A Month of Sacrifice
By Hector Balcazar
On a recent March day, Kiva Heidarian wakes up before sunrise and drinks a glass of water he keeps next to his bed. “For me, that’s all I need for the day,” he said.
Heidarian is one of the many El Paso members of the Bahá’í Faith who is observing the 19 day fast during the last month of the Bahá’í calendar from March 2nd to the 20th. During the fast, Bahá’ís in good heath abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sundown. “The fast is a completely spiritually cleansing process,” said Heidarian, 20, a freshman at UTEP.
The Bahá’í s of El Paso are about 70 active members. Bahá’í s believe in the oneness of mankind, the oneness of religion, and the oneness of God. Bahai’s do not have clergy and believe in the independent investigation of truth. The Baha’i Information Center where the El Paso Baha’is gather is located at 9931 McCombs St on the east side.
“We know what’s given to us. The fast is a time to detach ourselves from material things, even food. Food is material attachment, it goes from survival to pleasure,” he said. “The fast is a good time to pray. You feel it. To me you feel it a lot.”
Kiva’s cousin Nazy Heydarian, 18 believes that fasting “helps to practice sacrifice. It helps me appreciate things I take for granted like eating on a schedule. Other people don’t always have that luxury.”
She says that fasting is “not something you do just to starve yourself. It’s sacrifice for God. It has a spiritual nature to it, even if you’re not observing the fast you’re still feeling the spiritual cleansing.”
During the fast at sunset Bahá’í s gather to break the fast with their friends, families, and as a whole community in restaurants, family homes, and at the Bahá’í Center. “It’s hard to give up food and water for the day but then there is the feeling afterwards when you break the fast and get together with everyone,” said Nazy. “Fasting for the day is rewarded with the breaking of the fast with friends.”
“And after the fast we celebrate Naw Ruz,” the Bahá’í New Year’s celebration that begins on the spring equinox March 21. This year the Bahá’ís of El Paso hosted the Naw Ruz celebration at Grace Gardens on Westside Drive.