The topic for the English Satsang on Sunday, 2nd June, 2013 was ‘Sauca.’ (Purity of Body & Mind).
Following is the transcript of the speech made by Smt. Hansaji Yogendra on the topic.
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Listen to the Audio:
“Sauca in yoga comes under Niyamas and Niyamas are something we have to do for ourselves, nobody else will do it for us. Self-responsibility, self-duty. Now this duty has to come at different level. Cleanliness is given so much importance in spirituality. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Clean situations, clean thoughts, clean mind, clean action, so naturally the person will reach to the highest.
So we have to work at all levels. First we start with the external level. We all keep ourselves and the house clean. But here the real external cleanliness also has to be taken care of. Make sure you throw garbage in the trash can and not outside. Here Gandhiji had to work do hard and I know even in my childhood we cleaned big villages, they used to be so dirty. Everyone would use the toilets but not clean it. So this approach that if we are doing something, we have to do the opposite also is so important. If we have brought something, we have to remove something. This policy has to be kept in mind. We did all this in villages, we taught them to remain clean, ‘If you remain clean you will remain healthy and you will enjoy your life.’ This was the only way we could educate villagers.
If somebody makes the area dirty, at least you clean because you should give importance to cleanliness. If somebody comes and spits, at least you clean it. Educating others and all that becomes very difficult. That’s why in yoga we say Sauca is something which you have to do. If you find the room dirty, you clean it, don’t tell others to do it. I am cleaning, with cleaning I am trying to clean my thoughts also, I am trying to be more flexible also – the rigidity goes away from your body, I am going above likes and dislikes when I clean. ‘Sheesh this is dirty, how bad,’ that level has to go. There is nothing like dirty and clean from a spiritual angle. Everything has its own place. If you like cleanliness, you should learn to accept dust and dirt also. Then only you will be able to manage with it. We have to keep that in mind and see that the external is taken care of.
In Yama we talk about how to behave with others, not rudely, not hurtful but caring and loving. That is clean behaviour, no hiding, cheating, but straight forward, but humble and soft. Bodily we have to clean ourselves whenever we touch dirty things. Whenever we shake hands, touch money, travel in public transport, wash your hands. Take bath in case you have been outside the whole day. Water is a strong medium for removing dirt. Fire is the strong medium to burn unwanted infection. In the rainy season, if you eat anything, it should be cooked on fire. When eating anything raw like cucumber and vegetables, wash thoroughly with boiled water. Even something like grams, puffed rice and wheat should be cooked.
Yoga talks of internal hygiene where we talk about seeing that the respiratory system gets clean completely. Breathe out completely, breathe in completely, at least do some techniques where the lungs throw away the heavy chemicals that go into our lungs. There was a report in the newspaper that in Mumbai the pollution is so high that when accidents occur and a dead body is not claimed, it is taken to government hospitals where they do dissections and use it to educate the children who are doing MBBS, etc. And they have found that when they find some body from Mumbai, their lungs are black, but if they find a body from some other remote areas, the lungs are pink. They could see the difference, how internally also we become unhygienic. That is why Yogis made it very clear that external environment is never in our hands but internally we should clean ourselves.
Long inhalation, long exhalation very often in the day would help in removing toxins from our lungs. Similarly seeing to it that we are never constipated. See to it that we eat fibers and vegetarian diet. Vegetarian diet is fibrous which helps in cleaning the intestines. Proper circulation is required, no stagnation so trying to see that we have proper activities in life and maintaining warmth of the body because cold is stagnation. If you find your legs are cold, use hot water bag and warm your feet up. Walk, run, do some Asanas and if you can’t do anything, at least wear clothes that keep you warm. Your feet, hands and face should be warm.
After internal organs in yoga we talk about Nadi Shuddhi. Nadis are nerves. Pranayama is the technique for Nadi Shuddhi. (gives example of alternate nostril breathing). What is required is sitting quietly and seeing that no thoughts disturb us. So the first technique we teach at the Institute is Sukhasana.
Then it talks about Citta Shuddhi, Mana Shuddhi, etc. See good things in life, don’t read ugly things, don’t see such things which are not good. That would keep us hygienically healthy.
The point is, we have to do something for maintaining our hygiene because that is part and parcel of the process of life. So many cells are born, so many cells die, at the same time birth and death are happening in the body. So the removal of unwanted stuff should continue. We forget and so the problem.
Today’s topic is for us to realize that we should see to it that in our routines, all these things have some time – taking bath, keeping things clean and all that, some things which we do mechanically. Brushing teeth at night, taking bath, washing hands should get into our personality. In your routine, reading and thinking something good, analyzing why the negativity came into me, what to do so that I don’t become negative again, all these areas need attention.”