Ananda Marga Universal Forum: 11/04/26

Wednesday, November 4, 2026

Faux vs real beauty + 5 more

Baba

Faux vs real beauty

Namaskar,

Beauty is a big trend all around the globe these days - now more than ever. All want to become stunningly beautiful. But, tragically, people are looking for beauty in all the wrong places - i.e. externally - and it is wrecking their lives. Their misguided search for beauty leads to anxiety, depression, divorce, trauma, frivolous expenses, financial debt, and all kinds of psychic complexes and afflictions.
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We may even find traces of this ill-conceived quest for beauty in our Marga, though, in the general society, it is much more rampant, exponentially so. We should all be aware, lest we fall into a similar pattern. Also with awareness comes the ability to help others and convince them of the truth in a compassionate way through logic and reasoning.

Whimsical & fleeting styles

The trends about what is beautiful vary from place to place, but now in this materialistic era, the prevailing parameters of beauty are based on the most superficial aspect of the human experience. In the US and Europe, white-skinned people generally think that "having a tan" makes them more beautiful. Most everyone in those areas wants a tan, or brown skin. To get that, they may lie in the sun, lie on a tanning bed, or even have it sprayed on like paint.

In some places, now it is more fashionable or beautiful to have light or white skin. For this reason ladies may not even go outside in the sun for fear that their skin will get too dark. Yet these trends come and go like the wind. One day one wishes to look dark, and the next white. It can flip-flop anytime. Yet on these whimsical and fleeting styles, people form their harsh judgments of a person and formulate their own look as well.
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Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "The notion of what is beautiful or ugly, or good or bad in human beings changes from age to age, and in different environments. Those who are black-complexioned will say, “How beautiful black is. Why is that man so white? Has he contracted leucoderma (white leprosy)? How repulsive, how utterly repulsive!” That is, human judgment is relative; it changes according to time, place and person." (1)

External search for beauty is foolishness

And not just skin colour, but each and every aspect of the physical body has a trend, or look, or way that is deemed as beautiful. And people go to the ends of the earth trying to achieve that. They may spike their hair, expand their lips, paint their face, tattoo their body, pluck their eyebrows, squeeze their feet into small shoes, whiten their teeth, grow their nails, paint their toes, and the list goes on and on.

They may even visit plastic surgeons to make their nose or other parts "absolutely ideal", i.e. beautiful. They may body pierce themselves all over thinking that this makes them attractive. Or they may get a liposuction or tummy tuck in order to make themselves look skinny. In the past in some countries, being fat was a sign of wealth and prosperity - they all wanted to be fat. That was desired and beautiful. Now, in those same places, all that has changed. Especially where the internet is easily accessible- all want to be thin now, because that is the rage in the west.
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No matter where one resides, to gain that look - of being beautiful - people are willing to do anything. Even in tough economic times - when money is sparse - people are spending thousands and millions even billions of dollars on various cosmetic medical procedures or beauty supplies in order to enhance their look. It is a mega industry at present. The global cosmetic products market was valued at around USD 730 billion in 2026. And the one who suffers most is the individual - they become a victim of the times. They ruin their peace and composure by indulging in this quest for beauty externally, which in truth is destined for failure.

People lust after dominant trend

The cosmetic industry gets articles published in magazines and creates a demand for their products and procedures by injecting inferiority complexes in the minds of the people. Common citizens think the way they are is not good enough. And they aspire to achieve the look promoted by the billion dollar cosmetic industry. The reason is that this industry is blasting them through social media, vertical advertising, radio ads, infomercials, internet ads, and through television. By this way, the people get lured into thinking how they should look. And most often this resembles the dominant culture. That is why black people in the US straighten their hair and Chinese people in the west want to fix their flat nose etc. They think the way they are is not sufficient and they get caught up in the whirlpool created by the cosmetics industry. And even white Americans become victims and spend huge money to look like the models publicized by the beauty industry.

