Time To Clean Up!

Dear Readers,

As we step into August – one of the most auspicious months of the year, there’s much to look forward to and even more to do! We start the ‘prep’ for our Parsi New Year – and this encompasses a lot cleaning-up around the house. We look to making our homes all spic-and-span and tidied up, especially for the super sacred 10-day Muktad period, starting next weekend, which comprises the 5 holy Gatha days and finally culminates into the New Year.

It is said that during this period, the fravashis (or divine essence) of those who have passed away come visiting our homes from their spiritual abode to bless those who remember and pray for them. Homes of devout Zoroastrians, in addition to the regular clean-up also get a face-lift with white-washing and painting, et al. Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness, but isn’t it equally important for that sense of cleanliness to also extend to one’s heart and mind, alongside one’s home?

A small heart and a petty mind housed within even the grandest and cleanest of homes, makes it akin to a golden cage. When we house negativity within our hearts and minds – in the form of anger, hate, arrogance, jealousy, deceit, guilt, fear or the like – we violate the fundamental premise of cleanliness. Cleanliness is integral not just to our religion, but to the Zoroastrian way of life… our sacrosanct principles of ‘Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds’ facilitate just that.

As Zoroastrians we are truly blessed with a glorious religion that emphasizes on us being God-loving, not God-fearing, and encourages us to seek the right path to happiness. An unclean mind and a tainted heart deters us from both – true happiness as well as the path of righteousness or Asha. Maybe this year, as we get our homes prepped to enter the New year, we could do with a little bit of cleaning up within our hearts and minds too.

Now this process of self-cleansing might not seem that simple but it’s way easier than living with a compromised heart and mind – the ultimate road-blocks to your happiness! You start out by truly embracing gratitude (and there’s so much to be grateful for!); convincing yourself to let go and move on from unfortunate life experiences (you owe this to yourself); forgiving those who hurt you (keeping the pain or hatred within is like punishing yourself even more!), being truly happy for the joys and successes of others (happiness attracts happiness!)… and you’re on your way to that much-needed mental and emotional detox. This is real cleansing.

When we sit in prayer with clean hearts and minds, we are able to pray for our dearly departed, with a naturally increased dedication, intensity and a frequency tuned even closer to the divine. This New Year, let our hearts and minds shine even more brightly than our homes!

Have a good weekend!

Anahita