Shaucha

Shaucha (Sanskrit: शौच, romanized: Śauca) literally means purity, cleanliness, and clearness.[1] It refers to purity of mind, speech and body.[2] Shaucha is one of the niyamas of Yoga.[3] It is discussed in many ancient Indian texts such as the Mahabharata and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It is a virtue in Hinduism and Jainism.[4] In Hinduism purity is a part of worship and an important quality for salvation. Purity is a mind pure and free of evil thoughts and behaviors.[5]

Shaucha includes outer purity of body as well as inner purity of mind.[6] It is synonymous with shuddhi (शुद्धि).[7] LePage[clarification needed] states that shaucha in yoga is on many levels, and deepens as an understanding and evolution of self increases.[8]

In yogic practice, shaucha is considered essential for health, happiness, and general well-being. External purity is achieved through daily ablutions, while internal purity is cultivated through physical exercises, including asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques). Along with daily ablutions to cleanse one's body, shaucha suggests clean surroundings, along with fresh and clean food to purify the body.[9] Lack of shaucha might be the result, for example, of letting toxins build up in the body.[10]

Shaucha includes purity of speech and mind. Anger, hate, prejudice, greed, lust, pride, fear, and negative thoughts are sources of impurity of mind.[10][11] Impurities of the intellect can be cleansed through the process of self-examination, or knowledge of self (Adhyatma-Vidya).[12] The mind is purified through mindfulness and meditation on one's intent, feelings, actions, and its[ambiguous] causes.[13]

Teachers of the Vedanta path of yoga prepare to have holy thoughts and to perform holy actions. Students and the young help teachers prepare for worship, building[ambiguous] self-control and selflessness.[14] Sarada Devi said "pure mind begets ecstatic love (prema-bhakti)".[15][better source needed]

  1. ^ "zauca". Sanskrit English Dictionary. Koeln University, Germany. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27.
  2. ^ Sharma; Sharma (2001). Indian Political Thought. Atlantic Publishers. p. 19. ISBN 978-8171566785.
  3. ^ Patañjali (1914). "Book 2, Means of attainment (sādhana)". The yoga-system of Patañjali; or, The ancient Hindu doctrine of concentration of mind. Translated by Woods, James Haughton. Harvard University Press. pp. 181–182. ISBN 978-0-486-43200-7.
  4. ^
  5. ^ "Purity of Intellect". Hindupedia. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  6. ^
  7. ^ "zuddhi". Sanskrit English Dictionary. Koeln University, Germany. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27.
  8. ^ LePage, J. (1995). "Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as a Model for Psycho-Spiritual Evolution". International Journal of Yoga Therapy. 6 (1): 23–26. doi:10.17761/ijyt.6.1.d3j5663g6127rp0j.
  9. ^
    • Brown, Christina (2003). The Yoga Bible. Penguin Publishing. pp. 14–17. ISBN 978-1582972428.
    • Birch, Beryl (2010). Beyond Power Yoga: 8 Levels of Practice for Body and Soul. Simon & Schuster. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-0684855264.
  10. ^ a b Raghupathi, K. V. (2007). Yoga for Peace. Abhinav Publications. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-8170174837.
  11. ^ Kadetsky, Elizabeth (2008). "Modeling School". The Antioch Review. 66 (2): 254–268.
  12. ^ Aiyar, K.N. (July–September 2007). "Hinduism's Restraints and Observances] Hinduism Today". Hinduism Today.
  13. ^ Lasater, Judith Hanson (28 August 2007). "Cultivate your connections". Yoga Journal.
  14. ^ Sarada, Annapurna (21 February 2009). "Sowing Seeds for an Age of Light". Nectar. No. 24. Sarada Ramakrishna Vivekananda Associations; SRV associations. pp. 54–55.
  15. ^ Vedanta Society of New York. "Sayings of Holy Mother Sarada Devi". vedantany.org. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.