Today marks the first day of the month of the Fast in the Baha'i calendar. The Bahá’í Calendar consists of 19 months of 19 days. The remaining 4 Intercalary Days (5 in a leap year) fall before the last month of "Loftiness" which is the month of the fast and are days of celebration, hospitality, gift-giving and charity. The Fast ends with the festival of Naw-Ruz which is the celebration of end of the fast and the Baha'i New Year.
"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." (Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 28)
As Baha'is begin this "period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation ... to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent ...", may they be confirmed in their prayers and their coreligionists who are captive for their belief in the cradle of their faith may all be freed and at long last, Baha'is may be able to take their rightful place among their compatriots and all be free to practice their beliefs in security, and contribute to the progress of their nation and country as equal citizens of this blessed land. More on Baha'i Calendar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahá'í_calendar
"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." (Shoghi Effendi, Directives from the Guardian, p. 28)
As Baha'is begin this "period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation ... to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent ...", may they be confirmed in their prayers and their coreligionists who are captive for their belief in the cradle of their faith may all be freed and at long last, Baha'is may be able to take their rightful place among their compatriots and all be free to practice their beliefs in security, and contribute to the progress of their nation and country as equal citizens of this blessed land. More on Baha'i Calendar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahá'í_calendar