Exploitation by beauty industry

1. Although beauty varies from place to place and era to era, people in the same place and in the same era lust after the same look. They all want to be thin, or have their hair in a particular way, and dress according to the day's fashion etc. In essence, they become mirror images of one another - when in truth diversity is the spice of life. Mother nature makes us all different, even if our parents are the same. By this way the gene pool of our human society gets stronger and more developed. To recreate the same look is to go against nature.
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2. The beauty business corrupts people's minds into thinking that beauty only resides on the outside. They have so many tricks for brainwashing people, especially young women and teenagers. This is their big market and they spend huge money convincing them. In turn, the beauty industry takes in billions. The entire situation is most unfortunate.

3. People naively think that by becoming more beautiful all their problems will be solved and everything will be alright - i.e. they will be happy and all will adore them. This is their day-dream fantasy as well as the reason why they go relentlessly after external beauty.

4. Now more and more people are goaded toward external beauty at a younger age. This imposes a terrible inferiority complex that "I am not beautiful enough." Generally self-conscious feelings about one's looks occur when one is going through adolescence. But today, in some countries girls of 3 or 4 years of age are being dressed up like dolls and the children get the teaching early on that external beauty is everything. This is a terrible tragedy and brings about the demise of the human condition.

Searching beauty in wrong place

The next - or obvious - question then is why do they do it. Why do people long for external beauty? The answer we all know. When people do not seek peace within then their mind turns to the external sphere for happiness, acceptance, and approval. And one of the closest external qualities we have is our bodies. People seek attention and respect based on their external looks, i.e. "beauty". Their figure, hair, shape, softness etc. But this leads them nowhere other than their demise.
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And tragically the trend is only growing. Now more than ever people are mentally imbalanced due to materialism, and in that precarious state they invariably look more for external beauty as validation of who they are. This makes them more insecure and worried and ultimately sets them up for "the big fall" when their beauty invariably wanes as the body decays. So it is a vicious cycle.

In contrast, if one is able to find peace within, then they are not so concerned about their superficial looks. Already they have found beauty and value in life. And that is the real beauty that will bring peace and happiness.

Real beauty lies here

Here Baba graciously guides us where our real beauty lies.

Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Perhaps you know that mental beauty exercises some degree of influence on the human body. A woman who is unattractive but is mentally elevated or has a loving nature will look beautiful to others. You must have heard that to a child, the most beautiful woman in the world is his or her mother." (2)

Beauty - ie lasting beauty and attraction - lies in the benevolence and sentientness of mind. As a person gets to know your mind, then they will find you to be more and more beautiful, so long as your mind is spiritually inclined. That is why people who come close to you and become your friend value you for your behaviour and conduct, not for your looks. So long as one's mind is vibrated, one's conduct will be proper, and others will be attracted to you. So the point of allurement is the mind not the body. That is where lasting beauty exists. That is Baba's guideline.
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Proof of this is that these days so many marriages are made based on purely external beauty and sexual attraction. But then, as they get to know one another and see how the other thinks and behaves, then they develop distaste for one another until finally they fight, beat each other, and ultimately divorce. Countless high-profile, glamorous marriages have been destroyed in this way. And it happens to common people as well.

The point is that if you do not like the way a person thinks and behaves, then they will not be beautiful to you, regardless of how physically attractive they are. And vice-versa. Whereas, if one's behaviour and dealing are benevolent and charming, then everyone will be attracted to you and find you to be beautiful. That is Baba's magic formula. If one is concerned about beauty - they should ensure they are concerned about their psychic beauty, not the physical one. Only the beauty of the mind can bring about happiness and welfare to oneself and others. Only then can one be truly beautiful in the eyes of others.

By adhering to 16 Points, doing sadhana, singing kiirtan, and being strict in yama and niyama, then one's beauty will increase more and more.

Conclusion

Those who give value to spirituality naturally lose any longing for superficial external beauty. It fades away. And those involved in intellectual pursuits also forget about their superficial beauty. So committed Ananda Margiis place no value in external beauty. But those who are neither spiritually or intellectually inclined lust after external beauty. You know their status is worse than animals.
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Namaskar,
In Him
Lalita’

~ In-depth study ~

Both parties get defeated

All in all, running after external beauty is a no-win situation for anyone, neither for materialists nor for spiritual aspirants. Materialists, or common people, bank all their happiness on external beauty and allurements, which is itself fleeting. Most of the time people are too self-conscious to delight in what beauty they do have, and even if they do enjoy their "beauty" what they fail to realise is that their beauty will not last. It is impermanent, temporary. It will wane, wane, wane with the passage of time. Seeing this, people get distressed and depressed. They worry about thinner hair, flabby thighs, droopy skin, and so many other things. To make matters worse, people are living longer now than ever before so while their "beauty" may begin to decrease after the age of 30, 35, 40, or 45, they now live longer, up to 80, 90, or 100 and in that case they merely extend their days living in that depressed state. Such is the fate of materialists.

