If we had never seen a lily in bloom, never gazed on its matchless grace of foliage and flower, how could we know the reality contained in that bulb?
We might dissect it most carefully and examine it most minutely, but we should never discover the dormant beauty which the gardener knows how to awaken.

So until we have seen the Glory of God revealed in the Manifestation, we can have no idea of the spiritual beauty latent in our own nature and in that of our fellows.

By knowing and loving the Manifestation of God and following His teachings we are enabled, little by little, to realize the potential perfections within ourselves; then, and not till then, does the meaning and purpose of life and of the universe become apparent to us.
Love of God To know the Manifestation of God means also to love Him.

One is impossible without the other.

According to Baha'u'llah, the purpose of man's creation is that he may know God and adore Him.