Digest Number 1866

[Guest guest]

Dear Rakesh,

 

As far as my understanding goes, pure in body means to

keep the body clean, a regular bath etc. To be pure in

mind means to be free from passions such as lust,

greed, anger, envy, attachment etc.

 

I have pasted below a few excerpts from the chapter

" Concentration -- It's practice " from Swamiji's Raja

Yoga. In this chapter he comments on Patanjali's Yoga

Sutras

(http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_1/raja-yoga/concentra\

tion_its_practice.htm)

 

 

Sincerely,

Harish.

 

==Excerpt==

32. Internal and external purification, contentment,

mortification, study, and worship of God are the

Niyamas.

 

External purification is keeping the body pure; a

dirty man will never be a Yogi. There must be internal

purification also. That is obtained by the virtues

named in I.33. Of course, internal purity is of

greater value than external, but both are necessary,

and external purity, without internal, is of no good.

 

33. To obstruct thoughts which are inimical to Yoga,

contrary thoughts should be brought.

 

That is the way to practise the virtues that have been

stated. For instance, when a big wave of anger has

come into the mind, how are we to control that? Just

by raising an opposing wave. Think of love. Sometimes

a mother is very angry with her husband, and while in

that state, the baby comes in, and she kisses the

baby; the old wave dies out and a new wave arises,

love for the child. That suppresses the other one.

Love is opposite to anger. Similarly, when the idea of

stealing comes, non-stealing should be thought of;

when the idea of receiving gifts comes, replace it by

a contrary thought.

......

......

 

40. Internal and external cleanliness being

established, there arises disgust for one's own body,

and non-intercourse with others.

 

When there is real purification of the body, external

and internal, there arises neglect of the body, and

the idea of keeping it nice vanishes. A face which

others call most beautiful will appear to the Yogi as

merely animal, if there is not intelligence behind it.

What the world calls a very common face he regards as

heavenly, if the spirit shines behind it. This thirst

after body is the great bane of human life. So the

first sign of the establishment of purity is that you

do not care to think you are a body. It is only when

purity comes that we get rid of the body idea.

 

--- Rakesh wrote:

 

> I fail to understand the meaning of " pure in body

and > mind " which I found in the foll. paragraph of

Swami > Vivekananda. Also I found these words in many

> preaching of swamiji. What exactly they mean?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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