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Hatha Yoga: The Yogi Philosophy of Physical Well-Being1928
still look clean to the naked eye. A peep at the garbage piles on its surface
through a strong glass would shock many of you.
Bathing has been practiced by all races of men making any pretense of
culture and civilization. In fact, it may be said that the use of the bath is a
measuring-rod by which the culture of a nation may be determined. The
greater the use of the bath, the greater the amount of culture, and the fewer
the baths, the less culture. The ancient people carried the use of the bath
to a ridiculous extent, departing from the natural methods and running to
such extremes as perfumed baths, etc. The Greeks and Romans made the
use of the bath a requisite of decent living, and many of the ancient people
were far ahead of modern races in this respect. The Japanese people to-day
lead the world in the recognition of the importance of the bath and in its
faithful practice. The poorest Japanese would rather go without his meal
than without his bath. One may go into a crowd in a Japanese city even on a
warm day and fail to notice even the slightest unpleasant odor. Would that
as much could be said of a crowd in America or Europe? With many races
bathing was, and is to-day, a matter of religious duty, the priests recognizing
the importance of bathing, and knowing that it could be best impressed
upon the masses in this way, having incorporated it among their religious
rites. The Yogis, while not regarding it as a religious rite, nevertheless practice
bathing just as if it were.
Let us see just why people should bathe. Very few of us really understand
the matter and think it is merely to get rid of the dust and visible dirt which
has accumulated upon our skin. But there is more than this to it, important as
mere cleanliness is. Let us see just why the skin needs to be cleansed.
We have explained to you, in another chapter, the importance of a normal
perspiration and how, if the pores of the skin become clogged or closed,
the body is unable to get rid of its waste products. And how does it get rid
of them? By the skin, breath and the kidneys. Many persons overwork their
kidneys by making them do both their own work and that of the skin as well,
for nature will make one organ do double work rather than to leave its work