“VAASTAV MEIN INSAAN APNE KARMA AUR GUNO SE JAANA JAATA HAI …APNE ‘ROOP’ SE NAHI.” …” A PERSON’S TRUE WORTH IS KNOWN BY HIS ‘GOOD KARMA, VALUES, AND TRAITS’ AND NOT BY HIS ‘LOOKS’ AND ‘PHYSICAL APPEARANCE’…”

Swamiji says …

“How do most of us react when we see a tall, handsome man or a fair, beautiful woman ? Aren’t we charmed beyond words? We gush about their looks and long to be like them.”

“Now let us visualise our reaction on seeing a short, ugly, deformed man or a plump, crippled, scarred, dark- complexioned woman! We do not bother to look at them twice , as we do not find them attractive and thus fail to see the anguish in their eyes on being always treated as a sight … grotesque, unwanted and undesirable. At times the sight of a handicapped person could fill us with such revulsion that we curse the moment we had set eyes on him. So strong and powerful is the impact of one’s physical appearance on us…on our senses ! Don’t we, if not always, assess a person’s worth by his personality and physical appearance.”

“It is here that we need to be humane and sensible…and not limit and restrict our perception of others, purely on the basis of their ‘physical being’. Do we pause and think about the nature, temperament, character, qualities possessed…good or bad…that could be diametrically opposite, when compared, between the ‘beautiful’ people and the ‘not so fortunate’ people. It simply doesn’t strike us … as we are blinded by the physicality of their appearance.”

“If looks were all that mattered, then shouldn’t there have been a great difference in our belief and faith within us for our Gods … Ganeshji and Hanumanji ! Have we ever differentiated them from the other Gods in any way while worshipping them? No. Why? Because of their wisdom and unconditional ‘bhakti’. Are they less worshipped or revered by us in any way? Don’t we always begin our prayers by first taking the name of Lord Ganesha.”

“We must remember that a person with a deformity could be blessed with sound values and the best traits possible. The most twisted and crooked sugarcane shoots give us the sweetest juice. Has its convoluted form ever affected its inherent quality?”

“Appearances don’t matter … It is what a person is …that matters.”