If you are a Baha’i and you are a healthy adult of 15 years or older (youth declare, become Baha’is at the age of 15), a female not pregnant, nursing or on your cycle, not working in heavy labor or not traveling you observe a period of fasting lasting 19 days, starting on March 2 through March 21 during the last month of the Baha’i Calendar called Ala, or Loftiness. It is a time of spiritual regrowth in preparation of the Baha’i new year (Naw Ruz) which coincides with the Spring Equinox.

You abstain from food and drink during the fast from sunrise to sunset, and break the fast (eat and drink). Some people, even gain weight during the fast. If, for some reason you break the fast, (it has been known to happen) we as Baha’is know that God is a forgiving understanding God and continue fasting.

Fasting is not just for Baha’is, Jews fast on Yom Kipper, Catholics fast in a form for centuries by not eating meat on Fridays but now only from Ash Wednesday to Easter, Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan. Jesus fasted for forty days, and we know that Buddha fasted for inspiration, gratitude, and insight (the fat Buddha you see is the Happy Buddha, after he went to Heaven). Many Native American cultures use fasting in many ways. All these cultures believe that you can come closer to God, by fasting.

If you are unable to fast like me, you may find other ways to show your steadfastness. After twenty plus years as a diabetic, I strive to keep my blood sugars level, I try not to cheat, abstaining from all the things I shouldn’t eat. When I first became a Baha’i I wasn’t a diabetic and I was able to fast for a couple of years. Fasting can be tough, yet is it very spiritually uplifting and satisfying.

‘Abdu’l-Baha tells us this about the fast:
"...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."
(Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá)

Following the end of the Fast we have Naw Ruz, the Baha’i new year, Read more about it in upcoming articles.

Month of Ala/Loftiness

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