And people run into trouble by running after external beauty. At the time of death they get turned into bodiless microvita. Such a horrible future.
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Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Those who have some aesthetic attraction for physical objects like money, ornaments, etc., become kinnaras after their demise...they prayed to Parama Purus'a for beauty instead of for Parama Purus'a Himself. Such people, after their demise, attain the status of kinnara devayonis." (3)

So no one benefits by running after external beauty - yet so many engage in this way.

One era beautiful - other era ugly

Ananda Marga ideology says, "Just imagine the situation that will arise in the future as a result of humanity’s ever increasing thirst for knowledge. To meet these developments the nerve cells and nerve fibres will have to become more complex. Consequently, the human cranium will become larger and the size of the head will increase. The hands and feet will become weaker and weaker and human beings may even lose the ability to walk...Today we think that such people will look very strange, but in the future one may hear people commenting, “Oh, how handsome he looks with eyes as small as little peas and arms as thin as jute sticks. He can’t hear anything with his ears. In fact, he hasn’t got any ears at all! What an attractive man.” Although it seems slightly repulsive to us, this will become the standard of beauty in future. People will judge beauty according to the standards of the day, saying, “Oh, those stick-like arms of his make him look so handsome. The fellow can’t walk properly. How wonderful.” And if someone can walk, people will say, “How indecent that fellow looks hobbling around on two legs!” But if he crawls along the ground they will say, “How wonderful, how beautiful!” If we were to see this sort of scene today, however, we would say, “How unsightly. That fellow is uglier than an owl.”" (4)

References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 8, Sádhaná, Abhidhyána and Kiirtana
2. Microvita in a Nutshell, Disembodied Souls and Microvita – Excerpt B
3. Microvita in a Nutshell, Disembodied Souls and Microvita – Excerpt B
4. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 8, Sádhaná, Abhidhyána and Kiirtana

* * *

The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.

* * *

== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==

Lying prostrate at Your feet

"Esechi sakale ámrá dale dale, prańati jánáte nite áshirvád..." (Prabhat Samgiita #4942)

Purport:

Baba, we all have come to You to do sastaunga pranam and receive Your blessing. We do not want any wealth, prestige, or any boon. Only we want Your heavenly prasad. That is nectar for us; that will be everything.

Parama Purusa, even before our request, You have granted us all that was needed ahead of time. With my hand extended, I went on accepting all that You gave. Whatever I could receive from You with my small hand, I see that it is pure gold and something eternal.

Parama Purusa, You know me better than I know myself. You know more about my requirements than I. I do not know anything - just I love You. At Your lips, Your heart satiating blissful smile is ever-present. By seeing that smile, let all my pramad (mistakes) be removed.

Supreme Entity, Baba, this entire cosmos is saturated with Your divine grace. With Your infinite kindness, You have made my whole existence move in the direction of shreya and paramartha. Baba, today we all have come here collectively in front of You to surrender, to do sastaunga pranam, and receive Your blessing...

Note: The above song is a chorus song where bhaktas reach to Parama Purusa to do pranam.

== Section: Important Teaching ==

What is greatness

Here below is an English summary of Baba’s Hindi teaching.

