CLEANLINESS and SPIRITUALITY – A STATE ON MIND

CLEANLINESS and SPIRITUALITY – A STATE ON MIND

I recall our college days and particularly the hostel rooms. It takes me on a nostalgic trip. Days were full of fun and frolic, books scattered around, beer and rum bottles lying randomly with cigarette buds strewn rather carelessly. The rooms were full of stench.

 And majority of the guys (even the studious ones) would ogle (there was no google then) girls.  Posters of Pink Floyd, Beatles, Led Zeplin, populated the grubby and unwashed walls of the rooms.   The politically inclined would paste large printed pictures of Che Guevera , Marx , Lenin among others professing their ideological baggage unequivocally.

Some rooms were relatively cleaner and tidily kept. In our hail-fellow-well-met attitude we ended up ostracising such students. But they were our Gurus during examination times much to their chagrin.  A close friend had put up a poster which read- ‘Cleanliness is the sign of a sick mind.’ His room was particularly unclean and stained.

Cleanliness is both the abstract state of being clean and free from dirt, and the process of achieving and maintaining that state.

‘’Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely writes, ‘’ P. J. O'Rourke

However, to mind cleanliness and spirituality are intertwined as Siamese twins.  The human mind normally slips into a state of meditation and involuntarily has a spiritual experience at places which are relatively clean. Whenever I visited RajGhat I could experience enormous peace and tranquillity. Cleanliness is positively next to Godliness.

India has today embarked upon a major cleanliness drive where villages, bijou towns, cities, rivers, ghats at Prayag and Varanasi among others, places of historical importance and important religious places are being refurbished. This is indeed a positive statement made by the government and NGO’s involved in the project. Gurudwara is one sacred place which is kept extremely clean by the devout.

 A gurdwara (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ, Gurduārā or ਗੁਰਦਵਾਰਾ, gurdwārā; meaning 'door to the Guru') is the place of worship for Sikhs. People from all faiths, and those who do not profess any faith, are welcomed in Sikh gurdwaras. To me Gurudwaras are among the cleanest spots in the country and it is a lesson in humility to observe how the devout keep it absolutely spick and span and remarkably clean.

The mind gravitates to the pristine spirit, atmosphere and listen to the soulful and mellifluous Gurubani being sung at a Gurudwara .  Human mind which is normally cannonaded by innumerable thoughts gradually settles down and is at rest and peace.

It would be interesting to mention that Sri Harmandir Sahib and also Sri Darbar Sahib are informally referred to as the Golden Temple.  Guru Ram Das constructed the Golden Temple in 1577. He was the fourth Sikh Guru in the pantheon of Gurus in Sikhism.

A Sikh friend mentioned that Gurudwara is a community asset and serviced by unpaid and committed volunteers those who performed Seva from the Kitchen to the shoe rack. And this was purely a free and voluntary service. Yet another friend (Jamuna Rangachari) had an   enthralling spiritual experience during her visit to the Golden Temple. Further she seamlessly connected with compassion and cleanliness at the holy shrine.

Buddha says, ‘’ Three things cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth. ‘’ No matter how very much humans try to conceal the truth; it will be known one day or the other. It is ignorance on our part to conceal lies as truth reveals itself in the most honest manner. 

Mahatma Gandhi the apostle of peace and non-violence championed the cause of truth only as he could. His autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth like his life documents every aspect where he does not dissemble anything. Such was the moral courage of the man.

During my quotidian drinking days, I consumed almost two bottles of liquor and several packets of cigarettes. In that state of arrogance and hubris, I walked into the holy precincts of the Golden Temple carrying a packet of Wills Navy Cut. This could be averred   to committing adultery.  The act was certainly sacrilegious. For perpetrating this sinful act, I would be trolled and hounded in the social media.   And I regret the mistake committed and apologise sincerely from the depths of my heart.

I am sober today because of my Guru H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and have given up drinking, smoking and eating non vegetarian fare by practising the rhythmic breathing technique Sudarshan Kriya, yoga, pranayama and meditation.  The twisted personality in me is making amends and hope those afflicted with these vices seek the grace of a Guru to extricate themselves from this cesspool of negativity and embark upon the voyage to discover the quintessential quality of cleanliness and spirituality.