WHAT IS CLEANLINESS?
What is cleanliness? This seems like a
simple, even silly question; it is anything but. What does being clean really
mean – does it mean being personally clean, bathed, spotless; living in a clean
spicknspan home and a clean city / surroundings? That is all there is to it,
from one point of view. But take a step back – and think. Are you really clean?
Think of your actions, your thoughts, your feelings. How can it be true cleanliness
if these are also not clean? Think about it.
This is a rather short article – I will not
belabour point too much. You are physically clean; but what about the way you
earn your keep? Your daily behaviour? Your feelings? Your thoughts? Unless
these are clean – it isn’t cleanliness at all. In fact, cleanliness, from a spiritual
aspect actually refers to these aspects, rather than the overt aspect of
physical cleanliness. It is worth going into this highly demanding level of
personal cleanliness as described in one scripture, and understanding in a
short article.
TRUE CLEANLINESS
The image above spells it out; to summarise,
cleanliness of Earning; Food; Behaviour; Physical Cleanliness; Cleanliness of
thoughts. This, then, is the full spiritual definition of being clean. It is
attainable even in the modern age; but yes – it is exceedingly demanding a
level. That said, it is worth striving for. There will be a price to be paid;
there will be misunderstandings; but the end result will be a much more clear
vision of the world, once the internal purification is done.
UNDERSTANDING TRUE CLEANLINESS
Cleanliness of Earning involves two aspects -
Speaking Truth, which is a base requirement of cleanliness in all modes. The
full description says “Satyata Purn Shudhh Vyavhar se dravya ki praapti”. The 2nd
aspect is purity in your professional conduct such that no sin is committed as
you go about your daily life from waking to sleeping time. The money you earn
from such conduct is used to purchase food, which is pure food, {I will not go
into details further, as this is a contentious issue, food}.
The next is Aacharan – your daily conduct
throughout the day – be it personal or professional – needs to be pure. Meaning
established in truth, no attempts to hurt anyone, being forgiving, not proscrastinating,
promptness in actions and more. As this can be an article in itself, let us leave
it at that. The 4th aspect is physical cleanliness – this refers to
the overall cleanliness of your body. The 5th aspect is the most
vital – Clean thoughts. Here we mean no anger, jealousy, attachment, greed, ego
etc.
This, what I call the base layer, is the
most vital – it is the controlling level. From a psychological perspective, this
is the layer of your personal values, desires, drivers. If these are not clean
and pure – your actions in the other spheres are going to be impacted. Unless
your thoughts are aligned with it, and you can learn to inculcate these
qualities in yourself – the chances of slipping into misdeeds in the other
spheres remain. Anger Desire etc influence your actions are they are
exceptionally strong drivers.
CONCLUSION
This might sound fantastic, which is why I
have given the specific verse reference and the source book for this concept on
which this article has been based. This might also sound hard – trust me, it is
harder than it sounds. I have trying, and failing at one level or the other.
But failure doesn’t mean you give up – some goals are so worthy, it is worth
making repeated efforts. But the benefits to yourself far outweigh the costs,
as anxiety goes down, confidence goes up, and your comfort levels with your own
self go up!
Comments
Post a Comment