The Power of Bahá'í Fasting

"No food or drink for 19 days? No coffee or cigarettes from sunrise to sunset? You've got to be kidding!" Such was my reaction when I first actually faced the Bahá'í Fast, which begins on the evening of March 1. My feelings when I joined the Bahá'í Faith had been highly spiritual, but my feelings when it came to obeying its laws were not quite so lofty.

It's not that I hadn't been told about the Fast before I joined the Bahá'í Faith, but that it had all sounded so reasonable when the Fast was months away. Just get up early and have breakfast, don't eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset, and then have a nice dinner. No problem. I mean, basically it's just skipping lunch.

But when it came time to do it, I was in a total panic. "I'm sure this isn't good for my health," I whined to myself. "With no water I'll become dehydrated." I'm an American, after all, used to instant gratification. And nobody can tell me what to do.

With this attitude, it's hard to believe that I've come to love the Fast. In the Bahá'í calendar, the 19-day month of fasting comes between the hospitality of the Intercalary Days (February 26 to March 1) and the joy of New Year (March 21), and I find that I look forward to that sweet time. It's a month of constant awareness of God and our reliance on Him.

So what changed?

First was my experience of deep satisfaction in maintaining self-imposed discipline. I fast in obedience to Bahá'u'lláh - but I choose to obey Him.

Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, wrote:

"We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast . The traveler, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the fast . . . Abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown, and beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book."

Over the years I have come to feel this grace. Slowly I have realized that when I follow God's instructions I am much happier. I have been learning to see myself as both material and as spiritual, and fasting as a material means to attain spiritual growth.

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