Beauty is the combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense. The sense of beauty varies with culture. It is a subjective experience hence it is said, “beauty is in the eye of beholder”.
A quote goes, “beauty is power”. Here are some eye opener facts to show how does this power rules our society. Researchers have found good looking students get higher grades from their teacher than the students with ordinary appearance. Studies among teens and young adults show that skin condition have a profound effect on social behavior and opportunities. Money earning is affected by looks, shows studies. Good looking people have more promotion chances by luring their seniors by their attractive faces.
The situations are graver than they appear. Good looking people find an early love or marriage prospect. Beauty presents a standard of comparision and it can cause resentment and dissatisfaction when not achieved. People who don’t fit the beauty ideals may be ostracized within communities. Beauty is worse than wine. It intoxicates both the holder and the beholder.
Is this where our power is leading us? When we say, “appearances are deceptive”, why a thing of practically no importance, ruling our minds and society? Is this “beauty” deceiving us? Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance.
People are influenced by the images they see in the media to determine what is or what is not beautiful. Some feminists and doctors have suggested very thin models featured in magazines and on televisions promote eating disorders in the youngsters today who want to “appear beautiful”. Going through the matrimonial column in the newspapers, most of the advertisements say, “v’hsome boy seeks alliance from v’bful girl” and vice versa. When an advertisement is placed for a job vacancy, do they ever mention, prospects invited from good looking people only? Nobody ever mentions he/she is “not-so-good looking “, and still wants to marry? And if so is the case, everyone is handsome and beautiful and as a result, the whole world turns out to be beautiful and handsome. Perhaps, it is the fear of not getting the prospects earlier.
Well qualified people are often rejected by opposite matrimonial party just because of not being “good looking enough, tall enough, fair enough,” etc. what a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.
The market is flooded with products that “assure” you would look good after using them. May it be fairness creams that guarantee you fairness in ‘7 days’ or a diamond necklace. Do you really expect a magical reaction to occur within 7 days which would change the complete pigmentation process of your skin? Or not look beautiful without the super-overpriced piece of carbon?
How we look is what God has made us. It is just a part of being unique. It is just an identity we carry with us. In an institution, all the identity cards have same purpose and significance. Do we ever compare our id cards with other colleagues to check whose looks better? Then are we correct in comparing these God’s unique ids provided to us?
In the famous fairytale, ”beauty and the beast”, the young handsome prince was cursed only to find true love despite ugliness. So is it a curse to find a true love if you appear ugly in real life too? If yes, it is not true love. Because, if you love a person because he/she looks good, its infatuation, not love.
St. Augustine said of beauty, “Beauty is indeed a good gift of God, but that good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked.” Beauty should be more a concept of inner good. It is evident that ‘all that glitters is not gold’. It is more of a concept that to look good outside, you have to feel good about you inside. It is you who should like yourself first before expecting the world to like you. Self acceptance and self respect gains you much confidence and helps you present yourself better.
Your inner face including your personality, intelligence, grace, politeness, charisma, integrity, congruence and elegance helps you create a long lasting impression and constitutes the real you. After all, it’s the beauty of soul which makes you a lovely person, not merely your structural attributes. “What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness!”
A much needed change in the outlook of society is needed, a radical reform to help to help the so-called, “ugly people with a good heart” live a better life with lesser compromises. “Beauty in things exist in mind which contemplates them.” The Greek associated beauty with being of one’s hour, for e.g. a young lady appearing old or an old lady trying to appear young with artificial aids may not be considered beautiful. A woman in her ‘ripe old age’ may be as beautiful too. Also, the Greek concept of beauty was more an aspect of symmetry and congruence, which is visible in the Greek architecture.
Evidence that perception of beauty are evolutionarily determined, that things, aspects of people and landscapes considered beautiful are typically found in situation likely to give enhanced survival of perceiving human’s genes. After all, Rani Mukherjee was smart enough in saying ,”mujhe gore log nahin, kale log pasand hain.”
