Three significances of religious fasting

"For every sincere soul who has a beloved longs to experience that state in which his beloved is. If his beloved is in a state of sorrow, he desires sorrow; if in a state of joy, he desires joy; if in a state of rest, he desires rest; if in a state of trouble, he desires trouble."

'Abdu'l-Baha on the Divine wisdom in fasting

“The Divine wisdom in fasting is manifold. Among them is this: As during those days (i.e., the period of fasting which the followers afterward observe) the Manifestation of the Sun of Reality, through Divine inspiration, is engaged in the descent (revealing) of Verses, the instituting of Divine Law and the arrangement of teachings, through excessive occupation and intensive attraction there remains no condition or time for eating and drinking. For example, when His Holiness Moses went to Mount Tur (Sinai) and there engaged in instituting the Law of God, He fasted forty days. For the purpose of awakening and admonishing the people of Israel, fasting was enjoined upon them.

“Likewise, His Holiness Christ, in the beginning of instituting the Spiritual Law, the systematizing of the teachings and the arrangement of counsels, for forty days abstained from eating and drinking. In the beginning the disciples and Christians fasted. Later the assemblages of the chief Christians changed fasting into lenten observances.

"Likewise the Koran having descended in the month Ramazan, fasting during that month became a duty.

"In like manner His Holiness the Supreme (the Báb http://info.bahai.org/the-bab.html), in the beginning of the Manifestation (http://bahai.org/article-1-4-0-3.html), through the excessive effect of descending Verses, passed days in which his nourishment was reduced to tea only.

"Likewise, the Blessed Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh http://info.bahai.org/bahaullah.html), when busy with instituting the Divine Teachings and during the days when the Verses descended continuously, through the great effect of the Verses and the throbbing of the heart, took no food except the least amount.

“The purpose is this: In order to follow the Divine Manifestations and for the purpose of admonition and the commemoration of their state, it became incumbent upon the people to fast during those days. For every sincere soul who has a beloved longs to experience that state in which his beloved is. If his beloved is in a state of sorrow, he desires sorrow; if in a state of joy, he desires joy; if in a state of rest, he desires rest; if in a state of trouble, he desires trouble.

“Now, since in this Millennial Day, His Holiness the Supreme (the Báb) fasted many days, and the Blessed Beauty (Bahá’u’lláh) took but little food or drink, it becomes necessary that the friends should follow that example… This is one wisdom of the wisdoms of fasting.

"The second wisdom is this: Fasting 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.

"Third wisdom: Fasting is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The material fasting is abstaining from food or drink, that is, from the appetites of the body. But spiritual, ideal fasting is this, that man abstain from selfish passions, from negligence and from satanic animal traits. Therefore material fasting is a token of the spiritual fasting. That is: 0 God! as I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy Love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions and animal traits. Thus may the spirit...fast from everything else save Thy mention."

(Table Talks by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, by Mrs. Corinne True: Star of the West, Vol. IV, No. 18, p. 305)

Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.

Fasting—Spiritual in Character

“The fasting period, which lasts nineteen days starting as a rule from the second of March every year and ending on the twentieth of the same month, involves complete abstention from food and drink from sunrise till sunset. It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires.”
(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, January 10, 1936)

Besides all this, prayer and fasting is...conducive to protection and preservation from tests....
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Baha'i World Faith, p. 368)

http://info.bahai.org/article-1-4-0-7.html
http://www.aqdasproject.com/kitab-i-aqdas/compilations/lightsofguidance/fast.htm
http://bahai-library.com/pilgrims/table-talks.true.html

(Photo copyright of the Bahá'í International Community)

Ayyám-i-Há - a unique opportunity - REFLECTIONS

It is such an unspeakable blessing to have been enabled to recognize the identity and station of one's Guide in life. It provides a locus and an anchoring point for a person's spiritual, intellectual and material development, not only in this world, but in the next one as well. As stated in the Islamic Hadíth (Tradition):

"He who is a true believer liveth both in this world and in the world to come."
(quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in Gems of Divine mysteries, p. 48)

Baha'u'lláh states:

"Men at all times and under all conditions stand in need of one to exhort them, guide them and to instruct and teach them. Therefore He hath sent forth His Messengers, His Prophets and chosen ones..."
(Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 158)

The Baha'i calendar given to us for this unique Dispensation (which initiates the "Cycle of Fulfillment") by the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh provides a spiritual and practical rhythm for advancement, realized through the individual's reflection and deliberation over the requirements of each of the various God-(and nature-)given stages through which he passes, from month to month and from year to year. The "twin-pillars" of the "changeless Faith of God", Fasting and Obligatory prayer, which take place once a year and once a day respectively, offer a convenient and manageable framework for the individual's eternal process of drawing closer to his Creator, and for his short- and long-term efforts along the path of perfection -

"Let each morn be better than its eve, and each morrow richer than its yesterday."
- Bahá'u'lláh

Photo by Marco Abrar - BahaiPictures.com

When it comes to Ayyam-i-Há, these 4 (in leap years 5) out of the year's 365 days, they give us the wonderful opportunity to think outside of the usual regulations we impose upon ourselves, beyond the limits of time and convention:

"We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them enter upon the Fast."

