Recently in Religion and Philosophy Category
The period from March the 2nd until March the 20th (inclusive) is the Baha'i month of fasting. (Remember I mentioned that the Baha'i month is 19 days long.) During this time, Baha'is abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise until sunset.
I have to say, the fast is probably one of my favourite times of year. It usually involves getting up before dawn for breakfast and prayers, and having a large meal in the evening just after sunset with friends. The community spirit the fast brings is something I really enjoy - last year's fast I ate breakfast and prayed with other Baha'is almost every morning, which was a fantastic way to begin the day. And then getting together in the evening to break the fast is usually greatly fun too.
That's not the main reason I like the fast though. In the Baha'i writings, it says that physical fasting (abstaining from food and drink) is actually just a symbol, and isn't really that important. What is important, and what the physical fasting symbolises, is the spiritual fasting. The fast is a time of self-renewal and prayer; of reflection and contemplation; of discipline and selflessness.
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.
Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá, p70
As well as being an ongoing reminder of the spiritual fast and our duty to strive to improve ourselves, I also find the fast a reminder of our frailty as humans. Our physical bodies can not survive long without nourishment, and fasting reminds us of this - it also reminds us of the analagous situation, that our spiritual selves cannot survive long without spiritual nourishment.
O my Lord! Make Thy beauty to be my food, and Thy presence my drink
Bahá'u'lláh,p261
Living in the wealthy Western world, it's easy to take food and other commodities for granted. The fast leads me to appreciate my food and be thankful for it. I fast out of personal choice. Some fast as they have no other option. While we're on the subject of choice, I've always considered the fast to be the ultimate expression of free will - a complete denial of our natural instincts. Not that our natural instincts are bad or wicked, but being able to deny them is a display of who is really in charge: me, not my hormones.
As a supremely spiritual act, the fast is between an individual and God. Shoghi Effendi, the guardian of the Baha'i Faith, while calling the fast a "universal obligation", also notes that:
the observance of the nineteen day fast has been made by Bahá'u'lláh the sole responsibility of the individual believer. No Assembly has the right to enforce it on the friends, or to hold anybody responsible for not observing it. The believer is free, however, to ask the advice of his Assembly as to the circumstances that would justify him to conscientiously break such a fast. But he is by no means required to do so.
From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, March 9, 1937
There are numerous exceptions to fasting in the Baha'i Writings. And rightly so - as mentioned above, physical fasting is but a mere symbol of a spiritual process. For example, if you are ill, pregnant, breast-feeding, menstruating, doing heavy manual labour, or travelling for a long time, you are exempted from the fast.
A man is not fit to do service for God with brain or body if he is weakened by lack of food.
Abdu'l-Bahá, quoted in J. E. Esslemont, Baha'u'llah and the New Era, p184
The physical fast being merely a symbol means that if you simply just don't eat, fasting doesn't really work - "mere abstention from food has no effect on the spirit" (ibid). I remember the first time I fasted I loved it, it was really great and I learned a lot about myself. The second time the month of fasting rolled around, I thought "great! I'll just stop eating, sit back, and let the spiritual bounties come over me." Except they didn't. I've found that what you get out of fasting is directly proportional to what you put into it.
Getting up before dawn every day, not eating lunch, and not snacking throughout the day all leave you with a bit of extra time in your schedule. I try to use this time to reflect on my behaviour and how I treat others. If I can manage, I'll meditate or pray for longer than usual. I'll go out of my way to make those around me comfortable and at ease. Other Baha'is will do similar things - although the fast is a very personal time of reflection so I can only speculate. Speaking of meditation, I heard from a nutritionist that a period of fasting is often the best time to meditate - as no blood is being directed toward the gut, more blood and oxygen are available for the mind, giving you a keener and sharper awareness of yourself and the world around you.
The fast ends on the 20th of March. The 21st of March is Naw Rúz, the Baha'i new year. This coincides with the spring equinox. As well as the spring equinox having symbolic value of renewal and rebirth, the equinox is also when there is maximal balance between the length of daytime and nighttime - a perfect time to fast from sunrise to sunset!
I'd been meaning to blog about these 5 days, the 26th of February to the 1st of March, as they're a special time for Baha'is. However, I've been rather busy and not able to. Luckily, Alice has done it for me!
Basically, the Baha'i Calendar is 19 months of 19 days each - this gives us 361 days (what, you don't know your 19 times table?). To make the year equivalent to a solar year, four more days are added (five in a leap year), and these are called intercalary days. The month following the intercalary days is the month of fasting.
