When I tell people that I am a Bahá'í, the first answer I get is always the same: "A what?"
The Bahá'í Faith is a world religion whose main goal is to unify humanity. Bahá'ís are followers of Bahá'u'lláh, who they believe is the "Promised One of All Religions." Every spiritual tradition has talked about a time in the future when there will be peace and harmony on Earth. Bahá'ís believe that that time has come and Bahá'u'lláh's teachings will help us to create that age. Because the Bahá'í Faith began in Persia in the mid-1800s, however, many people have yet to hear about it.
In fact, I often wonder if I would have heard about it, were it not for a student my mother encountered in high school. My mother learned about the faith and began to study it on her own, eventually becoming a Bahá'í around the time she married my father. Although he was originally opposed to her decision, coming from a strong Catholic background, he too studied the Bahá'í Faith and became a Bahá'í years later.
As a child, I grew up learning about all of the major religions of the world. One of the central concepts of the Bahá'í Faith is progressive revelation: the belief that, although God is an unknowable essence, He made a covenant with man to never abandon us, so He sent Messengers throughout time to reveal His teachings. Therefore, I grew up believing not just in Bahá'u'lláh and His forerunner the Báb (the "Gate"), but also in Krishna, Abraham, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad.
I quickly found out that my viewpoints were quite unique. After being continually questioned by friends and classmates, I decided to really look into the writings of the Bahá'í Faith for myself. In the Bahá'í Faith, independent investigation of the truth is a strong principle, so though my parents were Bahá'í, I would not officially be Bahá'í until I turned 15 and had the spiritual maturity to decide for myself.
The more I looked into the teachings of the Faith, the more I found that they rang true for me - or, as I like to put it, just plain made sense. I believed that Bahá'u'lláh was who He said He was, fell in love with His teachings, and therefore decided to become a Bahá'í and devote my life to serving humanity.
Stephanie Gilbert is a Steinhardt freshman and a member of the Bahá'í Club. To e-mail Stephanie or submit your own Faith Journal, e-mail faith@nyunews.com.
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