Purity a deliberation Purity Pavitra [Pure], Parishuddha [Pristine], Chitta Shuddhi [Mental purity], Shuddha Antahkarana [Mental purity],

, Shuddha Hridaya [Pure heart], Manas Shuddhi [Mental purity] these are Sanskrit terms common to most spiritual aspirants in India. These terms occupy pride of place in the vocabulary of spiritual aspirants. Merely by uttering these words, dont we feel a certain sense of cleanliness in our minds? Or, these terms also have a reverse psychological effect too. That is, when we utter these words, we may start recalling all the depraved things that we have done in our lives, and we may start shriveling in fear! But this much is true the purity that arises from an impeccable life is a rarity in this world today. It is a very rare quality and a priceless acquisition too. The purity that was in Emperor Ambarisha was capable of quelling the terrible anger of the Sage Durvasa. The immaculate purity of Savitri was capable of wrenching her husband Satyavan from Lord Yama, the god of death! The incredibly powerful King Ravana couldnt even so much as touch Mother Sita who was imprisoned in his own Palace Garden. Purity a deliberation The utility & necessity of purity, in rising to the heights of spiritual unfoldemnt from the stage of worldliness, can never be over-emphasized. But this world is the realm of sensuality. In this realm of sensuality, there are very few people who even know that there is such a blessed state called Purity. When such is the case, how many indeed will know or appreciate the utility of purity? Moreover, the rare few that do get to hear about this blessed state of purity generally become afraid that purity will adversely affect their married life. Hence they avoid any further inquiry into this most wonderful state that any person could raise oneself to! But then, this is a gross misconception. If you think about it a little, you will yourself realize that this line of thinking that purity will destroy marital life is flawed. For instance, look at this popular sloka: Ahalya Draupadi Sita Taara Mandodari tatha! Panchakanya smarennityam mahapaataka naashanam!! Ahalya, Draupadi, Sita, Taara & Mandodari if you remember these five maidens every day, all your sins will be atoned for. Please note that these five women have been called Maidens [Kanya] here. And it is commonly known that these five were all married women. Moreover, the lives of all these five too were more than a deviation from what is generally considered the normal life of a married woman! Despite all these, it is said that if you remember them every day, you will overcome all your sins. What does overcome all your sins mean? Doesnt it mean that you will become pure? Therefore it clearly means that living a life of unbroken chastity alone is not the meaning of purity! If this is so, then what is purity? We need to understand the concept of purity in all its various aspects & about all its different ramifications. The Sanskrit word for purity is Pavitra. Etymologically, this Sanskrit word is declined as follows: Pavi means sin or impurity; Tra
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Purity a deliberation means to go beyond. Therefore, the word purity means achieving inner cleanliness through performing good works by which you overcome old sins and dont allow for committing fresh sins. We need to understand what constitutes sin in this context. Which acts are sinful, and which are not? No man who commits a sin has a sense that he is sinning. Since he doesnt have that sense, he commits sins after sins. Now, the trouble is, if you think properly, it is impossible to classify which acts are sinful and which are virtuous. Such a classification is indeed a moral dilemma. But that act, after doing which, your mind gets peace, balance & joy, is certainly a noble act, a virtuous act. Similarly, that act, after doing which, your minds gets disturbed and gets thrown into choppy waves, is undoubtedly a sinful act, an evil act! A sinful act, whether small or big, doesnt leave the doers mind in peace. Just utter a harmless lie, and see the reaction on yourself. Your mind will go on experiencing some sort of disturbance and wont be in peace! Now, some may point out that habitual, serial liars exist, who go on with their lives happily! But, we ask such persons, are they really able to peep inside the minds of those inveterate liars? Let alone fibbing; there are many who indulge in hundreds of other sinful acts such as cheating, hypocrisy, treachery, robbery, etc. Isnt it clear to you that such people are far, far away from the supreme ideal, the exalting ideal of purity? But, we need to think & analyze about one important issue in this context. Generally when we say Purity, the ideal of perfect chastity comes to mind. Or one thinks of sexual purity. This is a pervasive tendency. In India, especially, this is so pervasive that even the learned persons who are legally wedded to each other and are good, cultured people in every respect, confess that sometimes they feel a sense of guilt when they hear the word Purity. They confess that often they feel that there is some sort of impurity in them. In order to realize that a scripturally enjoined, legally married life is absolutely no obstacle to leading a pure life, we ought to see some of the pure couples that still exist in our society. Their behavior, attitudes, demeanor and dealings must be observed. Then we will experience the cool, soothing effect that their purity has on our hearts! Yet another incredible fact is that purity is not the monopoly of only the elite of the society, or only the academically educated people of society. Here & there, even in the lower strata of society, we come across glowing examples that diffuse the sweet, enchanting fragrance of purity in the morass of this world! Perhaps we could quote some such instances. But, much better than reading about them will be the impact we feel if we approach them and seeing with our own eyes these salt of the earth. That would be more useful, more beneficial & much more meaningful. But, we may broach one serious issue for consideration here, that is worthy of our attention. Just recall the innumerable saints and sages and prophets, of various levels of spiritual achievements and contributions, who blessed this world with their purifying impact; did they all fall from the sky? Or did they just enter this world from another dimension, passing through a membrane? Didnt they all take birth in some blessed household or the other? The couples that gave birth to these saints and seers and prophets, what were they if not pure?!

