I beseech for you divine confirmation and imperishable glory, so that ye may be so strengthened by His grace as to become wholly detached and freed from everything that pertaineth to the world of nature, so that your earthly cares and attachments may be turned into ease and tranquillity. I shall never forget this city, inasmuch as divine fragrances are inhaled from its citizens. Unlike the people of certain cities, the inhabitants of this place are not immersed in the sea of materialism. They are endowed with constancy and spiritual perception. However, there are some cities whose residents are so deeply absorbed in the world of nature that they are wholly bereft of spiritual perception. They occupy themselves with eating, resting, dancing and amusement. They are entirely unaware of the kingdom of heaven. But Stuttgart is not such a city. Therefore, I earnestly hope that it may become illumined. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a Tablet; compilation ‘Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)
