Page:Hatha yoga - or the yogi philosophy of physical well-being, with numberous excercises.djvu/214

214 skin and consequently suffers physical discomfort and disease. A body may be very dirty indeed and 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.