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Purity a deliberation A subtler aspect of the same issue is there. If married people can indeed lead a life of the highest purity, what status are we to ascribe to the purity seen in the life of unbroken celibacy? It is extremely difficult to answer this question. This is indeed a very tricky question. Even after practicing celibacy, if the personality is filled with egotism & arrogance; even after practicing celibacy, if the personality shows glaring weaknesses like infatuation & jealousy; even after practicing celibacy, if the personality entertains base desires like hankering for name & fame; who indeed would call such a celibate person as pure? Not only that. Sri Ramakrishnas monastic disciple Swami Brahmananda says that there are many so-called pure people, who develop a peculiar arrogance by feeling I am pure; I live a pure life; I am heads & shoulders above all these worldly, married people! A strange holier-than-thou complex is developed in such people. This egotism, this arrogance arising out of purity is very subtle and very intense. Hence removing it also is very, very difficult. The spiritual growth of such people gets arrested, says Swami Brahmananda. When you see all this, dont you realize that in order to reach the pinnacle of purity, something more than the practice of Brahmacharya is needed? Even though Ashwattama practiced unbroken celibacy and was the only son of the greatest Guru of Archery Dronacharya, why is he not hailed as the ideal of purity? On the other hand, dont we find millions worshipping in various ways and benefitting from it, even today, Hanuman, who was not even a full-fledged human being, but only a simian? Truly speaking, purity is something that is associated with the inner personality. That means, unless we are able to see the inner person, we wont be able to determine of the person is really pure or impure. However, society has evolved a certain arrangement, involving a dress code, mores & habits of social behavior, etc. that is generally associated with purity. As a result, we find many people today, without the least bit of true inner austerity, parading as saints and holy men! Similarly, dont we see any number of monks today, donning the holy saffron robe without, but utter lacking dispassion & renunciation within? There is any number of such tigers lurking around us today in sheeps skin. Dont we also see the ever-growing hordes of loyal, devoted followers of such charlatans? We may call those devotees as nave or rank idiots, but one thing we have to admit. These hypocrites have been most successful in pulling it off as paragons of purity! Therefore the masses have to wake up and realize that purity is not associated with dress or a particular color of the dress or any kind of social mores. Purity doesnt come with any mask either. Once during a conversation, a fallen monks reference came up and Holy Mother Sri Sharada Devi said, When I see this entire charade, I feel that my white cloth is so much better! You see, the fallen monk used to wear saffron robes and still indulge in all sorts of immoral escapades. The saffron robe is to be worn by a person who has completely eschewed all immoral activities. Thus, if a person wears the saffron robe, it is assumed that he is incapable of any immorality whatsoever. The white robe is however not bound by any such limitation. People who wear it may be strictly moral, or may indulge in any kind of immorality. What Holy Mother meant by the above statement is that it is better to wear the ordinary white clothes and lead a pure life than wear the cloth symbolic of purity & simultaneously indulge in immoral acts! Truly, a child-like naturalness, bereft of any hypocrisy, bereft of any masks, ought to be the truest symbol of purity in society. All other masks & symbols run the risk of becoming poisonous in the hands of the hypocrites! The innocence arising out of naturalness alone is divine! What does it avail if a person wears the clothes symbolizing monasticism & saintliness if
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Purity a deliberation his arrogance & egotism doesnt reduce, if his hunger for name & fame isnt quenched, and if he is secretly nourishing his petty jealousies! When people see such charades and complain as is happening right now in society, well, there is truth in their anger. But by the grace of the Lord, here & there, we still find monks of the highest caliber, truly exalted monks with pristine personalities. It is true that there are still men of the most genuine dispassion in this society. it is true that there are still men of the highest spiritual realizations in this very society. Let their blessings be upon us. May their blessings purify us and protect us. Consolation to aspirants It doesnt take long for a person to skid from the narrow path of perfection, slip from a position of purity and become a fallen man. Jesus Christ said, He that looks at another woman with lustful eyes has already committed adultery in his mind. What a terrifying statement this is! The divine incarnation of the permissive west, the land filled to the brim with sensuality, to utter such words! Doesnt it simply chill your spine?! But, all divine incarnations, prophets and saints have uttered statements of similar nature regarding character building and protecting ones purity. They have all prescribed the strictest rules in this regard. Even though that is the case, spiritual aspirants of this present world find it very, very difficult to maintain such high, uncompromising standards of purity. This is mostly because of the influence of the times we live in today. Realizing this ground reality, Holy Mother Sri Sharada Devi gave the greatest consolation to struggling aspirants of today. She said, In Kali Yuga [i.e. in todays world], mental sins will be pardoned. These words were uttered by one who is recognized and worshipped all over the world as the Divine Mother Incarnate! Out of her great mother-heart, unable to see the nerve-wracking struggle of her children to attain true purity, she gave this great assurance. She found that her children, even though living with the greatest care and following the strictest rules, would sometimes commit a small, inadvertent lapse in their minds. And as a consequence of that mental lapse, their own guilt [for no one else would even come to know of it, most of the times] would condemn them as fallen! In order to protect her children from such a despicable situation, she uttered these words. And what a consolation! She has saved so many genuine aspirants from such a precarious condition! But a word of caution is necessary here. Thinking that the Holy Mother has given us such a blanket assurance, it will be our ruin if we go on indulging in all sorts of depravities inside our minds! We have to keep in mind the sense in which she has given this assurance. When we are progressing along the path prescribed by the Guru with great sincerity, and trying to lead a pure life, by chance, if the mind wavers once or twice from the ideal, we dont have to lose heart. That lapse will be pardoned. Using this pardon, pick yourself up, hitch yourself to the ideal again and proceed ahead along your path with great sincerity. That is the sense in which this statement of the Holy Mother has to be understood.

