In the beginning, the Babi faith (and the Bahai faith following it) were just reactions to perceived inadequacies or injustices in the way that the prevailing religious and political structures of the time. They seem to be mostly nebulous at first, only gaining structure when the authorities started to crack down on it. In fact, the faith seemed to grow even faster when it's adherents were getting rounded up or killed.
This seems to be a common feature with religious thought. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc all seem to undergo the most growth (both in terms of number of followers and in terms of the strength with which they clung to their beliefs).
I think that an emerging religion needs two things: First it needs a strong leader to act as a central focus for the attentions of the flock, since God only very rarely makes a physical appearance these days. Second it needs external pressures and hardships. If they lack the first then a budding religion crumbles when it is exposed to opposition, never being able to form a united front and provide a long-lasting continuity. If they lack the second, on the other hand, they never really have the motivation to congeal into an organized group, rather than just a movement of people with similar ideals.
Indeed consider Baha'u'llah's commentary on the situation with Noah:
ReplyDeleteAmong the Prophets was Noah. For nine hundred and fifty years He prayerfully exhorted His people and summoned them to the haven of security and peace. None, however, heeded His call. Each day they inflicted on His blessed person such pain and suffering that no one believed He could survive. How frequently they denied Him, how malevolently they hinted their suspicion against Him! Thus it hath been revealed: “And as often as a company of His people passed by Him, they derided Him. To them He said: ‘Though ye scoff at us now, we will scoff at you hereafter even as ye scoff at us. In the end ye shall know.’” Long afterward, He several times promised victory to His companions and fixed the hour thereof. But when the hour struck, the divine promise was not fulfilled. This caused a few among the small number of His followers to turn away from Him, and to this testify the records of the best-known books. These you must certainly have perused; if not, undoubtedly you will. Finally, as stated in books and traditions, there remained with Him only forty or seventy-two of His followers. At last from the depth of His being He cried aloud: “Lord! Leave not upon the land a single dweller from among the unbelievers.”
Indeed after considering other examples he says:
Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and winged His flight unto the heights of glory.