One consecrated soul is preferable to a thousand other
souls. If a small number of people gather lovingly together, with absolute
purity and sanctity, with their hearts free of the world, experiencing the
emotions of the Kingdom and the powerful magnetic forces of the Divine, and
being at one in their happy fellowship, that gathering will exert its influence
over all the earth. The nature of that band of people, the words they speak,
the deeds they do, will unleash the bestowals of Heaven, and provide a
foretaste of eternal bliss. The hosts of the Company on high will defend them,
and the angels of the Abhá Paradise, in continuous succession, will come down
to their aid.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá’;
The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Consultation)
