Fasting is the cause of the elevation of one’s spiritual station.
- Abdu'l-Baha -
Dear Angels,
Since the Baha'i Fast 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, » here you will find all the information necessary for a rapid spiritual ascent during this period, including the promises reserved for the fasting soul.
Truths to hear again and again:
The fasting period... 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 purposes are, therefore, fundamentally
spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of
abstinence from selfish and carnal desires.
- Shoghi Effendi
For this 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.
- Abdu'l-Baha
As one Friend reminded, « the law
of fasting requires exceptions be minded - so obeying the law of
fasting sometimes requires not fasting materially » to which I
would add that Baha'u'llah warns us also not to fashion 'laws' of our
own, neglecting His with their tremendous benefices. According to the Master, Abdu'l-Baha:
The second wisdom is that fasting is conducive to spiritual awareness. One's heart grows more tender, one's spirituality is increased, and as a result, one's thoughts become purely focused on the remembrance of God. Such awareness and awakening leads inexorably to spiritual progress.
Having
trouble to
find the right diet during the Fast? Remember the Spartans... Half a can
of black olives with celery or other fresh vegetables and fruits at
dawn will feed anyone until sunset. Almost unbelievable, but true.
Also remember that fasting takes place 24 hours a day, as it is a period of "spiritual" rejuvenation.
THE PROMISES OF FASTING, A TIME OF FAST ASCENT
1
) In the Naw-Rúz Prayer :
« Praised be Thou, O my God, that Thou hast ordained
Naw-Rúz as a festival unto those who have
observed the Fast for love of Thee and abstained from all
that is abhorrent unto thee. »
« Grant, O my Lord, that the
fire of Thy love and the heat produced by the Fast enjoined by Thee
may inflame them in Thy Cause, and make them to be occupied with Thy
praise and with remembrance of Thee. »
« Shouldst Thou
regard him who hath broken the Fast as one who hath observed it, such
a man would be reckoned among them who from eternity had been keeping
the Fast. And shouldst Thou decree that he who hath observed the Fast
hath broken it, that person would be numbered with such as have
caused the Robe of Thy Revelation to be stained with dust, and been
far removed from the crystal waters of this living Fountain. »
«
Do Thou ordain for Him, and for them, and for all such as have
entered Thy presence in those days all the good Thou didst destine in
Thy Book. Supply them, then, with that which will profit them, in
both this life and in the life beyond. »
« “Glory be to
Thee, O Thou the Best-Beloved, for that Thou hast uncovered Thy
Beauty, and written down for Thy chosen ones what will cause them to
attain unto the seat of the revelation of Thy Most Great Name,
through which all the peoples have lamented except such as have
detached themselves from all else except Thee, and set themselves
towards Him Who is the Revealer of Thyself and the Manifestation of
Thine attributes.” »
2 ) In the Fasting Prayers :
« Praised be Thou, O God, my God! These are the days
whereon Thou hast enjoined Thy chosen ones, Thy loved ones and Thy
servants to observe the Fast, which Thou hast made a light unto the
people of Thy kingdom, even as Thou didst make obligatory prayer a
ladder of ascent unto those who acknowledge Thy unity. I beg of Thee,
O my God, by these two mighty pillars, which Thou hast ordained as a
glory and honor for all mankind, to keep Thy religion safe from the
mischief of the ungodly and the plotting of every wicked doer. O
Lord, conceal not the light which Thou hast revealed through Thy
strength and Thine omnipotence. Assist, then, those who truly believe
in Thee with the hosts of the seen and the unseen by Thy command and
Thy sovereignty. No God is there but Thee, the Almighty, the Most
Powerful. »
« ... I ask of Thee by Thy Self and by him who
hath fasted out of love for Thee and for Thy good-pleasure—and not
out of self and desire, nor out of fear of Thy wrath— »
«
... The days of fasting have arrived wherein those servants who
circle round Thy throne and have attained Thy presence have fasted.
»
« ... I beseech Thee by them to assist me in the promotion
of Thy Cause and to make me steadfast in Thy love, that my footsteps
may not slip on account of the clamor of Thy creatures. »
«
... I beseech Thee, O my God... to cast me not away from the gate of
the city of Thy presence, and to disappoint not the hopes I have set
on the manifestations of Thy grace amidst Thy creatures. ... to draw
me ever nearer to the threshold of Thy door, and to suffer me not to
be far removed from the shadow of Thy mercy and the canopy of Thy
bounty. ... to attract me by the fragrance of Thy raiment, and make
me drink of the choice wine of Thine utterance. ... so to raise me up
to serve Thy Cause that I shall not fall back, nor be hindered by the
suggestions of them who have caviled at Thy signs and turned away
from Thy face. ... to enable me to gaze on the Daystar of Thy Beauty,
and to supply me with the wine of Thine utterance. ... to graciously
aid me to do what Thy will hath desired and Thy purpose hath
manifested. ... to grant that I may die to all that I possess and
live to whatsoever belongeth unto Thee. ... to aid me to remember
Thee amongst Thy creatures, and to extol Thee amidst Thy people. ...
to remove me far from whatsoever Thy will abhorreth, and draw me nigh
unto the station wherein He Who is the Dayspring of Thy signs hath
shone forth. ... e to hasten unto the light of the countenance of
their Lord, the Unconstrained, to make known unto me what lay hid in
the treasuries of Thy knowledge and concealed within the repositories
of Thy wisdom. ... to number me with such as have attained unto that
which Thou hast sent down in Thy Book and manifested through Thy
will. ... to write down for me with Thy most exalted Pen what Thou
hast written down for Thy trusted ones and Thy chosen ones. ... to
write down for everyone who hath turned unto Thee, and observed the
Fast prescribed by Thee, the recompense decreed for such as speak not
except by Thy leave, and who forsook all that they possessed in Thy
path and for love of Thee. ... to cancel the trespasses of those who
have held fast to Thy laws, and have observed what Thou hast
prescribed unto them in Thy Book. Thou seest me, O my God, holding to
Thy Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous, the Most Mighty, the Most
Great, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious, and clinging to the hem
of the robe to which have clung all in this world and in the world to
come. »
« ... I beseech Thee ... to send down upon me and
upon them who are in my company that which will enable us to soar
into the heavens of Thy transcendent glory, and will wash us from the
stain of such doubts as have hindered the suspicious from entering
into the tabernacle of Thy unity. ... Do Thou ordain for me and for
my loved ones the good of this world and of the world to come. Supply
them, then, with the Hidden Gift Thou didst ordain for the choicest
among Thy creatures. ... Assist me and assist them, O my Lord, to
obey Thee and to keep Thy precepts. ... »
« ... Thou hast
endowed every hour of these days with a special virtue, inscrutable
to all except Thee, Whose knowledge embraceth all created things.
Thou hast, also, assigned unto every soul a portion of this virtue in
accordance with the Tablet of Thy decree and the Scriptures of Thine
irrevocable judgment. ... For Thine ardent lovers Thou hast,
according to Thy decree, reserved, at each daybreak, the cup of Thy
remembrance, O Thou Who art the Ruler of rulers! These are they who
have been so inebriated with the wine of Thy manifold wisdom that
they forsake their couches in their longing to celebrate Thy praise
and extol Thy virtues, and flee from sleep in their eagerness to
approach Thy presence and partake of Thy bounty. Their eyes have, at
all times, been bent upon the Dayspring of Thy loving-kindness, and
their faces set towards the Fountainhead of Thine inspiration. Rain
down, then, upon us and upon them from the clouds of Thy mercy what
beseemeth the heaven of Thy bounteousness and grace. ... This is the
hour when Thou hast unlocked the doors of Thy bounty before the faces
of Thy creatures, and opened wide the portals of Thy tender mercy
unto all the dwellers of Thine earth. ... 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. ... Enable us, then, O my God, to
live in remembrance of Thee and to die in love of Thee, and supply us
with the gift of Thy presence in Thy worlds hereafter—worlds which
are inscrutable to all except Thee. ... This is the hour, O my Lord,
which Thou hast caused to excel every other hour, and hast related to
the choicest among Thy creatures. I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy
Self and by them, to ordain in the course of this year what shall
exalt Thy loved ones. Do Thou, moreover, decree within this year what
will enable the Daystar of Thy power to shine brightly above the
horizon of Thy glory, and to illuminate by Thy sovereign might, the
whole world.
Render Thy Cause victorious, O my Lord, and abase
Thou Thine enemies. Write down, then, for us the good of this life
and of the life to come. ...»
