The purpose of the creation of man is the attainment of the
supreme virtues of humanity through descent of the heavenly bestowals. The
purpose of man's creation is, therefore, unity and harmony, not discord and
separateness. If the atoms which compose the kingdom of the minerals were
without affinity for each other, the earth would never have been formed, the
universe could not have been created. Because they have affinity for each
other, the power of life is able to manifest itself, and the organisms of the
phenomenal world become possible. When this attraction or atomic affinity is
destroyed, the power of life ceases to manifest; death and nonexistence result.
-‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk on 12 April 1912 at Home of Mr. and Mrs. Howard
MacNutt; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá
during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
