Ramadan - Insights from practice
“The lamps are different, but the light is the same: it c0mes from beyond.” - Rumi
As a ‘seeker of Truth’ - the practices of many different religions interest me. I have some Good friends who are practicing Sufis, and to build connection and understanding, I became curious about their practice during the month of Ramadan. I wanted to understand what this meant to them, let alone to the almost 25% of the globe’s population who identify as Muslim.
It is Ramadan again, (1 April 2022 in Canberra) and I think back on my experiences with Ramadan. For about four years during the month of Ramadan, I engaged with the tradition myself. I wasn’t converting, nor was I trying to just do it ‘lip service’. I was actually wanting to understand, and I learned more and more each years as I partook in the practices. In my final year, I was rising well before dawn, to have a small bite, a drink, and to set an intention (prayer) from my own tradition before Sehar, and I would sincerely bring up the thoughts and emotions and desires for the good of the world. This continued for the following five times for prayer… during each day of the month, not eating, nor drinking until after the last prayer after Isha after sundown.
It was, for me, an incredible experience. I purposefully stopped and examined my relationship with food, with craving, with connection, and with community. During the five daily prayer times, I would also bring an intention into my heart, into my mind, for ‘the connection of the world’. My prayers were not the prayers of my much admired friends - as mine were from my voice, my experience, and as much as I could, I worked to engage with the tradition.
By connecting in this way, I thought about my own physical hunger and thirst, and recognised that these sensations closely mirrored the more esoteric hungers and thirsts for connection, with community, with nature, with the world, and with one’s sense of purpose (whatever you conceive this to be).
My admiration for those that engage with Ramadan increased… and was even further enhanced when I was invited to share Eid al-Fitr with the many different cultures that were present at the local Mosque - which was filled with such a generous spirit of community in celebration.
If you are blessed to have any people within your community or workplace that are practicing during Ramadan, please, do some research into the meaning of Ramadan. Find out more about what this means to them, through conversation, and connection. And show your support. It is a beautiful tradition, and one that I think has much to teach those who are willing to engage with it.
