Sai Baba Gita - Inner and Outer Purity

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Sai Baba GitaJune 25, 2004

Inner and Outer Purity

What is the meaning of external purity? Of course, external purity means keeping

the body pure and wearing clean clothes. But it means much more than that. The

place where you live must be kept clean. The books which you read must also be

clean and wholesome. Be it your body or your mind, you should not allow dirt

and bad qualities to accumulate. The statement that you should take a daily

bath means that every impurity in body and mind has to be cleansed. Where dirt

accumulates, germs will gather and bring on disease. Therefore, do not allow

impurities of any kind to remain on you.

Every day in the morning, you should brush your teeth and also clean your

tongue. Let there be no impurity in the main entrance. Whenever there is some

dirty water outside, mosquitoes, worms and undesirable bacteria will soon

fester. In the same way, wherever there is some dirt in your body, all these

germs and insects are likely to accumulate. Not merely that, in the

surroundings of your house you have to keep everything clean. There is a

saying, 'Look at the house and you will know its resident'; in other words, the

cleanliness of the house is a reflection of the cleanliness of the indwellers of

that house. This principle of cleanliness is meant for your own good. Whether it

be the house or its surroundings, if everything is kept clean, you will be

happy. You have to keep yourself and everything around you clean and orderly in

order to enjoy good health. When you have good health you will remain happy.

You may have only two sets of clothes, but when you wear one, you should make

sure that the other is clean. Then, afterwards, you can wear the second set,

cleaning the first. Actually, there is no need even for having two sets of

clothes; just the one may be worn every day as long as you keep it clean.

Whatever you have must be kept clean; do not allow yourself to become dirty.

But just cleaning the exterior and wearing clean clothes, while keeping the

heart impure, is not of much use. You have to make every effort to achieve

inner purity, as well. For this purpose you need to keep all your thoughts and

feelings sacred. Let your thoughts be directed towards the service of others.

Do not allow jealousy or hatred to enter into you. Always try to develop

feelings which are full of joy.

There is no need to bother yourself unnecessarily about others' affairs. Just

always think good of others. In this context the ancient teachings declare,

'Let the whole world be happy.' To promote universal joy and well-being is the

basis of the spiritual teachings and the object of all spiritual practice.

Therefore, the sacred name of God should be continuously contemplated upon, so

that it purifies your heart. Only when you take proper care to maintain inner

and outer purity will you be able to prevent the entry of impure thoughts and

harmful qualities, such as jealousy and hatred.

http://www.atmapress.com/saibabagita/saigita268.html

Sai Baba Gita, Compiled and edited by Al Drucker - Published by Atma Press -

http://www.atmapress.com - ISBN: 0963844903Online Edition:

http://www.atmapress.com/saibabagita/index.html

 

 

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