It is a common belief that a bath taken at religious places is holy, and the word 'Ishnaan' in Gurbani means bathing. This notion is false, because Ishnaan is the cleansing of the mind, not the physical body. The word used for cleaning of physical body is 'Pinda dhona' as used in the following verse,
The verse says that those who take a bath for their bodies shall not be called pure. Only those are pure whose mind is attuned to the Lord (or their inner voice).
However, physical bath is a good thing to have for health and to be fresh, but it has no holiness attached to it. Holiness can only come from cleansing of the mind, i.e. Ishnaan. The following Gurbani verse,
clearly states that Ishnaan of a Gurmukh is done through Naam, which is the knowledge about our own self. This knowledge makes us aware about the temporal nature of the physical body and desires associated with it.
Sooche se na aakhiye behn je pinda dhoye॥
Sooche seyi Nankaa jin man vasya soye॥
(Sri Aad Granth, Page 472)
The verse says that those who take a bath for their bodies shall not be called pure. Only those are pure whose mind is attuned to the Lord (or their inner voice).
However, physical bath is a good thing to have for health and to be fresh, but it has no holiness attached to it. Holiness can only come from cleansing of the mind, i.e. Ishnaan. The following Gurbani verse,
Gurmukh naam daan ishnaan॥
(Sri Aad Granth, Page 942)
clearly states that Ishnaan of a Gurmukh is done through Naam, which is the knowledge about our own self. This knowledge makes us aware about the temporal nature of the physical body and desires associated with it.
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