Upcoming Fast

[sandandfoam]

I'm not going to participate in the upcoming fast because I don't feel well enough. I'm disappointed to be missing it but I still want to mark the occasion. I'm planning on some extra prayer and a good study of The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys.
If any of you have any ideas of other things I could to to mark this time I'd appreciate them.

 

[arthra]

Stephen,

Allah'u'Abha!

I have a medical condition that precludes my fasting this year as well..

But yes I have a suggestion!

Since the Prayer for the Fast is important..

See:

Bahá'í Reference Library - Bahá’í Prayers: A Selection of Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Pages 238-245

I'd suggest studying it and seeing if you can memorize as much as possible.. this is what I intend to do this year.

It seems for me at least that prayer is sometimes neglected...

- Art

 

[arthra]

Exemptions that are medical from the Fast are inclusive and general.. and we are encouraged to follow the advice of a physician.

"Verily, I say that God has appointed a great station for fasting and prayer. But during good health its benefit is evident, and when one is ill, it is not permissible to fulfil them."

When we miss a day or so of fasting there are no "make ups".. When you feel better you can resume with the fast with everyone else...until it concludes.

No body is standing over you to check how you fast.. It's really more like an "honor system":

"But while a universal obligation, the observance of the nineteen-day Fast has been made by Bahá'u'lláh the sole responsibility of the individual believer. No Assembly has the right to enforce it on the friends, or to hold anyone responsible for not observing it."

The Bab specified the month of 'Ala (Loftiness) for fasting and it was also adapted by Baha'u'llah with some modifications and so it occurs the same time every year before the vernal equinox or our New Year which is Naw-Ruz the ancient New Year of Persia/Afganistan and parts of the Middle East.

Our months are nineteen days each month so the Fast lasts nineteen days.

Baha'is from fifteen to seventy years of age fast.

See:

The Bahá'Ã* Fast

The Baha'i Fast

- Art

 

[arthra]

These are the ones, O my God, whom Thou hast graciously enabled to have fellowship with Thee and to commune with Him Who is the Revealer of Thyself. The winds of Thy will have scattered them abroad until Thou didst gather them together beneath Thy shadow, and didst cause them to enter into the precincts of Thy court. Now that Thou hast made them to abide under the shade of the canopy of Thy mercy, do Thou assist them to attain what must befit so august a station. Suffer them not, o my Lord, to be numbered with them who, though enjoying near access to Thee, have been kept back from recognizing Thy face, and who, though meeting with Thee, are deprived of Thy presence.

These are Thy servants, O my Lord, who have entered with Thee in this, the Most Great Prison, who have kept the fast within its walls according to what Thou hast commanded them in the Tablets of Thy decree and the Books of Thy behest. Send down, therefore, upon them what will thoroughly purge them of all that Thou abhorrest, that they may be wholly devoted to Thee, and may detach themselves entirely from all except Thyself.

- Baha'u'llah, Baha'i Prayers, pp. 248-249

 

[DarkMaster24]

If religon involves fasting (starving yourself) I don't think I could be religious. (not to say I don't admire those that do fast, though)

 

[whereismynotecard]

How long does the fast last? (I could write a poem about this)

I can starve myself for a few days, but I think I'd get pretty hungry and crappy feeling...

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

The Baha'i Fast entails abstinence from food and drink during the daylight hours (sunrise-sunset) of the 19 consecutive days of one Baha'i month (Ala, = Loftiness), March 2-20.

And you might be surprised how easy it becomes once one has had a bit of experience with it! It also gives us a chance to reflect on what's important in life and to practice a bit of detachment....

Best regards,

Bruce

 

[arthra]

Isn't starving yourself bad for you? Everyone always tells me not to starve myself... I do fast at night when I'm sleeping... and I break my fast with a breakfast in the morning. (not really... I skip breakfast and wait until lunch... but since lunch is when I'm breaking my fast, I suppose I could still call it breakfast.)

Welcome to the Baha'i Forum!

Actually some fasting could be good for you.. Emptying your tummy of things you've been consuming that might not be good for you anyway.. During WWII when there was an embargo on Sweden people didn't eat much but the rate of heart attacks and other diseases went down.

The discipline actually can help us be more aware of habits that are not good for us. When you accomplish a fast you know you can do it! and that can encourage you to do other things.

