Yesterday I wrote about people’s experiences here in India and about how they experience dirt or cleanliness in very different ways. I have heard some people say ‘It is dirty of course, there is a lot of poverty!’ Actually this is not really the reason. At least here in vrindavan it is not like this. We are surrounded by a river on three sides and generally don’t have any water problems unlike other areas of India. So poverty cannot be the reason for being dirty. And I said yesterday already that I know many people who are poor but who value cleanliness very much. It has really nothing to do with wealth.

When we went into one of our children ’s homes last year, we saw how clean they keep these two small rooms in which seven people live together. It was so clean you could eat off the floor. And actually they do not have a dining table so they literally eat off the floor.

On the other hand there are many people, especially those who have a lot of things accumulated over the years, whose houses are so disorganized and dirty that you wonder if they cannot afford soap or a broom although they could even pay someone to come daily for cleaning! Cleanliness doesn’t come by birth, it doesn’t come by money . It is your attitude and habit. Keep your home clean and it will be easy for you to keep yourself clean.