Every year, from 2 to 20 March Baha’is fast – they refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, and charge their spiritual batteries for the coming year.
The fasting experience at the Baha’i World Centre is unique in a few ways – being in a work environment where everyone else is also observing the fast means that you have fewer distractions and more understanding from your colleagues; you finish work half an hour earlier than usual, to allow time to prepare for breaking the fast; and you have a wonderful dinner prepared for you on weekdays. The environment adds greatly to the spiritualizing effect of the fast because of our great bounty to have access to the Shrines, and to be able to walk around the gardens and meditate. Having friends who are fasting who live close by is an added bonus because you can get together frequently to pray and meditate, and to prepare and have your meals.
The last few years I have been really enjoying the opportunity this provides for having a special fast:
2007
In 2007 I had a project which was due shortly after the fast, and had to work hard through the fast to make the deadline. This proved a great source of motivation, and working with a friend on the project (Saba Moghbelpour) we would make the most of our time by working in the mornings and a little after dinner. I would get up at 3:30am, shower and shave, iron clothes and get ready, pray and meditate then head off to Saba’s house. We would prepare and have a quick breakfast and by 5:30 we’d be on the computer, coding. Most days we would head home after work and eat great food that Saba’s wife Sieni had prepared, and then do an hour or two of coding before rushing off to bed.
Thus passed a memorable fast, we added many features to our project by the deadline, and shall always remember what a productive fast we had and the potential of “early to bed, early to rise”.
2008
The next year, I planned in advance for the fast. I prepared a list of friends whom I would like to have over for breakfast (as most people live close enough I had many to choose from), and sent invitations to them a good two months in advance. I live in a flat with one flatmate, and our dining area is pretty small so we restricted ourselves to having two to six people on our invite list. Then, a week before each day of the fast, I would send the guests a reminder email, and another email the day before.
We had good attendance, with maybe an 80% show-up rate, had a great time preparing breakfast every day and having it together, and sharing prayers and meditating on some quotes afterwards. A few times we had some group discussion too, on a random topic.
After the first day, the friends we had invited decided to take turns hosting such a breakfast at their place, which they proceeded to do and we joined them after our invite lists had run out.
2009
Looking back at this social experience of the fast, I find it extremely rewarding and would love to continue in the same vein this year. However, I felt that there was too much of a focus on the food and too little on the spiritual aspect. So this year, I hope to plan more for the spiritual and maybe simplify the material aspect by putting less effort in preparing more than one type of food.
I’m also unsure whether we should host every day of the fast at our place and invite friends over, or to have it in a different house every day – the first option would imply more work on our part as hosts but spending time with a wider group of people, albeit only one day with each – while the second option means spending lots of time with one group but less work as a host. I think I still prefer the first option.
As for the main spiritual aspect, one idea has surfaced that I will be exploring in more detail – to see how we can, both individually and by helping each other, learn the habit of bringing ourselves to account each day. I feel this is something lacking in my life and it would greatly enhance my spiritual growth.
If you have any ideas for what to do during the fast or comments on bringing oneself to account each day please post them below!