We don’t have any priests or ministers in the Bahá’í Faith. We are responsible for our own spiritual lives. Each morning when I get up I read a passage from the Bahá’í scriptures (these comprise the writings of the Báb and of Bahá’u’lláh, together with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s interpretations of his Father’s teachings. The passage can be as long or as short as I want. And I recite some of the beautiful prayers given us by the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
During the day I’ll say one of our obligatory prayers. I’ve three to chose from: a short one to be said between noon and sunset; a medium one to be recited three times in the day; or a long prayer that is said with various prostrations and hand movements at any time in the day.
Prayer and the reading the Bahá’í scriptures is the responsibility of each individual Bahá’í. No one is going to ask us whether we’ve done these things.
Another personal responsibility is observance of the Bahá’í month of fasting from 2 to 20 March. We don’t eat or drink from sunrise to sunset during those days – but we are exempted if we’re ill or travelling or pregnant or nursing a baby.
Why do these things? It’s all about aligning our lives with what we believe to be the will of God, about reflecting on what life is about and discovering what life means. It’s about becoming a better human being and being better able to be of service. Service to others, too, is a form of worship.
Our local communities meet once every nineteen days for the Nineteen Day Feast. We worship together – no rituals, only prayers and readings and perhaps some music, and anyone can read; we discuss community business; and then we socialize, have food and drink, and deepen our fellowship with each other. These meetings can take place anywhere: a Bahá’í Centre, if there is one; a rented hall; someone’s home.
The Bahá’í community is governed by democratically elected councils – local, national and international. The local and national Spiritual Assemblies, as they are called, are elected once a year. No one stands for election; all adult Bahá’ís are eligible to serve. The Universal House of Justice, the supreme authority for the Bahá’ís of the world, is elected once every five years by the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world.
I’m a currently a member of the UK National Spiritual Assembly and work full time as its Secretary for External Affairs. This does not make me a religious leader nor does it give me any power. But it does give me the responsibility of representing the Bahá’í community to government, parliament, the media, and civil society.
The job of the Assemblies is to empower and enable the Bahá’ís, individually or in groups, to plan activities.
Bahá’ís throughout the world are currently focusing on four kinds of activities that are open to all, regardless of whether they’re Bahá’ís or not: devotional meetings in our own homes; spiritual and moral education classes for children; classes for junior youth (12-15 year olds) and study groups where anyone can come to explore what the Bahá’í writings say about the big questions of life and death.
Becoming a Bahá’í when I was 18 was undoubtedly the most important decision I have ever taken. My whole adult life has been shaped by my faith. Every moment of every day and every action I take is guided by my faith. I pray that the moment of my passing from this world to the next will be protected by my faith.
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