“The beautiful is hidden from the eyes of those who are not searching for the truth. But the profound lack of spirituality of those people who see art and condemn it, the fact that they are neither willing nor ready to consider the meaning and aim of their existence in any higher sense, is often masked by the vulgarly simplistic cry, 'I don't like it!' 'It's boring!' It is not a point that one can argue; but it is like the utterance of a man born blind who is being told about a rainbow. He simply remains deaf to the pain undergone by the artist in order to share with others the truth he has reached.” – Andrei Tarkovsky

“The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.” – (Michelangelo, 1475-1564)

“Know thou that the Kingdom is the real world, and this nether place is only its shadow stretching out…The spiritual world is like unto the phenomenal world. They are the exact counterpart of each other. Whatever objects appear in this world of existence are the outer pictures of the world of heaven.” – Abdu’l-Bahá

“Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty or God; it is not, as the aesthetical physiologists say, a game in which man lets off his excess of stored-up energy; it is not the expression of man’s emotions by external signs; it is not the production of pleasing objects; and, above all, it is not pleasure; but it is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and of humanity.” – Leo Tolstoy

The meaning of religious truth is hope. Philosophy seeks the truth, defining the meaning of human activity, the limits of human reason, the meaning of existence, even when the philosopher reaches the conclusion that existence is senseless, and human effort futile.

The allotted function of art is not, as is often assumed, to put across ideas, to propagate thoughts, to serve as example. The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good. – Andrei Tarkovsky

“It is the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit that causes words such as these to stream from the tongue of poets, the significance of which they themselves are oftentimes unable to apprehend.” – The Bab

The purpose of learning should be the promotion of the welfare of the people, and this can be achieved through crafts… the true worth of artists and craftsmen should be appreciated, for they advance the affairs of mankind… Just as the foundations of religion are made firm through the Law of God, the means of livelihood depend upon those who are engaged in arts and crafts. (Bahá'u'lláh from a Tablet - translated from the Persian

“…when thy fingers grasp the paint brush, it is as if thou wert at prayer in the Temple.“ – Abdu’l-Baha, Extract from a tablet from Persian.