Dear Feier-Melody,
You are correct in your understanding that the Baha'i Faith is a religion. The
analogy that I made about the different grades in school was just to illustratethat at different times different teachers that a greater level of understanding
enabled the people to learn more at each step.
Having said that, it does not mean that a person has to go through all these religions and learn what they stood for in order to understand the Baha'i teachings
, which we believe are given for this and future time until the next great teacher eventually appears.
You understood correctly that Baha'is are working to establish a model of how people universally can live peacefully and happily together in the world. You also understood right about Lesser Peace, and Most Great Peace.
You said that you still have some questions because you have always been an atheist. I believe that you are an agnostic. An agnostic says "I don't knowwhether God exists and if so what God is." Whereas the atheist says "There is
no God."
An understanding person will recognize that all created things on earth as well
as in the universe needed a creator to exist in such order and perfection. The
biggest problem people have is the understanding of what "God" might be. We say
that God is an "unknowable essence." A life force, if you wish. Not as some say, a benevolent super-father with a beard, sitting somewhere in heaven.
Your next question was "since there were so many teachers, such as Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Krishna, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab and Baha'u'llah you
asked "who is in the highest level, and is it Baha'u'llah?" My answer to that is Baha'u'llah is the *latest* teacher who came. If you ever should wish to read
his own writings you will find that Baha'u'llah brought a dispensation that is
so important with its fundamental principle of how to achieve unity for humankind, at this critical point in human development, that it will overshadow future great teachers for a very long time. That means that they will each
further develop themes that he began at this time.
I didn't say it right when I said the Baha'i Faith is the fastest growing religion in the world. Sorry about that. The facts are that The Baha'i Faith is the
youngest of the world's independent religions, marking its origin on May 23, 1844 in Persia. In the century and a half since then it has spread around the globe, gaining adherents in 235 countries and territories to become the second most
widespread religion after Christianity, which is the widest spread. Its present
approximately five million members are drawn from over 2,100 ethnic, racial and
tribal groups, making it one of the most diverse organizations in the world. This also answers your question about how many members there are in the world now
.
It is already coming true in the Baha'i communities around the world where you will see members of diverse backgrounds and religions and racial origins work together in love and harmony. They are setting an example that we believe will eventually need to be emulated by humanity at large. It is the same if you want to
build a building. You draw up plans and sometimes make a model on a much smaller scale to see how it would work. This is what Baha'is are doing. We're making
a model that the world can, in time emulate, if it so desires. The problems that confront humanity everywhere on this planet, such as pollution, hunger, poverty, and diminishing resources will cause people to look for solutions and to study this model as it becomes more and more visible.
Somebody asked 'Abdu'l-Baha once, "How long it will take before it comes to pass
," He replied, "It depends on you."
Affectionately, Mary