It was then asked: ‘What is Satan?’ The Master responded:
One’s insistent self. Were you to leave a child to persist in his natural state, he would develop a character that is reprehensible and fiendish… [The] corrupt inclinations all stem from human nature, and the force which compels him to indulge those inclinations is the struggle for survival. The divine Manifestations have come to save humankind from the darkness of their natural state, for humanity shall not acquire knowledge without the presence of a teacher. By what means have people come to know that honesty is good? Through education and training, of course; otherwise, a person’s natural inclination is to lie… Indeed, there is a restraining force - that is, an internal inhibitor - latent within people, but this force can only begin to exert its influence through the acquisition of education and the cultivation of godliness.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, 25 December 1912, London, England, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani, His secretary and chronicler during His travels in the West; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’, vol. 2: ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Europe 1912-1913)