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Purity a deliberation

Purity of vision It was the year 1961. A year back I had joined the Ramakrishna Ashrama, Bangalore, as a Brahmacharin. Most Revered Swami Yatishwaranandaji Maharaj was the President of the Ashrama. He was my Guru. This background is necessary to set the incident I am going to narrate now. One day, afternoon, around 1.30 pm. It is needless to mention that we had all finished our lunch by then. By that time, a couple arrived at the Ashrama. I recall they were a Bengali couple. They were initiated devotees of Swami Yatishwaranandaji Maharaj. So, I duly informed him of their arrival. When he came out of his room and spoke to them, he learnt that they hadnt had their lunch yet. Swamiji asked me if any food was still left in the kitchen. I said Yes. I was able to readily answer in the affirmative because I was the Bhandari in the Ashrama then. [Bhandari means the inmate who looks after the cooking & serving in the Ashrama.] I led to guests to the dining hall. I laid their plates and served them the dishes. Revered Swamiji too had come along. He too sat on the floor in front of them and was speaking to them. It was summer. The dining hall used to have innumerable house-flies during summer. Revered Swamiji asked me to fetch him a hand fan. I did. He started fanning the couple with his own hands. While driving away the flies, once in a while, he would fan the couple too, since it was quite hot. I said, Swamiji, kindly give me the fan. I will fan them. But he didnt give it to me. He himself went on fanning them. They finished their lunch. After speaking to him for some more time, the couple left, blessed by their Guru. By this time, my mind was slowly going into turmoil. I couldnt help but think i n this way: This is such a great monk. Moreover he is a Guru who initiates aspirants into the spiritual path. Why did he sit in front of that couple and fan them while they had lunch? Why did he have to drive away the flies himself? What could this mean? This question started tormenting me. Since I had grown up in a traditional household of South India, this doubt along with some other associated questions arose in my mind. But I still didnt have the courage to openly ask them to him. But, there was in fact no need for me to ask them, after all! Revered Swamiji himself made a statement at that juncture. He merely uttered, Veritable Lakshmi & Narayana! That was it. Not one more word came out of his mouth. Isnt that enough? What more can words convey? Its been over 40 years since these words fell out of Revered Swamijis mouth. But, their impact has grown to gigantic proportions in my mind now, and is still growing! That couple was not just a man & woman! Not even a husband and wife, as the cultured people say! Veritable God & Goddess! Wasnt this the paradigm of the ancient Rishis? What a pure vision, indeed!

