r, it is that condition concerning which Christ declared, "Let
the dead bury their dead," for "That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Were it not for the love
of God, the hearts would not be illumined. Were it not for the love of
God, the pathway of the Kingdom would not be opened. Were it not for the
love of God, the Holy Books would not have been revealed. Were it not for
the love of God, the divine Prophets would not have been sent to the
world. The foundation of all these bestowals is the love of God.
Therefore, in the human world there is no greater power than the love of
God. It is the love of God which has brought us together here tonight. It
is the love of God which is affiliating the East and the West. It is the
love of God which has resuscitated the world. Now we must offer thanks to
God that such a great bestowal and effulgence has been revealed to us.

We come to another aspect of our subject: Are the workings and effects of
love confined to this world, or do they extend on and on to another
existence? Will its influence affect our existence here only, or will it
extend to the everlasting life? When we look upon the human kingdom, we
readily observe that it is superior to all others. In the differentiation
of life in the world of existence, there are four degrees or kingdoms: the
mineral, vegetable, animal and human. The mineral kingdom is possessed of
a certain virtue which we term cohesion. The vegetable kingdom possesses
cohesive properties plus the power of growth, or augmentative power. The
animal kingdom is possessed of the virtues of the mineral and vegetable
plus the powers of the senses. But the animal, although gifted with
sensibilities, is utterly bereft of consciousness, absolutely out of touch
with the world of consciousness and spirit. The animal possesses no powers
by which it can make discoveries which lie beyond the realm of the senses.
It has no power of intellectual origination. For example, an animal
located in Europe is not capable of discovering the continent of America.
It understands only phenomena which come within the range of its senses
and instinct. It cannot abstractly reason out anything. The animal cannot
conceive of the earth being spherical or revolving upon its axis. It
cannot apprehend that the little stars in the heavens are tremendous
worlds vastly greater than the earth. The animal cannot abstractly
conceive of intellect.