A pure heart and a clean body are more acceptable to God and men than thousands of gold and silver. There are ever so many proverbs which have a world of meanings within them; but this particular one "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" has a universe of meanings within it.
Let us analyze Cleanliness first. The meaning can be summed up in a nutshell thus: to be clean or to be pure of mind, heart and body, externally as well as internally. Definitely, this sort of cleanliness is next to Godliness. No one can be Godly without having a clean mind and heart.
Before going to temples, mosques or churches, don't we all wish to take a clean bath? There is always a pool or a pond near a temple. This is common all over our country, where there are many pilgrim spots. People dip themselves in holy rivers to have purity of body in the presence of God.
The great psalmist King David, in the Old Testament, asks in Psalm 24, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place?" He gives the answer "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart". This also testifies to the proverb.
Cleanliness of hands prevents one from bribery, incest, violence, murder and self-immolation. Cleanliness of mouth prevents from evil talks, lies, bickering, petty quarrels and back biting. Cleanliness of mind, above all, keeps one free from all evils and takes one nearer to God. One needs a pure mind for longer and deeper meditation.
When we travel, we always wish to sit or even stand next to people who are clean. Pollution of anything will pollute the mind, which in turn take us away from Godliness. There are proverbs in Tamil stating that Cleanliness gives food, Wash even your torn clothes and wear, bathe before you take food though it may be meager.
Don't we all clean and swab our houses on the eve of festival days and holy days? It is because we believe that Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Aren't there people who have "Annual Bath" on the eve of festival days? What does it reveal? Sure, it bears the truth of our proverb, since all our festivals are closely connected with gods.
The book of Leviticus in the Holy Bible, a book of laws and ordinances, definitely lays down laws of purification for men and women who are unclean. After purification only, they can come into the temple of God.
Even now, after births and deaths, a day is marked as the day of purification or cleanliness, after which only people go for regular work. All these attribute to the meaning of our proverb.
Why do Sadhus and Sanyasis retreat into deep forests? Don't you think that they wish to keep themselves clean of body and mind, away from the noise and din of the world, to be more in the presence of God?
Hence, when we think of this proverb, we definitely imagine a world of purity where the Halo of God is there, which we can achieve not only by external cleanliness, but also by internal cleanliness which is next to Godliness.
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