2.41 Effects of clarity II (shaucha)

2.41[As a result of shaucha] increased evenness of mind and heart, joyful attitude, focused one-pointedness, mastery over the senses and insight into one’s true nature.

This sutra lists the symptoms of practicing shaucha successfully: evenness of mind, ability to focus, capacity to regulate your senses, and seeing yourself accurately. It presents a stark contrast to sutra 1.31 where symptoms of distractions – distress, despair, suffering, trembling, and abruptness of breathing – are enumerated. Clarity or purity (shaucha), like the other guidelines, is a process; as clarity expands it creates stability and steadiness in your mind and heart. As you see yourself more clearly, your attachments to who you think you are, who you think you should be and who you think you are expected to be soften. Then your mind and heart gain steadiness because you let go of all the distractions that these unhelpful thoughts generate. Seeing yourself clearly and removing obstacles keeping you from presence and from conscious participation will have an impact on your attitude. By releasing limitations and restrictions, you are also letting go of rigidity. Your attitude becomes more easeful, gradually cheerful and, eventually, joyful. Maybe it begins by having fewer reasons to get annoyed and fewer complaints. Clarity also makes it easier to notice your tendencies to allow sensory stimuli to pull your attention away from presence. As a result, what used to be an easy distraction gradually loses its appeal. When your attentional energy is not chasing after sensory fluctuations, you notice glimmers of that aspect of you that does not change. As you commit to establishing clarity within, what do you notice?
Remember that gaining clarity will make more apparent the areas where there is still confusion, just like cleaning and organizing one closet or room in your home will make the disorderliness in other rooms more evident. This is a sign that the process is working. Thus, instead of feeling disturbed by noticing the areas where there is lack of clarity, you may favor recognizing that some harmony is developing at the pace and to the extent that is feasible for you, at this time. Consider checking in with yourself on a regular basis:
Is there more evenness in your mind?
In your heart? Is your attitude more pleasant?
Are you more focused?
Is it easier for you to attend to your priorities?
Is it easier to discern what contributes to enhance the quality of your life?

As usual, one more way of exploring the meaning of this sutra is by chanting it.
You can choose to chant it in its traditional form with some of the words coming together:

2.41 sattvaśuddhiḥ saumanasyaikāgryendriyajayātmadarśana yogyatvāni ca
सत्त्वशुद्धिः सौमनस्यैकाग्र्येन्द्रियजयात्मदर्शन योग्यत्वानि च ॥४१॥

Another option is to chant each word in the sutra individually:

• sattva
• śuddhiḥ
• saumanasya
• ekāgrya
• indriya
• jaya
• ātma
• darśana
• yogyatvāni
• ca

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