Bahá'u'lláh attests that through the Teachings of the Manifestations of God "every man will advance and develop until he attaineth the station at which he can manifest all the potential forces with which his inmost true self hath been endowed." 'Abdu'l-Bahá observes that should man's "natural qualities ... be used and displayed in an unlawful way, they become blameworthy."
Shoghi Effendi, in a letter dated May 25,1936, written on his behalf, identifies man's "true self" with "his soul." In describing the nature of "man's inner spiritual self or reality," he notes that the "two tendencies for good or evil are but manifestations of a single reality or self," and that the self "is capable of its highest development” and that the self "is capable of development in either way."
Underlining the importance of education to the actualization of man's potential, the Guardian concludes:
"All depends fundamentally on the training or education which man receives. Human nature is made up of possibilities both for good and evil. True religion can enable it to soar in the highest realm of the spirit, while its absence can, as we already witness around us, cause it to fall to the lowest depths of degradation and misery."
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 23 May 1995 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States; published in American Bahá'í 152; Baha’i Library Online)
