You are one of the lucky ones. Not all of us are that fortunate.
I do not believe that personal experiences can be ordered up like a burger at a restaurant.
Not to be contentious, but the “guidance” offered by Baha’u’llah is more than any one human could ever receive. I am talking about the teachings and the laws and those only come through Messengers which can be applied universally.
The reason God is not going to reveal to me what He revealed to Baha’u’llah is that I was not chosen because I do not meet the qualifications to receive and convey the knowledge of God. I am not special. For me to think I am that important that God would choose me to speak to would be rather arrogant.
So God is not withholding anything from me and I am not barring the door so God cannot get in. Speaking of barring, this is what Baha’u’llah wrote that He had no
direct relationship to God, the “essence of all created things.” I do not believe that God speaks to anyone directly, not even the Messengers, and God only speaks to the Messengers through the Holy Spirit.
“Nay, forbid it, O my God, that I should have uttered such words as must of necessity imply the existence of any direct relationship between the Pen of Thy Revelation and the essence of all created things. Far, far are They Who are related to Thee above the conception of such relationship! All comparisons and likenesses fail to do justice to the Tree of Thy Revelation, and every way is barred to the comprehension of the Manifestation of Thy Self and the Day Spring of Thy Beauty.” Gleanings, p. 4
I do not need to have had the God experiences those atheists had in order to believe they were real. I do not question that God communicates in some way to selected individuals, but God sure does not reveal an entire religion to them. The obvious reason God communicated to these atheists is because they were sincerely searching for God and God knew this was the best way to reach them at that time. God does not need to do that for me because I am already a firm believer. That makes logical sense.
So why does God not communicate to all atheists? The answer is quite simple. There was something “special” about those atheists, they were chosen in a sense, because they were sincere and deserving. Likewise, some people are guided by God to be Baha’is, and there is a mystery as to why. There are some hints though, such as these:
"Some were guided by the Light of God, gained admittance into the court of His presence, and quaffed, from the hand of resignation, the waters of everlasting life, and were accounted of them that have truly recognized and believed in Him. Others rebelled against Him, and rejected the signs of God, the Most Powerful, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” Gleanings, p. 145
“Whoso maketh efforts for Us,” he shall enjoy the blessings conferred by the words: “In Our Ways shall We assuredly guide him.”” Gleanings, pp. 266-267
Those speak for themselves, no explanation is necessary.
I am not saying that people cannot have a spiritual awakening without a Prophet, but I see no conflict between spiritual awakening and religious beliefs. Many religious believers are very spiritually awake, so that is the evidence. Religious beliefs do not place limits on God,
God sets the limits beyond which there is no passing. Have you ever heard of the Sadratu’l-Muntahá, the “Tree beyond which there is no passing”? The Manifestations of God stand on the All-Highest Throne, and they are the Tree beyond which there is no passing. That means they are the only way to access and know about God. They are the Luminaries of learning and wisdom that come from God in every age.
“The signs of God shine as manifest and resplendent as the sun amidst the works of His creatures. Whatsoever proceedeth from Him is apart, and will always remain distinguished, from the inventions of men. From the Source of His knowledge countless Luminaries of learning and wisdom have risen, and out of the Paradise of His Pen the breath of the All-Merciful hath continually been wafted to the hearts and souls of men. Happy are they that have recognized this truth.” Gleanings, p. 144
The Baha’i belief is really is no different than the Christian belief: John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Are both Christianity and the Baha’i Faith wrong? That is highly unlikely given all the spiritual truth that can be found in their respective scriptures.
A Prophet of God who says in so many words that only Prophets get a revelation from God is simply telling the truth that He received from God, and that truth is evidenced by the fact that nobody else ever has received a revelation from God. I do not see how that is an attempt to control anyone or how it is a disservice to the followers. The fact remains that we cannot be Prophets unless God
chooses us to be a Prophet. That is just logical and it is the way it has been throughout the history of mankind.
Why would anyone would even want to be a Prophet, unless it they wanted a following? A person who has personal insights about God can share that with others without being a Prophet.
God decided that it is not
possible for you to have more knowledge than a Manifestation of God such as Baha'u'llah, because God only reveals that knowledge to individuals who are chosen. They bring the Light and then the Light is available to all of mankind. God is omniscient so God knew who would be suitable to receive His revelation and convey it to humanity. The Writings of Baha’u’llah constitute 15,000 Tablets and for a period of years He wrote verses equivalent to the Qur’an in one day and night. Clearly, He was more than just a man, not that this is the only evidence.
What one might want to ask is why they think they can
surpass a Prophet like Jesus or why they would even want to? Jesus taught humility. All the Great Prophets taught humility.
John 14:12
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
That verse needs to be taken in context of that chapter. Jesus said that because He was leaving that His followers should do the work He had been doing and that together they could do greater works. There is a big difference in saying that one can do great works and saying that one can be a Prophet, receive a Revelation from God and mediate between God and man. John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
The reason that my religion places Prophets above ordinary humans is because God chose them and God placed them there. That is the best answer I can give. If people do not want to believe this they can choose not to. Baha’u’llah did not care who believed in Him. The question I have is why people would not want to believe in a Prophet if He indeed had information from God.
Obviously there is a difference between Buddhist beliefs and Baha’i beliefs. A big difference is that Buddhists do not even believe Buddha was a Prophet of God, they just believe he was a great teacher. So a student can learn enough to also be a great teacher. But a human cannot be a Prophet (Manifestation of God) because they were not chosen by God.
I do not think Christians believe they can be a Christ and they place Jesus on a level above an ordinary human. That does not preclude us being followers of the Light and manifesting the attributes of God. We just cannot receive and convey messages from God because only a Prophet can do so because Prophets have a third station we do not have. This explains the difference:
“Know that the Holy Manifestations, though They have the degrees of endless perfections, yet, speaking generally, have only three stations. The first station is the physical; the second station is the human, which is that of the rational soul; the third is that of the divine appearance and the heavenly splendor.”
Some Answered Questions, p. 151