() literally means purity, cleanliness, and clearness. It refers to purity of mind, speech and body. is one of the of

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. It is discussed in many ancient Indian texts such as the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It is a virtue in Hinduism and Jainism. In

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

purity is a part of worship and an important quality for salvation. Purity is a mind pure and free of evil thoughts and behaviors. includes outer purity of body as well as inner purity of mind. It is synonymous with (). states that in yoga is on many levels, and deepens as an understanding and evolution of self increases. In yogic practice, 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 (postures) and (breathing techniques). Along with daily ablutions to cleanse one's body, suggests clean surroundings, along with fresh and clean food to purify the body. Lack of might be the result, for example, of letting toxins build up in the body. includes purity of speech and mind. Anger, hate, prejudice, greed, lust, pride, fear, and negative thoughts are sources of impurity of mind. Impurities of the intellect can be cleansed through the process of self-examination, or knowledge of self (). The mind is purified through

mindfulness Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...

and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

on one's intent, feelings, actions, and its causes. Teachers of the

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...

path of yoga prepare to have holy thoughts and to perform holy actions. Students and the young help teachers prepare for worship, building self-control and selflessness. Sarada Devi said "pure mind begets ecstatic love ()".

Literature

is included as one of five in Yoga, that is activity that is recommended for spiritual development of an individual. Verse II.32 of Yogasutra lists the five . In verse II.40, Patanjali describes outer purity, while verse II.41 discusses inner purity, as follows: is one of the ten (virtuous restraints) listed by Śāṇḍilya Upanishad, as well as by Svātmārāma. The Epic

mentions the virtue of purity () in numerous books. For example, in Book 14 Chapter 38, it lists as a quality found in the liberated, happy, and dharmic person,

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

describes purity at three levels in Book 17, verses 14–16, namely body, speech and thoughts. 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. Purity of mind, speech, and body has been one of the important virtues in Indian philosophy.

References

{{Yoga Yoga concepts Hindu philosophical concepts Jain ethics Relational ethics Hindu ethics

Literature

See also

References