its gates and receive the Divine Bounty.

I thank God that I have been present amongst you this afternoon, and I
thank you for your spiritual feeling.

I pray that you may grow in Divine fervour, and that the power of unity in
the Spirit will augment, so that the prophecies may be fulfilled, and that
in this great century of the Light of God all the glad tidings written in
the Sacred Books may come to pass. This is the glorious time of which the
Lord Jesus Christ spoke when He told us to pray 'Thy Kingdom come, Thy
Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven'. I hope that this is also your
expectation and great desire.

We are united in the one aim and hope that all shall be as one and every
heart illumined by the Love of our Divine Father, God!

May all our actions be spiritual, and all our interests and affections be
centred in the Kingdom of Glory!

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SPIRIT

15 Rue Greuze, Paris,
November 10th

'Abdu'l-Baha said:

Tonight I will speak of the evolution or progress of the spirit.

Absolute repose does not exist in nature. All things either make progress
or lose ground. Everything moves forward or backward, nothing is without
motion. From his birth, a man progresses physically until he reaches
maturity, then, having arrived at the prime of his life, he begins to
decline, the strength and powers of his body decrease, and he gradually
arrives at the hour of death. Likewise a plant progresses from the seed to
maturity, then its life begins to lessen until it fades and dies. A bird
soars to a certain height and having reached the highest possible point in
its flight, begins its descent to earth.

Thus it is evident that movement is essential to all existence. All
material things progress to a certain point, then begin to decline. This
is the law which governs the whole physical creation.

Now let us consider the soul. We have seen that movement is essential to
existence; nothing that has life is without motion. All creation, whether
of the mineral, vegetable or animal kingdom, is compelled to obey the law
of motion; it must either ascend or descend. But with the human soul,
there is no decline. Its only movement is towards perfection; growth and
progress alone constitute the motion of the soul.

Divine perfection is infinite, therefore the progress of the soul is also
infinite. From the very birth of a human being the soul progresses, the
intellect grows and knowledge increases. When