Rules for personal cleanliness –
M.K.Gandhi
Indian Opinion, 2-2-1907 [Gujarati]
1. Avoid, as far as possible,
blowing your nose or spitting on
swept or paved walks or in the
presence of others.
Both these things should be done
into a spittoon while at home, and into a handkerchief while out, and, as far
as possible, in privacy.
2. One should not belch, hiccup,
break wind, or scratch oneself
in the presence of others.
These [maxims] are useful for
correct social behaviour. By
practice one can learn to check
one’s instinct to do any of these
things.
3. If you want to cough, do so
holding your handkerchief
against the mouth.
If one’s spittle gets blown on to
others, it annoys them and if
one has any disease, the spittle
carries it to them.
4. Even after a bath, in many
men, some dirt remains in the ears
or under the nails. It is
necessary to pare one’s nails and keep them as well as the ears clean.
5. Those who do not grow a
regular beard should, if necessary,
shave every day. An unshaven face
is a sign of laziness or stinginess.
6. One should not let mucus
accumulate in the corners of the
eyes. One who allows this to
happen is considered slothful and a
sleepyhead.
7. Every act of cleaning the body
should be done in privacy.
8. The turban or cap and the
shoes should be clean. The life of
the shoes is prolonged by
cleaning and polishing.
9. Those who chew betel-leaf and
nut should do so at fixed
hours, as with other kinds of
food so as to avoid giving the impression that we are eating all the time.
Those who chew tobacco have a lot to think about. They disfigure every spot by
spitting. Addicts to tobacco, as the Gujarati proverb goes, spoil the corner of
the house where they chew tobacco, the whole house if they smoke and their
clothes if they take snuff.
-
Indian Opinion, 2-2-1907 [Gujarati]