It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end --these days of giving that precede the season of restraint--let them enter upon the Fast.
Baha'u'llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas p25
Go read Alice's post - she covers basically what I've said but in more detail, more emphasis on the fast, and some personal reflection. It's good.
Edinburgh University's Student Newspaper, imaginatively titled Student, came out this week with a "God Issue", with particular emphasis on religion and the like. As a well-known Baha'i on the scene, I was asked to write a short comment piece about God. Student don't seem to have updated their website with the latest issue (or indeed with any recent issues) so I can't link you to the article, but below I reproduce my pre-edit copy that I sent to them. (The actual one that was printed is shortened for space constraints and was made a little less academic.)
(Also, if anyone wants to source the three quotations: they're from Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p51-52, p46-48, and p215 respectively.)
I'm a Bahá'í student studying here at the University of Edinburgh. I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts on God, and how that fits into my belief system. The Bahá’í Faith originated in Persia, modern-day Iran, around the mid 19th-Century. Bahá’ís follow the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh (Arabic for ‘the glory of God’), a Persian nobleman who spent much of his life in exile for his radical teachings.
Bahá’u’lláh’s main teaching was that we have reached a new stage in humanity’s social evolution, where the unity of mankind must be embraced in the creation of a global and just society. Bahá’u’lláh also taught that all of the world's great religions come from the same divine source.
If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them [religious prophets] all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith.
That all sounds very nice, but how does this work, when the various religions of the world have such diverse views on the divine reality? For example, the Islam promotes a strictly transcendent monotheism: there is but one God, exalted above all and completely unreachable to humans. Many Christians and Vaishnavite Hindus hold a belief in an imminent monotheism: that God is one, but was incarnated in flesh in the form of Christ or Krishna. Zen Buddhists adhere to a monistic vision of the absolute reality: that the absolute (Nirvana) is the only true existence, all else is illusion. Hindus who hold to the Advaita Vedanta will attest that the divine reality permeates all things – arguably a form of pantheism, or panentheism. And finally, there are concepts of polytheism and animism that we find in indigenous tribal beliefs.
The Bahá’í Faith affirms all of these teachings. Central to the Bahá’í understanding is that God (or the Divine Reality, or Yahweh, or Allah, or Brahman, or Dharma, etc...) is unknowable in His Essence. (The masculine pronoun is here used to refer to God simply as an accident of language: no masculinity or gender is being assigned to the Divine. The Bahá’í Faith, incidentally, is one of the first world religions to directly and unequivocally proclaim and uphold the fundamental equality of the sexes.)
A painting cannot comprehend its painter, and in a similar way, humanity cannot comprehend God. God both encompasses all creation, and transcends it. Any attempt on our part to come to some understanding of the divine will invariably be inadequate. In this way, we can state that each of the seemingly contradictory views outlined above are in fact complementary aspects of the unknowable essence. God is all of these things, and none of these things. The Bahá’í Writings speak of God as being the ‘all-knowing’ and ‘all-powerful’, but also that the station of God is that of ‘nothingness’. The divine reality is not constrained by human limitations, such as gender, power, space, time, or even existence. No words can suitably describe that which is beyond all understanding. As such, the Bahá’í concept of God is radically different from that of other religions, believing in an ‘Essence of essences’ that underpins all reality. As Bahá’u’lláh explains:
To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery. He is, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly hidden from the sight of men.
This unknowable nature of God, however, does not mean that humanity is completely bereft of divine knowledge, or that any attempt at religious certitude is futile. On the contrary – an inability to completely understand something does not preclude a partial understanding. In the Bahá’í view, God has progressively revealed Himself to humanity through a series of messengers, including (but not limited to) Abraham, the Buddha, Christ, Muhammad, and, more recently, Bahá’u’lláh. This line of messengers stretches far back into prehistory – although their names have been lost to antiquity – and will continue well into the future. The purpose of these messengers, called ‘Manifestations of God’ in Bahá’í terminology, Bahá’u’lláh outlines as follows:
The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship among men.
In my opinion, this understanding of God resolves controversial problems about which religion is ‘correct’. It makes it easier to reconcile science and religion – a major Bahá’í principle – by abstracting God away from physical reality. It calls for all people to have respect for all faiths. I think that this kind of global perspective is sorely needed in today’s suffering world.
