materialism
5 stories on this theme.
Machines Devoid of Spirit
At a public meeting in San Francisco in October 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that nations at the apex of material progress were like healthy bodies empty of spirit, and that Americans would attain perfection when the spirit of divine civilization was breathed into them.
The Minarets of the West
Juliet Thompson describes the Cedric reaching New York in April 1912, and Siyyid Asadu'lláh's report that 'Abdu'l-Bahá laughed at His first sight of the Wall Street skyscrapers and called them the minarets of the West.
The Master at the Church of the Ascension
On 14 April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His first public address in America at New York's Church of the Ascension. Juliet Thompson recalls how He likened material civilization to a lamp's glass and spiritual civilization to its light.
True Knowledge at Green Acre
Speaking at Green Acre in August 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá contrasted knowledge confined to the senses, which even animals possess, with the true virtue of man: the power to investigate the ideals of the Kingdom.
O Thou Who Art Gazing Toward the Kingdom of the Testament!
O thou who art gazing toward the Kingdom of the Testament! I already received thy letter which announced thy receipt of the loving letter sent to thee by the pen of Abdul-Baha.