Year of Faith

I had intended to post progress updates on my February goals, but that failed for reasons I shall explain below. Instead this will be a progress report for the entire Jainist experiment, and even that a few weeks late.

If you recall, my goals for February were:

1. Veganism (with additional restrictions)
2. Ahimsa - Nonviolence in thought, word and deed
3. Truthfulness
4. Limiting possession and use of worldly goods
5. Daily prayer, meditation, and/or study of religious texts

The first few days are always shaky as we try to remember what our new rituals are, but I got into the routine fairly quickly. The first week I was proud of my success in sticking to my goals. And then things unhinged messily, due to a case of the February Blahs. (more…)

My month of Jainism showed me just how hard it is to break routine. I’ve spent most of my life living a certain way, i.e.- without religion. Having a religion makes demands on me that I am not used to- it changes my day-to-day life. When I was a Jain I had to ensure that I spent a certain amount of time each day in meditation. Odd as it sounds, I had a hard time finding the time to just sit and be still.

Now I have to find time to pray, which had been less problematic as it takes really no time at all.  But still, it is odd how the littlest of things can really mess up your day and force yourself to reprioritize.

But it is these little changes that really get at the heart of what I am trying to do during the Year of Faith.  These new parts of my routine are what reinforce religion in people, these daily reminders that make the ideas alive.

I have never had a ritual component in my life, no sacred space or ideas.  Now I have periods of prayer and meditation to remind me of what principles and outlook I should be adhering to.  I kind of like that, a time every day to remind myself of what is important.  It is easy to forget.

More practical than a tattoo, anyway.

Current Weight: 265 lbs.

Originally I had planned to post my weight at the beginning of every month, to keep track of how it fluctuates with my diet. Honestly, I am not just trying to boast about how much weight I have lost. Really.

What I enjoyed most about this month was the focus on reflection. Jainism does not ask you to accept anything unquestioningly, there is no central dogma. Rather it asks you to consider the vows and what is entailed by them. Jainism posits that, so long as you spend the time to sort out what principles seem right to you, you can be free to believe in whatever you like. All that they ask is that you remember to accord this same freedom to everyone else, and to remember to never say that something is an absolute certainty. So as long as you abstain from the world, and act well, you will be rewarded in your next reincarnation, or you will be removed from the cycle all together.

This way of living is strikingly similar to the philosopher’s life posited by Socrates and Plato, especially in the Apology and Phaedo dialogues. Each of them seems to have thought that one’s life should be spent in reason and reflection- considering the nature of the good life, and of metaphysics. This kind of philosophizing would allow you to detract yourself from those worldy desires that take up your time, and help you realize those desires more rationally than you did before. Plato even thought that since philosophers are so preoccupied with the intellect, that the best end a philosopher could hope for was death. For in death, the soul- the seat of the intellect, is released from the body that hampered it with all sorts of material concerns.

The philosopher’s life, like that of the Jain, is ideally one of strict contemplation in order to acheive the best possible actions, and to come to the fullest end, in this life or the next.

For the past few weeks I have felt relaxed, peaceful, and healthy. The vegetarian diet is something I am going to have to consider, as well as regular periods meditation. Jainism fit well with me, and I am sorry I did not have more time to study it.

But for now I am thankful that I can eat whatever I want, although it is only during the time before sunrise and after sunset. I am still not sure as to which set of prayers I will be performing. I don’t want to just take the easy way out and do the short one, but I also don’t want to perform the longer ones if I don’t have the motivation. Though, I am curious as to what it will be like to talk to God, instead of spending my time in contemplation, listening.

I’m a little bit behind in posting this, so let’s get to it!

Origins

The Baha’i Faith was founded in Iran in the 19th century by Mirza Hoseyn ‘Ali Nuri, who became known as Baha’u'llah. In much the same way that Christianity was born out of Judaism, the Baha’i faith has its roots in Shi’ite Islam. In 1844, Mirza ‘Ali Mohammad of Shiraz proclaimed the appearance of a new messenger of God who would overturn old beliefs and customs to usher in a new era. He identified himself as the forerunner of this prophet and assumed the title of “the Bab”, meaning ‘gateway’.

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