Niyama-Saucha

Yulin Guo

March 20, 2019

I like the assignment received randomly from the teacher.  It is almost like a message in the bottle from the universe.  Saucha is exactly what I need.

Saucha is purity, cleanliness or a lack of excess.  With Saucha, we maintain order in our living and working spaces. It is a situation wherein unwanted things don’t appear and the conditions for goodness and happiness do.

On the positive side, I am kind, smart, creative, and hard-working.  I am a good citizen, mother, wife, daughter and employee. I eat healthy diet, maintain healthy weight and take good care of personal hygiene.  However, when I look at my drawer, closet, kitchen, bedroom, living room, paperwork, it is far from being in state of purity and cleanliness.   I am certain that it is below average of the general population. And this has been my frustration for a long time.

Wise people say that purity is not just about cleanliness of surroundings.   It is more about purity in the root:  thoughts, intentions and speech.   Oddly I just find it is easier to practice saucha in those higher categories than in the mundane task of housekeeping.

Recently I gave away a fish tank which has been in my house for seven years. Fish tank is supposed to bring good Feng Shui and energized the corner space.  Fast forward the years of enjoyment, all fish but one died.  The energy becomes stale in the corner.

When I finally put the fish tank to give away on Nextdoor, it was not as easy as I thought.  Will I miss the fish? Will the fish miss me? Will it die right away in the new environment?

With more awareness of Yoga, I learned to examine emotions carefully. The next day, when I woke up, I stared at the empty corner of where the fish tank used to be. To my surprise, I did not feel guilt or emptiness as I imagined.  It was a feeling of relief, that the fish has moved on in life and found a better place.  I love that feeling.

The feeling of letting go the fish is great.   I did not miss the fish or the tank.   It was time to make room.

People say that the belonging are the manifest of one’s self.   Your living room reflects the personality. Your book-shelf reflect what kind of person you are.   Your bedroom tells a lot about your relationship.

Trust me, I have tried hard and failed hard to get organized of my belonging and surroundings in the past.  I bought books on decluttering techniques and many kinds of storage boxes.  I wish everything would be in the right place, nothing more and nothing less.  When things are far from this perfect image, I used to feel upset and inadequate.   I wonder how to get to a state of Saucha as some people seem to easily achieve.

Other yamas and Niyamas can help achieve Saucha.

When Santosha is practiced, I accept myself.  Yes, the bedroom is messy, but I get good night sleep and have a loving relationship.  Yes, the kitchen is old and dreary, but we cook healthy and delicious food often.  When I have peace and acceptance, not anxiety and denial, I empower myself to believe that Sancha is achievable, for me.

When Brahmacharya is practiced, I learn not to waste unnecessary energies. It is not worth spending too much time on one’s appearance. It is not worth looking for the next generation of serum which promises perfect skin.  Instead I will focus energy on my own physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.   When the life energy is focused on its own wellbeing, order and cleanness will fllow, and Saucha will happen more easily.

I am not giving it up.  I must practice Saucha.  It is the most difficult Niyamas for me.  I vow to try once again, this time with compassion for myself and determinations that it can be done.  Maybe, who knows, God has saved this one for me as an ultimate challenge to go to the next level of conciousness.