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ADMITTEDLY, plain physical
beauty is inherited and often
also resides in those who may not possess any sublime virtues of head or
heart. Some of those who may not have any pretensions to physical beauty, also
manage to become presentable, though temporarily, through beauty parlour
manipulations.
Remarkable, however, are those who while not being
endowed with the inborn gift of physical beauty or material comforts, still
manage to win friends and influence people. Social reformers, statesmen and
authentic persons, radiating the message of peace and good will - these are
some of those, who through their inner worth, goodness and power, obtain,
even against odds, that supreme and enduring blessing--beauty within.
Sappho, the ancient Greek lyric poetess sums up, "What is beautiful is good
and who is good will be beautiful". John Keats puts it differently in his
Edymion," A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:/Its loveliness increases; it
will never/ Pass into nothingness".
The starting point of attaining this true beauty, the 'beauty
within', is to cleanse one's body, mind and spirit of the toxins,
undesirables and the dross-- in short, becoming pure (nirmalam). Obtained
thus through bodily, mental and spiritual discipline and culture (sadhana),
this verily is the process of cleansing and empowering one's entire self and
personality (atmasuddhi). In this manner, the seeker obtains unto himself
congeniality and naturalness in situations, circumstances and developments
concerning him, through the practical application of the concept of 'inside
out'.
This atmassuddhi is also reflected in all that he issues forth and
manifests, including kind and felicitous speech Bartruhari rightly calls
good speech as the true ornament, while the Tamil bard Valluvar (Kural 91to
100) and the Bible (Proverbs: 16, 24) also extol its virtues.
Bhagwad Gita outlines the different manifestations of the authentic
person in particular verses such as, II -45, 48, 50, 54 to 60, 71; IV-21; V
- 3, 18, 24, 28; VI - 5 to 9, 16 to 19, 25, 29, 46; XII - 13, 14, 18; XIII-8
to 11 and XIV - 24.
Such clarity and beauty within also express themselves through
external appearance --- de-meanour, carriage and one's very presence. Even
the chemistry of the entire psychosomatic system becomes normalised,
conferring not merely sound health but also a reversal of ageing, as if,
whereby, one looks, feels and in fact, even becomes younger.
Beauty within, indeed, is a priceless blessing! |
