Baha'i Fast starts
Today is the first day of the Baha’i Fast. For me it started a bit rough. I had set my alarm to get up at 6am and eat a big breakfast. But, I only had a bowl of cereal, then said some prayers and went back to bed. How reverant. Last night we had a great party to celebrate that last day of Ayyam-i-Ha and as usual there was tons of food and fun. Whether your Jewish, Muslim or Christian there is always room for more understanding and contemplation when it comes to Fasting. Why do we obstain from sun up until sun down for a whole month? Does it really help our soul. Some years I can say absolutely. Some years I feel a bit overwhelmed and wonder if I can do it. I was curious if anyone else would like to share there stories of fasting, whether or not its going on now. It is safe to say I think that the reasons we fast our universal and pretty much un-changed.
No doubt its chief purpose is spiritual; to reinvigorate the soul and bring the person closer to God. I thought I would share a little about the Baha’i hoilday that is happening for millions right now across the World.
From Wikipedia on Ayyam-i-Ha…
The nineteen months of the Bahá’í calendar are named after the attributes of God. Ayyám-i-Há, which means the “Days of Há” — Há is the Arabic letter corresponding to the English H — commemorates the transcendence of God over his attributes since its name “Ha” has been used a symbol of the essence of God in the Bahá’í holy writings. Under the Arabic abjad system, the letter Há has the numerical value of five, which is equal to the maximum number of days in Ayyam-i-Há.
During the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há Bahá’ís are encouraged to celebrate God and his oneness by showing love, fellowship and unity. In many instances Bahá’ís give and accept gifts to show forth the love, and it is sometimes seen as a “Bahá’í Christmas” held two months late. It is also a time of charity and goodwill and Bahá’ís often participate in various projects of a humanitarian nature.
After the Fast, we have Naw Ruz, which is the New Year, in the Ancient Persian Calander and also the Baha’i Calander.
Also from Wikipedia…
Nowrūz (Persian: نوروز, various local pronunciations and spellings) is the traditional Iranian new year holiday celebrated in Iran, Northern Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania, Georgia, the countries of Central Asia such as Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, as well as among various other Iranian and Turkic people in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Northwestern China, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the Balkans.
Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian year as well as the beginning of the Bahá’í year. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (start of spring in northern hemisphere), which usually occurs on the March 21st or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed.
As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday, it is also a holy day for adherents of Sufism as well as Bahá’í Faith. In Iran it is also referred to as an Eid festival, although it is not an Islamic feast. Shia Nizari Ismaili muslims, who trace their origins to Iran, celebrate the festival under the name Navroz. In their religious protocol, Navroz is officially recognized as an Eid, as with Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, although it involves a distinct set of religious ceremonies. Alawites also celebrate Nowruz.
Join the Conversation
How fasting and reinvigorating soul brings person closer to God?
As a Baha’i, I, too, am on my first day of the fast. As a relatively new Bahai, this will be my third year. The first I got up every day before sunrise and ate breakfast and prayed. However, last year, I did without the sunrise breakfast. I work late nights (until 3 or 4 a.m.) and have midday classes, so waking up at 6 becomes pretty detrimental to my sleep cycle. So, when I get home from work I eat, hydrate, pray, then sleep. When I wake up, I pray more. With two hours and forty-seven minutes left before sunset, I am not hungry, not thirsty, not tired, and am already feeling a that enriching sense of discipline. Every year gets a little better and every year I more readily recognize my material cravings and can thus work to extinguish them. Smart fasting truly is reinvigorating for the soul.
Omid,
Thank you for your post and introducing Bahai fasting. I hope you have a peaceful, fulfilling fast and please pray for me and pray for all Middle East, the peace that we need so desparately at the moment..
Happy Ayyam-i Ha for all the Iranian Bahais and Bahais from the rest of the world
Thank you Elinor and as im writting this I have about 3 more hours before sunset. I find that when we fast we have many other things to do and think about, energy permitting.
Kavi, if done sincerly I have seen fasting do just that. Completely change a person. Im sure anyone who has fasted can say the same thing.
I accept that for good! but we and no one exactly have defined “closing to god” clearly in human history, yet!
changing of a person in any context is logically different from that being close to god. they are two different context!
That was not a good answer; cuz we cant count on people tales to bring out an conclusion and a rule! I can say “Im sure anyone who has fasted has suffered so much pain and they say the same thing.”
Then both can be wrong or right!
By the way; since closing to God is not clearified; then I accept you! And hope to have good fasting days! You introduced some Baha’i rites to me! Thanks a lot!
If you mean “closer to God” then yes, I believe and have seen/felt this during fasting. Obviously we do not fast to distance ourselves.
It is this closeness to God which changes a person, even if only for a little while, it can help get a new perspective, and yes change a person. This is not always the case and I am not saying I always change or feel closer to God, there are a lot of distractions out there, but that is the goal.
One thing I do not intend to do at all is somehow seem preachy about my experience. SO if that is something that you felt, I apologize.
Warm regards.
Dear Omid:
I enjoyed of your post and your experience and there is no reason for apologizing. I just wondered how fasting leads us to God!!! I can understand it! I used to fasting as a muslim; that was joyful because I thought I am doing something good and I had delusion that I am a good guy in front of my God! that was just a feeling! But in reality maybe that was just a delusion and a good feeling at the same time!
I felt closeness to god but there is no pattern to tell us if this is a illusion or reality!
And one more problem is with the definition of closeness to god!
how do you define it?
Thanks for sharing… I appreciate reading the first hand experiences.
