The life of an Indian is marked by purificatory acts from birth to death. The purificatory acts range from Namakarana to piercing the ears. Sage Jaimini clearly indicated the important purificatory acts, which a man has to perform. We cannot obtain proper rewards without performing proper deeds. For example, we take bath to cleanse the body, but it is not enough if we clean the body alone, without cleaning the mind. If we are not able to clean even the body, how can we clean the mind?

There was a lazy ‘renunciate’, who went to the house of a lady for alms. He requested the lady to give him food as he was very hungry. Since she was a learned lady, she asked him to take bath in a nearby river and then come for food. But, the lazy renunciate was a fake as well and did not want to trouble himself with a bath. He therefore said to her, ‘O mother! For renunciates like us, the name of Govinda is itself a bath’. As she was a very intelligent lady she retorted, ‘Govinda is food as well’. She then asked him to go away chanting the name of Govinda. We have such lazy renunciates all over the country today. These people have desecrated the entire Karma Kanda laid down by our scriptures. (SSB 1993, p. 100)