A healthy and happy mind bases its reactions on deep, original knowledge

Cleanliness of spirit means coming close, without fear; to accept a penetrating gaze knowing you have nothing to hide. It comes with a happy mind and constant checking.

Happiness in the mind is based on serenity. Not reacting suddenly to mood or circumstance, neither flinching at adversity nor jumping for joy. A pliancy in which it just moves with the times, quiet but alert. It is also based on fulfilment of the senses – when the eyes are seeing the unseen and the ears hearing the unheard, piercing the subtleties of life, there is happiness.

When reactions are based not on the incoming messages, on what is second-hand, but on the deep original knowledge that is first hand – there is happiness. There is happiness when the mind meets life freshly, does not fall into patterns or expect too much, but recognises its own value simply because it is a marvellous piece of machinery. There is happiness when the mind is nurtured.

This nurturing is a constant checking, a vigilance against imposters. When your mind is working deeply, it is alert, but sometimes in its silence, it misses the superficial threats, the endless flow of thoughts from other minds to which it is exposed constantly. It can imagine these thoughts are its own and instead of straightforwardly expelling them, it tries to train them into quietness.

This is called working with dirt. Anything that lands on the mind from outside and slips into its reactions is a pollution of the spirit. To be alert to this challenge is called life.

So what is cleanliness? It is maintaining absolutely who you are, reacting from the core of you, disentangling irrelevance, moving forwards in a straight line. And if anyone scrutinises, they see only honest hard work which does not mind being watched, because it knows that perfection is on the horizon. A way off, but there.

Excerpted from ‘Inner Beauty’ published by Brahma Kumaris, Literature Department, Brahma Kumaris, Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Mount Abu

Brahma Kumaris is the largest spiritual organisation in the world led by women. It was the founder, Prajapita Brahma Baba, who chose to put women in the forefront. Founded in India in 1937, Brahma Kumaris has spread to over 140 countries and has had an extensive impact in many sectors as an international NGO. However, their real commitment is to helping individuals transform their perspective of the world from material to spiritual.