'Abdu'l-Bahá explains that the human being has two natures,
the spiritual or higher nature and the material or lower nature, and that the
purpose of life is to gain mastery over the limitations and promptings of one's
material nature and to cultivate spiritual qualities and virtues―the attributes
of the soul which constitute one's true and abiding identity. Worldly desire is
not the essence of a human being, but a veil that obscures it. Adherence to the
Teachings of the Divine Educator refines the character and develops the
potentialities with which each person is endowed; it liberates the individual
and society from lower inclinations that give rise to the ills that afflict
humanity.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 9 May, 2014, written on behalf of the Universal
House of justice to an individual believer)
