A Religion for All of Humanity

My favorite passage from the Baha’i writings deals with the question of how the Faith and its teachings grow.

Over the last 150-plus years, the Baha’i Faith has grown enormously, but irregularly. In some places, like India and Africa, the growth has been steady and even rapid. But, in other places, particularly Europe and North America, growth has been slow. Given that unpredictable dynamic, and the fact that Baha’is are forbidden from proselytizing, how does the Baha’i Faith actually expand?

As it happens, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, anticipated that question nearly 90 years ago and, in September, 1924, he wrote:

Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and noble principles, not by an organized campaign of teaching — no matter how worldwide and elaborate in its character — not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and skeptical age the supreme claim of the Abha Revelation. One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Baha’u’llah. – Baha’i Administration, p. 66.

So, the only way the Baha’i Faith can succeed as a religion for all humanity is if each of us – as individuals alone – make that happen through the way we lead our daily lives.