The other day I just finished Moojan Momen's Baha'u'llah: A Short Biography. I bought this book on the strength of a personal recommendation and a few reviews. One of the reviews I read (I cannot recall where) used the word "hagiography", a word that was new to me at the time. (It means the biography of the life of a saint, usually in gushingly praising terms.) The review was spelling out that this work is decidedly not a hagiography. I am compelled to agree. The book is undeniably Baha'i in its angle - it is written by a Baha'i, about the founder of the Baha'i Faith, and supports the Baha'i line on many aspects of the history of the early years of the religion. However, it is neither apologetic nor preachy, being decidedly academic in tone and objective in its treatment of sources.
After a short introduction, chapter one deals with the childhood and early life (1817-1844) of Baha'u'llah, born Mírzá Ḥusayn ‘Alí. Chapter two covers 1844-1853, as Baha'u'llah becomes involved in the Cause of the Bab. His exile to Baghdad, and the next 10 years (1853-163), often called the "Baghdad period" for obvious reasons, is the subject of chapter three. The next chapter covers Baha'u'llah's time in Europe, namely Istanbul and Edirne (1863-1868). As is common in historical treatments of Baha'u'llah's life, the time from 1868 to his death (1892) is split into two - "The Early ‘Akká Period" (1868-1877) and "The Later ‘Akká Period" (1877-1892), detailing the time Baha'u'llah spent in the prison-city of ‘Akká under the control of the Ottoman Empire. These form chapters five and six respectively. The book continues with three more chapters on more general themes: chapter seven is on Baha'u'llah's writings; chapter eight on his claims as to who he was and what he represented; and chapter nine on his teachings as a religious leader.
The history of the Baha'i Faith is something I'll readily admit to an incomplete knowledge of. As such, I found this book really helpful in both contextualising and understanding many of the events of Baha'i history, and also many of the writings of Baha'u'llah. It gave me a real sense of Baha'u'llah's humanity - he was a real person, with feelings and tragedies - and also a greater appreciation of his majesty and grace with which he endured his relentless sufferings.
The book is well-researched, and, as I'm coming to expect of Momen, referenced throughout, with helpful suggestions of further reading. While towards the end it gets a little heavy on quotations, it is excellent reading throughout. I'd recommend it to both Baha'is seeking a greater understanding of the founder of their faith, and to those who aren't Baha'is who simply want to know more about the origins of the religion, and the story of the personage behind it.
I was at an interfaith dinner this evening, a joint effort organised by a collection of different faith and belief-based societies here at Edinburgh University. At the dinner there were representatives from the Christian Union, the Catholic Students' Union, the Buddhist Society, the Islamic Society, the Vedic Society, the Baha'i Society, and the Humanist Society. It was held at the university chaplaincy, and the chaplaincy staff covered all the costs for the event, so kudos to them!
It was planned as a relatively informal get together - a chance for the various societies and their members to get to know each other on a more personal level, hopefully learn something about each other (and themselves), and to build lasting friendships.
That last point was emphasised in the opening comments of Rev Di Williams, the university chaplain, who encouraged us to go beyond the facile "speak to 3 new people tonight" or "meet someone from a different religion" ideas, and really challenge ourselves to connect with and develop friendships with those present. After her speech, there were a few icebreaker games, courtesy of the Baha'i Society, followed by lots and lots of delicious Indian food, courtesy of the Vedic Society (who had been cooking for 3 hours prior to the event!).
After eating, each society gave a short presentation of an item. The Baha'is having already given their icebreakers and a short talk, the Christian Union gave a short talk on Christianity followed by a song about Jesus. The Buddhists followed, with a Pali language chant, and then the Islamic Society with a quiz about Islam. Next the Vedic Society performed a dance and a song, the Catholic Union sang a couple of hymns, and the Humanists ended with some fun games for all. Thank yous were announced, and everyone pitched in at the end to help tidy and wash up. Afterwards, some of us went over to the Catholic Chaplaincy on George Square to have some tea, biscuits, and chat.
In all, there were about 50 people present at the dinner. It was funded by the chaplaincy, but we had a wee donation bucket for Oxfam, and we managed to raise £9.71 for the charity. That might not seem like much, but this event wasn't planned as a fundraiser - it was planned as a get-together.