Who is mahat (great)? Who is maha'na (great)? About this it has been said, 'paropaka'rat mahat', i.e. those who serve others are mahat. Even if one has studied volumes of books, or accumulated huge wealth, or has a prestigious family heritage, or a good reputation in the society, they are not great if they do not serve others. Only those who serve others are mahat (great). To do social service, huge money is not needed. Whatever strength you have, utilise that to serve others. If your body is strong physically, then serve people with your physical might. If you have money, then serve people financially. If you have intellect then serve others with that capacity. If you have courage then serve others by your bravery. And if you do not have anything, then serve others with your good thoughts and well-wishing. Human beings become great by serving others. If a person does not serve they become low and mean. They become meager. (English summary) (1)

Reference
1. Based on Ananda Vacanamrtam - 28 (H), chapter 19

== Section: Important Teaching ==

The truth about peace

Prout philosophy states, “The cry, “Peace! Peace!” has become a craze in the world today. Can anything be achieved by such cries? There is no way to establish peace except to fight against the very factors which disturb peace. Even in the personal life of every human being, there is a constant fight between the benevolent and the malevolent intellect, or between vidyá and avidyá. At times vidyá triumphs, while at other times avidyá wins. In social life, too, this fight between vidyá and avidyá continues."

"Vidyá has to fight avidyá, and in this fight wherever and as long as vidyá remains triumphant, there is a special type of peace which may be called sáttvikii shánti [sentient peace]. Similarly, wherever and as long as avidyá remains victorious in this fight, there, also, a special type of peace prevails which may be called támasikii shánti [static peace]. Thus we find that peace is actually a relative factor." (1)

References
1. Problems of the Day, Point #15

== Section: Important Teaching ==

Infects the entire society

Ananda Marga philosophy states, "Do not tolerate injustice. This will...will cause a serious carbuncle to grow on the vast body of society. That carbuncle will be so poisonous and infectious that it will infect the entire society. Do not allow such a thing to happen under any circumstances. Now that your eyes are opened, keep following the practical path." (1)

Reference
1. Ananda Marga Philosophy in a Nutshell - 5, Yatamána – 2

== Section: Important Teaching ==

He "stole" Mt. Everest

Ananda Marga philosophy says, "Mt. Everest, of the Himalayan range is the highest mountain in the world. This fact was established by Ra'dha'nath Sikadar. Most probably he named the peak after his supervising officer, the Surveyor General of that time, Mr. Everest." (1)

Note 1: Baba is revealing the reality that Ra'dha'nath Sikadar of India first established the truth that Everest is the highest peak in the world. Hence credit should be given to Ra'dha'nath Sikadar, not Mr. Everest. But Mr. Everest took the credit and kept it in his own name. Otherwise the name would be Mt. Ra'dha'nath.

Note 2: Generally speaking, people are not aware how this illustrious mountain of the Himalayan range was named. In particular, why was a European given for this peak when other Himalayan peaks are named in Sanskrit - like Mt. Kaela'sh.

Note 3: During the British rule of India, the 'Surveyor General' post was occupied by Mr. Everest.

Reference
1. Varn'a Vicitra, Sanskrit Grammar Book, last discourse part 1

== Section: Comment ==

Alert: be mindful before writing on social media

[12:18PM, 4/12/2017] Prof. R P. Singh: कोलम्बस अगर शादीशुदा होता तो अमेरिका की खोज नहीं कर पाता (Courtesy of What'sApp Forum)

The gist of what is written above in Hindi is that if Christopher Columbus had been married he would not have discovered America.

But the statement is flawed. First is that Columbus was married. Second, Columbus did not discover America. Already millions of Native Americans were living in the America before Columbus went there. So what is written above is incorrect.

You know this is also against the code of Caryacarya, as Baba says do not give any false answer.

Details about Columbus's wife

Here are some more of the specifics about Columbus's marriage:

Filipa Moniz Perestrelo was a Portuguese noblewoman from Porto Santo Island, in Madeira, Portugal. She was the wife of Christopher Columbus, married in 1479 in Vila Baleira on the island. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Conclusion: Any sincere margii should not write on any social forum or anywhere before thinking twice. Otherwise you will lose your credibility in the eyes of others.

in Him,
Chandradeva Singh

== Section 3: Links ==

Postings on Democracy

In these few days and weeks, many minor and major elections are being held in numerous democratic states and nations across the globe. As Ananda Margiis, we should be cent-per-cent clear about Prout's critique of democracy so we can best educate others and raise awareness about the inherent weaknesses and deficiencies, as well as the positive points, of the various types of democracies that exist today.