day fifteen

“Ponder then in thine heart: Matters being such as thou dost witness, and as We also witness, where canst thou flee, and with whom shalt thou take refuge? Unto whom wilt thou turn thy gaze? In what land shalt thou dwell and upon what seat shalt thou abide? In what path shalt thou tread and at what hour wilt thou find repose? What shall become of thee in the end? Where shalt thou secure the cord of thy faith and fasten the tie of thine obedience? By Him Who revealeth Himself in His oneness and Whose own Self beareth witness to His unity! Should there be ignited in thy heart the burning brand of the love of God, thou wouldst seek neither rest nor composure, neither laughter nor repose, but wouldst hasten to scale the highest summits in the realms of divine nearness, sanctity, and beauty. Thou wouldst lament as a soul bereaved and weep as a heart filled with longing. Nor wouldst thou repair to thy home and abode unless God would lay bare before thee His Cause.”

Bahá’u’lláh

“Were the mouth of Thy will to address them saying: ‘Observe, for My beauty’s sake, the fast, O people, and set no limit to its duration,’ I swear by the majesty of Thy glory, that every one of them will faithfully observe it, will abstain from whatsoever will violate Thy law, and will continue to do so until they yield up their souls unto Thee, for they have tasted the sweetness of Thy call, and become inebriated with Thy remembrance and praise and with the words proceeding from the lips of Thy command.”

Bahá’u’lláh

sjona (corvallis, u.s.a.) left: The Fast has never been easy for me, this year the Fast has been particularly challenging emotionally and spiritually .  Judgement Day comes to me every year in March, and stripped from all the veils behind which I have hidden and without any excuses or pretenses show myself before Bahá’u’lláh, this is me.

saleem (london, u.k.) right: It’s taken fifteen fasts to realise that, for me, each fast has a theme. Twelve months ago it was a vintage nineteen days: intense daylight and dream-filled nights. Last year’s fast gathered a force that made 166 BE melodramatic. Today the fast is helping me regroup after the ensuing chaos and joy. At first, this year’s fast slid on ice, nothing seemed real. But I was slipping out of my distraction. This fast is about determination, realignment with singular goals, about waking up early not to eat breakfast but to start the day – and the year.