Fasting is a time for reflecting on one’s spiritual progress and making an effort to detach from physical and material desires.
Are we physical beings having a spiritual experience? Or are we spiritual beings having a physical experience? I believe we’re the latter, and I’m reminded of that each year when I fast.
Fasting is neither new nor unique. It’s been a part of human history that’s been practiced throughout centuries by most ancient civilizations and religions. It’s also become a popular trend recently for its many health benefits.
While many people are familiar with Lent in Christianity, Ramadan in Islam and Yom Kippur in Judaism, did you know the Native Americans also practiced fasting before embarking on spiritual vision quests? Or that Bahá’ís fast annually as a means to reinvigorate their soul and bring themselves closer to God?
Many of the Manifestations of God Themselves went through a period of meditation and fasting at some point in Their lives during which, in intense communion with God, They contemplated the mysteries of the universe and the nature of Their mission.
The Bahá’í 19-Day Fast
Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, designated a 19-day period of fasting each year immediately before the Bahá’í New Year. The 19-Day Fast is a time of prayer and meditation and seen as a period of spiritual preparation and regeneration for the Bahá’í New Year ahead.
The 19-Day Fast usually occurs between March 2nd and 20th, during the Bahá’í month of ‘Alá, meaning “Loftiness.” As Baha’is, we observe the fast by refraining from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset for nineteen days. Yes, that’s right – nothing to eat or drink during all daylight hours.
Bahá’ís between ages 15 and 70 rise before dawn to eat breakfast and pray. At sunset, we enjoy a meal, often joining family and friends to break the fast. While fasting is a physical sacrifice, it isn’t meant to be punitive. Exemptions are made for illness, the elderly, the very young, pregnancy, nursing mothers, women who are menstruating, travelers and those engaged in heavy physical labor.
A Spiritual Fast
As in many world religions, fasting is a time for reflecting on one’s spiritual progress and making an effort to detach from physical and material desires.
Abdu’l-Bahá, the eldest Son of Bahá’u’lláh, said, “[T]his material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding of oneself from all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God.”
While I don’t speak for all Bahá’ís, in general, we practice fasting as a discipline for the soul; we see abstaining from food as an outer symbol of a spiritual fast. By this we mean the practice of self-restraint in order to distance ourselves from all the appetites of the body and so focus on ourselves as a spiritual being and get closer to God.
Fasting, said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá “is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. This is produced by the fact that man’s thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow.”
For me, abstaining from food isn’t an end in itself but a symbol, and, if it doesn’t result in improvements in my character and an increased concern for others, then it hasn’t been undertaken in the right spirit.
The Bahá’í Faith, an Inclusive, Unifying Vision
We live in a time of rapid, often unsettling change, inspiring mixed feelings of dread, anxiety, anticipation and hope. Amid this turbulence, the Bahá’í Faith can be a haven. The optimistic teachings of the Bahá’í Faith answer essential questions about the human condition and the relationships that bind us together.
Bahá’ís view the world’s major religions as part of a single, progressive process through which God reveals His will to humanity. Bahá’í teachings offer hope to a troubled world. They include spiritual principles on which humanity may, with divine assistance, establish lasting peace. Tenets include one creator, the oneness of humanity and the eradication of all forms of prejudice, equality of women and men, universal education and the harmony of science and religion.
To learn more about the Bahá’í Faith in America, explore bahai.us. All are welcome!