I have a different perspective on this, although its something quite different than you might come across. Often when Baha'u'llah speaks, the voice is not always his. Depending on the topic, sometimes he may speak as God (but isn't God himself), or may speak as a servant of God. When I consider the interplay of the Seven Valleys and Kitab-i-Iqan, I believe when there are directives such as follow me, it isn't always about following Baha'u'llah. It is follow God. And elsewhere when there is a command for follow me, it isn't Baha'u'llah per se, but follow the station of Manifestation/Prophet/Messenger/Avatar etc. Its like when someone asks if you went to see a doctor and a loved one tells you to do what the doctor says. You may have Dr. Alpha earlier in your life, and later in life you have Dr. Beta, and your loved one sees Dr. Gamma. You and your loved one has the command, turn to and obey the doctor or you may suffer consequences of ill health. Doctor is merely a title or position. The fact that there are different people who fulfill the role of doctor doesn't really matter so much, if you follow Alpha, Beta, or Gamma, you are still following a doctor. A common belief most Baha'is have is when you obey Baha'u'llah, you are obeying all Manifestations. Somehow they don't consider if you obey Laozi, you might also be obeying Baha'u'llah.
You see, the doctors you see should do a good job in bring about good health. Now if you go see your doctor, and for every advice they give you, you decide to also take the advice of your well-meaning but uninformed aunt, or some random healer with no qualifications, you may get some of the benefit of the doctor, but not the full benefit. Taking health advice from bad sources takes away from the maximum benefit. Each religion ever known to mankind, matter their godliness or perceived godliness, has turned to other sources other than God (or whomever was acting on behalf of God). The Baha'i Faith is included in this. Muslims have their hadiths they rely on more than the Qur'an, Catholics have Paul, Popes, and Priests which weigh more on their faith than Jesus, and Marxism/Nationalism are recent examples of how Taoism can be effected in one of those long existing countries such as China.
Has China always existed? In a way, yeah. Dynasties rise and fall. They've been occupied by Japan, and restarted differently. When nations are considered to rise and fall, it isn't exactly that a name changes. The governing institution changes, whether its from outside people or from within. So when Baha'u'llah tells Napoleon he is going to lose everything if he continues on his path, its something which came true. France remained a country, but France is not the same country it was then. It's been occupied, its had a new government and new constitution. Since the time of Baha'u'llah, there have not been many current nations whose governing institution has stayed the same. America is one of those nations. Would you consider America godly? In many ways it does not seem to be... but it is a place where people can seek God in any path they choose and relatively be safe in doing so. That's a great blessing despite America having a secular government and there being a great deal of activities going on that traditional religionists find abhorent. Maybe they only find these activities abhorent because they follow Paul, not Jesus. Maybe China struggles in a per person basis because Laozi or Buddha aren't as well remembered as they once were while Muslims in Urumqi face abuse. I do believe, though, that China would be better off if Laozi and/or Buddha were the primary educator instead of the Chinese Communist Party, and Muslims of Urumqi and elsewhere would be in better condition if Muhammad was the primary educator instead of Abu Huraira (a primary Sunni Hadith narrator). These "doctors" would help heal humankind in a way to bring about peace and oneness.
In the end, I think if any person or group of people try their best to follow the original teachings of whatever faith it is they believe in, as long as the faith is used to keep people from harming others, eventually it will lead to the path which Baha'u'llah described. I also believe the world's population is trending in that direction. Look at how many turn their back on traditional religious institutions and seek their own path. Even if that path is atheism (which tends to be a temporary path for most), its been a path which has led to more peace, a safer world, and greater opportunities for women and people who are usually marginalized in traditionally religious societies. There's not a single war in the entire Western Hemisphere. The only armed conflicts in the world exist in eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Africa. It's a fairly small geography in conflict.
The oneness of humanity is being taught. It's not being led by the Baha'i Faith, as they cannot build communities which even serve themselves yet... but it is being taught through media, through tourism, through places such as this forum, by migration, and other means. It's an inevitable force that humanity is becoming aware of as our knowledge and education gets better. I look forward to all of this continuing and I hope Baha'u'llah's vision can be achieved through the efforts of all of us.
