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Pure heart and clean hands4/17/2024 Many Eastern cultures have daily bathing rituals in which people pray while washing. Looking at saucha through this lens, we see that its definition as “cleanliness” actually refers to both the external action of cleaning oneself and the internal practice of cleansing. And as the first niyama, it could be thought of as the first spiritual practice listed in the limbs. (1) Anyone can follow them, whether they are a yoga practitioner or not. Patanjali makes it clear in sutra II:31 that the yamas are “not limited by class, place, time, or circumstance” (Sri Swami Satchidananda). The yamas are often said to be about our relationship to the world, the niyamas about our relationship with ourselves. The niyamas are the observances and include cleanliness (this is saucha), contentment, purification through heat, self-study, and surrender.Įach of Patanjali’s limbs progress from external practices to those that are more internal. The yamas include non-violence, truthfulness, not stealing, abstinence, and non-greed. The yamas (restraints) and niyamas, the first two limbs of Patanjali’s eight-limbed path, are sometimes collectively referred to as the “Ten Commandments of Yoga.” Each one is composed of five tenets for how yogis should live their lives. Understanding Saucha Within the Context of the Eight Limbs When we live from our big Self, our true nature, we operate from our heart and are able to feel our connection to everyone and everything. When we live from our small self, we are led by our restless mind and feel separate. For yogis, it is leaving the trappings of the limited, small self and moving toward the limitless, big Self. On Passover, this refers to the Jewish people leaving behind enslavement in Egypt. The word is often transliterated as “cleanliness,” but like the ritual washing of the hands during the Seder, this practice goes far beyond simple hygiene.Ĭleaning our hands is an opportunity to rid ourselves of anything we do not wish to carry forward. Saucha is the first of the niyamas (observances) in Patanjali’s eight-limbed path of yoga, as outlined in the Yoga Sutra. This pertains to literal dirt and, more symbolically, to anything we are holding onto.Īs a yogi, this reminded me of the concept of saucha. We eat with our hands during the meal, because it is believed that whatever our hands hold will be absorbed by us. This ritual felt particularly poignant given COVID-19, during which handwashing is one of the key protocols keeping people safe and healthy. Though, thanks to pandemic-necessitated social distancing, this dinner was, indeed, different from all other Passover dinners: We “congregated” through computer screens from across the United States and Canada.ĭuring the Seder, there is a moment when everyone says a blessing and washes their hands. 31:17-21.This year my family gathered for Passover dinner. "The reason why we come to sacrament meeting each week is to renew these covenants so that we can have His spirit to be with us and remain on the strait and narrow path that leads us to eternal life - to return with honor." (See 2 Ne. "Third, we promise that we will keep His commandments, renewing our covenants of obedience." (See D&C 20:77-79.)īishop Hales added: "If we keep these three promises, we are given one of the greatest blessings that can be bestowed upon us: that we will have His Spirit to be with us always, meaning that we will have the Holy Ghost in our lives to guide us and protect us and direct us each day. "Second, we take upon us once again the name of Jesus Christ, allowing us to renew our baptismal covenant. "First, we promise that we will always remember our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His atoning sacrifice for us. In the prayer, the voice of the priest at the table is for all in the room so that each of us can renew our covenants: ![]() "It is so important that the young men with whom we serve in the Aaronic Priesthood know we are doing so worthily and that every member in the congregation can look toward the sacrament table and trust the members of the priesthood are worthy to perform the ordinances of the Lord."Each Sunday, as we participate in the sacred ordinance of the sacrament, we promise three things as the blessings over the bread and water are given by a priest. ![]() "It is so important that we do so with clean hands and a pure heart," he said. Hales (now a member of the Quorum of the Twelve) spoke to Aaronic Priesthood holders about the importance of preparing, blessing and passing the sacrament to the members of the Church. ![]() At the April 1990 general conference, Presiding Bishop Robert D.
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