If man looks at the nature of the world around him he will see that all created beings are dependent upon something, i.e. man is dependent for his life upon the air which he breathes, likewise the animals which are upon the earth, and each created being is dependent for its life upon some material circumstances. Man, therefore, and all creatures are prisoners of nature. The sun must follow its law, the earth must follow its law of motion, the sea also. But, by the spiritual power of God, which, through His Bounty, He has bestowed upon men alone, man is enabled to defy the laws of nature in many and wonderful ways, i.e. it is the law of nature that man should walk upon the earth, but he defies this law, for he sojourns upon the water and also flies, like the bird, through the air.
Through the wonderful spiritual power which God gives to man, man is enabled to reach the Kingdom of Heaven; but behold! man is not grateful and is careless of the great mercy which God has shown him.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 16, December 31, 1911)
