man who makes a piece of notepaper to the best
of his ability, conscientiously, concentrating all his forces on
perfecting it, is giving praise to God. Briefly, all effort and exertion
put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is
prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity.
This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the
people. Service is prayer. A physician ministering to the sick, gently,
tenderly, free from prejudice and believing in the solidarity of the human
race, he is giving praise'.

'What is the purpose of our lives?'

'Abdu'l-Baha.--'To acquire virtues. We come from the earth; why were we
transferred from the mineral to the vegetable kingdom--from the plant to
the animal kingdom? So that we may attain perfection in each of these
kingdoms, that we may possess the best qualities of the mineral, that we
may acquire the power of growing as in the plant, that we may be adorned
with the instincts of the animal and possess the faculties of sight,
hearing, smell, touch and taste, until from the animal kingdom we step
into the world of humanity and are gifted with reason, the power of
invention, and the forces of the spirit.'

EVIL

'What is evil?'

'Abdu'l-Baha.--'Evil is imperfection. Sin is the state of man in the world
of the baser nature, for in nature exist defects such as injustice,
tyranny, hatred, hostility, strife: these are characteristics of the lower
plane of nature. These are the sins of the world, the fruits of the tree
from which Adam did eat. Through education we must free ourselves from
these imperfections. The Prophets of God have been sent, the Holy Books
have been written, so that man may be made free. Just as he is born into
this world of imperfection from the womb of his earthly mother, so is he
born into the world of spirit through divine education. When a man is born
into the world of phenomena he finds the universe; when he is born from
this world to the world of the spirit, he finds the Kingdom.'

THE PROGRESS OF THE SOUL

'Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this
world?'

'Abdu'l-Baha.--'The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by
suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow,
the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth
deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation
free man f