Consider the visible sun: Although it shineth with the same
radiance upon all existence, and at the behest of the Lord of Revelation
bestoweth light on all things, yet in each place it becometh manifest and
sheddeth its bounty according to the potentialities of that place. For
instance, in a mirror it reflecteth its own disk and shape, and this is due to
the clarity of the mirror itself; through a crystal it maketh fire to appear;
and in other things it showeth only the effect of its shining, but not its full
disk. And yet, through that effect, by the command of the Creator it traineth
each thing according to the capacity of that thing, even as thou dost
observe.
In like manner, colours become visible in each object
according to its nature. For instance, in a yellow glass the rays shine yellow;
in a white glass they are white; and in a red glass red rays are visible. These
variations proceed from the object itself, not from the light. And if a place
be shut away from the light, as by walls and a roof, it will be entirely bereft
of the light of the sun and deprived of its rays.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Seven
Valleys’, 2019 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre; included in ‘The
Call of the Divine Beloved’)
