Ponder ye, that during sleep the human body and the five
physical senses, viz., sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch are passive,
i.e., all physical forces are inactive. Notwithstanding this, human reality has
spiritual life and the spiritual powers are penetrative, and wonderful
disclosures are made in both the East and the West, and perchance one may
discover some matters, which, after a long time, may become apparent in the
physical world. Therefore it has become evident that the continuity and
influence of the human reality does not depend upon the physical
instrumentality; nay, rather, the physical body is an instrument over which the
human spirit spreads a luminosity. It is
like unto the sun, which shining upon the mirror, causes its brilliancy, and
when the reflection is withdrawn from the mirror, it becomes dark. Likewise, when the luminosity of the human
spirit is withdrawn from the body, that instrument becomes useless.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet to Ella Goodall Cooper; Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 15,
December 12, 1911)
(To read the entire Tablet please visit Tablets of
‘Abdu’l-Baha in Star of the West)
