Dear Humdins,
The holy Adar month is back and I know loads of people will be visiting the Iranshah. The blind faith in HIM pulls everyone towards this holy place. But are we visiting the holy place in the right way? Is our visit to this place perfectly pure and to the standards of the holiness of the place? No, not nowadays when people come from different places by car and bus straight to the Iranshah.My humble request to all the Zoroastrians is to please have a hair bath at any of the Dharamshalas or hotels and straight go to the fire temple and then touch anything or eat anything. Today in these Dharamshalas and hotels the food is made by non Parsees and that also there are many females making the food and serving them. You eat it after your bath and then go to the fire-temple, which is not permissible in our religion. Also people argue that they come in their own cars driven by themselves so they can go directly to Iranshah and perform the Kusti and then go to the Kebla. But even if your car is driven by a Zoroastrian, is your car absolutely pure? Haven’t you touched it during your periods or delivery? After having a hair bath at home haven’t you had some breakfast on the way or gone to the public toilets on the way? All this is hampering your purity. You are carrying all the impurities and going in front of the Padshah Saheb. Instead of helping in purifying the place you are hampering the purity. So who is the looser? You are the looser. You are not getting the desired blessings from the Padshah Saheb. Upon that people shake hands with the Boiwalla mobed which again is wrong. He undergoes the Nahan ceremony for ten days and purifies himself and follows strict rules and routine for purity and you go around the world and touch him and he goes inside the Kebla to offer Machi to the Padshah Saheb.
There are some people who go directly to the Atash Behram after traveling by the train. This is true because many a time the Rickshawallas ask whether to drop us at Iranshah or to some hotel. Please don’t do this, its wrong.
Please Humdins, it will just take and hour more, think that there was a traffic jam and you reached Iranshah an hour late. Please carry a set of your clothes and go to any of the Dharamshalas or Hotels and request them to just allow you to have a bath. Also it is absolutely important to wash the Kusti and to wear washed clothes after the bath and not the same clothes which were worn before the hair bath. You spend around Rs. 2000 to Rs.3000 + toll to go to Udvada so I am sure you can spend a little more and have a bath there and then proceed to the Atash Behram. Whenever my grandfather used to go to Udvada he used to have a Nahan first and then go in to the Iranshah Atash Behram and today people don’t even have a bath before going to the Iranshah. I have also heard that years back even in Banaji Atash Behram people had to have a bath there in the Atash Behram compound bathroom and then only they were allowed to enter the Atash Behram.I know there will be million controversies to this email but just think what is wrong and what is religiously right for you, yourself and your family and then argue. Whats the use of praying big Niyast and Yast when the foundation itself is impure. Just go once to Iranshah with utmost purity and then see the miracle in your life.Hope people will share their miracles on these religious groups other than arguing baselessly.With the hope of improving the purity at Iranshah
Regards
Roshan Aaftaab Irani