- Baha'u'llah (Kitab-i-Aqdas, v. 25)

A comment on the above:

"As in His prayer for Ayyám-i-Há, Bahá'u'lláh juxtaposes these "days of giving" with the Fast's "season of restraint." Ayyám-i-Há is intended partly as spiritual preparation for the Fast, a reminder of its approach, and a way of fostering the detachment from material things so necessary for the Fast."

(Karla Jamir, Ayyám-i-Há: Days Outside of Time http://www.geocities.com/cwynne19/feast/ha/ayyamiha05.html )

Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith, states:

"These days...should be days of preparation for the Fast, days of hospitality, charity and the giving of presents." (Baha'i Prayers, p. 236)

It is unique to the history of religion to have been given such definite specifications of the time and duration of the period for unusual generosity, by the Founder of the religion Himself. He has thus endowed them with eternal, enduring significance that projects their value and reality beyond this earthly realm to that of the afterlife. This fact encourages the adoption of a wholly new attitude to this ancient practice and offers a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY to align oneself closer with God's Will and Intention:

"The way Bahá'ís are encouraged to celebrate God and His Oneness during Ayyám-i-Há is by ourselves showing forth God's love, fellowship and unity. We are to give and accept gifts and hospitality in the same spirit that God creates. God who loves us before we exist, who takes outsiders into his Being and ever gives forth grace without thought of reciprocity. Such effusiveness requires a new attitude to the deity."

(John Taylor, Sept. 2001 http://bahai-library.com/conferences/badia.html )

Regarding the days' designation and mystical aspect, the Universal House of Justice says:

"Known as the Ayyám-i-Há (the Days of Há), the Intercalary Days have the distinction of being associated with "the letter Há"... The letter "Há" has been given several spiritual meanings in the Holy Writings, among which is as a symbol of the Essence of God."

(Kitáb-i-Aqdas, commentary, p. 178)

The Ayyám-i-Há prayer revealed by Bahá'u'lláh is worth meditating deeply upon -

My God, my Fire and my Light!

The days which Thou hast named the Ayyám-i-Há in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the Fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching. I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance.

These, O my Lord, are Thy servants whom no corrupt inclination hath kept back from what Thou didst send down in Thy Book. They have bowed themselves before Thy Cause, and received Thy Book with such resolve as is born of Thee, and observed what Thou hadst prescribed unto them, and chosen to follow that which had been sent down by Thee.

Thou seest, O my Lord, how they have recognized and confessed whatsoever Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures. Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting.

I implore Thee, O Thou the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, to ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come. Write down for them, moreover, what none of Thy creatures hath discovered, and number them with those who have circled round Thee, and who move about Thy throne in every world of Thy worlds.

Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

- Bahá'u'lláh

Read more on the Baha'i calendar here.

Worthiness only in worshiping Him "for His sake"

These are the words of the Blessed Báb -

WORSHIP thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire, no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy recompense should be paradise. Thus and thus alone should be the worship which befitteth the one True God. Shouldst thou worship Him because of fear, this would be unseemly in the sanctified Court of His presence, and could not be regarded as an act by thee dedicated to the Oneness of His Being. Or if thy gaze should be on paradise, and thou shouldst worship Him while cherishing such a hope, thou wouldst make God's creation a partner with Him, notwithstanding the fact that paradise is desired by men.

Fire and paradise both bow down and prostrate themselves before God. That which is worthy of His Essence is to worship Him for His sake, without fear of fire, or hope of paradise.

Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from the fire, and entereth the paradise of God's good-pleasure, yet such should not be the motive of his act. However, God's favour and grace ever flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.

The most acceptable prayer is the one offered with the utmost spirituality and radiance; its prolongation hath not been and is not beloved by God. The more detached and the purer the prayer, the more acceptable is it in the presence of God.

View reference here.

Motivation by love versus by fear

This enlightening story shared yesterday by an active teacher-friend Richard Hoff ties in with yesterday's blogpost "You have fear", in that it highlights the importance of entertaining the right motive for one's actions in life. Needless to say, fear is not a fitting motive! It is strange indeed that I should have encountered the story the very same day of that (to me) very significant dream. At one point he refers to the injunction given by the beloved Guardian to each believer: "Never must they let a day pass without teaching some soul, trusting to Baha'u'llah that the seed will grow." (Guidelines for Teaching, #1995)

Dear Friends,

My wife agrees with me that in my case "teaching is the dominating passion of my life." I am not disagreeing but often it is not as simple as it seems.

