Op-ed: Physical and Mental Beauty Ideals In Hinduism

The Gorgeous Minds and Bodies of Hindu Goddesses

By Gypsy Mack
QuailBellMagazine.com

I have always had difficulty with finding ideals of beauty. I suppose that I do not need to have a beauty ideal, but it is actually a nice thing to have someone that I find beautiful, someone I look up to, and someone I aspire to be like. 

I went to India last winter, and I experienced very different ideas of beauty. Where I was living for two months, in Karnataka, I was told that if a woman was plump, her size was a sign of wealth, and comfort, and that her plumpness was considered attractive. This intrigued me because I had always been so used to the idea that being thin was the most widely accepted idea of beauty. 

I also noticed that, at least where I was living, women had a different way of carrying themselves. I can’t quite explain it, but it seemed that they had more confidence. I thought that this confidence was a very nice thing to see, so I took note of the way the women around me walked. I tried my best to imitate the way them—not only because I wanted to look like them because they were beautiful, but because I also wished to fit in, so that I could observe a different culture without being immediately perceived as a foreigner. 

While in India, I became very interested in Hinduism. I began to feel a sort of connection to the beliefs, the rituals, and the deities. I realized that the different forms of the divine feminine in Hinduism were fast becoming beauty ideals for me. I found that each and every one was a different sort of perfection, and not just physically. The Hindu goddesses displayed strength and power both in spirit and mind. 

The Hindu goddesses have been considered beauty ideals for centuries. Long, shiny dark hair is considered a major sign of beauty in India, thus all goddesses are depicted with very long black hair. The goddesses are never depicted with slight figures. Throughout history, women and goddesses in India have been depicted with narrow waists and full breasts and hips, symbolizing  their ability to bring forth life and their ability to sustain it. 

When a Hindu woman marries, she wears sixteen adornments. One of these sixteen adornments is a pair of silver anklets. Feet are considered impure in India (you never point your feet towards anyone, and you always cross the threshold of buildings and temples with your right foot first), yet women may adorn their feet with anklets on their wedding day and with toe rings once they have been officially married. These adornments symbolize that, even though feet are generally impure, no part of a woman is wholly without purity. When I say purity, I do not mean purity as in chastity. I mean purity as in being free from an impure and violent state of mind. 

In almost every religion across the world, women are recognized as the bringers of life, the creators, the ones who make things grow. In Hinduism, being a mother is valued and honored. So it is understandable why being a mother, a bringer of life, is also considered a sign of beauty. 
Many Hindu goddesses are modestly and lovingly powerful. After all, the Hindu concept of the divine is simply the embodiment of love. They are mothers, and creators, full of life and creation. But being a loving mother is not the only thing that is beautiful. There are goddesses like Kali, the creative destructor, who do not appear to be modest, and are powerful in a fiery way.

Especially in more traditional Hindu societies, modesty is a sign of beauty, as well. With the Westernization of urban India, prizing modesty is becoming a less prominent practice but, even still, most every woman wears the traditional salwaar kameez or sari to cover her body.

I do not believe that physical modesty is the only way to be beautiful. I believe that every woman should be able to wear what she wants. For me, it is the feeling of modesty that is beautiful, not the physical appearance of being modest. The feeling of modesty is the when you feel that your body is yours to protect, not to harm. When you practice modesty in such a way, you are able to respect your body no matter what you are wearing, and other people will respect it as well. 

I consider the physical qualities of the Hindu goddesses to be my own beauty ideal, but it is not only their appearance that I admire. Their spiritual qualities are beautiful, too. I believe that in every woman, there are both the modestly loving mother and the fiery, destructive being. When looking to the Hindu goddesses for beauty inspiration, I can see their qualities reflected in my own self. I realized that when meditating upon Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and learning, I was able to find that instead of simply aspiring to be like Saraswati, I could see aspects of her in myself already.

When I think of the beauty of the divine Hindu feminine, I do not feel down on myself about how I do not have long dark hair and their other physical characteristics. Instead, I find inspiration in their power and their spirit. It isn’t just the physical part that matters. It is a way of holding myself, having the knowledge and realization that I, as a woman, am beautiful for simply being a woman. I possess the power to bring life, the power to both sustain and destroy, and that is something that should be respected and considered beautiful. Women should be honored for their beauty. Not physical beauty, but the beauty they hold by simply being a woman. It is about their peaceful, nonviolent power, their wisdom, their confidence, and their ability to create life and destroy life.

The way one feels and thinks eventually shines through and manifests one's body.

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