Month 6, Day 30: Good-bye, Baha’i!

Today is my last day as a Baha’i. I know I’ve slacked off a bit over the past few days, but it wasn’t just laziness. It was laziness and stomach flu and, yes, a touch of apathy.

I’ve been keeping up with my obligatory prayers and the rest of the Baha’i stuff, but I have to tell the truth: I’ve been bored. I’m getting really sick of tolerance, justice, love, and compassion. Yeah, I know. I’m a bitch.

The fact that I grow to hate each new religion sometime during week three every month—if I don’t already hate it from the very beginning—says something to me. I have no staying power when it comes to religion. I can’t stick with things for very long because I get bored and jaded and pissed off. Well, maybe I start out bored and jaded and pissed off. That tends to be my style in general.

Spending so much time focused on religion isn’t helping my attitude, either. For some reason, I thought immersing myself in religion all the time would help me find some faith in something, anything. Instead, I feel like it’s taking away what little faith I might have had. I’m getting worried that by the time this year is over, I’ll be a full-on atheist instead of just a wondering, confused agnostic.

But tomorrow starts a new month and a new religion. So let the cycle—where I start the month hopeful and optimistic only to become bored and jaded and pissed off—begin  yet again. 

Month 6, Day 24: Prophets

Since it’s Easter and Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, I thought today would be a good time to talk a little more about the Baha’i notion that all the prophets of the world’s religions were really just manifestations of the one true God.

I’ve mentioned before that Baha’i views all religions as one—as steps along the same path toward divine truth. All prophets, too, are really just signposts on that path.

As author Moojan Momen explains, “Baha’is claim that . . . [Baha’i founder] Baha’u’llah is the figure anticipated in the scriptures of all the religions of the world. He is the Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace foretold in the Hebrew Bible and expected by the Jews, the return of Christ in the glory of the Father awaited by Christians, the Great Announcement about which the Muslims are told in the Qur’an, the Shah Bahram of the Zoroastrian scriptures, the Maitreya Buddha that the Buddhists are awaiting.”

In his Gleanings, Baha’u’llah explains this concept in further detail, comparing the great prophets to doctors who come to Earth to heal the people of the world:

“The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. . . . Little wonder, then, if the treatment prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his sickness a special remedy? In like manner, every time the Prophets of God have illumined the world . . . they have invariably summoned its peoples to embrace the light of God through such means as best befitted the exigencies of the age in which they appeared. They were thus able to scatter the darkness of ignorance, and to shed upon the world the glory of their own knowledge.”

Whichever prophet you prefer—whether you’re a Jew celebrating Passover or a Christian celebrating Easter—Baha’i says your guy is the same as our guy, and we’re all right. It’s kind of a nice idea.

So have a happy Easter—or whatever you might be celebrating this weekend!

Month 6, Day 21: Ridván

Today is the first day of Ridván, a 12-day Baha’i festival that commemorates the start of Baha’u’llah’s work as a prophet. As the holiest Baha’i holiday, it gets its name from the Garden of Ridván outside of Baghdad, where Baha’u’llah spent 12 days after he was exiled.

While staying in the Garden of Ridván, Baha’u’llah announced to a small group of friends and family that he was the latest in the line of God’s prophets and explained his mission to spread the Baha’i faith.

Ridván begins on the 32^nd day of the Baha’i year, on April 21. (The Baha’i year is broken up into 19 months, beginning on March 21.)

Work is prohibited for followers of Baha’i on the first, ninth, and twelfth days of Ridván (hooray—I could use some time off!). Many Baha’is recognize the importance of the festival by getting together with other believers for prayer and celebration. I guess I’m on my own, but that’s okay. At least I don’t have to work.

In honor of my very first Baha’i holiday, here’s a special Ridván prayer from Compilations by Bahiyyih Khanum, the oldest daughter of Baha’i founder Baha’u’llah:

The Festival of Ridvan is come and the splendour of the light of God is shining from the invisible horizon of His mercy. The overflowing grace of the Lord of oneness is pouring down copiously from the unseen world and the glad-tidings of the Kingdom are coming in from all countries. The resplendent morn that betokens the advancement of the Cause of God and heralds the exaltation of His Word is dawning in every region.

Praise be to God that the fame of the Ancient Beauty—may my life be offered up for His loved ones—has been noised abroad in the world and the glory of His Cause is spread far and wide throughout the East and the West. These joyous developments will indeed gladden the hearts of His loved ones.

Happy Ridván, everybody!

