The sweet sound of prayer
There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer. [From the writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá]
Erica and I are co-tutoring a group who are studying Book 1 (Reflections on the Life of the Spirit) of the courses of the Ruhi Institute in our home on Wednesday nights. There are seven of us. Four are not Baha’is, three are Baha’is, and I am the only man in the group.
Baha’is across the globe invite their friends to join them in small groups in their own homes to study the Baha’i sacred texts and teachings by means of the Ruhi courses. It’s one of what we call our “core activities” - things that we do to encourage our friends, whether Baha’i or not, to embark on the spiritual journey with us. We also have devotional gatherings, spiritual and moral classes for children, and classes for 11-14 year old “junior youth”.
Last Wednesday we began to study the course unit on prayer. Oh, that was a sweet and wonderful thing to do, to spend an evening sharing and deepening our understanding about prayer. Sadly, Beverley and Lindsay were unavoidably absent, but Mary, Valerie, Fariba, Erica and I plunged into the ocean of the Word of God.
Mary is a practising Catholic and relates what we are studying to what she believes and how she acts. Valerie, on the other hand, is reserved and hasn’t said anything very much about herself - and there’s no call for her to do so, if she doesn’t want to. Both Mary and Valerie maintain a privacy about themselves in what seems to me to be a very English manner. We don’t necessarily want everyone to know our life histories, nor do we want to tell people what we think and believe before we have created a relationship of trust.
Mary attended a 9-week meditation course (using the CALM - community approach to learning meditation - handbook) that our Baha’i community ran in a neighbouring village hall; we held the last three sessions in our home and it was then that Mary, like others (including Beverley), felt able to be more open about her spiritual life. The whole group shared some deeply personal things and created a very strong bond at that time.
Ruhi Book 1 is rather different from the CALM meditation course. It is really designed for Baha’is who are new to the Baha’i Faith, so there are concepts and language in the course that need to be explained to those who aren’t Baha’is. Erica and I were rather anxious about this when we started this particular group, fearing that our non-Baha’i friends might find the concepts difficult or alien to their experience. For example, the first unit of Book 1 explains that Baha’is don’t confess their sins to priests or other individuals. Would Mary find that difficult to accept? Well, no, she accepted that Baha’is don’t do this, but she explained quite cogently why confession to a priest is important for her as a Catholic. And we moved right along.
Section 2 of the Book 1 unit on prayer mentions, without any explanation or introduction, the Long Obligatory Prayer. Obligatory prayer is a concept and practice which is important to Baha’is but which may be unfamiliar to Christians. So we took a little time to explain the nature of daily obligatory prayer and the three prayers from which Baha’is can choose one each day.
Section 1 asks participants to say who ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is. Again, OK for Baha’is, but Mary, quite understandably, asked, “Who is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá?” Time to say something about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and to tell some stories of His life.
All of these potential difficulties turn out not to be difficulties at all. In fact they provide opportunities to share information about aspects of Baha’i life and history.
The intimate and trusting atmosphere of the study circle encourages participants to share their own thoughts and feelings about the subject under discussion. I spoke about the challenge I have in maintaining a consistent prayer life - some days prayer opens what a friend once described many years ago as the “trapdoor” that separates from the worlds of God; other days the trapdoor shuts on my head. The days the trapdoor opens, even if only a crack, bring an inner peace and joy that other days lack.
When I said this, Mary looked at me quizzically and said, “You’re very honest.” Well, what else was I to be?
At the end of the evening, Mary said that she now felt very comfortable sharing her personal feelings and experiences of prayer and the spiritual life. Valerie said little throughout the evening; I’m trying to figure a way of inviting her to open up (but without putting any pressure on her). At the moment it’s as if she’s observing the course but not fully participating.
To finish the session everyone read the following quotation out, and then we spent a few moments in silent meditation, so that we could absorb the meaning of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s words:
There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer. Man must live in a state of prayer. The most blessed condition is the condition of prayer and supplication. Prayer is conversation with God. The greatest attainment or the sweetest state is none other than conversation with God. It creates spirituality, creates mindfulness and celestial feelings, begets new attractions of the Kingdom and engenders the susceptibilities of the higher intelligence.
