'Cleanse' or Purify?

    These words- 'cleanse' or purify are the words of advice given by the knowledgeable, learned, people about mukti, moksha, emancipation, or liberation. The Patanjali ashtanga yoga sutras stress the importance of yama and niyama in which 'shoucha', cleansing is given a very important preliminary requisite. 'Shoucha' is cleansing and it is of  two types- inner and outer. Outer body cleansing is done by bathing in rivers. The process of inner cleansing is very intricate and extremely slow difficult process. Many a times, the spiritual seekers fail to pass this test! Inner cleansing is stated as - purification of thoughts, ideas, and images that occur in mind (manah shuddhi). Purifification of mind is cleansing the mind of all desires, aspirations, memories, and stilling the mind by manonasha, laya yoga. Inner cleansing by sadachara, correct thinking and practice, performance of pure deeds are all included here. Purification of soul, Atma parishuddhata, is something that can never be understood by us, ordinary people! There is no clarity regarding the nature of the jiva and the need for cleansing it in order to get emancipation, liberation, mukti, or moksha. 

    Ordinarily, the jiva is a form of a living being, and here it is a human, and it is understood as such. But, the term jiva includes all sorts of living beings that are found on this planet earth, not necessarily, the humans! Thus, this cleansing, purification, is addressed to all living beings and particularly so, the humans. Every jiva, living being, whether plants, birds, animals or men need cleansing in order to be liberated. Many cleansed beings are there amidst us and the examples of plants and animals are many and include all those which we worship during different festivals.

    Thus, the central idea is one of cleansing. But cleansing of what? It is clearly stated that the jiva has acquired blemishes, impurities, due to its desires and actions and has to be cleansed in order to attain to or revert to its pure state. The pure state is one of unadulterated, pristine state. This question of accumulation or acquisition of impurities, blemishes needs to be clarified.

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