Month 6, Day 20: Life After Death

Like most religions, Baha’i believes we all have a soul that lives on even after the body dies. Although the soul is eternal, we can’t ever truly comprehend its nature. But we can know one thing—according to Baha’i, the soul doesn’t really live inside the body. It’s more a reflection of the divine that somehow “shines” upon and through us while our bodies are alive. Yeah, I find that a little confusing, too.

As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains, “The rational soul, meaning the human spirit, does not descend into the body—that is to say, it does not enter it, for descent and entrance are characteristics of bodies, and the rational soul is exempt from this. The spirit never entered this body, so in quitting it, it will not be in need of an abiding-place: no, the spirit is connected with the body, as this light is with this mirror.”

In a way, believing that the soul is something above and beyond the body makes sense—more than some of the other religions I’ve tried. Not being “part” of the body seems like it would make it easier for the soul to survive death.

So what happens to the soul after the body dies? Same thing as most other religions tell us: It goes on to another plane of existence.

What that plane of existence is like is kind of vague in Baha’i writing, but that’s pretty typical of scripture in any faith.

Baha’u’llah writes, “Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The Maids of Heaven, inmates of the loftiest mansions, will circle around it, and the Prophets of God and His chosen ones will seek its companionship. With them that soul will freely converse, and will recount unto them that which it hath been made to endure in the path of God, the Lord of all worlds.”

I guess this picture of “heaven” sounds okay to me. It’s better than the puffy cloud, golden gate Christian version, at least in my opinion, although I’m not sure I really want “Maids of Heaven” dancing around me. I’d prefer “Studs of Heaven” or something just a little bit dirtier, but hey, that’s just me.

One thing about Baha’i that differs from a lot of religions when it comes to life after death is that Baha’i actually tries to give some proof. Although Baha’i does admit that there can’t be any true, irrefutable proof that the soul survives after the body dies, Baha’u’llah gave it a try, telling us that dreams show us that there are, indeed, other worlds and other planes of existence out there.

Baha’u’llah wrote, “Behold how the dream thou hast dreamed is, after the lapse of many years, re-enacted before thine eyes. Consider how strange is the mystery of the world that appeareth to thee in thy dream. Ponder in thine heart upon the unsearchable wisdom of God, and meditate on its manifold revelations.”

I don’t know. The idea that dreams are proof of life after death sounds a little off to me. I mean, last night, I dreamed I was eating barbecue with members of the cast of Army Wives, which I don’t even watch. So if that’s my other “plane of existence,” I might want to stick with this one.

Month 6, Day 19: The Purpose of Life

I guess it’s safe to say that all religions—and even most people who don’t follow religion at all—are focused on discovering the meaning of life, the reason why we’re all here.

Baha’i says that our purpose in life is to reflect the divine attributes we all have within us. Although everything on Earth—plants, trees, animals—has some aspects of the divine, only human beings have the capacity to fully reflect them all.

The only way to do that is to embody the ideals of the Baha’i faith in everything we do—ideals like justice, love, truthfulness, purity, and service.

It sounds easy enough, but it’s turning out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Justice, for example, doesn’t just mean following the law and being fair to people. Baha’i founder Baha’u’llah says it also means choosing “for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.”

That’s all well and good in theory, but I find it very hard to choose for my neighbor what I want for myself when that “neighbor” is, say, reaching for the last piece of pizza when I’ve already got my eye on it.

And love is even more difficult to embody than justice. Real love is supposed to be universal and without limit. We’re supposed to be friendly, compassionate, charitable, and generous to everyone—even the assholes.

Sometimes, it’s hard enough for me to love the people closest to me. Now I’m supposed to show love and compassion for the jerk who cuts me off in traffic, too? Come on! Is it me, or does that seem to violate the principle of justice?

Another part of living well is striving for happiness—the Baha’i way. And let’s just say that the Baha’i way isn’t my way.

Baha’u’llah says that most people seek out happiness using the same basic method: “In the day-time they strive with all their soul after worldly benefits, and in the night-season their sole occupation is to gratify their carnal desires.”

Now, when I first read that passage, my immediate reaction was “Hell, yes! That’s what I’m talking about!”

But apparently, what I see as a perfect existence—working for money and power all day and then enjoying food and other . . . um . . . bodily pleasures all night—is all wrong, from the Baha’i perspective.

As author Moojan Momen explains, “The pursuit of a self-centered and self-indulgent lifestyle is condemned by Baha’u’llah because it does not lead to human happiness.”

So I guess I’ve got some changes to make. Or maybe, after this month is over, I’ll stick with my regular lifestyle and enjoy my “lack of happiness.”