What is the Māchi?
The word ‘Māchi’ literally means a ‘Throne’.
We address our holy fires Ātashbehrām, Ātashādarān, and Ātashdādgāhs as ‘Ātash Pādshāh – the King Emperor’. The offering of the Māchi is, therefore, akin to offering your respects to the Emperor, by offering Him a Throne!
For those of you intrigued by the process of a Māchi offering wherein logs of (sandal)wood are placed into the sacred Fire in a certain sequence… the first two logs of wood form the legs of the throne, next two logs form the seat of the throne, the two logs after that form the armrests, while the last log makes the backrest of the throne.
Why is it important to offer a Māchi?
For one deeply connected to spirituality through religious rituals and ceremonies, the Machi immerses the devotee in a sense of peaceful balance and clarity, while quenching one’s spiritual thirst.
During the course of Māchi offering in Ātashādarān, and Ātashdādgāhs, as shall be done @ ZAC, three Atash Niyaesh(s) are recited instead of one. The Atash Niyaesh seeks blessings for the supplicant and the family. Further, a Tandarosti is recited at the conclusion of the Māchi further showering the supplicant & family with good health, prosperity, & the joys of warm family ties.
It is considered auspicious to offer a Māchi on birthdays, any happy occasion, or towards a fruitful endeavor of any kind.
A Māchi may also be offered in memory of a loved one. In such a case, a ‘Patet Ruvan ni’ is recited for the progress of the departed Soul, in their journey through the spirit worlds.
When is the appropriate time for a Māchi offering?
A Māchi is offered during the Bui (offering of fragrance) ceremony which is normally performed five times/day at the changing of the Geh.
For those of you who wish to connect to your innermost self through your deep reverence to the sacred Fire on the most important, auspicious days of your life, this is the perfect opportunity to commit yourself to a day of bliss, through offering and worship!
The plan opens on the auspicious day of Jamshedi Navroz
March 21, 2021
Roj: Ava | Mah: Dae-Pa-Dar | YZ: 1390
Starting on the auspicious occasion of this Jamshedi Navroz, we at ZAC shall undertake this endeavor with commitments on a 5-year horizon.
For five years, a Māchi will be offered on your chosen Roj, Mah and Geh (subject to availability based off a first-requested-first-granted basis) for a single upfront payment of $500.
Distribution:
Members may book multiple Māchis for themselves or their family members, throughout the year. Each such request garners a $500 payment. If a member choses to pay $501 instead of $500, the $1 will be accrued towards the ‘25% collected by ZAC’ mentioned above.
Further, a committed Māchi will be offered by the presiding Priest even in the absence of the supplicant, if for any reason, (s)he is unable to be present in person.
Let us make this a successful venture… may our ZAC Atash Kadeh fires burn bright & tall, infusing us with the blessings of Ahura Mazda, many more days of our Zarathushti calendar!
Enhancing religious fervor, helping imbibe our age-old rituals of connection to Ahura Mazda and to our inner selves, within us and within the hearts of our young ones, creates the foundational impetus of this service.
Expanding the corpus of funds for local charitable works, and strengthening our financial standing for future contributions and/ or social challenges (like the unprecedented one we have endured for more than a year now) makes participation a yeoman service to Zoroastrianism and to mankind at large.
Starting March 14, 2021 (Mah Ava, Roj Hormuz) ZAC members who would like to avail of the Māchi offerings will send a request to reserve their preferred date / geh starting 21st March 2021 (Mah: Avan, Roj: Dae-Pa-Dar) & make a payment of $500, either by check to the ZAC treasurer or clicking the button ‘Register for Māchi’ button, and then selecting ‘Māchi Plan’.
In the rare case of multiple requests for a specific day & geh combination, the requests will be granted on a ‘first requested, first granted’ basis.
One may always make the payment after satisfactory confirmation (from the priest) that the desired date/ gah is indeed available; but a Māchi may not be planned without payment at least 72 hrs prior to the geh of desired Māchi.
For multiple Māchis under a single family name or a single donor, kindly make a separate payment per Māchi. Adding a comment such as ‘Darius’s birthday, or Behram’s wedding anniversary’ during the payment process (or on the check memo line) will prove to be a useful marker for the future.
The 5 year period of your enrollment will end on the day your 5th Māchi has been offered, 5 years from the first one.
Considering various aspects from the religious to the administrative, all requests will be accepted only in the Zarathushti Shehenshai calendar format with a Roj & Mah. So, members desirous of making a Māchi offering on a particular date (Gregorian calendar), would need to inform the priest of the equivalent mah/roj. As expected, such a mah/roj selection may not be congruent with the date in future years.
A “tandorasti na naam” book will be maintained at the Atash Kadeh for members to enlist those whose names are wished to be recited within the tandorasti. Such records may be modified each year as needed.
Currently, all correspondence on requests should be addressed to Zarrir Bhandara by email.
In the interest of fairness, kindly hold your requests until March 14, 2021.
The Aivishuthrem Geh of the following days will be reserved for Māchi on behalf of the whole ZAC Anjuman
No, not at all! You may enroll into this plan anytime through this year or any day in the future. So, if you decide in, say September 2021, with the onset of YZ year 1391, that you wish to start offering a Māchi every year on an upcoming day, say Ardibehest Mah, Behram Roj, Geh Havan, you may enroll then – provided that Geh is available. If not, you will need to select a different Geh or settle for a different day. Enrolling now, ensures you are able to pick the roj/geh combination of your choice.
Similarly, if you enroll in June 2022, your selected day/geh will be reserved for your offerings for the period of 5 years, until June 2027.
ZAC shall continue to adhere to local county and state recommendations through these upcoming months, until such time that all restrictions on gatherings for religious ceremonies are completely lifted. As such, members are requested to only invite those of immediate family, for the Māchi of their offering. Kindly refrain from attending a Māchi not offered by your immediate family, unless, it coincides with another function on same day with a quorum well below county guidelines.
To keep the wheels of any institution spinning in rhythm, much work is needed behind the scenes.
The ZAC Executive Committee will always keep ‘cash provision’ for 50% of the total collections expected to be paid out towards Māchi cost (āshodad & Māchi wood). The other 50% shall be invested/ utilized as per ZAC’s policy guidelines.
The ZAC Committee will reserve complete autonomy in making subtle modifications to this plan after gaining valuable insights as years go by.
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