Acharya Prashant discusses the deceptive nature of physical beauty and the reality of the human body. He points out that those who gain popularity based on their physical form often hide from the public in old age because the body inevitably decays. He explains that beneath a thin layer of skin, the body is filled with waste and unpleasant substances, yet people go to great lengths to hide these realities through grooming and artificial fragrances to deceive others. This dishonesty in relationships often leads to disappointment when the true, unpolished state of the body is eventually revealed. He illustrates this point with the story of Prince Siddhartha, who was surrounded by sensory pleasures and beautiful women by his father to prevent him from becoming a monk. One night, after a party where everyone fell unconscious, Siddhartha woke up to see the beautiful women in their natural, disheveled states—snoring, drooling, and looking unkempt. This sight revealed to him the transient and superficial nature of physical form. Acharya Prashant concludes that if one truly observes the immense effort, chemicals, and painful procedures required to make the body appear attractive, one would no longer place such a high value on physical beauty.
