Saucha (Purity, Cleanness)

This short piece is on Patanjali's Niyama Saucha. Saucha refers to 'purity' or 'cleanliness' and applies not only to the environment and our own body but also to the inner landscape of our intentions.

Transcript

In our exploration of Shao Cha,

Which translates as purity,

We have a variety of different ways of viewing this experience.

Shao Cha can pertain to the most ordinary of things,

Purifying,

Cleaning our body,

Our food,

Our environment.

And these things are very important,

The external cleansing,

The external purifications that support a life of order and balance.

At a deeper level,

Purity comes in intention,

In the way that we conduct ourselves in the world,

The purity of our mind,

The way that we orient our mind toward sattva,

Toward goodness,

Toward purity,

Toward that elevated state of spiritual understanding and ways of being.

In this way,

Purification comes in recognizing the ways that we are drawn away from goodness,

Drawn away from the intrinsic fulfillment,

And also the ways in which our service to the world,

Our way of being here as a benefit to this world,

Is compromised when our intentions are not pure.

So the practice of Shao Cha is a deep investigation within ourselves for where can I bring balance,

Where can I bring order,

Where can I clean up my act or clean up my environment in such a way as to make it more harmonious,

To let it reflect and support the elements of good and truth and beauty that are intrinsic to the soul.

In this way,

If we explore purity,

It is not in measuring up to some external standard,

But in allowing ourselves to come into deep alignment with the soul.