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Purity a deliberation

The journey towards Purity Lets not speak of the millions of uncultured people of the world. But, today, in most parts of the world, especially in India, when a boy & a girl attain a certain age, there is a wonderful arrangement to legally wed them into a couple, making them a household, aiding them to sink their roots into the family life. This wonderful social arrangement of marriage is there mainly to maintain and nurture the purity of personality! Not only that, when they have children, in order to ensure that right from the beginning, these kids can enter into the life-long path of self-purification, the kids are taught to call the woman who bore them as Mother, and the man who sired them as Father. Gradually, an attempt is made to divinize this relationship by developing an outlook of Maatridevobhava & Pitridevobhava. [These are injunctions to the kids that say: Look upon your own mother as a divine being, & look upon your own father as a divine being.] In this way, when a young man & a lady get married, they are called husband & wife. When kids are born, they are called father & mother. Later on, for their kids, they become god & goddess! Now, let us pause for a moment and reflect. Where does impurity enter here? How can something so pure come to be seen as impure? The natural coupling of the male & female of the human species is elevated to the purity of marriage by legal sanction, and then apotheosized upon child-bearing! The foresight & clarity of thought of the Rishis that formulated such a technique for uplifting the entire society is not only uncommon, but is amazing and extraordinary! These Rishis further taught us that the food we eat is Brahman, and called it Prasada [sacrament]. Social get-togethers & parties were called Santarpana, Samaaradhana & Dasoha. While get-togethers & parties serve social purposes only, looking upon them as Santarpana or Samaaradhana or Dasoha transmutes into a spiritual activity. Santarpana means Worthy offering to society; Samaaradhana means Congregational worship; Dasoha means Congregation of devotees. The ritual for coming of age, the social rite of passage into adulthood was called Brahmopadesha. They made arrangement for Gayatri Mantra Diksha [initiation into the Gayatri Mantra] for the child so that right from childhood, it could conserve its energy and develop a personality filled with purity & strength of character, and manifest incredible intellectual prowess. They taught us that marriage was to be called Mangala [auspicious]. The traditional ornament that is to be worn by a married woman signifying her marital status was to be called Maangalya [The symbol of that which is auspicious. In some parts of India, it is a gold medal; in some other parts, it is a silver toe-ring, etc]. The gross act of procreating offspring was purified and apotheosized into an act of repaying the debt to our forefathers. They enjoined that kids ought to be christened with names of gods & goddesses, or divine qualities, or divine ideals, so that, when parents call out for their kids with inherent love and affection, there would be a parallel remembrance of higher ideas. Further, with a view to purify and spiritualize the conjugal life of husband and wife, they enjoined various religious activities, holy vows, fasts and vigils. To enable the blossoming of the highest purity within this precinct of a married life, they decreed that the husband ought to follow the ideal of Ekapatnivrata, and the wife ought to correspondingly stick to the ideal of Pativratadharma.
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Purity a deliberation Thus, by gradual means, the husband and wife were trained to see the divine in each other, realize their own greatness and achieve life fulfillment. These Rishis who envisioned such a graded path for uplifting every willing person in the society up to the empyrean heights of the highest purity, & thereby to life fulfillment, are worthy of our eternal gratitude! We offer our heartfelt salutations to these Rishis, these Seraphs, these Gurus, again and again! Now, these same Rishis, these same Seraphs, these same Gurus also discovered the strait & narrow path of Absolute Brahmacharya, the most rigorous & austere spiritual Sadhana that leads to the realization of Brahman, the greatest achievement possible for humans. They opened it up, and then sat patiently for willing and capable aspirants to take up the challenge! *********************

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