Source: Holy Bath

Holy Bath

Holy Bath ?

It is a common belief that a bath taken at religious places is holy, and the word ‘Ishnaan’ in Gurbani means bathing. This notion is false, because Ishnaan is the cleansing of the mind, not the physical body. The word used for cleaning of physical body is ‘Pinda dhona’ as used in the following verse,

Sooche eh na aakhiye behn je pinda dhoye || Sooche seyi Nankaa jin man vasya soye || (Sri Aad Granth, Page 472)

suuche ehi n aakhiiahi bhni ji piunḍaa dhoi॥ suuche seii naankaa jin mni vsiaa soi॥  (472)

The verse says that those who take a bath for their bodies shall not be called pure. Only those are pure whose mind is attuned to the Lord (or their inner voice).

However, physical bath is a good thing to have for health and to be fresh, but it has no holiness attached to it. Holiness can only come from cleansing of the mind, i.e. Ishnaan. The following Gurbani verse,

Gurmukh naam daan ishnaan ||

(Sri Aad Granth, Page 942)

gurmukhi naamu daanu isnaanu॥

Source: Holy Bath