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]
Shaucha is included as one of five niyamas in Yoga, that is activity that is recommended for spiritual development of an individual. Verse II.32 of Yogasutra lists the five niyamas.[16] In verse II.40, Patanjali describes outer purity, while verse II.41 discusses inner purity,[3] as follows:
सत्त्वशुद्धिसौमनस्यैकाग्र्येन्द्रियजयात्मदर्शन योग्यत्वानि च
Through cleanliness and purity of body and mind (shaucha, shudhi)
comes a purification of the essence (sattva),
a goodness and gladness of feeling,
a sense of focus with intentness, the mastery and union of the senses,
and a fitness, preparation and capability for self-realization.
The Epic Mahabharata mentions the virtue of purity (shaucha) in numerous books. For example, in Book 14 Chapter 38, it lists shaucha as a quality found in the liberated, happy, and dharmic person,
निर्ममॊ निरहंकारॊ निराशीः सर्वतः समः । अकाम हत इत्य एष सतां धर्मः सनातनः ॥ विश्रम्भॊ हरीस तितिक्षा च तयागः शौचम अतन्द्रिता । आनृशंस्यम असंमॊहॊ दया भूतेष्व अपैशुनम ॥ हर्षस तुष्टिर विस्मयश च विनयः साधुवृत्तता । शान्ति कर्म विशुद्धिश च शुभा बुद्धिर विमॊचनम ॥ उपेक्षा बरह्मचर्यं च परित्यागश च सर्वशः । निर्ममत्वम अनाशीस्त्वम अपरिक्रीत धर्मता ॥
(He is) free from possessiveness, free from egoism, free from pessimism, looks on all with an equal eye, free from craving. (In him) is seen confidence, endurance, renunciation, purity, absence of laziness, absence of cruelty, absence of delusion, compassion for all creatures, absence of the disposition to slander others or to exult at gains; (he is) satisfied, humble, emancipated, indifferent, peaceful, unaffected by ups and downs, pursuer of Brahma, and exhibits purity in all acts aiming for tranquillity, understanding and the right.
Bhagavad Gita describes purity at three levels in Book 17, verses 14–16, namely body, speech and thoughts.[21] Purity of body comes from cleanliness of body as well as from what one eats and drinks. Purity of speech comes from being truthful and through use of words that are not injurious, hurtful, or distressing to others or self. Purity of thoughts comes from reflection, peace of mind, silence, calmness, gentleness, and purity of being.[21]
Purity of mind, speech, and body has been one of the important virtues in Indian philosophy.[22]
See also
Ahiṃsā – Ancient Indian principle of nonviolencePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Akrodha – Important virtue in Indian philosophy and Hindu ethics
Ārjava – Hindu philosophical conceptPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Asteya – Non-stealing, a virtue in Indian religionsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Brahmacharya – Motivated abstinence from worldly pleasures
Taber, John (1991). "India and Europe: An Essay in Understanding by Wilhelm Halbfass". Philosophy East and West. 41 (2): 229–240. doi:10.2307/1399772. JSTOR1399772.
Bhatta, C. P. (2009). "Holistic Personality Development through Education—Ancient Indian Cultural Experiences". Journal of Human Values. 15 (1): 49–59. doi:10.1177/097168580901500104. S2CID145692374.
^Sarada, Annapurna (21 February 2009). "Sowing Seeds for an Age of Light". Nectar. No. 24. Sarada Ramakrishna Vivekananda Associations; SRV associations. pp. 54–55.
^"Sandilya-Upanishad of Atharvanaveda". Thirty Minor Upanishads. Translated by Aiyar, K. Narayanasvami. Madras. 1914. pp. 173–176.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
