Purity and impurity
Their relationship to the higher and lower natures
July 23rd 2011
Speak of purity, and not many people will listen. Some consider it an old-fashioned virtue they don’t have to concern themselves with, for they identify it with chastity and, these days, well… chastity! For others, it is a marvellous state they feel nostalgic about, because they associate it with childhood, with the innocence they have lost and will never find again. Actually, purity is a notion belonging to a much larger sphere. Whatever is inspired by our higher nature is pure; whatever is inspired by our lower nature is impure. The lower nature, fed as it is by our gross, egotistic desires, prompts us to make decisions and go in directions that are mean and selfish. That is impurity; you need look no further.
Purity and impurity are, therefore, first and foremost, a question of intention and purpose. Yes, it is our intentions and our aims that make our actions pure or impure. When your goal is a disinterested one, when you want to work for the good of all, your activity is pure. So if you sincerely seek purity, with all your heart and all your soul, do your best to limit the expression of your lower nature.