The importance of purity cannot be overstated. Purity of your moral, mental, and physical discipline will ensure that you get to the ultimate state of bliss.

The seeker who stays committed to living a pure life certainly attains peace of mind, even if he fails at everything else. Here is a video discourse for you in English.

The following is an adapted snippet from the opening lines of the discourse: There is a word that can be found in most scriptures and yogic texts. A word without which your sādhanā, penance, is going to be incomplete. The word is purity. Your chances of success in any endeavor increase manifold when your actions and intentions are underscored by purity.

Whatever you do, especially on the path of self-realization, you cannot discount purity. What do I mean when I say pure? Does pure mean that you take care of your physical purity? Mental purity? Or, moral purity? All of these put together create what is called spiritual purity.

It is only in a state of spiritual purity that you are going to experience anything divine. Without purity in your discipline, it is not possible to rise above intellect. And until such time that you rise above intellect, you are not going to experience your true nature.

What do I mean by moral purity or purity of discipline? You may practice severe austerities, they alone do not suffice. Imagine you buy a really expensive mirror. It renders images perfectly. Now, envision that you cover that mirror with a piece of cloth so that it no longer shows your own image. The covered mirror is unable to reflect. The same is the state of your mind, a covered (read conditioned) mind is unfit for impartial self-reflection.

YouTube video

Hare Krishna.
Swami

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Now that you’ve watched the discourse, let’s take a deeper look at the true meaning of purity and how it is the basis of anything we undertake. What does purity mean in the context of business, sadhana and sex? The questions below offer insight.

Is it possible to retain moral purity while doing business?

A business can only survive if it makes a profit. Profitable and manageable growth is the only dharma of a commercial venture. No matter what you undertake, if you want to succeed, you have to acquire the most fundamental ingredient of success and that is: purity of intention. If your intention is pure, you will gain determination and inner strength naturally. The universe will align other resources for you, you will taste success.

By purity of intention, I’m not at all alluding to any notion of nobility or morality. Principles of morality differ from culture to culture. When I say pure intention, I’m not referring to any religious or moral values. I’m not talking about physical purity either. Read more here.

Are mental purity and physical purity essential practices during sadhana?

Besides discipline, success in the actual sadhana depends on four key aspects: sadhaka (aspirant), siddha (master), sadhya (goal) and sadhan (resources). The absence of any one of the four puts the whole practice on shaky ground. The palace of stones turns into a sand castle — fragile and temporary.

Spiritual purity

You need not worry about any of the above at this stage, however. To begin with, you require a burning desire, commitment to the practice, purity of moral, spiritual, and yogic discipline. For a genuine seeker, Providence arranges everything as the need arises. I say this from my first-hand experience. Read more here.

By being celibate on the spiritual path, am I closer to attaining spiritual purity and God?

Let me offer you my explicit viewpoint. If you gain inner strength, if you become a better, more compassionate, kinder, more loving person by practising celibacy, you should continue with continence in that case.

However, if you are married, and have developed this obscure idea of abstinence being a shorter route to divinity, I am sorry to disappoint you but this is going to be a futile exercise. It is going to lead you nowhere near God. It will not give you spiritual purity or mental purity or even moral purity. As part of strengthening your resolve, or certain practices that may last a certain duration, you may practice abstinence, but beyond that, I hope you have a very good reason.

For Vedic, Yogic and Tantric perspectives on sex, Read more here.

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