Patanjali Yoga Sutra: II: 48

Austerity purifies

Kaya Indriya Siddhihi Ashuddhikshayath Tapasaha|

Tapas means austere practices. It emerges from the root word Thap, meaning to burn. Any austerity practiced or endured through the body, breath, speech and mind is Tapas. It is the yoga of plain acceptance. As Manikkavasagar, a Tamil saint says in Tiruvasagam - Uninai Urukki Ulloli Perukki Ulappila Aananda Aaya - when the body is melted through that heat of tapasya, the light within shines more and more. This heat of cheerful endurance makes the body and sense organs adept and skillful and destroys impurities. Many forms of tapasya include yoga asanas, pranayama, concentration on a point, symbol, mantra or person of noble qualities or a god, even enduring harsh words and pain is a form of tapasya. The secret of this yoga of tapas is - accept and grow. - Swahilya Shambhavi. (Pic. Swahilya Shambhavi. Students of the Vasantham Home for Special Children doing Surya Namaskar.)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra - II - 42

Unparalleled joy

Santoshathuttama Sukhalabhaha|

Santosha means contentment or happiness within. What one is and has in the present moment, with the practice of Santosha, one attains to unparalleled gain of happiness and comfort says Sri Patanjali. When there is Santosha, the mind is not hankering for this or that. It is totally content with what you have - the clothes, the food, the house, the footwear, the vehicles or the knowledge. When the mind is at rest with Santosha, it is totally present to the Presence, which is the source of all joy, happiness and comfort. - Swahilya Shambhavi. (Picture: Happy faces in Kali Shila, Uttarakhand, Himalayas. Pic. Swahilya Shambhavi.)

Patanjali Yoga Sutra : II - 40

Cleanliness reveals God
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Shauchath Svangajugupsaparaih Asamsargaha|
Satvashuddhir Saumanasya Ekagrya Indriyajaya Atmadarshan Yogyatvani Cha|

Shaucha is cleanliness. Why is it next to Godliness? Cleanliness leaves no distortion. Truth shines through without getting lost in unnecessary distractions. Truth is like the light in a bulb. A glass bulb that is sparkling clean and does not have dust covering it, offers its light totally. If there is dust anywhere, it not just hides the light, but also distorts its path of flow.
Cleanliness is not about cleaning things up - your home, office draw or the mind. Do it if you must, though! Shaucha is about identifying yourself with that permanently clean part of your being called consciousness - when you realise that you are that consciousness which is unchanging, your identification with the constantly changing and modifying stuff of your body, mind and intellect ceases. You even begin to dissociate with this body of yours and other bodies around you.
Moreover, material and spiritual cleanliness that happens through the practice of the 10 yamas and niyamas result in the purification of the mind, making it calm. It makes the mind one-pointed in its pursuit of truth. It aids in the mastery of the senses. Once you identify yourself with the awareness that witnesses the play of the sense organs, you are no longer carried away by the game of the senses. You are a settled witness. That shaucha helps you to have a glimpse of yourself. With no impurity or mental modification to distort your vision, you see yourself as the essentially pure truth. The practice of shaucha makes your body, mind and intellect a fit instrument for allowing the expression of truth. (Bare mountains near Kailash in Tibet. A clean place is not just a feast for the breath, but of the soul too. Pic. Swahilya Shambhavi.)