Finally:

We Baha'is only fast when we are healthy.

- Art

 

[arthra]

If religon involves fasting (starving yourself) I don't think I could be religious. (not to say I don't admire those that do fast, though)

Welcome to the Forum!

If you check on most religions there is some fasting involved..even Native Americans have vision quests and the major Personages in the major religions have according to the records about Them fasted.

- Art

 

[Darz]

Does abstinence from drink include water?

 

[whereismynotecard]

So can you eat and drink anything you want when it's dark/night time?

 

[Varion Zanzibar]

So can you eat and drink anything you want when it's dark/night time?

At night, we can eat/drink anything we would normally eat (which exludes alcohol).

I liked what Artha said earlier on about breaking habits, or making new ones. This must my eigth fast. And along the way, I felt how the beginning of the fast was so hard. I connected the dots, to coffee! And the worst is that I don't drink that much coffee. I just wasn't aware of the effect coffee had on me.

So now, thanks to the fast, I drink decaf. I'm not against coffee. I still drink it occasionally, when I really need a boost. And then, it works!

 

[whereismynotecard]

I've never fasted in a way which excludes water... I've stopped eating for a few days because I was depressed or felt fat, but I always still drank water.

 

[Varion Zanzibar]

Does abstinence from drink include water?

Yes, it does. My husband is really worried about that. But my experience is that I've never been as hydrated as I am during the fast: it's the one time of the year that I make a genuine effort to drink (at night). The rest of the time, I just assume that I drink enough...

 

[Varion Zanzibar]

I've never fasted in a way which excludes water... I've stopped eating for a few days because I was depressed or felt fat, but I always still drank water.

For me, fasting has been an occassion to take a bit more control over my life. I know some people who say: I can't fast, I need to eat. I think it's almost liberating to realise that yes, we need to eat, but no, we don't need to 24h a day. That it's not just our body who controls us, but also, we control our body...

On the other hand, everything is good in moderation. I don't think it's possible to fast non-stop for a few days without drinking water. I know Christians who fast for 4 or 5 days, but then they first consult with a doctor. Then they gradually reduce the amount of food they eat. Then the real fast start, at a retreat, where there are people around to check that everything is going ok. And of course, for that amount of time, they drink water. Afterward, they start eating slowly. I think it makes sense, since we need to give our stomack time to shrink and expand.

 

[whereismynotecard]

I never drink enough... I remember one time when my family and I were on "vacation" I had a bottle of water at the beginning of the day, and by that night, it was not even half empty, and that's all I drank that day. (vacation in our family meant driving south until it was warm, staying in a hotel, and then driving back home the next day...)

 

[Varion Zanzibar]

I think fasting is a kind of purification time, when we get out all that we accumulate in our body over time. I sound very general, cause I don't know the details... But we do have toxic materials in our body, which we need to get rid of. So I think fasting is healthy.

However, fasting in a religious context is first of all a spiritual deed. What do you think about that?

 

[Varion Zanzibar]

For example, we see pictures in magazine of hungry children. Can I really be compassionate with them if I've never experienced hunger? So in this case, fasting helps to increase the spiritual quality of compassion.

I can give other examples. Lunchtime at work is time where I can do something else, like to go for a walk. Then, having this time for myself, I can use it to reflect on the day.

I used to wake up early before sunrise to eat breakfast, and then I had a lot of time to read spiritual books, so once again, that was something significant for me (this year, I mean, today, I just skipped breakfast altogether... It's a new experiment. I suppose I'm too lazy to wake up, or I go to bed too late. If it doesn't work, I'll go back to the old way).

 

[whereismynotecard]

Is there anyone who hasn't ever experienced hunger? One time in the winter when my dad didn't work, we didn't have very much money at all, so I wouldn't eat hardly anything, because we didn't have anything I liked at our house... and I'm so picky I'd rather eat nothing for a few days than eat something I don't like...

 

[Varion Zanzibar]

Is there anyone who hasn't ever experienced hunger? One time in the winter when my dad didn't work, we didn't have very much money at all, so I wouldn't eat hardly anything, because we didn't have anything I liked at our house... and I'm so picky I'd rather eat nothing for a few days than eat something I don't like...

I see! I'm quite the opposite, I eat almost anything...