E-Course on Zarathushti Religion

Lesson – Ahmaai Raeshcha

Let us begin this year with an appropriate wish for a Happy New Year! The Avestan prayer of Ahmaai Raeshcha is filled with good wishes similar to wishing someone a Happy New Year. In this New Year, let us learn what do we pray for, when we recite the Ahmaai Raeshcha prayer.

In this prayer, I ask for eight different blessings from Ahura Mazda. I do not ask for these blessings for myself. I seek them for that person who has dedicated his/her life for the good of others. This is to impress upon our mind, that to qualify and earn all these blessings, I need to live a dedicated life for the good of others.

Our prayers contain various aspects. The most important of these are devotion to Ahura Mazda and the spiritual and ethical laws of righteous living. What we affirm in our daily prayers must be confirmed in our daily life and in our actions. How then, can we humanly practice the laws of a good and true Zoroastrian life, if we do not understand the spiritual and ethical laws, which are contained in our daily prayers?

When I recite my prayers regularly and with full understanding, it reinforces my intellect, vigor and moral stamina to do the right things in my daily life. By saying my prayers with full understanding, I achieve a complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind and spirit. This gives me my unshakable strength and faith in Ahura Mazda. It is through prayers that I can attain the fullest development of my personality — the ultimate integration of my highest faculties.

Here is a link to the ninth lesson,

Ahmaai Raeshcha

Enjoy!

With best wishes for an enlightened community,

Kayomarsh P. Mehta