ON CLEANLINESS

ON CLEANLINESS

After I returned from the US and looked into my home kept locked till then, my thoughts  hovered over keeping it and everything neat and tidy! Dust had deposited itself on every object in spite of taking every precaution.”Cleanliness may be defined to be the emblem of purity of mind.” says  Joseph Addison the famous essayist. Cleanliness is considered to be next to Godliness. “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet” says Mahatma Gandhi! Man cannot and should not love in dirty unclean environment that can endanger his very existence. We are appalled at the foul smelling and unclean surroundings in which the slum dwellers live in various  towns and cities. It is this condition that is the root cause of various diseases. It should be the endeavor of every person to keep his home and hearth and the  environment neat!

How to keep yourself and the locality clean?  According to Mahatma Gandhi “ So long as you do not take the broom and the bucket in your hands, you cannot make your towns and cities clean.”  That is the slogan of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has initiated the Swachh Bharat program to clean up the country’s cities, towns and villages!  He Has set an example to others by taking up cleaning in person! Cleanliness if not merely keeping your vicinity and the ambience clean. It symbolizes a state of purity, clarity and precision. Often, soon after we finish our work we leave without setting right things and arranging them in their respective places! “Before you leave take a minute to clean” should be the principle! The Sama Veda underlines the significance of cleanliness by exhorting “One who maintains cleanliness keeps away diseases.”

Dirty and unclean surroundings sow the seeds of plague and pestilence. “Our safety depends on cleanliness. We can no more gain God’s blessings with an unclean body than with an unclean mind. “A clean body cannot reside in an unclean city.” according to Mahatma Gandhi. How many of us really care to remain clean and keep our environment clean? Very few only! We have people who spit on the walls and  disfigure them. Many in cities and towns dump rubbish and trash over the heads of passers by carelessly! Plantain peels are thrown on the roads that endanger the lives of those who inadvertently step on them! Gutter water overflows on the public roads creating unbearable stench! In innumerable ways the environment is polluted and its pristine glory is damaged beyond repair!

Man fails in his elementary duty if he does not keep his environment clean. He cannot blame others. He is the architect of his destiny! When I see countries like The UK and the US I wonder at their sense of cleanliness and how they strain themselves to keep their surroundings clean! Sometimes streets look like veritable gardens full of floral designs and arrangements! Do we see such things on our streets? Even the shrubs and saplings on our roads look sapless and dried up and neglected!” Cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them” says the great statesman Benjamin Disraeli.

It is not enough if the body, surroundings, and the environment is clean! Heart and mind should also be kept clean and pure! Outward cleanliness of the body is not the only requisite! The pollutants that affect our nature are the six inveterate enemies called 'arishadvargas’-- desire, anger, miserliness, attachment, arrogance, pride and hatred! These dangerous foes inherent in every human being have to be eschewed to lead a good successful life! If not all, a few of them should be kept under check, especially desire and anger! Non fulfilment of desire leads to anger. This in return causes derangement of the mind leading to irresponsible speech and action and the doom of the individual! Spiritual qualities like service to society, control over one’s own ego are absolutely essential for the happiness of man in society! He should cleanse himself of these evil propensities in addition to keeping the environment clean! When he does these two things,namely the cleaning of the environment outside and developing inner purity of mind through spiritual attributes like controlling anger and ego, he can lead a happy life on earth! Left us try to do this and enjoy our stay on this soil!