Sauca, 8 Limbs of Yoga, Niyama

Sauca

Purity of Body and Mind 

Yoga Philosophy/ Yoga Lifestyle 

Yama/Niyama (Ways of Life)

Śauca (शौच) refers to “purity of body, mind and thought”. 1 It is often translated as cleanliness, but we will see it is much more than a clean space or even clean body. 

Sauca is the first of the 5 Niyama (Self-Care, Self-Practices) in the Yoga Sutras and two verses are dedicated to it.   In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika there are 10 Niyama and in the Yoga Sutras there are 5.  Read more about them here .

The first verse on Sauca or Saucha is in Yoga Sutra 2.40 says: 

"Sauchat sva-anga jugupsa paraih asamsargah" or

"Saucat svaiiga jugupsa parair asarhsargah"

A possible and typical translation might be something like:

"Through cleanliness and purification of body and mind (saucha), one develops an attitude of distancing, or disinterest towards one's own body, and avoids contact with the bodies of others."

sauchat -- cleanliness, purification of body and mind
sva-anga -- one's self, one's own, one's body, could also be ego (sva = one's; anga = limbs)
jugupsa-- aversion, disgust, disinterest, protect
paraih--  and with that of others
asamsargah -- non- contact, non-association

I love the way Charlotte Carnegie in, The Incomplete Guide to Yoga puts it.  She says, 

"The result of sauca is that we become less obsessed with the body as an object, and more concerned about it as our only vehicle to experience life."2

Often, this verse gets tied up questions of if it is about asceticism and actual disgust for the body because of the translation of jugupsa as "disgust". The quote above says "less obsessed" rather than "disgusted."  This is helpful since this verse can be difficult to reconcile with body positivity and concerns about the history of social injustices like untouchability.  

In the book, Embodying the Yoga Sutra, the authors point out that the root of jugupsa is 

gup. And that gup means "'to protect' or 'to keep secret.'" 3 They interpret the verse to refer to sauca of the body as a way to "protect the body, to look after it, and on a deeper level, to protect is from the body and the distractions its causing (because it is functioning as well as possible)."

What I really love about the Carnegie quote is the idea that we become more concerned about the body as a vehicle to experience life. 

You've probably heard the sentiment "your body is a temple."  This is along those lines but also a great reminder that the body is our vehicle not just a temple.  A temple is sacred, yes, but it also static.  A vehicle, moves, it changes, it needs care to keep it running properly. 

Agreed, there is a certain disassociation with the body in this verse.  Disgust, aversion, disinterest cannot be quite right since why would one bother to purify the body and clean and look after it, to protect it from harm from others and the environment if there were simply disgust.  

When we take care of our bodies through purification and cleanliness, they do become less of a concern and we do become less obsessed with them, less attached to them.  For example, in Savasana, we can let the body go.  If the body is at ease and the mind is at ease, this moment of rest is much easier to practice.  If the body is feeling healthy and clear and the mind is feeling healthy and clear we can experience many benefits.  Can you imagine? 

Patanjali goes on to explain the benefits in the next verse. 

Benefits/Fruits of Sauca

2.41 (sattva shuddhi saumanasya ekagra indriya-jaya atma darshana yogyatvani cha)

"Also through cleanliness and purity of body and mind (saucha) comes:

1. Purification, cleanliness, brightness, correcting  of the subtle mental essence (shuddhi sattva).  True(Sat) Self  See Satya 
2. Pleasantness, goodness, gladness, high-mindedness, cheerfulness, clarity of the Mind, (saumanasya). Mind (mana)
3. One-pointedness with intentness. One (eka) point (gra)
4. Conquest, Triump, Victory, or mastery over the senses. The senses, belonging to the Perceiver (indriya).  Triumph, victory -- as in Ujjayi Breath(jaya).  Tapas also mentions Indriya and Shuddhi
5. Fitness/readiness/prepared for (yogyatvani) Self-realization (atma-darshana)"

Sattva is the main goal of Sauca and Hatha Yoga.  

Sattva is the True Self.  It is a state of mind that is balanced and tranquil. Hatha and Raja Yoga seek to draw the mind to its natural state of balance, tranquility, and clarity.  The goal is healing and transforming the mind.

What is Purified/Cleansed/Cleared/ Brightened/Reset in Sauca? 

In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika we can see what is being purified is ultimately our energy, in a sense, our essence, our True Self shines through, balanced. 

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika mentions purifying the:

• Nadis -- energy channels 
• Chakras -- energy wheels
• Prana -- energy flow
• Excessive Doshas -- mind-body types

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika shows that the path to enlightenment is through purifying the physical and Pranic bodies.  Sauca is for the body and the mind. Sauca is external and internal.  Remember Sauca means purity and its main benefit is cleanliness, brightening or resetting of body and mind.

How do we practice Sauca?

1. Asana -- Physical Practices
2. Mitahara -- Pure Food
3. ShatKarma -- Purification Rituals 
4. Pranayama -- Breath Practices
5. Mudra -- Energy Seals
6. Bandha -- Energy Locks
7. Mantras -- Mind Delivering
8. Samadhi -- Absoprtion / Meditation

Often it is when we meditate that we notice some of our thoughts that can be less than helpful. 

Swami Muktibodhananda in his commentary of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika lists 5 types of mental impurities. 

1. kama -- sensual desire
2. krodha -- anger
3. moha -- infatuation
4. mada -- arrogance/pride
5. matsyara-- envy

Breath Practices and Mantras can help clear the mind of these and other toxic thoughts we have. It is interesting to be observer and notice what thoughts come up for us as we practice. 

Like many concepts in Yoga, Sauca is very complex and means so much more than the one word definitions they tend to get like in this case.  Sauce is more than cleanliness or purity.    It is about balancing our energies in body and mind so that we can feel:

• Pleasantness, goodness, gladness, high-mindedness, cheerfulness, clarity of the Mind
• One-pointedness focus
• Mastery over our senses
• and the ability to know our balanced, tranquil True Self full of clarity and brightness.

Sounds wonderful ...

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References

1. https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/shauca
2. The Incomplete Guide to YogaBy Charlotte Carnegie · p 369 2012https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Incomplete_Guide_to_Yoga/MADtBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=sauca&pg=PA369&printsec=frontcover
3. Embodying the Yoga Sutra Support, Direction, Space By Ranju Roy, David Charlton · 2019
4.https://archive.org/stream/YogasutrasOfPatanjaliWithNotesAndIntroduction/yogasutras%20of%20Patanjali%20with%20notes%20and%20introduction_djvu.txt
5. https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/shuddhi