Does It Matter?: Essays on Man's Relation to Materiality by Watts Alan W

Author:Watts, Alan W. [Watts, Alan W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781577318392
Publisher: New World Library
Published: 2010-09-06T22:00:00+00:00

So much, then, for hats.

Now—unless some zoologist can dig up a weird exception—humans are the only living beings who wear clothes. They are also the only beings who laugh, for humor is the property of humanity and consists, essentially, in not taking oneself seriously. (Consider the situation of someone chasing a hat blown off by the wind.) People can laugh at themselves because they know, deep down, that their lives are a big act, a put–on. This may get us into the depths of mysticism, but every person knows, tacitly, that he is God in disguise. Not, perhaps, the universal monarch of Jewish and Christian imagery, but at least the inmost and ultimate Self of Hinduism, the Actor who plays all the roles, and thus the Joker in the deck of cards. Stated more philosophically, each one of us is a manifestation of the total energy of the universe. Wearing clothes is therefore a gesture which implies the unadmitted knowledge that our personalities are put on. Think of such phrases as “cover yourself,” “pull yourself together,” “tighten your belts,” “keep your hair on,” “don’t lose your shirt,” “caught with your pants down,” “shiftless,” “sound investment,” “redressment of injustice,” “defrocked,” “uncloaked,” “dismantled,” “name and address,” “wearing an expression,” “clothed and in one’s right mind,” “vested interest,” “stuffed shirt,” “good (or bad) habits,” “the bare facts,” and “the naked truth.” Such a list of sartorial symbols and millinery metaphors for mental and moral states, of depletions and completions of personality, might be expanded indefinitely. But they express a basic and intuitive recognition of the connection between who we are, as persons, and what we wear.

Thus, may it not be significant that men who are supposed to play brahminical or “holy” roles in life wear loose–fitting robes—saddhus, swamis, monks, priests, professors in formal dress, and even judges? Very far–out holy men, such as the Shaiva yogis of India, go stark naked, to symbolize the supposition that they aren’t playing any role at all, that they have entirely transcended the ego and reidentified with the divine. On the other hand, the aggressive, rough–and–tough military and business people are invariably trussed in armor, boots, puttees, Sam Brown belts, tight leather jackets, helmets, and other crustacean, squeeze–play contraptions for letting yourself know that you really exist. Yet again, the true athlete, like the far–out holy man, goes almost naked. The Greek word gymnos means “nude,” and thus a gymnasium originally was a place where everyone took off their clothes for exercise.

These remarks must not suggest that I approve of nudism as a way of life. “Familiarity breeds contempt”—which is why something has to be done to reform the institution of the family—and “variety is the spice of life.” The naked body is lustfully arousing, as it should be, just to the extent that it is usually veiled. Nudity must always be a revelation and a surprise for the simple reason that the universe itself is an energy system which vibrates: constantly it goes on and off. Now you see it; now you don’t.

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