How Rotten Physical Beauty is

How Rotten Physical Beauty is

The body has a tendency to rot. Egoism lives in this body as the master with avarice as the mistress. The body is in reality a pot of filth. It will breath at any moment. The shining skin is subject to wrinkles in old age. Fie and shame on them who have mistaken this body for the Immortal Pure Soul and rely on it for their happiness and peace! He who has faith in the stability of the lightning of the city of the clouds will cling to this body as true.

The infant child is in a helpless condition. He cannot convey his ideas. He is mute. He eats dust and offal. He cries for nothing. He is ignorant. This period is ever attended with danger from fire,. water, etc. He is easily irritated. How can sense less childhood be said to be happy state of life?

In youth man is a slave of lust. His mind is filled with evil thoughts. He commits various sorts of vices in delusion. His face is disfigured by passion.

Even at the best the charm of youth fades away like lightning, very rapidly. The foolish man who ignorantly rejoices at his transient youth, is considered as a human beast. He comes to repent of his folly in a short time. It is very rare to find a young man who is humble, who spends his time in the company and service of sages, who is sympathetic and merciful and who is endowed with virtuous qualities. He who has overcome all obstacles of youth and has attained knowledge of the Self while young is fit to be adored by all.

Sit down and think calmly and honestly what beauty is there in a woman whose body is composed of flesh, bones, nerves, fat, marrow and blood?

Where is the beauty in the same woman when she becomes old? Look at the condition of the eyes, the body, of a woman after an attack of fever for seven days! What is the state of her beauty? Where is the beauty if she does not take bath for a week? The stink is abominable. Look at the senile woman aged 85 who is sitting at the corner, with rotten eyes, shrunken cheeks and skin! Analyse the parts of a woman, realise their true nature. Woman is the greatest cause of delusion. Women are the flames of vice. They are burning fire which destroys man like a dry straw. They burn from a long distance, so they are more dangerous than fire. The lovely damsel is like a poisonous drug that destroys life by causing lustful intoxication and clouding the power of discrimination. This mysterious world began with woman and has woman for its sustenance. How, without renunciation of woman is it possible to attain the eternal Bliss of Brahman? The bodies of those handsome damsels who are so much fond led by foolish men are taken to cemetery after their Pranas depart. Beasts and worms feed upon their flesh. Jackals and kites tear off their skin. Without renunciation of woman, it is impossible to have Self-realisation.

Old age withers the body and drives away its beauty. The old man is treated with contempt by the members of his own family. He is in a helpless condition. His senses become powerless. He cannot gratify his desires. His memory is gone. He suffers from various incurable diseases. But the desire for enjoyments he has no capacity to enjoy, is insatiable. Desires burn his heart but he is powerless to gratify them. Old age is inescapable in this world in spite of all gland-graftings. What is the good of this miserable mundane life which is subject to such changes and decay?

How Rotten Physical Beauty is – Detachment, Discrimination, and Inner Beauty

How Rotten Physical Beauty is is a strong spiritual reminder that outer appearance is temporary, fragile, and unreliable. The body may look attractive for some time, but it is always changing. Youth fades, skin wrinkles, strength weakens, hair turns grey, and health can disappear suddenly. What people admire today may lose its charm tomorrow. Therefore, the wise do not place their happiness, identity, or pride in bodily appearance.

Human beings often become attached to form, color, shape, face, figure, style, and outer presentation. Society praises beauty, celebrates it, sells it, and often makes people believe that appearance is the highest value of life. But this is a shallow vision. A person may look beautiful outside and still be filled with anger, jealousy, greed, pride, cruelty, and restlessness within. True worth cannot be measured by the face.

How Rotten Physical Beauty is becomes clear when we observe the nature of the body. The body needs constant cleaning, feeding, resting, protection, and medical care. If it is not washed, it smells. If it is not nourished, it weakens. If it is injured, it suffers. If disease enters, its attraction disappears. This shows that bodily charm is dependent on many conditions and is not a permanent possession.

Vedanta asks the seeker to look deeper. The body is not the true self. It is a changing instrument made of matter. It is born, grows, becomes old, and dies. The real self is the witnessing consciousness that knows the body, mind, senses, thoughts, and emotions. When a person identifies only with the body, they become bound by fear, comparison, desire, and sorrow.

How Rotten Physical Beauty is does not mean that one should hate the body. The body is a useful vehicle for duty, service, worship, meditation, and spiritual practice. It should be kept clean, healthy, and disciplined. But it should not be worshipped as the final truth. Caring for the body is wisdom; becoming proud of it is ignorance.

Attachment to appearance creates many problems. People compare themselves with others, feel inferior, seek praise, fear aging, and become anxious about how they are seen. Some become arrogant because of their looks, while others suffer because they think they are not attractive enough. Both conditions come from the same mistake: giving too much importance to outer form.

How Rotten Physical Beauty is also teaches us the importance of discrimination. What is admired as beauty is only a temporary arrangement of skin, flesh, bones, blood, and breath. When life leaves the body, no one is attracted to it. The same form that was once decorated and praised is quickly carried away. This truth may feel harsh, but it awakens detachment.

The wise seeker understands that inner beauty is greater than outer beauty. Kindness is beautiful. Truthfulness is beautiful. Compassion is beautiful. Humility, purity, patience, devotion, self-control, forgiveness, and wisdom are truly beautiful. These qualities do not fade like physical charm. They uplift others and purify the heart.

How Rotten Physical Beauty is becomes a practical teaching when it reduces lust and attachment. The restless mind often runs after attractive forms and forgets the higher aim of life. This creates desire, possessiveness, fantasy, disappointment, and bondage. By reflecting on the temporary nature of the body, the seeker gains control over the senses and becomes inwardly stronger.

Spiritual life requires seeing people beyond appearance. Every person is more than a body. Behind every form there is a heart, a mind, a struggle, and the same divine consciousness. When we judge only by looks, we become superficial. When we see the inner being, compassion and respect grow naturally.

The body changes every moment, but the witness remains. Childhood, youth, maturity, and old age pass before awareness. Pleasure and pain pass before awareness. Praise and insult pass before awareness. The seeker who rests in this witnessing consciousness becomes free from blind attachment to bodily identity.

How Rotten Physical Beauty is should not create disgust toward life, but wisdom toward illusion. Outer charm has practical value in worldly life, but it cannot give permanent peace. A beautiful body cannot stop fear, death, disease, loneliness, or ignorance. Only self-knowledge, devotion, purity, meditation, and discrimination can lead the seeker toward lasting freedom.

The aspirant should practice moderation and purity. Avoid unnecessary obsession with looks, decoration, attraction, and approval. Keep the body simple, clean, healthy, and useful. Use speech kindly, actions selflessly, and thoughts nobly. A disciplined life makes the body a temple of spiritual practice rather than an object of pride.

In the end, How Rotten Physical Beauty is is a call to rise above shallow attraction and discover the higher beauty of the soul. Physical charm fades, but character remains powerful. Form changes, but consciousness remains steady. Through discrimination, detachment, self-control, devotion, meditation, and self-knowledge, the seeker becomes free from bodily pride and realizes the peace of the eternal self.

Money is a Source of Misery