Shoucham - Purity / Cleanliness

4 Levels of Cleanliness:

• Environmental - It is important to live in a clean environment. When things around us are messy, we cannot stay happy and peaceful. Some people like their rooms messy! But they don't like going to a messy place or entering a dirty toilet ever! It just means they are too lazy to clean their own room, but nobody likes to live in mess.
• Physical - The body must be kept clean on a daily basis. If we don't bathe, brush, comb everyday, it is not only unhealthy, but it makes us lazy and irritable. If the body is not clean, the mind cannot focus. Some people don't bathe before school. It is observed that their memory-power and grasping-ability in class is weaker than children who bathe in the morning before going to school.
• Verbal - It is very important to keep our language clean. When we speak abuses or slang, when we use vulgar words in our speech, it does not make us look smarter or cooler. It only shows how cheap and lowly we are. People may hang out with such individuals for some time, but they don't hang on with them for life.
• Mental - Cleanliness of the mind is usually very neglected. People often have lovely houses, clean bodies, polished speech, but ugly and dirty minds. With dirty minds, we can never live happy lives. 

Why Clean The Mind?

• If any of the above pollutants infest the mind, it can neither be happy nor focused
• If you do not bathe the body for 5 days, it begins to stink badly. We often do not clean the mind for years together. Imagine how unbearable our minds can become if we don't start cleaning them daily!
• With messy minds, we end up having messed up lives!

How to Clean the Mind?

• Think clearly - Understand life and think clearly. We may know all about things in the world, but we are not really aware of exactly how the mind works. What is love? What is hatred? What is anger? How to be selfless? When we are ignorant, we are helpless. Gain the right knowledge by systematic study of spiritual textbooks like the Bhagawad Geeta and learn to think clearly.
• Live the Indispensable Values - Values are powerful mind-cleansers. They keep the mind on track in all situations. People who stick to even one value uncompromisingly, in such people the value becomes their virtue. They have pure minds.