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एक वस्त्र अभी बचा है, उसको भी उतार दो || आचार्य प्रशांत, वेदांत महोत्सव (2022)
398.1K views
3 years ago
Nudity
Body-consciousness
Intention
Gender Equality
Hypocrisy
Spirituality
Aesthetics
Social Decorum
Description

Acharya Prashant responds to a question about the controversy surrounding a Bollywood actor's nude photoshoot. He begins by questioning the questioner's own potential hypocrisy, asking if he gets troubled when seeing nude female bodies on Instagram, which people pay to see. He calls this gender bias and states that he opposes it, advocating for gender equality. He points out that a significant portion of internet traffic is directed towards such content, and platforms like Instagram would cease to function without nudity. He questions the outrage directed at a man's nudity when there is often none for women's. The speaker then discusses the natural state of animals, who are naked, and humorously asks if anyone has been "looted" by a naked animal. He mentions his rabbits and street dogs as examples of beings that exhibit their natural behavior without clothes. He contrasts this with the outrage over a naked man, while expensive lingerie is accepted. He calls the man a victim of injustice. Shifting to a spiritual perspective, Acharya Prashant states that there is nothing inherently wrong with the body. If someone sheds their clothes naturally, it is fine. However, the intention behind the act is crucial. If the purpose is to gain applause, money, or attention by displaying the body, then the act is not right. He emphasizes looking at the doer behind the action, not just the action itself. The body is merely soil that will turn to ash, so making a fuss about it is pointless. He explains that India, as a spiritual country, has a history of saints and sages who wore very few clothes because they were not body-conscious. However, he also acknowledges the practical reasons for wearing clothes: for physical protection from the elements, as human skin is not as resilient as an animal's, and for social decorum. He notes that since people are generally repressed, seeing a naked person can trigger lustful thoughts, making some clothing necessary for social order. Acharya Prashant concludes by explaining the concept of true nakedness from a spiritual standpoint. He recounts a mythological story where a sage, in deep austerity, is confronted by a celestial nymph (Apsara). As she removes her clothes, he keeps telling her to "take off more," eventually asking her to remove her skin. This illustrates that true nakedness is about shedding all coverings, including prejudices, identities, and mental tendencies. When one realizes their true nature as the Self (Atman), the body and its coverings become insignificant. Then, one is neither enticed by the display of a body nor gives undue importance to clothes. The debate over what people should wear becomes a trivial matter.