Dear Readers,

Entering the month of August is always exciting for Parsi households – with the auspicious Parsi New Year just around the corner, with much festivity to look forward to, as we joyfully prep up our homes and our hearts, to welcome it all… starting with the ten sacrosanct Muktad days, which commence on 5th August.

It is said that during this period, the fravashis (or divine essence) of our dearly departed come a-visiting to bless us. Homes of many devout Zoroastrians even get a face-lift with white-washing and painting, et al. After all, cleanliness, as they say, is next only to Godliness! But wouldn’t it be ironic if all that cleanliness were relegated only to one’s home and didn’t extend to one’s heart and mind?

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. A small heart and a petty mind housed within even the grandest and cleanest of homes is akin to missing the woods for the trees. When we house negativity within – in the form of anger, hate, arrogance, jealousy, deceit, guilt, fear or the like – we undo the very essence of cleanliness.

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 first embracing gratitude (and there’s so much to be grateful for!); next, try to let go and move on from unfortunate life experiences (you owe this to yourself); forgive those who hurt you (keeping the pain or hatred within is like punishing yourself even more!), rejoice in the successes of others (happiness attracts happiness!)… and you’re on your way to that much-needed mental and emotional detox!

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’s make our hearts and minds shine even brighter than our homes!

And ensure to get your hands on our bumper Parsi New Year Special Issue next weekend! As always, it promises to further the festive mood with our array of brilliant writers and features making you smile, laugh, reflect and of course, feel much gratitude for belonging to this glorious community! So, don’t forget to book your copy of our New Year Special issue with your newspaper vendor, next Saturday, 10th August.

Have a lovely weekend!

– Anahita