Shaucha (Cleanliness)

After discussing the five Yamas over the last several posts, let us now shift our attention to the five Niyamas – shaucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhyaya (study of scriptures) and Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to Ishvara, the supreme, perfect being). In today’s post I will be focusing on the first of five niyamas, Shaucha (शौच), as given by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras.

The word shaucha is derived from the Sanskrit root word ‘shuch’ which means to cleanse or purify. Shaucha thus means cleanliness or purity.

When we talk of cleanliness, it implies both external and internal purity.

External Shaucha

External cleanliness includes not just the physical body but also the environment around us. For keeping the body clean, we need to take a shower everyday, cleaning the body with soap and water. Further, we need to wear clean, washed clothes. In order to keep our food clean, we need to wash all the food items before cooking them. It is important to keep our surroundings, both at home and the place of work, clean and free of clutter. You are most likely aware of the ancient saying "cleanliness is next to godliness".

Hatha Yoga Pradipika prescribes six cleansing techniques (shat-karmas) – neti (nasal cleansing), basti (like an enema), dhauti (alimentary canal cleansing), trataka (eyes), kapalabhati (breathing technique for purifying the nervous system), and nauli (abdominal churning). Practicing these techniques keeps the body clean and healthy inside out.

Internal Shaucha

Internal cleansing implies keeping the mind full of clean, positive and pure thoughts. We should keep the entire mind-field sattvik  and free of all types of negative emotions like anger, lust, greed, jealousy, hatred etc. Patanjali, in sutra 1.33 gives a very nice recipe for keeping the mind clean:

"By cultivating an attitude of friendship toward those who are happy, compassion toward those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, and equanimity toward those who are non-virtuous, lucidity arises in the mind" – Sutra 1.33, translation by Edwin Bryant.

This sutra can be used as a powerful guide to our behavior and attitude in life both at work and home. Following these guidelines can indeed make us free of the negative emotions listed above and make the mind calm and peaceful.

In addition to what is given in sutra 1.33, Patanjali gives several other options that can be used to purify the mind:

• By exhalation and retention of the breath (sutra 1.34)
• By focusing on a sense object (sutra 1.35)
• By focusing on the ever blissful light within (sutra 1.36)
• By focusing on a great soul who is free from attachments (sutra 1.37)
• By concentration on a sleep experience (sutra 1.38)
• By focusing on an object of your own choice (sutra 1.39)

Being established in Shaucha

What happens when one is fully established in the value of shaucha? Patanjali provides the answer in two sutras. sutra 2.40 tells us what happens as a result of physical purity whereas sutra 2.41 talks about the impact of developing mental purity:

शौचात् स्वाङ्गजुगुप्सा परैरसंसर्गः॥४०॥

shouchaat svaa~ggajugupsaa parairasaMsargaH

"By purification arises disgust for one’s own body and for contact with other bodies". – (Sutra 2.40, Translation by Swami Satchidananda)

This seems like a strange outcome of being fully established in ‘shaucha’. On the one hand we are trying to purify our mind by getting rid of all negative emotions. And now, Patanjali suggests that we will develop a feeling of ‘disgust’ toward our own body and the body of others! A feeling of disgust certainly sounds like one of these negative emotions that we are trying to get rid of. Moreover, we are always told that the human body is a temple of God. So, why would we develop a sense of disgust for the temple of God?

On some more reflection, I think what Patanjali is trying to emphasize is the fact that we should not be identified with the physical body as it is inherently an unclean system. Beauty, as they say, is only skin deep. Underneath the skin there is all kind of unclean stuff – sweat, urine, feces, mucus and various other discharges which are obnoxious. Obviously when we become aware of the disgusting nature of our own body, there will be no motivation to make contact with someone else’s body. 

Whereas sutra 2.40 talks about the outcome of physical purity, sutra 2.41 goes into the impact of being established in mental purity.

सत्त्वशुद्धिसौमनस्यैकाग्र्येन्द्रियजयात्मदर्शनयोग्यत्वानि च॥४१॥

sattvashuddhisoumanasyaikaagriyendriyajayaatmadarshanayogyatvaani

"Moreover, one gains purity of sattva, cheerfulness of mind, one-pointedness, mastery over the senses, and fitness for Self-realization." (Sutra 2.41, Translation by Swami Satchidananda)

This sutra represents a nice chronological sequence to build the qualities mentioned by Patanjali. From mental shuddhi (cleanliness) the mind becomes sattvica (purified), from a pure mind, saumanasya (cheerfulness) arises, this leads to ekagraya (one-pointedness), this leads to indriya-jaya (sense control). Sense control help control the rajas and tamas of the mind, enhancing sattva of the mind. A highly sattvic mind helps the yogi to get a ‘darshan’ (direct vision) of his own true nature, the self or the atman.

I would love to receive your feedback. Please let  us know how you practice the niyama of Shaucha.