10

LEARN OUR TRADITION THE EASY WAY
(BASED ON THE ORIGINAL ?SAMPRADAYA PADA THITTAM? IN TAMIL
BY SRI SEVA SWAMI)
(COURSE FOR KIDS) GRADE 1 FOR BEGINNERS LESSON 10: BATHING & CLEANLINESS
(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)
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In Sanskrit, we call bathing ?SnAnam?. Elders used to call this ?Theertham AaDuthal?. This means that one has to immerse oneself completely under water from head to foot. ANDAL calls this ?Neer AaDuthal?. ?Neer? in Tamil means the same as ?Theertham?.

You are not supposed to do anything auspicious without first bathing. Bathing is said to cleanse us of what is called ?Vizhuppu? which means
?Soiled?. In other words, it means the body gets dirty by contact with unhealthy environment one is exposed to in the daily routine.
Therefore, bathing makes for bodily purity so essential for any act for that matter and more so, any auspicious act.

Bathing rids us of laziness (AalAsyam); stimulates a feeling of freshness; this refreshing in turn strengthens the mind. With a fresh body and a strong mind, all your actions can be done with greater efficiency than otherwise

?Cleanliness?, they say ?is next to Godliness?. The concepts of purity and impurity occur every where in almost every action in religions throughout the world. As for us, we may say that purity is the essential keynote and most of our religious practices hinge on this concept of purification, which assumes infinite variety
Impurity has several connotations: Adulteration, Pollution, Contamination, Spittle, Defilement, Beclouding conceptions and many more. Impurity can arise from foreign travel, contact with base (Neecha) people, or places, change over to other faiths, contamination of bodily wastes, attending a funeral, handling a corpse, partaking food in a Shradda (especially, Ekodhishta ceremony) and such other circumstances for which special purificatory rituals have been prescribed in the SAstras.
Purity relates to physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and ritual aspects.
 Physical purity- is being clean by taking bath frequently, environmental cleanliness, profuse cleansing with water with appropriate chants.
 Mental purity consists of meditation, high thinking and simple living.
 Emotional purity denotes control of mind and the good company one keeps.
 Spiritual purity refers to the practice of 'yama' and 'niyama' prescribed in the SAstras, studying Vedas and other scriptures , doing
Japa ( chanting), Tapa ( austerities)
 Ritual purity includes the observance of rites of PrAyaschittas.(atonement)
It will be seen from the above that in physical purity, ?SnAnam? (taking bath) is ranked foremost. But, why should we take bath at all?
First, there is an injunction that no ?Vaideeka Karma?(rituals prescribed in the Scriptures) can be done without first taking bath: Second, bathing removes ?Vizhuppu?, the nagging feeling of pollution etc. listed above. Third, Science recognizes that removal of dirt that had accumulated on our body due to exposure to the elements makes for general health. ?SnAnam? ensures this physical freshness as well as the psychological feeling of freshness. SnAnam rids laziness and makes one industrious when one is able to concentrate better on whatever chores one undertakes, thus helping in successful completion thereof.

We are advised by our elders that the best way is to bathe in cold water and drink hot water (precisely opposite of what we are doing!). Bathing in running water like a river facing the flow is deemed the best. ?Avagaahana SnAnam? i.e. fully submerging the whole body from head to foot is recommended. Even while bathing in a tank or using well water (when on is advised to face east), a complete bath covering the whole body is recommended (contrary of the practice of some to don ?shower caps? to avoid the hairs on the head getting wet!). Partial bathing is prohibited especially when Vaideeka Karmas are to be performed. In some orthodox families, we can see a person who had already taken bath, lifting water from the well and pouring it on the head of another. This is considered better than the bather himself lifting the water.

Also, one should keep one?s mouth closed lest the water poured on the head should get into the mouth. Excessive water that had so gathered in the mouth is likely to flow down on the chest and fall on the ?Poonool? (Sacred thread) defiling its sanctity, thus defeating the very purpose of bathing.

Taking ?Sea bath?, Bathing at night and bathing in hot water are not considered good. Bathing should be done only with natural cold water. It should be remembered that the innate nature of water is to be cold (unless artificially heated) as the nature of fire is to be hot. Of course, exceptions are there like during days when ablutions are offered to forefathers (Pitru dinam) and in the case of patients, not advised to take shower in cold water on medical grounds.

Bathing in the nude is strictly prohibited. A towel ought to be wrapped around the waist. After bath, one should use for drying and wear only clothes that are ?maDi?(i.e.) dried up clothes. The opposite of ?maDi? is ?vizhuppu? (i.e.) polluted by contact. One has to be watchful about this aspect.Only clean and dry clothes that are not ?Vizhuppu? (polluted) can be worn after bath.

Our elders have identified seven types of SnAnam called-Mantra SnAnam, Bhowma SnAnam, Aagneya SnAnam, VAyavya SnAnam, Divya SnAnam, Maanasa SnAnam and VAruna SnAnam.

Another classification of bathing depending upon the time of taking bath is as follows:
(1) prAthah SnAnam - done early in the morning
(2) mAdhyAhnika SnAnam ? done midday when the Sun is at its zenith
(3) kriYanka snAnam ? done on special occasions.

For now, it is enough for you to learn the names of the different kinds of bathing. We will explain them in greater detail in a later lesson.
Remember:
?Bathe in cold water; Drink hot water?. This is wise saying for preserving one?s health.
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QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by the word ?SnAnam??
2. Which is considered to be the best way of taking bath?
3. State the different types of ?SnAnams??
4. What points have to be borne in mind while taking bath?