Malaysian Baha'i together with Bahai from all over the world, started their fast on March 1st which will last for 19 days, ending on 19th of March. It might be helpful to know what the Baha’i fast means, and let everyone know what it takes to fast.
Most religions have a fasting period sometime during the year—Christians, Jews, Hindus, Taoists, Muslims and Jains all practice some variant of an annual fast. Observant Jews fast for six days, especially on Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av; Muslims fast during the daylight hours for 30 days during the lunar month of Ramadan; Catholics fast during Lent and other holy days; different Christian denominations fast individually and voluntarily; Hindus fast at various times of the year; many Buddhist practices include fasting, as well.
So fasting has been practiced in different forms and times for millennia as part of religious life, but the principle remains the same—fasting symbolizes detachment from the physical world and from the self. Baha’is view fasting as a spiritual exercise, but recently science has shed new light on its significant role in human biology and physiology—another example of the agreement of science and religion, one of the Baha’i primary principles.
It helps to understand that the Baha’i fast isn’t just a physical exercise – it’s primarily a spiritual one. In his Book of Certitude, Baha’u’llah wrote:
… “as the sun and moon constitute the brightest and most prominent luminaries in the heavens, similarly in the heaven of the religion of God two shining orbs have been ordained – fasting and prayer”.
Baha’is around the world abstain from food and drink during daylight for 19 straight days. Why do they abstain from food and drinks during daylight hours? The Baha’i fast takes place during the 19-day Baha’i month that immediately precedes the Baha’i New Year (called Naw-Ruz in Persian) on the Vernal Equinox. For that one Baha’i month of the year, Baha’is all over the world abstain from food and drink during the daylight hours.
It is one of the commandments in the Bahai faith by the Baha'u'allah that Bahai should fast, symbolising detachment from the physical world, develops empathy for the poor and hungry, and engenders the development and growth of the soul.
Though primary purpose of fasting is spiritual but there are physical benefits. The evolution of man as hunters and gatherers, our ancestors spent hours each day searching for food. As food was not abundant and not available, their lifestyle required them to involuntarily fast and feast when it was available.
As a result, humans gradually evolved a genetic code, a genotype, which allowed their bodies to thrive by adapting to these cycles of feast and fasting. We are thus embedded with the genetic code of feast and fast which we carry from our ancestors.
Researches are abundantly available on intermittent fasting voluntarily or abstinence citing the advantages of periodically emptying the human digestive system, and allowing it to self-cleanse and purify without the constant presence of food.
"Research studies show that a regular pattern of calorie restriction, in which people reduce their routine intake of nutrients with a recurring fast, can deliver some very significant health benefits. Intermittent fasting reduces risk factors for multiple chronic diseases in animals and humans, and it dramatically increases life span in several animal studies. It further says that Religions have long maintained that fasting is good for the soul, but its bodily benefits were not widely recognized until the early 1900s, when doctors began recommending it to treat various disorders — such as diabetes, obesity and epilepsy.July of 2013, Scientific American
"In the 1930s, after Cornell University nutritionist Clive McCay discovered that rats subjected to stringent daily dieting from an early age lived longer and were less likely to develop cancer and other diseases as they aged, compared with animals that ate at will. Further research on calorie restriction and periodic fasting in 1945, of University of Chicago scientists reported that alternate-day feeding extended the life span of rats."
Those who regularly fast show:
- Extension of lifespan
- reduction of chronic physical and mental illnesses in old age.
- fasting ramps up autophagy kind of garbage-disposal system in cells that gets rid of damaged molecules tied to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological diseases.
Those who have fasted know that the body gradually adapts to a new routine, and under normal conditions can cope well with lack of nourishment for twelve hours. But the Baha’i teachings say that fasting may not help the healing process if a person is already ill. In some cases of illness such as diabetics, it would be harmful to fast.
Baha’is fast from the age of maturity, which the Baha’i teachings say begins at 15, until the age of 70. Those who are ill, pregnant and nursing mothers, those doing heavy labor, even those travelling for a long time are all exempt from the fast.
Fasting increase your physical and spiritual health, and give you a new awakening. So if you want to fast like a Baha’i, simply forego food and drink during the daylight hours from March 1 to March 19 this year. Instead of a mid-day meal, nourish and refresh your soul, with reflection, meditation, and prayer. It is time to think back and reflect on the entire year and ask ourselves of what can be done for this coming year to make our life and the lives of others better? How can I be of service to Malaysians and mankind as a whole?
Let us wish the Bahai community of Malaysia and all the Baha'i residing in two hundred countries and territories, HAPPY FASTING!
K.T.Maran
Social, environmental, animal Activist
K.T. Maran is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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