‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:

“There are four kinds of love. The first is the love that flows from God to man…The second is the love that flows from man to God…The third is the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God. This is the transfiguration of His Beauty, the reflection of Himself in the mirror of His Creation. This is the reality of love, the Ancient Love, the Eternal Love. Through one ray of this Love, all other love exists.

The fourth is the love of man for man…This love is attained through the knowledge of God, so that men see the Divine Love reflected in the heart. Each sees in the other the Beauty of God reflected in the soul, and finding this point of similarity, they are attracted to one another in love…”
(Paris Talks by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 180)

“It is incumbent upon thee to acquire the various branches of knowledge, and to turn thy face toward the beauty of the Manifest Beauty, that thou mayest be a sign of saving guidance amongst the peoples of the world…”
(Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 110)

Bahá’u’lláh wrote:

“From the exalted source, and out of the essence of His favor and bounty He hath entrusted every created thing with a sign of His knowledge, so that none of His creatures may be deprived of its share in expressing, each according to its capacity and rank, this knowledge. This sign is a mirror of His beauty in the world of creation…”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 262)