Why outward appearance so often replaces enquiry
Some years ago, while passing through security at the airport in Hyderabad, India, I noticed a man in saffron robes, with long white hair and a beard, walking past, accompanied by two female assistants dressed in similar mendicant attire.
A few people nearby, who had also just cleared security, immediately folded their hands in deep respect.
I asked them who he was.
They said they did not know.
They did not know, and yet they expressed such visible reverence for him.
More than a thousand years ago, this was already exposed.
And yet, nothing much has changed.
Before you fold your hands,
before you bow your head,
pause for a moment.
Because this is not a small thing.
It is the difference between
clarity… and conditioning.
There is something important worth asking.
Do we actually know who we are bowing to, or why we are doing so?
Pause.
This is not a criticism.
This is an observation.
And it is not new.
This exact pattern is pointed out in the Bhaja Govindam song, attributed to Shri Adi Shankaracharya.
जटिलो मुण्डी लुञ्छितकेशः (jatilo mundi luncchita-keshah)
काशायाम्बरबहुकृतवेषः । (kaashaayaambara-bahu-krita-veshah)
पश्यन्नपि च न पश्यति मूढः (pashyann api cha na pashyati moodhah)
उदरनिमित्तं बहुकृतवेषः ॥ (udara-nimittam bahu-krita-veshah)
The Shloka describes a situation.
Many individuals adopt different outward appearances.
One grows matted locks of hair
Another shaves his head.
Another plucks out his hair.
Some wear saffron robes, others adopt various appearances.
All these are merely different disguises to fill their stomach.
Even while seeing, the fool does not truly see.
Now, please bear with me as I’ll give you a word-by-word translation of this Shloka:
जटिलो मुण्डी लुञ्छितकेशः (jatilo mundi luncchita-keshah)
One with matted hair, one with a shaved head, one with hair plucked out,
काशायाम्बरबहुकृतवेषः । (kaashaayaambara-bahu-krita-veshah)
wearing ochre robes, assuming many forms of appearance,
पश्यन्नपि च न पश्यति मूढः (pashyann api cha na pashyati moodhah)
even while seeing, the fool does not truly see,
उदरनिमित्तं बहुकृतवेषः ॥ (udara-nimittam bahu-krita-veshah)
all these many disguises are for the sake of the stomach.
Notice the reason:
“all these many disguises are for the sake of the stomach,
meaning for their livelihood.”
It then adds something more important.
“Even while seeing, the fool does not truly see.”
It means that even when the truth is right in front of them, those fools do not recognise it – “Seeing… yet not seeing.”
That is the exact point being made.
The Shloka is not discussing clothing.
It is pointing to something deeper.
Outward appearance can create an impression.
And that impression can be accepted without enquiry.
This same tendency is addressed in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, in 2:42 to 46.
In those Shlokas, Krishna describes those who are unintelligent, whose minds are filled with desires, and who are drawn to the flowery statements of the Vedas, considering heaven to be the highest goal, with nothing beyond it.
They speak of Vedic rites that promise good birth, power, and enjoyment, believing that there is nothing higher than a life of pleasure and wealth.
Those who are attached to such gratification and power are carried away by these words and do not attain the firm and steady intellect to attain supreme mental equanimity.
And then it adds a final perspective.
In Shloka 2:46, Krishna says that for the one of Self-realisation, the role of the Vedas is like that of a small well when everything is flooded.
There, the focus is on people becoming absorbed in words, rituals, and promises,
while missing the essential understanding.
So the Shloka from the Bhaja Govindam song is not asking for rejection.
It urges people to be wary of those who adopt certain appearances for their livelihood, and instead seek clarity.
Not blind acceptance.
Not reaction based on appearance.
But understanding.
Understanding universal oneness.
This naturally raises a question:
When reverence arises,
is it based on true understanding
or on appearance?
The Shloka leaves that for the listener to examine.
If the question stays,
the enquiry has already begun.
READ THIS ARTICLE ON SUBSTACK
Don’t waste your life. Read The Srimad Bhagavad Gita
Continue the enquiry
The Bhagavad Gita teaches how to distinguish understanding from ritual, appearance and desire-driven thinking. Modern Rishi continues the same enquiry into conditioning, identity, ego, authority and the Self.
