Why Should Anyone Tell Me What to Wear?
Acharya Prashant: When you say that you want to come out in public wearing this and that, would you please sit down for a moment and ask yourself, "Why exactly do I want to wear what I’m wearing?"
Obviously, if you are on the shore, if you are at a beach or if you are in a swimming pool, then you have to wear a swimming costume. It could be a two-piece bikini. Then it is obvious why you need to wear only that much. You’re not going to swim in a sari. Similarly, there are other obvious functional, utilitarian reasons why one dresses a particular way. And then there could be the ultimate reason for physical comfort. That too is an obviously valid reason.
One feels physically comfortable wearing something. And the moment you say that you feel very comfortable, physically comfortable wearing hot pants or micro minis or whatever, nobody holds any right to object because it is your body. And if your body feels better wearing a particular kind of stuff, who is anybody else to object? But then you sincerely need to ask yourself, and only you can ask this to yourself, "Is it only for reasons of functional utility or physical comfort that I am wearing what I am?"
If you are wearing what you are wearing because it is functionally needed — let's say you are an athlete, you'll have to dress up in a particular way. Or if you say that you are very comfortable wearing this or that because it’s hot and you can't stand to wear something that is heavier or more oppressive in that kind of weather, fine.
But I have seen women in subzero temperatures. The temperature is minus 4, and she's wearing almost nothing. That does not provoke a reaction from me, but basic, simple curiosity: Are you cold-proof? Are you weather- and climate-proof? Do you have some kind of divine heating mechanism inside you that men do not have? How is it that you choose to reveal the body even in sub-zero temperatures, and all the men are walking around in heavy woolens?
And you do not need to go abroad to test what I'm saying, just go to any discotheque in Delhi on a Saturday night, rather a Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. That is the time when all the discotheques shut down. Watch the women coming out and notice the difference between the dressing of the male folk and the women. If you are using your body to gather attention,
If gathering male attention has become very important to you, then it is not a good psychological state to be in.
Are you getting it?
And please remember, I'm not saying this as an advocate of the male population. I'm saying this as a friend of the woman. I'm asking her, “Why is the male sight or the male gaze so important to you?
If you want attention from people, if you want respect from people, why can't it be for higher reasons?
Why do you want them to look at you because you have a sexy figure? Why can't you have them look at you because you have certain qualities or accomplishments?” Remember, if you want men to look at just your body, they would actually always be looking down at you. But if people, men or women, look at you because of your qualities, they would always be looking up to you.
