Every hour of these days, Baha’u’llah says, has been endowed with a special virtue, and a portion of this virtue has been assigned to every soul. He refers to fasting as the sun, and obligatory prayer the moon in the heaven of religion, and one may think of the effect that the sun has on life on this planet. How numerous the rays of the sun during the day, how endowed with power to generate heat, to enable plants to grow and life to thrive and prosper. These rays can be regarded as the virtues with which these days are endowed, the spiritual illumination they provide, the life of the soul they cultivate, the transformative power they exert on our inner beings and true reality. They banish the darkness of self that clouds our hearts, they clean the dross on our mirrors and uncover the beauty of God that exists within our souls. Their brightness is so dazzling that we can’t really appreciate them, not until their time has passed and darkness has set in again, our eyes have become adjusted and we finally realize what we are missing. But never worry, obligatory prayer is here to illumine the way and keep us on the right path till the next dawn, only 346 days away.

As the fast finishes and the year finishes, we prepare ourselves for the commencement of a new year, a new cycle on this earth. Spring is here, and with it a renewal of the physical world. All the storms and hail, the icy winds and snow, the thunder and lightning of the past season are gone, but they leave us with a wonderful gift of nature renewed. The trees which lost their leaves are now waking up, growing little green shoots on every branch. Flowers are budding and blooming. There’s a freshness in the air.

Tomorrow will be Naw-Rúz, a new day indeed. Each day has a significance, a unique spirit that it has been endowed with, so unique that it will never again recur. At the same time, each day is united with every other day, each month with every other month and each year with every other year. Naw-Rúz tomorrow is the return of last year’s Naw-Rúz. But the year has changed. And the world has changed, and each of us have changed. New people have been born into this world. People have passed on to the next. Humanity has become more mature, even though the masses may not recognize it.

Naw-Rúz is the first day of the year. It is special for many reasons, one of them being that it is associated with the greatest name of God, Bahá (glory). It is the day of glory, in the month of glory. It is the greatest day, of the greatest month – no day can be imagined greater than this day, or more glorious. It is the first of days, and the king of days, because it is linked with, has been created for and is dedicated to Bahá.

In the Persian Bayán the Báb attributes special significance to the first month, associates it with Himself and likens it to a sun with all the other months as “mirrors that reflect the radiant lights of that supreme month”. He says God has singled out that month for Him Whom God shall make manifest (Baha’u’llah), and that the first day of that month is the day of Him Whom God shall make manifest. This day is the source and excellence of all days. (see Gate of the Heart p. 328)

And the relation to God doesn’t end there, each year is unique, and each cycle of years is unique. Tomorrow will be the first day of the first month of the year Jád (generosity), in the 9th Váhid of the 1st Kull-i-Shay. It will also be Saturday, the day of Jalál (glory). In every way possible then, we try to link our everyday lives to God so we may never, even for a moment, forget why we are here, what we are doing and where we are going.

May we all strive then, by our actions, during this coming year to fill the world with the Names and Attributes of God. “This is a matchless Day. Matchless must, likewise, be… the deed that aspireth to be acceptable in His sight.” “This is a Revelation, under which, if a man shed for its sake one drop of blood, myriads of oceans will be his recompense.” “An act, however infinitesimal, is, when viewed in the mirror of the knowledge of God, mightier than a mountain. Every drop proffered in His path is as the sea in that mirror.” “One single breath exhaled in the love of God and for His service is written down by the Pen of Glory as a princely deed.”

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!