I have a bit of a puzzle at events like this, that I'm involved in organising - on the one hand, I dislike organising things, and get stressed out during them, making sure that everything is running to plan and on schedule (one of the few times I will actually get stressed out, incidentally). On the other hand, I really enjoy interfaith, getting a chance to talk about my faith and listen to other people give their perspective. In spite of my inner turmoil, however, I have to say I definitely enjoyed tonight - great people, great food, great presentations.
It's really refreshing when things like this work, and work well - and to see the enthusiasm of everyone present about doing interfaith work, fostering understanding and friendships between societies. I've had a good day today.
No pictures as yet, but will be up as soon as I can get them. If you're reading an RSS feed, check the website itself.
I read something on my RSS feeds this evening that literally made me clap my hands in joy. (It's not that odd, really, hand-clapping is an honoured practice with a proud tradition in my flat. Still, I was happy.) I read on the Bahá'í World News Service that an administrative court in Egypt had ruled in favour of the Baha'is in two ongoing lawsuits. I've mentioned this issue in previous posts. It's been picked up by other blogs, some reprinting the blurb from the News Service, including Baha'i Views and Living in Egypt Without ID. In a follow-up post, Baha'i Views linked to a few blog coverages of this story.
I feel that Barney gets to the real issue: "Now we have to see how long it will take the Egyptian government to implement the new ruling." He then points out that there's still a long way for Egypt to go - Baha'i institutions and activities have been illegal in Egypt for nearly 50 years now. His article is good, I'd recommend it to all.
Less heartening to read on my feeds was that 54 Baha'is have been sentenced to jail in Iran, simply for being Baha'is. The Baha'i World News Service reports on calls from both Amnesty International and the US State Department for Iran to release these prisoners. There is still a long way to go in both Iran and Egypt.
I'm just back from Edinburgh University Chaplaincy, where EUSA marked Holocaust Memorial Day this evening with a short and informal service, remembering the victims of the Holocaust and other genocides.
The event featured speeches from Rev Di Williams, the University Chaplain; Young Dawkins, the Vice Principal of Development and Alumni at Edinburgh University; Gordon Aikman, the Vice President of EUSA; and music from Stephanie Brickman, Uri Stav, and someone else whose name I missed. The highlight of the event was David Goldberg, a Jewish German who retold his personal story of living during the holocaust. He was lucky enough to be taken to Britain at the beginning of the war, but he lost over 20 of his family members to the Nazi persecution.
It was finished off by a candle lighting ceremony led by Di Williams, whereby seven candles (six of them representing the six million Jews killed in the holocaust - the seventh standing for others who have died in related genocides) were lit. The lighters were Di Williams, Gordon Aikman, David Goldberg, Chantal Ellis (President of the University's Jewish Society), John McQuade (President of BLOGS), and two other people I didn't recognise. After they had lit the big candles, they went to the back where there were tealights, and everyone present was invited to light them and reflect. I was pleased to see Subh and Nurul there (the President and Vice-President of the University's Islamic Society), especially given strained relationships that have existed in the past between societies. But tonight everything was cool :)
Afterwards, there was refreshments and the like, and I spoke to Subhan, Nurul, and the Chaplaincy's receptionist Kate. Some of the speeches had mentioned Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, and Kenya. On the subject of systematic human rights abuses leading to genocide or similar circumstances, we talked about the Chechens; the Baha'is in Iran; and the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Australia, and Siberia. We discussed the need for actions, not words - "Let deeds, not words, be your adorning" (Baha'u'llah, Hidden Words From the Persian #5, p23-24). Also mentioned was the Islamic tradition that the only true criterion of a person's piousness is their taqwá'lláh - their consciousness of or fear of God.
One thing that struck me was that there were seven candles lit. Gordon Aikman used his speech to speak about the need for unity in the struggle against racism and prejudice. Which got me thinking - there is a book called Seven Candles of Unity, which details the time Abdu'l-Baha spent in Edinburgh. (Abdu'l-Baha is the son and appointed successor of Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith.) The book is named after seven principles that Abdu'l-Baha outlined as essential in the journey towards world peace.
While this little event in Edinburgh, in global terms, barely causes a blip on the radar, it is little by little that we can light the candles of unity in hearts around the world. We remember, we reflect, and we react. Never again should the world have to witness genocide. Maybe we can learn the value of human life.
