Cleaning oneself is one of the routine activity of an individual. Each morning of each day the first thing to do is to clean oneself simultaneous with our daily household activity before going to work. No one will go out from our home without taking a bath and changing into a clean clothes to look not beautiful but presentable in the workplace. Even at home we always clean ourselves to be ready for unexpected visitors aside from the fact that it is our culture inherited from our forefathers to be always clean.
Cleansing is not just focus the whole body, the outside appearance of a person for our body has a mind and soul. The mind that dictates our body what to do and not what to do. It is responsible for all sensation and emotions. They say it is the heart, the recipient of all sensations like hate, hurt and love, but it was the mind that dictates the heart to avenge when in pain and forgive the villains. The soul is the one who gives life, without the soul we are lifeless. The last one to depart in humans when the body has come to its end.
So cleansing involves this three parts of man. We have to be clean in mind, body and soul. This three parts are inseparable if one is out, a man will be dead and so with cleansing. To clean only the mind does not give the complete cleansing of a man to face God, to be godly. It has to be complete, to clean the mind, body and soul.
Cleansing the mind
We as human being, our actions are dependent on the dictates of our mind. If our mind sees and feels anything bad our body reacts and acts as to what the mind tell us to do. When a man is full of hatred and reacts in way of hurting people it is because his mind is full of resentment. What the mind perceive the body reacts to it perception. A body reacts to a lustful mind by way of molesting or raping individuals and passing gossips others to a certain person to the extend of ruining the reputation of others when the mind receives negative statement of a certain person.
So the mind has to be cleanse by way of wiping out those negative thoughts, the dirty and ill feeling to others and teach the heart to forgive and forget. The mind has to learn to focus onto positivity in order to understand the complicated life, the natural way of life, on why people are so different and confusing in order to have patience and control for any reactions in a given situation. A bad thought to a certain person even if not made into actions is a sin. So, to avoid this sin the mind must avoid those thought that lead a man to commit sin, must have patience, tolerance and humility. We know these three virtues are difficult to follow for we are humans and succumbed to our vulnerability of being human. A normal man naturally reacts when inflected with physical pain if not, then he is not normal. So, it takes a lot of courage and determination to control oneself, to follow those virtues in which we know only God has.
Cleansing the soul
Since childhood we were teach by our mother to pray after waking up, thanking God for another day, another miracle of life, and pray for good health, protection and safety. At night time to pray for our guardian angel to guard us when we are asleep and for guidance. It became a habit and a natural way of life that we are used to, until at the age maturity we became to know that prayers are not just enough.
We have to clean our soul. We must learn to forgive our debtors whom we feel has inflected so much pain with us and to forget all those pains in order to move on, in that way to cleanse the revengeful heart. To be contented on our state of life, to wipe out a heart of envy, for being envious is a sin, because an envy heart will turn a natural man into a supernatural man, making a supernatural actions leading him to be astray.
To look on others who are in need, for a giver heart receives many blessings. We should always remember that life is a symbiosis, we could not live without each other. Each individual has a contribution in the society which is different from the others. The progress of a group and the nation as a whole depends on each individuals contribution and attributes.
If only all mankind live in accordance of the will of God then, all are living in harmony. No need of cleansing oneself for everybody are living in a healthy and good environment. But we are humans and imperfect, succumbed into temptations that lead us to commit sin.
To clean oneself is godly.
We need to ask for forgiveness from God for all the blunders committed by our mind. body and soul. To be godly is difficult, it is like on climbing a tilted mountain that every step we might fall if our grip with God is loose. We have to abide the laws of the land and the commandments of God to be near perfect if not perfect for only God is perfect. There must be a constant prayer for help from God. For the temptation of world is so strong and we humans are weak. To have to hold on to God for purification, for cleansing oneself is next to Godliness.
To be godly is difficult, it is like on climbing a tilted mountain that every step we might fall if our grip with God is loose.