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9 comments
I’ve been rediscovering prayer over the last few years. I can describe it now as remembrance. Remembrance of who I am, where I came from and what I am (or should be :-)) doing here in this world. The experience of love and an inner smile are key to me during prayer, and on a good day that stays with me. I was raised without religion and it took me a long time to get to terms with prayer. But I realize now (instead of tentatively accept) that it’s essential.
Barney,
Prayer is communication and like the best of communication it is not issuing orders but is a meeting of two spirits. C.S. Lewis in one of his shorter poems ( I cannot find the book just now, but it was edited by Hooper) speaks of prayer as beginning with man, but ending as “not one now prays, but Two”. Truly, God leads us to prayer by whatever means necessary - sometimes joy, sometimes pain - so that He can infuse us with His Truth. JMO, of course.
I have tutored the Ruhi 1 and found it suited some people perfectly, especially if it was done at a relaxed pace allowing free expression. However, I have some friends who I knew would not enjoy the strictures of Ruhi; so my wife and I took the themes from Ruhi 1 and compiled verses from the Writings that addressed those themes, from many different angles. We invited some of our non-Baha’i friends, just a small group, to “Deepenings” on each theme. These are preceded by a pot-luck dinner and then the eight of us settle in with our coffee to examine each of the verses in depth. These Deepenings are enjoyed so much by all that canceling a week is very difficult. One fellow drives two hours each way to attend, which means he arrives home at 1:30 A.M. (we start at 6:30 p.m.).
Two of the four seekers attending are now ardent Baha’is - something we couldn’t prevent.
Drop me an email and I will send you a sample of our subjects if you wish.
I think that in silence, we do pray; should your friend wish to share then she will, if not, that is also her privilege.
I once had a student who was always very quiet, she was also shy because her two front teeth were missing.
One day, she came to class, and told us she was leaving. As one, the whole class agreed to take to a coffee shop; so class was cancelled!
The students, in secret, went and bought her gifts, and as we were in the coffee shop, gave them to her.
It was then that she burst into tears, and told us how her lessons were in fact, where she felt safe, and with friends.
And then she left us.
Thank you all for your comments. Yes, prayer is remembrance (dhikr is the term used by Sufis and, indeed, in the Baha’i Writings) and conversation and communication and reflection. Prayer is multi-dimensional, it seems to me, and cannot be reduced to any simple formulation - which is why ‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes it in so many ways.
Reed, thanks for your account of your deepenings. They sound very interesting and might well suit some of our friends. The great thing about the CALM meditation course we ran was that it eventually allowed participants to share their real feelings and life experiences and not to have to follow anyone else’s expectations.
Toby, I just love your story - a mystery and the loving act of the other students. I wonder why and what happened to her. And I shall think about this in relation to Valerie in our study circle.
Prayer is like music. We can understand it only in the experience of it.
Peace Barney,
Prayer is a wonderful thing, though like all wonderful things, it is difficult.
Meeting other seekers, talking honestly about our experiences and aspirations in the search for communion with God, and sharing companionship are some of the most profound and important aspects of human life. Praise be to God in every condition and every state.
Prayer is like music. Indeed, we might almost say prayer is music.
Abdur Rahman
Thank you for your insightful and helpful comment, Abdur Rahman. Prayer is indeed divine melody, a melody that “rises above the murmur of syllables and sounds”, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says.
Barney,
I loved this post, and the comments shared by your readers. The quote from Abdu’l Baha’ is so wonderful, yet profound: “Prayer is conversation with God.” How often do I forget that, and simply fall back into the habit of saying prayers because I feel I “have to” or out of fear that God will be displeased with me. (I was raised a Baptist, and that fear of an angry God tape is slowly being erased after 20 years as Baha’i.)
I am especially interested the CALM program. I practice meditation, which helps clear my muddled head each day. I would love to see how incorporate the CALM method into my daily meditations. So it’s time for me to pull out the plastic money (VISA) and order the book!
Hi, Angela, good to hear from you. I know what you mean about forgetting that prayer is conversation with God. Tutoring Ruhi Book 1 on prayer is reminding me of things that I knew, but had lost touch with about prayer.
I can highly recommend CALM. It’s an effective course and a wonderful thing to invite friends to join in with.
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