Cosmetic Face, Cosmetic Life.
Questioner: Namaskar, Acharya Ji. As you have been constantly speaking on the futility of body identification, and yet we see that the global cosmetic industry is valued at three hundred eighty billion US dollars, big number. And in India we have seen a compound annual growth rate of this industry as sixteen percent. So, my question to you is, what can we do to at least slow down this unhealthy trend? Or like, if not to completely stop this, what can we do to at least slow it down, and move humanity from body consciousness towards something else?
Acharya Prashant: Do not fall for someone who loves cosmetics. That's what you can do. Please understand, the cosmetics you are talking of is only something that you put on the face, the body. We are totally cosmetic people. You understand the word 'cosmetic', what does that mean? Artificial. So, if a person is not living by the inner truth, the person is cosmetic. And if the person is cosmetic, sooner or later that person will promote cosmetics in some way or the other.
One way to promote cosmetics is,you start using them yourself. One way is, you start manufacturing them. One way is, you start selling them. One way is, you start advertising them. One way is, you fall for someone who uses cosmetics. So, cosmetic inside, cosmetic outside. If someone is too fond of makeup, the person is made-up. Would you like to be with someone who is quite made up?
Personal hygiene is one thing, right? Taking care of the body for reasons of health is one thing, and decking yourself up so that you look better to the other person, so that you can attract the other person, so that you can look as someone that you are not, is a totally different thing, is it not? Is it not? Why do you want to be a made-up person? Why would you want to be with a made-up person?
But cosmetics sell, exactly because we do not have eyes that can look at reality. So, someone comes to us totally made up, and instead of rejecting that person, we actually find that person more attractive. Think of a scenario — if people were such, that they started loathing made-up people, cosmetic people — would cosmetics still sell, please tell me? That's what.
Questioner: But still, as you said that cosmetics are also inside our mind and also outside, so still there is…
Acharya Prashant: They are first of all inside our mind because we are made-up, artificial, cosmetic inside, therefore we are cosmetic outside.
Questioner: So, on that, as I have a cosmetic inside, I want to ask how to remove them, even though I know they are not giving me some very good gains? Like, if I'm coming here, then I should look nice, why not? I'm going to talk to you, people will see me. Why I should not look nice, and...
Acharya Prashant: No, no, no! Please understand. Not looking ugly is one thing. If you have hair, you want to comb them, right? Otherwise, they'll be all over your face, or you can decide to shave your head altogether, to get rid of the hair. Not looking ugly is one thing. Not letting the body interfere in your creative tasks is one thing. If I do not take care of the body, it will start interfering, that is one thing. And putting on makeup so that you can attract people, so that you can enhance your value in their eyes, is a totally different thing.
In the first case, I am taking care of my body for my own sake. In the second case, I am doing something to my body for others' sake. I do not know my value, but I want to raise my value, so I am putting on cosmetic stuff. That is a totally different thing.
Questioner: How to stop this second one thing?
Acharya Prashant: You need to have something of value in your life. When you do not have value within, then you want to put artificial value upon yourself, as a compensation. “Inwardly, I am barren, so outwardly I want to look colourful. But looking colourful outwardly would not help the fact that I am inwardly barren, but I’ll be able to fool others. Looking at my outward colourfulness, they'll be fooled into thinking that I might be inwardly colourful, as well.”
And remember, ultimately, it is the inner colour, the inner vigour, the inner truth, inner life, inner love, that's what we all are looking for. It's just that eyes cannot look into somebody's mind. But the eyes can look at somebody's face, so the face becomes a proxy for mind. And I know fully well that you cannot look into my mind. I know you can look at my face. So, to fool you, what will I do? I'll decorate my face. I'll decorate my face.
The fact is, the face is not representing the mind right now. The mind is dull, bored, idiotic, lifeless, but the face is so glowing and so colourful. I'm cheating the other. How to stop this from happening? By reversing the process. When you have real value inside, then the incentive to put artificial value upon yourself, that substantially decreases. “I know what I'm doing within. There is no real need to load myself externally with cosmetics.”
A cricketer on a cricket field, a golfer, a tennis player, obviously, when they come to the field or to the court, they do take care of their clothes, don't they? They also take care of the (8.06) hair. They might also put some sunscreen or lotion on their face, right? But what is it that you value them for? Their sunscreen? Their shorts? And their shorts have been sponsored by some huge MNC, but is that what you value them for? No. You value them for the inner stuff, and if that inner stuff is not there, you would actually laugh at them. So, that's what.
When you have inner stuff, then you do not care too much for... You dive on the cricket ground, in the course of fielding, you dive, and what does that do to your pants? What does that do? They get spoiled. But do you start laughing at that fielder, or do you actually applaud? You actually applaud. But the fact is the fast bowler has been rubbing the ball here (pointing to thigh), and what has that done to his pants? It's all red. A huge red patch, a huge red mark is now visible here. Do you say, “See, how dirty he looks?” The fact is, there is value inside.
When there is value inside, the fellow does not care too much for whether there is this, that... “Theek hai (it's alright). I didn't deliberately want it to be unclean. When I stepped on the ground, I was all clean. But now that it has become unclean, what can I do? Not that I deliberately want to appear unkempt and shabby and unclean, but if it has become dirty, so be it. My real value is not in my clothes, not in my looks, not in my makeup.”
So, try to have real value in life, and then the misplaced emphasis on looks, etc. will be no more. By that I am not meaning that you should target looking dirty and unclean. Please don't do that. Even that can become a trick of the ego. You can become deliberately unclean, and tear your T-shirt and have soil on your face, and tell others, “You know what, you know why I look this way? Because I have value, and you look clean, you look clean because you don't have value inside.” Don't start doing that.