I just finished Moojan Momen's Islam and the Bahá’í Faith, which is billed as "an attempt to present the Bahá’í Faith to Muslims" (vii), that is, from a Muslim perspective. The back cover also states that it "will also be useful to Bahá’ís who want to see how their religion relates to Islam," which is why I read it. I'd like to think I know more about Islam than your average Brit, but I wouldn't claim any sort of authority with my knowledge, especially with regards fields like Islamic jurispridence and history. This book has been greatly informative for me in three main areas: 1) my understanding of Islam, 2) my understanding of the Baha'i Faith, and 3) my understanding of how the Baha'i Faith views and relates to Islam. Given the title and aims of the book, that I learned things in those areas isn't particularly surprising, but it perhaps relays how effective Dr Momen has been in his 242-page (plus references and notes) account.
Momen takes us through the Baha'i teachings on Islam, particularly on the prophet Muhammad. He compares and contrasts the ethical and spiritual teachings of the Baha'i Faith with those of Islam. He then turns to Baha'u'llah's claim to be the promised one of all ages, and discusses this claim in relation to Islamic prophecies. The rest of the book is then about the Baha'i Faith in more depth, drawing parallels with Islam where appropriate. The final chapter, titled "Some Further Considerations", is essentially a miscellaneous section, discussing issues as diverse as miracles, the beauty of Baha'u'llah's writings, misrepresentations of the Baha'i Faith in the Arab world, and the state of Israel.
The book is very well researched, and extensively referenced throughout. Momen displays an in-depth knowledge of Islam, particularly of the ḥadíth and of the historical background of the Qur’án. It is perhaps worth noting that Momen has also written a whole book on Shi‘i Islam (Momen 1987). The arguments are reasoned, cogent, and comprehensive, and Momen never labours a point unnecessarily.
My only criticism, and it is a small one, is that the book is very apologetic and proof-based. Much of it seems to be aimed at addressing concerns and disagreements Muslims may have with the Baha'i Faith, and at proving the validity of Baha'u'llah's claims. However these are really minor points, and didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. I'd recommend it to all, especially those with a connection to Islam.
Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi‘ism. New Haven, Conn., London: Yale University Press, 1985.
Momen, Moojan. Islam and the Bahá’í Faith. Oxford: George Ronald, 2000.
Do check out this post over at Social Science++, titled Moral psychology on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Basically, the Amazon Mechanical Turk is a web service that lets you create simple online tasks or questionnaires and pay online workers to do them. The blogger, Brendan, creates a few moral dilemma scenarios, and asks people to say what they would do in that situation. The situations are all essentially "would you cause the death of one person in order to save five?". However, they vary from flicking a switch in order to redirect a deadly item from an area of high population to an area of low population (the trolley problem), to actually killing a young healthy man in order to harvest his organs to save the lives of others. Despite the rational equality of all the scenarios, they all get different responses. This suggests to us that moral reasoning is not rational, but emotional. Despite the title of "moral psychology", there are several philosophical issues at stake here.
- There is obviously a concept of action here, that allowing something to happen is not the same as making something happen. (This does not hold for all moral codes, and many (including Asimov's laws of robotics) believe that causing an outcome through inaction is equivalent to causing an outcome through action.) But to what extent are we responsible for those actions we do not interfere with?
- Is there a concept of "natural" or "inevitable" death at stake here, that makes the death of the organ needers that much more acceptable?
- Do the split-second decision making required of the first two scenarios, and the speedy nature with which their consequences will unfold, have an effect on the judgement of the decisions? Is the third scenario, the organ-harvesting one, that much less acceptable because of the length of time invested in carrying out this "lesser of two evils"?
Unfortunately, moral philosophy isn't something I know a great deal about (although I hope to learn), so I can't say if there are any philosophical theories that speculate along these lines. If anyone does know, I'd be very interested to find out, so please, leave a comment.
On another note, the actual method of data-gathering as outlined in the original blog post is a very interesting one. I think greater demographic survey of the web community is needed before it can be fully validated as a method of collecting empirical data, but the project itself, especially the flexible scale of tasks, make it ideal for small squibs and breakfast experiments.
Over at alisaurus.net, the home of Alice's Adventures in China, Alice has posted her story of a wee Orkney lass travelling thousands of miles to China, alone, and the various troubles and tribulations associated with that.
- Alice’s Adventures in China part 1: Getting to China
- Alice’s Adventures in China part 2: Getting to Macau
- Alice’s Adventures in China part 3: Getting to China again
It's an interesting tale, about facing fears, asserting your identity, and trying to survive in totally unfamiliar surroundings. The story ends on a positive note too, as... look, just go read it, okay? Enjoy.
