Value: Cleanliness & Purity- June 2025
First Week: Healthy living
While embarking on personal spiritual growth, the importance of cleanliness cannot be overstated. It is often observed that those with unhealthy habits tend to neglect their personal hygiene. Shabby clothing and an unkempt appearance are signs of carelessness.
Ancient philosophers categorized human personality into three broad groups to illustrate how diet primarily influences a person's mental well-being. Moreover, our physical health relies not only on the food we consume but also on the environment in which we live.
Watch what you eat
While conversing with Arjuna, Lord Krishna points out the need for taking care of the body through the right food, since the Lord resides and helps in digesting the food in everyone's body!
The right food for efficient work, spiritual study, meditation, and devotional practices is that which augments life, firmness of mind, strength, health, and happiness. Food should be fresh, soft, easy to digest, substantial, and agreeable to the body type. It should be served with love and eaten with a delightful mind.
Avoid those which are extremely bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry, and burning. Give up completely on the food that is not fully cooked, tasteless, rotten, and stored for a long time.
Maintain an orderly environment
What we truly need in our lives is limited, but our greed is endless. This applies not only to the quantity of food we consume but also to the objects and relationships we possess. Everything we need should have a designated place in our lives.
When we maintain the objects we use regularly and return them to their rightful places after use, we create an orderly environment. Having easy access to these items when needed can help reduce tension and stress in our daily lives.
Similarly, when we treat others with respect and love, giving them their appropriate roles in our lives, we foster cordial and pleasant relationships. Undue importance and possessiveness only lead to unrealistic expectations and disappointments. So, take a moment to reflect!
