| CATEGORY | GOOD QUALITIES |
| SUB CATEGORY | SELF-CONFIDENCE |
| How to react to body shaming? |
| Here is a person whose form can be described in terms of various physical features. But does this description in terms of height, weight reveal anything about his internal qualities like forbearance, peacefulness, compassion, love and sacrifice? Are not these qualities very real and significant? he is prized mainly for these qualities, not for his physical features. To judge him only in physical terms is meaningless. His formless virtues are more important. When one is judged in respect of his qualities, the form is irrelevant. The utter ridiculousness of judging a person solely on the basis of his physical form was demonstrated by Sage Ashtavakra to the learned Pandits in Emperor Janaka’s court when all of them laughed on seeing the crooked figure of Ashtavakra. The sage laughed even louder at all of them. When they asked him for an explanation, Ashtavakra told them that the scholars who laughed at his uncouth figure were no better than cobblers who judged things by the nature of the skin. Ashtavakra told them that “Pandithaah Sama-dharshinah” (the truly wise person sees the Divine in all beings). Those who judge by the external form are no better than the cobblers. “I laughed at all of you because I wondered how the Emperor happened to esteem you all as scholars.” This means that those who judge anything on the basis of the external form are utterly foolish. Divine Discourse 7 March 1997 |