality is one; its bestowal is one; its heat is one; its rays are one; it shines upon all the phenomenal world, but the capacity for comprehending it differs according to the kingdoms, each kingdom receiving the light and bounty of the eternal Sun according to its capacity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Unitarian church on 1912-Jun-09 -- ABU0030)
22
The light of the sun becomes apparent in each object according to the capacity of that object. The difference is simply one of degree and receptivity. The stone would be a recipient only to a limited extent; another created thing might be as a mirror wherein the sun is fully reflected; but the same light shines upon both.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address to Advanced Thought Center, Carnegie Lyceum, spoken on 1912-Apr-14 -- ABU0399)
23
For example, certain minerals come from the stony regions of the earth. All are minerals, all are produced by the same sun, but one remains a stone while another develops the capacity of a glittering gem or jewel.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Kinney Home on 1912-Apr-17 -- ABU0456)
24
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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Theosophical Lodge on 1912-May-30 -- ABU0041)
25
Every person of insight testifieth that the Lord now existeth while that which is lorded over is non-existent - meaning that His sacred realm transcendeth all else, and whatsoever is mentioned in the realm of contingent being is limited by contingent limitations, while the Truth is sanctified therefrom.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Abdu'r-Razzaq, to Abd-i-Razz -- BH00060)
26
And whatsoever hath been created must needs reach its state of perfection and attain unto maturity. And if it be prevented by other causes, this too is according to other divine wisdom, which in some cases is manifest and evident, and in others hidden and concealed. For example, God hath bestowed the hand, and for man it is necessary, as it is observed to be the greatest of instruments. However, when it is severed on account of theft, this deficiency is, in the eyes of the discerning, perfect, nay rather, most perfect, for it is the cause of protection and the means of preventing the servants from committing reprehensible and rejected deeds. Observe all things from this perspective. It is evident that the creation of the embryo is for the purpose of growth and maturity, and every soul hath been, and remaineth, powerless to comprehend the essence of the Divine Wisdom.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1298-07-17 [1881-Jun-15], to Mulla Ali Akbar Shahmirzadi -- BH00035)
27
It must have been evident to you that the Supreme Pen has not yet moved according to its own motion, for it has ever been mindful of people's weakness and the need to be gentle with them. Nevertheless, observe how great is that which hath been sent down from His presence, and what lieth concealed in the heaven of thy Lord's will.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Haji Muhammad Husayn Tabib et al -- BH00582)
28
Some ordinances cause no harm if implemented today and all must observe them. Others would cause public outcry, and thus their time is deferred. For instance, teaching the Cause of the Rich, the Exalted One is the crown of all deeds. Yet if someone were to arise openly and speak what would cause people to withdraw and servants to turn away and object, they would have departed from wisdom.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1292-05-19 [1875-Jun-23], to Muhammad Javad Qazvini -- BH00466)
29
In brief, our meaning is that the change and transformation in the conditions and exigencies of the times is the cause of the abrogation of religious laws, for the time comes when those earlier commandments no longer suit the prevailing conditions. Consider how greatly the exigencies of the modern age differ from those of medieval times! Is it possible that the commandments of former centuries could be enforced in these latter times? It is clear and evident that this would be entirely impossible.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 20, Baptism and the Changing Law of God, 1904 ca. -- AB00211)
30
When Moses came, the world had developed that capacity and these divine laws were revealed.
Furthermore, these physical laws are dependent on events. For instance, the Passover festival of the Torah came about when the Israelites were delivered from Egypt - those days became blessed and celebrated. Had that event not occurred, those days would not have become a festival. Similarly, the Feast of Tabernacles came about because when the Israelites left Egypt, they had no dwellings and made shelters - but this did not exist in Abraham's time.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. Jan. 1909 -- ABU0367)
31
Before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him), polygamy was so prevalent and widespread among the Arabs that it was impossible to suddenly mandate monogamy.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-Mar-21 in Paris -- ABU3006)
32
When we read ancient history, the history of the middle ages and the history of contemporaneous times, we realize how little the world of yesterday resembles the world of today. The scientific beliefs of the middle ages are disproved and of that which was credited by the ancients, few traces remain. In the same way laws outside of science have evolved and arts and even morals have changes.
Development and progression imply gradual stages or degrees. For example, spiritual advancement may be likened to the light of the early dawn. Although this dawn light is dim and pale, a wise man who views the march of the sunrise at its very beginning can foretell the ascendancy of the sun in its full glory and effulgence. … Again, for example, if he takes a seed and observes that it is sprouting, he will know assuredly that it will ultimately become a tree. Now is the beginning of the manifestation of the spiritual power, and inevitably the potency of its life forces will assume greater and greater proportions.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Brotherhood Church on 1912-May-19 -- ABU0152)
34
Now in this world of being, the Hand of Divine Power hath firmly laid the foundations of this all-highest Bounty and this wondrous Gift. Gradually whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this Holy Cycle shall appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its Signs.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Rashti, Aqa Mirza Husayn Khan et al -- AB08712)
35
Now if the manifest evidences of this incandescent Light are not all immediately apparent in the visible and external world nevertheless all this has been realised in the inner essence of every beings and shall manifest its full potentialities in a manner that is commensurate with the human capability to bear them.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1897-Feb-07, to Mashhadi Muhammad Ali -- AB06323)
36
Although the veils of the heedless and the allusions of the ignorant form a barrier, praise be to the Beloved of all horizons that the piercing glances of the steadfast and upright souls have burned away the veils of light, and the effulgences and revelations of the Sun of Manifestation have encompassed the world, to such extent that any sightless one, should he so desire, may behold the brilliant lights of the horizon of Revelation without any veil or barrier.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1293-11-09 [1876-Nov-26], to Mirza Ali Muhammad Yazdi (Varqa) -- BH01227)
37
The Law of God, from the moment of its revelation, is like the sun rising from the east--how its rays fall upon the horizons; similarly its light falls upon all horizons. Eyes become seeing, understanding. Even if one is not a believer, one acknowledges that this law is truly like the spirit in the human world. It promotes itself without people becoming believers.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1915-Jul-19 in Haifa -- ABU1163)
38
In this world we judge a cause or movement by its progress and development. Some movements appear, manifest a brief period of activity, then discontinue. Others show forth a greater measure of growth and strength, but before attaining mature development, weaken, disintegrate and are lost in oblivion. Neither of these mentioned are progressive and permanent.
