Beauty Parlor For the Soul - Acquiescence

Bilateralism. Each one of us personifies duality. 'No one is perfect' is a one liner often thrown in our faces, especially by those who make mistakes and don't like to be corrected. It is true though. We all have shades to our personalities...light and dark. Unless you an enlightened soul, it is easy to recognize these shades. Literally, you can be as bad as you can be good. The 'Jekyll and Hyde' Syndrome, as I call it. All of us have the ability to hide Mr. Hyde! Take a moment, run through your life till now and introspect. However, there are very few of us who confirm to this paradox and accept the duality. It is the pang to fit into the 'normal' and 'perfect' slot that prevents us from realizing the truth and displaying acquiescence.

It is not uncommon today, to read the biography of a well established business tycoon or politician or even a saint and find 'shades'. They are there, in every conceivable hue of black and grey. And, denial stands weak. But, there is nothing wrong with it. It is the acceptance of the duality, conversion of negative to positive and subsequent adherence that adds quality to our lives. Most wisdom comes from this effort. And, the beauty is that the shift for the best can take place at anytime and anywhere.

The young lad was on his way. No, not some physical journey, but a spiritual one. He was not yet 'master'. But, he was heading that way by exercising the power of discrimination and identifying the true nature of our existence. It was a phase of inner cleansing and query. And even as this spiritually enlightening phase was unfolding the many mysteries of life, the master kept getting better at his passion for painting. He was obsessed by his latest work. He was working on the life of Christ. One canvas covering various times in the Lord's life; individual and yet in sync with the ultimate picture. And, as he went about the painting, he looked for models to pose for him, especially as Christ.

The painter, after a long scout, managed to find a youth who radiated the kind of innocence that the images and descriptions of the Lord shone with. He was the perfect model - sturdy and well built body, well chiseled features...a true Adonis. He painstakingly captured the youthful grace on canvas and proceeded to portray other segments of the Lord's life. He never did see the young man thereafter. But, he didn't need him now. The painting became his passion and slowly he moved on from model to model to cover the different looks and expressions he had in mind. In the meanwhile, the internal cleansing was taking place and he was soon absorbed in deep meditation and important lessons from the environment. The painting was incomplete. The betrayal at the Garden of Gethsemane was left and so was the crucifixion.

Wrapped up in muslin, the master now kept the incomplete painting in one corner of the hermitage, waiting for the inspiration, inclination and the right moment. And, finally it came. One fine day, while the hermitage was being cleaned, the master discovered the painting behind the writing desk. It was perfect. Well stacked, wrapped in muslin and in a dry place, the canvas was just as it was years ago. The sight of the incomplete painting egged the master to complete the task. Now, he had to look for a Judas. He would get many volunteers, but finding the right Judas would take a while. He needed the right look, just like what he had in mind. He would have to travel, if he wanted to complete the painting in the same spirit as he had started it.

After traveling for many days, the master reached the city. He stood in front of the city penitentiary. This was it. He knew that he would have to seek special permission, but he was sure that his Judas was in there. People in the city had heard about the master and securing permission was not at all difficult. After observing all the inmates, he found what he was looking for. Judas! This man was perfect. The same lines of denial and betrayal on the forehead and around the eyes, the same deep, dark look, the slight hunch. He had it all. The master got down to work. While painting his model, the master gently enquired about the reason behind his sentence. The man revealed that he belonged to an affluent family and enjoyed all the pleasures of the materialistic world as a youth. However, he fell into bad company and became a scapegoat to a scrupulous plan, under the influence of alcohol. This resulted in a murder, in a state of stupor and the company of pernicious friends. "I was even selected to pose as Christ by a young artist!", he revealed.

The master looked carefully. Yes, this was him. After further revelation, he realized that the same man who qualified to pose as the Lord also qualified as Judas. Today, the master felt complete. He felt as though it was preordained for him to leave the hermitage and come to the city prison to learn this important lesson on the inherent forces of duality. "I didn't even know I had a Judas in me!", the man said. But, how many of us do?

What is important is not only identifying the duality within, but growing from strength to strength and making that paradigm shift happen in time. There is nothing wrong with owning up to the Mr. Hyde within. He is there. Within all of us. In varying quantum, but there. And like in the story, we too have become comfortable with him surfacing when we are alone or in the presence of the like-minded. At least not in the front of those who condemn and criticize readily. We need to mature in our understanding of this syndrome. From womb to tomb we all take the same road of experience, but how we tame the 'wild' side is important.

"I didn't even know I had a Judas in me!"

And, even if we do, we want to bury him even deeper, instead of allowing him to surface and heal. If the negativity is not aired, it gets embedded like a cancerous growth and affects all our interactions and spiritual health. Here, just like in the world of medical science, there is a chemotherapy that works well in the form of introspection, initially; along with the oral mediation and injections of will and self consciousness in every action. However, if neglect and deliberate ignorance is allowed to set in, then the only way out is planned amputation, which is painful.

The furrows on the forehead can be filled with the rejuvenating pack of acquiescence.