A thought crossed my mind. I haven't had much contact with Baha'i people, save my Uncle who is a very active pioneer.

One of the aspects which hold me back sometimes from officially becoming a Baha'i is the level of expected commitment. On one hand, to follow and believe in the Faith is one step - to make that declaration to obey Baha'u'llah's Teachings.

But on the other, what would I be expected to do?

Things I could think of would be attending devotionals, and other meetings. Take part in voting perhaps. I imagine fasting would be considered obligatory (something I would like to try anyway) - but are there exceptions for this due to line of work? I am a teacher, and I've no idea how this may affect my work. I also have heard there are daily obligatory prayers, though I don't know what these are yet (I just read from compilations and reflect on them at the moment)

The only thing I can pin any of this to is the idea of a 'good Christian' or 'good muslim' which is often mentioned in their respective communities - i.e. one who goes to church regularly, attends midnight mass, doesn't drink alchohol, goes to the mosque every Friday, and so on.

To declare oneself as a Baha'i, how 'active' should one be?

Thanks for your post!

Beyond simply reciognizing that Baha'u'llah is the Manifestation of God for this day,

Baha'is have some obligatory activities that are expected of adult followers over say fifteen..

One of them is daily obligatory prayer and this is a personal spiritual commitment.. NO body keeps count if you miss a prayer. You can read these prayers.. You have a choice of making one obligatory prayer a day or three or again one every twenty four hours to suit your schedule:

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/c/BP/

Note the section of obligatory prayers.

Some daily relfection on the Writings and prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah, the Bab and Abdul-Baha is expected but again this is more a personal spiritual obligation.

Fasting between sunrise and sunset for nineteen days in the last Bhaa'i month of 'Ala is expected for adult believers but again no body keeps track of this ..again it's a personal spiritual obligation. Also fasting is conditional on your age and health.

Refraining from the use of alcohol as a beverage... unless say a doctor were to prescribe it for a medical condition say as a part of therapy.

So these are the minimum expected.

Beyond these it depends on the capacity and will of the Baha'i..

Our communities are generallly small so a Baha'i would probably be encouraged to support activities but again it's not obligatory that they do so.

If a Baha'i can do so we are encouraged to go on pilgrimage...

Thanks again for your advice Arthra. Your answer is kind of what I expected, so that's encouraging. I would say that Unity needs to be actively promoted and sought after, otherwise it won't happen. If this is fundamentally part of the Baha'i Faith, then I assume one needs to take part and support, as you say.

It sounds to me that you have got a pretty good idea, SammyUK. One idea that underpins the Faith, in my opinion, is that we are all responsible for our own development and discipline and not anyone else's, as adults. When it comes to community participation, I do what I can and don't feel bad about what I cannot. I know Bahá'is who do very little with other Bahá'ís and feel that they are totally committed and living as they shoud and I know Bahá'ís who do a lot and have a strong conviction that this is the right thing to do. We are all different and I think that they are both right. Sadly, I also know people who have decided that there is a right way to do things, found they could not confirm and could not forgive themselves so became very stressed and pulled away from the Faith. My time has run out, more later. Hope this is of some help

I did want to add something about fasting. You will be able to look up the teachings. It is obligatory for adults from the age of 15 to, I think, 75. There are some exceptions such as illness, pregnancy, breast feeding, menstuation, hard physical labour and travel. A friend once said to me that the spirit of this law was to "allow us to gain detachment from our bodies but not to permenantly separate body and soul!"

Coming from a Western society, the practise of fasting was very different from anything I had encountered culturally and I did not really know if it was possible. Having fasted for quite a few years now I have reached the conclusion that this is good for us and the fast, I feel, helps give me perspective on life. When work was very stressful and I was, like a number of colleagues, experiencing dangerous levels of stress, I think that the fast is the one thing that made me change my perception of the situation and regain control.

On a practical note, also being a teacher, I was also nervous about how it would effect my job. For me, I am blessed with good health, the not eating is no problem. I found the not drinking took a bit of adapting to, but was possible. I found it a good idea to clean my teeth at lunch time so that my students did not suffer my really bad breath.

The bottom line is that this is something that is between you and God and you do what you can, and don't worry about what anyone else thinks.

I've read a bit on the Baha'i view on fasting. Though it isn't until March, it's something I'd like to try out, even though I haven't declared as mentioned before. It's not so alien to me having lived in a muslim country before, though personally I haven't tried fasting before. As for teaching, yes - a brush of the teeth as mints deafeat the object! It'll be interesting trying this out - especially since I also have evening classes so would have to wait a bit longer for my grub!

It seems so far from both of your replies (pollwr & arthra) that the answer to the original question is just do whatever you feel you can commit to. This is encouraging for me to arrive at my declaration point.

Thanks!

Yes, that seems fair. I am not saying, as I understand it, that we pick and choose which teachings to follow but I think we should do our best at all times and then learn from when we fail and not get tied up in the blame and guilt cycle that is easy to fall into and can be quite destructive.

I love the teachings that Bahá'ís should see the light of God in everyone and love each person for that. If we can really live by this then we can get control over our judgemental side and if we are treated that way by others it can inspire us to do better as we strive to improve and learn life's lessons. Of course, Abdúl-Bahá was a wonderful example of this.