I put teaching a new soul every day above purity of heart. Example. decades ago I was so immature that I would get mad and rebellious. [My wife] says, even then I was better than I was when she married me.

This one time I committed to go reservation teaching and decided to back out. [My wife] pushed me into going. I was mad. I was driving the car with her and two youth. I saw a hitchhiker! I stopped and had [my wife] get in the back and had the hitchhiker sit by me. Bla, bla, bla and I got his card signed.

Then I had the others deepen him and we took him with us to the Baha'i home on the reservation. When we got there, I knew [my wife] was upset. She took me aside and told me how offensive that teaching experience was to her. She said you didn't love him, you just wanted another notch on your gun handle (an old western term).

I went from being mad at the world to thinking, WOW! I realized I taught him because I had not been obiedent to teaching some soul that day. I instantly changed into being engaged and loving again. I taught out of obiedence to teach someone every day.

Was I a pure channel? No I was antaganistic, mad and angry. That experience has had a profound effect on my life.

BUT I WAS OBIEDENT TO TEACHING A SOUL EACH DAY!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!

Therefore for me, I make it a point to get involved with a new person every day that I am able to do so. Often I even get out bed when I am sick and got to a store to meet new people. By the way, it physically helps me to get well.

I don't think one can be a pure hearted teacher unless they learn to talk to new people, no matter if they are in a spiritual low, they do it anyway. The Spirit Of Baha'u'llah gudies us when we are engaged in delivering the message. We do it right and we flub it. That's the way we learn.

The writings say the twin pillars for our growth are REWARD AND PUNISHMENT.

love you,
J. Richard Hoff

"You have fear"

This night I had a remarkable dream where I was in a healer's consultation room expecting him or her to arrive. She came to me in the person of an angelic, prominent woman I happen to have met (still very much alive, by the way!) and intuitively massaged some point on my body by my right arm saying, "You have fear." I was expecting to feel pain on the point she was massaging but felt nothing. It all took just a very short moment, and I was left on my own.

So I wake up and forget about the dream until I hear a beautiful strain of music on the radio, my heart is touched and it recalls the dream - of course very significant to me personally (in ways I won't go into!).

It allowed me a deeper understanding of Bahá'u'lláh's passage from "The Four Valleys", of which it reminded me:

"Love is a light that never dwelleth in a heart possessed by fear."

If I can say anything in thanks for this blessing, it is this prayer:

My God, my Adored One, my King, my Desire!

What tongue can voice my thanks to Thee? I was heedless, Thou didst awaken me. I had turned back from Thee, Thou didst graciously aid me to turn towards Thee. I was as one dead, Thou didst quicken me with the water of life. I was withered, Thou didst revive me with the heavenly stream of Thine utterance which hath flowed forth from the Pen of the All-Merciful.

O Divine Providence! All existence is begotten by Thy bounty; deprive it not of the waters of Thy generosity, neither do Thou withhold it from the ocean of Thy mercy. I beseech Thee to aid and assist me at all times and under all conditions, and seek from the heaven of Thy grace Thine ancient favor. Thou art, in truth, the Lord of bounty, and the Sovereign of the kingdom of eternity.

—Bahá'u'lláh

The habit of discerning people's virtues

Learning to look for the virtues in others, such as these:

assertiveness caring cleanliness commitment compassion confidence consideration cooperation courage courtesy creativity detachment determination diligence enthusiasm excellence flexibility forgiveness

friendliness generosity gentleness helpfulness honesty honor humility idealism integrity joyfulness justice kindness love loyalty moderation modesty orderliness patience

peacefulness perseverance purposefulness reliability respect responsibility self-discipline service tact thankfulness tolerance trust trustworthiness truthfulness understanding unity

http://www.virtuesproject.com/virtues.html

To be poor in all save God is a wondrous gift

On the occasion of today's Blog Action Day on the theme of poverty, I offer the following verse from the Hidden Words, which underscore the fundamental difference between material and spiritual riches:

O SON OF MY HANDMAID! Be not troubled in poverty nor confident in riches, for poverty is followed by riches, and riches are followed by poverty. Yet to be poor in all save God is a wondrous gift, belittle not the value thereof, for in the end it will make thee rich in God, and thus thou shalt know the meaning of the utterance, “In truth ye are the poor,” and the holy words, “God is the all-possessing,” shall even as the true morn break forth gloriously resplendent upon the horizon of the lover’s heart, and abide secure on the throne of wealth.

Bahá'u'lláh, the Hidden Words, # P51

Here's the story on Blog Action Day: http://www.bahaiworldnews.org/story/658