There is still another kind of movement or cause which from a very small, inconspicuous beginning goes forward with sure and steady progress, gradually broadening and widening until it has assumed universal dimensions. The Baha'i Movement is of this nature.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Address to the Baha'is at table at Parsons home in Washington, 1912-Apr-22 -- ABU0652)
39
For instance, consider how the important achievements of the ancient world have been totally exterminated and not a trace remaineth therefrom save the great Cause of the Kingdom of God, which hath no beginning and will have no end. At most, it is only renewed. At the beginning of each renewal it commandeth no attention in the sight of the people, but when once definitely established, it will daily advance and in its daily exaltation will reach the supreme heavens.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Aug-27, to Emma B Stott -- AB02090)
40
The institutions established by Christ (may my spirit be sacrificed for Him), despite being supported by the Holy Spirit, did not yield rapid results. Gradually the seed He scattered sprouted and grew.
Know, verily, that the seed, however virile it may be, however strong the hand of the sower, however pure the water that watereth it, it is impossible for it to grow, blossom and bear fruit in a short time; nay, a long period is needed for its development.
So it is the Kingdom of God. Consider the seed which was sown by Christ; verily, it did not blossom until after a long period.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-May-17, to Marie L Botay -- AB05896)
42
This is not known now, but later on its traces will become evident. Consider the days of Christ: how the light of guidance brightened twelve hearts. How limited it seemed, but how expansive it became afterward and illumined the world!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Address to the Baha'is at MacNutt home in New York, 1912-Jun-16 -- ABU0259)
43
When Christ was crucified and left this world, He had only eleven disciples and a very few followers; but as He served the Cause of truth, look today at the result of His life's work! He has illumined the world, and given life to dead humanity. After His ascension little by little His Cause grew, the souls of His followers became more and more luminous, and the exquisite perfume of their saintly lives spread on all sides.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Dec-01 in Paris -- ABU0503)
44
That is, the Word of God bestowed the spirit of faith upon the children of Israel, and that nation advanced in all degrees under the shadow of His Law and expanded until the time of Solomon and David, taking five hundred years before the Cause was spread as it should be.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Hotel Victoria in Ramleh, 1912-Mar-05 -- ABU0090)
45
In this journey, wherever we went we found Baha'i gatherings. The fame of the Cause of God has reached to the island of Honolulu and attracted souls. Now we have arrived here and lit a flame - surely a day will come when its light will become magnificent.
A tree begins as a single seed, but when it grows it bears delicious fruits and sweet produce.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-Apr-13 in Budapest -- ABU2158)
46
"By what process" continued the questioner, "will this peace on earth be established? Will it come at once after a universal declaration of the Truth?"
"No, it will come about gradually," said Abdu'l-Baha. "A plant that grows too quickly lasts but a short time.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in 1912 in London -- ABU2959)
47
The beginning of a downpour of rain is only a few drops. In the early dawn the sun rises slowly, giving us here and there a few feeble rays but it is sure that before long it will be stationed in the meridian of its glory. Truly I say the spirit of this age is universal Peace.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Baroness Bertha Von Suttner, spoken at Grand Hotel on 1913-Apr-23 -- ABU1066)
48
Yes, today is the Day of the Ancient Beauty and the age of the Greatest Name. It is the day of the wedding feast, the springtime. After this will come the days of summer, autumn and winter.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. Jan. 1909 -- ABU3466)
49
Though this bounty is now like a seed hidden and concealed in the layers of earth, ere long it shall sprout forth and become the bountiful harvest of the Lord of Signs.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901 or <, to Daughter of Aqa Muhammad Ali -- AB12823)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
50
He is what he is and remains what he has been, but his rays differ according to the purity of the mirrors and according to the difference of forms and colours.
(Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i-Hirtik, in Momen, The Babi and Baha'i Religions, p. 217)
The Divine Essence (dhat) discloses itself only in a form required by the very 'preparedness' [isti'dad] of the locus in which occurs the self-manifestation. There can be no other way.
(Ibn 'Arabi, in Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism, p. 34)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
52
God first created the entire world as something amorphous and without grace comparable to a mirror not yet polished; but it is a rule in the Divine activity to prepare no 'place' without it receiving a Divine spirit as is explained (in the Koran) by the blowing of the Divine spirit into Adam; and this is none other than the actualization of the aptitude (capacity -- al-isti'dad) which such a form possesses, having already the predisposition for it, to receive the inexhaustible effusion (al-fayd) of the essential revelation (Divine effulgence -- al-tajalli).
(Ibn 'Arabi, in Burckhardt, The Wisdom of the Prophets, p. 9)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
53
You have asked as to what point in man's evolution he becomes conscious of self. This consciousness of self in man is a gradual process, and does not start at a definite point. It grows in him in this world and continues to do so in the future spiritual world. Man can certainly recall past experiences in his evolution, and even when his soul leaves this world it will still remember its past.
LG#392 (20 Nov. 1937 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified