Baha'i Fast - March 2nd to March 20th

arthra

arthra

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"These are, O my Lord, the days in which Thou hast bidden Thy servants
to observe the fast. Blessed is he that observeth the fast wholly for
Thy sake and with absolute detachment from all things except Thee.
Assist me and assist them, O my Lord, to obey Thee and to keep Thy
precepts. Thou, verily, hast power to do what Thou choosest.

"There is no God but Thee, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. All praise be
to God, the Lord of all worlds."

~ Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 9

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Writings on the Baha'i Fast:

The Baha'i Fast <The Baha'i Fast>

Mobile App:

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For Baha'is this was the first day of the Fast..
The first day of the Fast is often considered most difficult as it takes a few days for the system to get used to fasting.

A little hunger experienced during the day is not so difficult but at first since we're used to eating something to assuage our hunger during the day it can be difficult.

There are tips people have learned during the Fast and here are some ideas...

"Don’t gorge in the evenings: Large meals should be avoided because they can cause the digestive system to block after a long day of fasting. Therefore, break your fast with dates and water or juice as they contain simple sugars that can be absorbed easily by the body. Then try to have a balanced meal – soups are a good choice as they don’t stress the stomach and hydrate the body."

for more go to:
http://susangammage.com/10-tips-for-...e-bahai-fast-2
 


fast4.jpg





Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God!

Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God! 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.



These are the servants who, as soon as Thy call reached them, hastened in the direction of Thy mercy and were not kept back from Thee by the changes and chances of this world or by any human limitations.


~ Baha'u'llah


For more...

Glory be to Thee, O Lord my God!
 
My own idea is that hunger or thirst are actually more normal states to endure ...that is our bodies originally or rather in the more ancient past were more often than not experiencing hunger and thirst...rather than being sated or "full" all the time. So it's a cultural issue to a degree...

The first days are always..and I repeat this always more difficult.. You will be more short tempered and irritable in the beginning. But in time your body will adjust to it as you're healthy and can accomplish it. You will feel better knowing you can go through a day fasting and your discipline will be stronger... Soon you'll take another look at maybe something that is part of your life that maybe needs more control.

The cool part of the Fast to me are the prayers for the Fast... these prayers are not usually read or recited very often because we only Fast a relatively short period of time.

The Baha'i Fast occurs the same time each year when the days and nights become more equal as in equinox... Our Fast is probably one of the shorter periods when compared to say Ramadan which is thirty days and our Fast has no "make-ups"...that is if we don't Fast for some reason we don't have to make it up later.
 
Rainn Wilson on the Baha'i Fast...



Rainn Wilson









The Baha'i Fast.. Slowly


It's 5 a.m. and my alarm goes off. There's not a hint of daylight in the sky. I blearily plod downstairs to the kitchen and fumble around for a carton of eggs, some frozen veggie sausages, spinach and corn tortillas. As I prepare myself and my wife a gigantic pre-dawn Feast I think grumpily about how I got here.


You see, every March, for 19 days leading up to the first day of spring, Baha'is around the world begin "The Fast."
Here's how it works, it's really quite simple. You don't eat or drink while the sun is up.



Like Muslims during Ramadan, most Baha'is get up early and down a bunch of protein, caffeine and complex carbs to get them through at least half the day and then coast through some serious low blood sugar doldrums during a good part of the afternoon. And when the sun sets, look out! Do NOT get between a Baha'i and their cheeseburger when darkness falls! You might lose a hand.



Sometimes the hours tick away quite slowly and you find yourself obsessively checking the clock, almost willing it to hit 6 p.m., when you can gorge on smoothies and quesadillas. "The Fast" in the Baha'i Faith is certainly misnamed. It should be called "The Slow" for the way time plods throughout the day.


Read more at


Rainn Wilson: The Baha'i Fast.. Slowly
 
Here are some excerpts from the Writings on prayer and fasting:

One who performeth neither good deeds nor acts of worship is like unto a tree which beareth no fruit, and an action which leaveth no trace. Whosoever experienceth the holy ecstasy of worship will refuse to barter such an act or any praise of God for all that existeth in the world. Fasting and obligatory prayer are as two wings to man's life. Blessed be the one who soareth with their aid in the heaven of the love of God, the Lord of all worlds.

- BAHÁ'U'LLÁH


Cling firmly to obligatory prayer and fasting. Verily, the religion of God is like unto heaven; fasting is its sun, and obligatory prayer is its moon. In truth, they are the pillars of religion whereby the righteous are distinguished from those who transgress His commandments. We entreat God, exalted and glorified be He, that he may graciously enable all to observe that which He hath revealed in His Ancient Book.

- BAHÁ'U'LLÁH


There's also Baha'i blog about the four things the Fast helps us to do....

4 Things The Fast Helps Us Strengthen | Baha'i Blog

:)
 
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