Hi Omid,
I found your blog on my weekly google search on “Baha’i” and just wanted to wish you a spiritual fast and all the personal blessings that result from observance of these days of constraint! Here in the Czech Republic where faith in God is very hard to find (70% of the population declare themselves athiest!) it is even harder to share in words the spirit that animates us to wake up before the sun and resist to eat and drink til sunset. I declared my belief in Baha’u'llah 2 days before the Fast began in 1989 and every year, the Fast is the most enriching days of the year, dispite the challenges of thirst and hunger.
May God bless and strengthen you during these days!
Rich
Hi Rich,
Far be it from me to claim MEY as my blog. Hehe
Thanks for the support!
Day 2/19
You may want to check out the posts on NoRooz (Iranian New Year)here.
http://plateauofiran.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/norooz-iranian-new-year-2008-part-i/
The fast gets better and better year by year. Trust me
or rather Trust in God 
People who are in good health can fast any time, they don’t need to wait for Ala (the month of fasting)!
BTW, a complete 24 hr. fast with taking only sparingly of water is really physically purifying. However after 5 days you can’t play football or cram for exams.
regards from Japan
Edo River
These are special days for you. Your soul is fed and prepared for this new spiritual year.
I have been Fasting since I turned 15 and that is many years ago. I find every Fast different. Some years it is easy physically and harder spiritually and some years the opposite and so on. The years I had my children and didn’t Fast physically I was so concerned about others around me Fasting, I was more aware of the Fast, and it was quite an experience. It sums up to being aware of our efforts toward spiritual growth.
I always wondered why pilgrims are asked not to Fast (if I recall correctly)? Is it because on Pilgrimage you are enriched by being in the Holy places? On that note: Every pilgrimage is a different experience as well.
I just returned from a trip to the US. Getting back into the Fasting pattern is like reminding myself of my physical body and its limitations. I seem to feel a heightened sensitivity to physical limitations, and this spreads upward to my mind and emotions. We will see what tomorrow brings as I start the Fast again.
During the Fast I try to start a special study project, for the past 3 years I have read as much as I could of the Qur’an in the early morning. This year I am again reading the Qur’an but I am alternating reading a Surah with a chapter of Psalms in the Bible. It is interesting to read this way. I took the Book of Psalms as a starting point because it seems to me to be quite similar to the Surahs that begin my version of the Qur’an. You see, my English version is organized chronologically, with the traditional order coded at the top of the Surah. So my version begins with what are called the Medina Surahs. I think anyone could see how these Surahs seem like the Old Testament,
Thanks for the explanation of the fast. I will use your post to explain the fast to our children’s class. The fast is a helpful restraint on my physical drives, it lets me experence my spirt.
the Psalms are beautiful. Why? because they link me to my past, and to the richer African-American culture. I can hear in the voices of the Psalms and of the AME teachers I had heard in my Rome Georgia childhood. Their voices were duplicated in one of my favorite novels, Junteenth, by Ralph Ellison.
A passage from Psalms 17th Chapter where I am now:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The law of the lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Verses 1-7
And the Surah Tariq, traditionally numbered 86
“The darkness of the heavens is is witness and witness is the Morning Star! But what shall make thee comprehend whyat the Morning Star doth signify? A star of percing radiance, Over every soul it keepeth watch. Let Man reflect upon his humble origin what was he created of but fluid injected with life. Emerges he from spine and loins. Verily, recalling (man) for Him is possible on the day that all secrets will be divulged; For him there shall be no support or helper. Witness are the heaens whose nature it is to revolve. Witness the earth whose nhature it is to split afresh. Verily, in these are eternal truths. No passing jest. Indeed they are planning a plan against thee but We shall plan a plan against them. So bear a while with these of little faith; let them alone for a while. ”
There is much to learn from these two passages. Why do the people (Jews, Christians, Muslims) of these three books of God disagree with one another so poisonously? In my opinion, the reason could, for convenience be summed up in one word, “Trust.” Though since many other virtues are so closely linked together, other words could be substituted. When I think of my question, I am reminded about what Abdu’l Baha said when asked for advice in what He chose to say to the people in the American cities He spoke to in 1912, and He said that we should speak about what can be agreed with. I think, for whatever reason, when people heard and saw the personage of Abdu’l Baha they could both trust and agree, for the moment He was there in their presence. During that time, there was trust and agreement. As though the sun came out from behind the clouds, for a few moments it shone on the landscape of our limitations. These are just my thoughts as fast is coming to an end.
I have a thought about the Fast. I think that the Fast is especially useful for people in the developed countries to understand the meaning of “sacrifice” and perhaps a little hardship. People in these countries, especially young people, do not have REAL hardships or make sacrifices for something other than what will benefit them materially, from my observation and experience. Their usual understanding of hardship is to try to keep a part=time job while attending university classes, in my opinion. Fasting is different from other kinds of hardships. It means giving up something we do casually and with great enjoyment. If we are the usual overweight American or Japanese we eat snacks often as well as delicious meals whenever we want. To fast and not be on a diet would seem crazy to most young people in my opinion. However it refines the spirit both mentally, physically and especially spiritually. Of course the Yogis from India have been drawing attention to these powers gained by fasting for 1000s of years, and there is a tradition of fasting in Christianity and Islam. In America, I think the Christian fasting is mostly symbolic or ignored. More people in Islam take the fast seriously. So this is really about Western young people, and secondly it is about controling the material desires not only for food but also other desires about sexual attraction, etc. which we are swimming in through out the fasting day. Because of our new condition we can think about these things in a conscious way, at least once a year.