« ... These are the days
whereon Thou hast bidden all men to observe the Fast, that through it
they may purify their souls and rid themselves of all attachment to
anyone but Thee, and that out of their hearts may ascend that which
will be worthy of the court of Thy majesty and may well beseem the
seat of the revelation of Thy oneness. Grant, O my Lord, that this
fast may become a river of life-giving waters and may yield the
virtue wherewith Thou hast endowed it. Cleanse Thou by its means the
hearts of Thy servants whom the evils of the world have failed to
hinder from turning towards Thine all-glorious Name, and who have
remained unmoved by the noise and tumult of such as have repudiated
Thy most resplendent signs which have accompanied the advent of Thy
Manifestation Whom Thou hast invested with Thy sovereignty, Thy
power, Thy majesty and glory. ... »
« Praise be unto Thee, O
Lord my God! We have observed the Fast in conformity with Thy bidding
and break it now through Thy love and Thy good-pleasure. Deign to
accept, O my God, the deeds that we have performed in Thy path wholly
for the sake of Thy beauty with our faces set towards Thy Cause, free
from aught else but Thee. Bestow, then, Thy forgiveness upon us, upon
our forefathers, and upon all such as have believed in Thee and in
Thy mighty signs in this most great, this most glorious Revelation.
... »
« ... all who dwell in the realms of Revelation and
creation trembled except such as have fasted from all that is
repugnant to Thy good-pleasure and restrained themselves from turning
toward aught besides Thee... O God, through the wonders of Thy might
and the tokens of Thy sovereignty and grandeur, Thou didst send forth
their names from out of the sea of Thy names, and didst create their
inner essences out of the substance of Thy love, and their inmost
beings from the spirit of Thy Cause. Theirs is a reunion not
succeeded by separation, a nearness that knoweth no remoteness, and a
perpetuity that hath no end. Verily, these are servants who ever
recount Thee, who eternally circle round Thee, and who circumambulate
the sanctuary of Thy presence and the Kaaba of reunion with Thee.
Thou hast ordained, O my God, no distinction between them and Thee,
except that when they beheld the lights of Thy countenance, they set
their faces towards Thee, and prostrated themselves before Thy
beauty, submissive to Thy greatness and severed from all things
besides Thee. ... unto them the ears which Thou hast sanctified to
hear Thy words and verses are at all times hearkening. And these are
my hands, O my Lord, uplifted toward the heaven of Thy favor and
tender mercy. ... Rich is the one who hath held fast to the cord of
Thy wealth, is submissive before Thy face, and for whom Thou art
sufficient above all things. Poor is the one who hath dispensed with
Thee, waxed proud before Thee, turned away from Thy presence, and
disbelieved in Thy signs. Suffer me, then, O my God and my Beloved,
to be numbered with those whom the breezes of Thy will move as they
list, not with those whom the wind of self and passion stirreth and
directeth as it pleaseth. ... Thou hast ordained that this month be a
remembrance and honor from Thee, and a sign of Thy presence amongst
them, that they may not forget Thy grandeur and Thy majesty, Thy
sovereignty and Thy glory, and may be well assured that from time
immemorial Thou hast ever been and wilt ever be Ruler over the entire
creation. ... Deprive me not, O my Lord, of Thy grace which hath
encompassed all the realms of existence, whether visible or
invisible. ...Alas, alas, O my God, for the things that have escaped
me during Thy days, and again alas, alas, O Desire of my heart, for
what I have left undone in service and obedience to Thee during these
days the likes of which the eyes of Thy chosen ones and trusted ones
have never witnessed! I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by Thy Self and by
the Manifestation of Thy Cause Who is seated upon the throne of Thy
mercy, to confirm me in Thy service and good-pleasure. Guard me,
then, from those who have turned away from Thee and disbelieved in
Thy verses, who have denied Thy truth, resisted Thine evidences, and
violated Thy Covenant and testament. ... »
« I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Thyself, and by Thy
signs, and Thy clear tokens, and the shining light of the Day-Star of
Thy Beauty, and Thy Branches, to cancel the trespasses of those who
have held fast to Thy laws, and have observed what Thou hast
prescribed unto them in Thy Book. Be wonderfully blessed !
Loesha
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