Saucha ब्रह्मचर्य
Sutra 2.40 saucha sva-anga jugupsa parai asamsarg
Saucha ब्रह्मचर्य, when translated from Sanskrit, is often understood as "cleanliness" or "purity." However, here in the West, to avoid any misinterpretation or association with Church undertones, it can be described as "clarity” or “clearness" to maintain its true essence within the context of Hinduism and Jainism. Words that also come to mind when we practice Saucha: authenticity, honesty, integrity, conduit of Spirit.
Saucha encompasses clearness of mind, speech, and body—guiding our thoughts, words, and actions. It beckons us to manifest with undiminished luminosity, like a crystal that shines with clarity and without impurities or inclusions that cloud it. The practice includes being discerning about what comes in, or what we give attention to, and also cultivating clarity by choosing to be curious and truthful to ourselves and the world, living, as best as we can, without distortion, bias, and potential harm.
In the realm of yoga asanas, Saucha is not separate from what unfolds on the mat but rather the greater intention and energy that anchors and holds it all together. By approaching asanas with a devoted alignment of energy, we cultivate an embodied spiritual practice that reflects both our inner and outer worlds. (For keeners, the title Hatha Yoga Pradipika includes a translation from the original Sanskrit text that spotlights the artful science of hatha yoga as it was conceived and intended. See Sources and Further Reading at the end of our blog post for more).
Beyond the mat, Saucha extends to our lives, relationships, and interactions with nature. It becomes a holistic approach to living with integrity, emphasizing individual and collective responsibility, as well as joyful relationships with mutual honesty, trust, and respect.
Saucha highlights the significance of maintaining a clean, orderly, and purposeful physical space. The potency of clearness becomes apparent as we clean, declutter and ensure organization in our living areas as a sign of respect to ourselves, each other, and even the objects and the energies that dwell within. Purifying our physical spaces establishes a foundation for overall welfare; the practice asks us what we truly need, helps us utilize space and energy more efficiently, and asks us how our relationship with our environment can be more serene. The physical naturally starts with the home, but can also expand to the workspace, our digital spaces, altars, even our wallets, where room is made to organize, prioritize, make efficient, and beautify. This external purification includes and simultaneously goes beyond aesthetics, serving as a reflection of our inner state. A tidy and well-maintained space fosters focus, calmness, and overall mental and emotional well-being. Beauty takes on a deliberate sacred aspect; decor is part of the balance of form, white space, and meaning.
Internally, Saucha delves into the detoxing of our thoughts and emotions. It encourages us to be aware of our mental patterns, releasing bias, and perspectives that prevent us from returning to ourselves, approaching it with equal measure of gentleness and honesty. In this way, the practice of clearness is about authenticity and compassion, where we may need to acknowledge that things may not be okay, and for us to be okay with things when things are not okay, where we are curious in our sadness just as much as we are curious in our gladness, and that through the clarity, we can approach life with a sense of reverence and vitality. It’s from this sense of being clear that we have the insight to begin considering what could be different, and begin moving towards changes. Through the work of mindfulness, meditation, yoga asanas, general movement, breathwork, walking barefoot on a sunny beach here on Bowen Island, or sitting with our backs leaned into a tree, we can signal to our inner landscape that it’s safe to go deep, to meet our distractions, our old constructs, our wounds, and our power to choose with courage and tenderness.
Saucha also encompasses our actions and behaviors, inviting us to align them with our values and asking ourselves to live in integrity to what we hold dear in our hearts, including the need for mutual safety, presence and acknowledgement, and respect. The practice of clearness asks us to show up in a way that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable, as it doesn’t guarantee that we will meet others in complete agreement, though it does ask us to approach all with a sense of decency, kindness, and the determination to sit with each other.* How can we love with more grace, more sweetness, more laughter?
The practice of Saucha extends to our relationship with the land. It means centering and learning from the Indigenous groups, such as the Coast Salish peoples, and traditional earth-relating cultures. It calls for mindful consumption, reducing waste, and living in harmony with animals, plants, air, waterways, and other elements in Nature. It means a return to living and consuming seasonally. By being conscious of our ecological footprint, we acknowledge that humans are here for a reason, and to not waste this opportunity to steward this Earth. Saucha reinvites us back to circular living.
Saucha brings us closer to the essence of yoga, the union of mind, body, and spirit, and then to remind us that it’s not about an asana practice at all, but about the very lives we live, in its entirety. It helps us shed layers of spiritual performance, conditioning, systemic influences, tapping into our inner wisdom, our voices and truths, and what it means to be a citizen of the Earth.
We never meet an arrival point in our Saucha practice, in fact, Saucha is more about taking our sense of home, a symbol of where we are most ourselves, wherever we go. Or perhaps it’s not home that is your symbol for truths and clearness, but the forest or a mountaintop. Whatever form, it’s meant to be an ongoing process of curiosity, seeing with intention, living with radical honesty. Much like a shining mirror, we are empowered to embrace our brightest reflection, and shine it within ourselves and in all of life’s facets, whether we're in the bustle of the city, or unplugging at a retreat here on Bowen Island. And this is why Nectar is here. To remind you that you’re already home, that the seeds of consciousness are within reach, and to witness your Saucha practice and inviting to witness ours.
*This is a general statement. Sitting with one another requires safety for all involved. Exercise this with discernment.
Sources and further reading:
Niyama Saucha Purity Yoga Practice
Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Swatmarama, Satyānanda (Contributor), Muktibodhananda Saraswati (Editor). Branching from this, a few of the cleansing practices (Kriyas) that the title mentions:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda
The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele
Embrace Yoga's Roots by Susanna Barkataki
Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self by Anodea Judith
Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar
The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice by T.K.V. Desikachar
The Eight Limbs of Yoga: A Handbook for Living Yoga Philosophy by Stuart Ray Sarbacker and Kevin Kimple
The Bhagavad Gita