Sauća - The First Niyama of the Eight Limbs of Yoga
Sauća
II.40 Śaucāt svānga-jugupsā parair-asamargah & II.41 Sattva-śuddi-saumanasya-aikāgraya-indriya-jaya-ātma-darśana-yogyatvāni-ca
“Cleanliness causes one to be less interested in their physical form and the physical form of others” & “A pure mind, a positive attitude, one-pointedness, mastery of the senses, and fitness to see spirit.”
The first niyama (personal observances) is sauća, Sūtra 2.40 Śaucāt svānga-jugupsā parair-asamargah and Sūtra 2.41 Sattva-śuddi-saumanasya-aikāgraya-indriya-jaya-ātma-darśana-yogyatvāni-ca of Patañjali’s Yoga Sutras. Of all the yamas and niyamas, sauća is the only one that has two sūtras. When translated, they mean,“Cleanliness causes one to be less interested in their physical form and the physical form of others.” and “A pure mind, a positive attitude, one-pointedness (of attention), mastery of the senses, and fitness to see spirit.” Ultimately these two sutras mean that a clean environment (both physical and mental) is helpful to a clean and clear mind, which facilitates a deeper connection with our Knowing.
In one sense, sauća refers to cleanliness of your environment. It makes sense: If your surroundings are clean, there is a kind of peace; if they’re a mess and cluttered, it’s harder to be peaceful. This applies to all our personal belongings and environments: our clothes, our cars, our desk, our home, and our bodies.
Part of what cleanliness gives us is a sense of peace, but it also highlights the cost of things. When you have things, there is a cost associated in that you have to take care of them.
For example, if you own a car you have to put gas in it, change the oil, wash it, wax it, clean it, and keep up with the maintenance. According to sauća, as you continue your practice in a way that leads to more focus and stability of mind, the cost of having and maintaining these possessions becomes more evident. What you give in terms of time, energy, and effort becomes more obvious.
The time you spend on these things takes time away from yourself, your family, your studies, and all of the other aspects of life that are valuable to you. Practicing sauća will slowly cause you to become less interested in the unimportant things in your environment.
Patañjali will go on to explain in sūtras 2.40 and 2.41 that sauća is cleanliness of body as well as cleanliness of mind.
Cleanliness of body means you maintain your environment as well as your personal body in a way that is clean. This is important because our environment impacts us. If there is clutter everywhere, it has an impact on on us. Environments reflect the person who is in charge of taking care of them.
So, if you want to understand what’s going on in a person’s mind, look inside their car, or their bedroom, or their kitchen. This doesn’t mean that your house should be scrubbed clean every moment of every day, but orderliness and cleanliness do have an impact on you and your state.
Another consideration is that cleaning something requires effort. If you’re going to properly clean and maintain something you need to have the energy and time for it. Patañjali explains in sūtra 2.40 that as you put aside time and energy to keep things running appropriately, you will discover that most of these things are not worth it.
If we pay enough attention to the cost of cleanliness, we will be able to refine and reduce the number of things that we keep in our environments. This cleaner environment will in turn be helpful in developing a cleaner mind as well. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Don’t let your mind wander to things that are dirty like certain news channels, gossip channels, or social media accounts. If you direct your mind toward negative things (like gossip), there’s an impact, and that impact stays with you. It influences the way your system and your mind function.
Keep your environment clean and your mind in clean places, and you will be more peaceful — this is sauća.
A note for context: My perspective is based in the Viniyoga/Desikachar lineage. Viniyoga is a traditional Indian lineage of Yoga taught by TKV Desikachar, who was the son of Krishnamacharya. My teacher, Chase Bossart, was a 20+ year private student of Mr. Desikachar. I have studied this text with Chase, word for Sanskrit word, for over three years.
Stay tuned to learn more about the Niyamas and the rest of the Eight Limbs in my upcoming blog articles.
Namaste,
Kelly