A few months ago, I had an irresistible urge to clean. A Monica Geller (Friends) meets Ty Pennington (Extreme Home Makeover) kind of urge. There was no way around it, it had to be satisfied.
Similar to a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a typhoon, my cleaning urge picked up its pace. It started quite innocently when I brushed away some dust from a book. “Still haven’t read this,” I thought. And then: “Probably never will.” I began collecting more books that fell into the same category, then clothing that I no longer wore. After having donated what could have a second (or third or fourth) life and throwing away the rest, I rearranged some furniture. Then I really got going and scrubbed floors, painted walls, cleaned carpets and shelves. I just could not stop so I cleaned all the objects that were on the shelves. God, it just felt so good. I fixed loose sockets (I might have called an electrician for this, but seeing how easy it was I could have done it myself), removed damp patches where there once had been a leakage, watched countless YouTube videos on how to attach a lamp to a ceiling – then attached said lamp to said ceiling, successfully and nearly but eventually without electrocuting myself; a small step for mankind but a giant leap for me.
As Mari Kondo, the Japanese queen of tidying up, says: “The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness in that environment.” And happy I did feel. I felt refreshed. Clearheaded, calm. I felt tidied up, inside. In a way, that feeling catches the essence of saucha, the yogic concept of cleanliness[1].
In yogic philosophy, saucha is the first of five observances, called niyamas. These are guidelines on how to relate to ourselves (they guide the spiritual seeker on the path to enlightenment, but can aid everyone in living a meaningful life). The niyamas include cleanliness (this is saucha), contentment, dedication, self-study, and surrender to something higher.
Saucha is about rinsing away, clearing out, purifying. Making yourself free from something, creating space. We can practice it on different levels. Externally, we can clean our surroundings, living spaces, our bodies from the outside with baths and toothbrushes. But we can also ‘clean’ our bodies from the inside, through fresh food, exercise, breath work. We can progress even deeper internally, and clean out stuck energy and unhelpful thoughts from our hearts and minds through deep conversations, self-reflection, therapy, meditation. You see, saucha goes far beyond personal hygiene and weekly vacuuming the hallway: its removing all obstacles on your way to the light, whether that’s old karma, bad habits or unhealthy relationships.
As I experienced in my cleaning frenzy, cleaning what’s outside can lead to (or aid in) cleaning what’s inside. Everyone who ever did a spring cleaning, or had a cold shower or hot bath, knows that external cleaning can transform into an experience of internal cleansing. As above, so below – as outside, so inside: in a clean body and a clean space, our minds can also become clear. I had some close teachings of that growing up: when my mother needed to work through challenging emotions or get her thoughts straight, she would sweep the garden path, while my dad would turn to doing his administration or organizing his (already very organized) bookcases.
Cleaning can become a meditation, a ritual, even a form of prayer – as many religious practitioners know: Hindus taking a holy bath in the Ganges river, Jews submerging in the mikvah or Christians receiving baptism (and in other cultures, smoke or sand is used for ritualized cleansing). Advanced yogis engage in cleansing techniques called kriyas, which include breathing practices, cleaning the nasal pathways and massaging the internal organs; these techniques are used to cleanse the body from waste and toxins, with the intention to create a hospitable environment for a calm, clear mind and ecstatic experiences.
Then again, we shouldn’t become overly strict in our cleaning practices. I believe that making a good mess can sometimes be a form of saucha. For example, my dear friend Daniela likes to cook up – quite literally – a storm in her humble seized kitchen, which is barely able to contain the magnitudes of her concoctions. Now imagine in your mind’s eye the consequences of that storm – every pot, every inch of countertop space, every utensil, used – and you might not immediately think: cleanliness. And yet, this is exactly how she creates space in her heart and mind. This is her saucha practice.
This makes sense also when we recall the order of the niyamas: after saucha, cleanliness, comes the niyama of santosha: contentment or satisfaction. As Mari Kondo said, ‘we clean to feel happy.’ Along with millions of fans, I’m quite charmed by her cleaning (or saucha, if you will) philosophy: her trademarked KonMari Method™ centers on a positive energy of cleaning. Kondo says that when cleaning, you should not focus on what to throw away or discard, but on ‘choosing to keep what sparks joy’. She argues: “Tidying is about what you want to keep in your life, not what you want to eliminate.”
In its essence, I think that is what saucha is about: making space for what you love, so you can feel free and live authentically. Casting off what weighs you down – practically, emotionally, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Wiping down the actual windows every now and then, and cleaning the mirror of your soul so it can reflect the light of the universe. As Sarada Devi (a spiritual teacher from India that lived around the turn of the 20th century) said: “Pure mind begets ecstatic love.” Now that’s something worth putting some rubber gloves on for.
[1] In my previous blog posts, I wrote about the yamas, the five ethical restraints: non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, the right use of energy, and non-attachment. In this and the following blogs, I'll explore the niyamas. It is said that the yamas deal with how we should treat others, while the niyamas are concerned with how we should relate to ourselves: all with the objective to live a balanced life and progress on the spiritual path. Together, the yamas and niyamas form the ethical backbone of yogic philosophy.