Beauty

An unaspiring man desires beauty without. A seeker of Peace desires beauty within. A lover of God desires both beauty within and beauty without.

The outer beauty sought for by a lover of God is totally different from the beauty cried for by an unaspiring man. An unaspiring man is both tempted and tempting. When he is tempted, he wants the outer world of beauty to cherish him. When he is tempting, he wants to bind the outer world of beauty. His acts of tempting others and of being tempted by others eventually lead him into frustration. Lo, inside his frustration there are two animals, a tiger and a cat. The cat is being devoured by the tiger. Soon he comes to realise that the tiger is none other than his all-devouring ego, and that the cat is none other than his ever-crying and begging desire.

A God-lover’s outer beauty: he wants his outer beauty to inspire the length and breadth of the world. His beauty is the beauty of a fragrant rose. His beauty is the affection of an affectionate mother. His beauty is the beauty of a fruitful tree.

A fragrant rose makes our outer body fragrant. An affectionate mother offers to our outer life a flood of affection. A fruitful tree reminds us of our inner tree which bears joy, countless joys.

A God-lover’s inner beauty: it is the flowering of his consciousness. His inner beauty is the height of his aspiration. His inner beauty is the light of his realisation.

The outer beauty is the necessity of humanity. The inner beauty is the light of his divinity.

An aspirant is really beautiful when he comes to learn that he is all heart. An aspirant is divinely beautiful when he feels that he is all soul. An aspirant is supremely beautiful when he discovers that he has in abundant measure what God eternally is.

When we live in the emotional vital, our beauty is an outer gift. When we live in the aspiring heart, our beauty is an inner gift. The outer gift feels the outer world as a world of strangers. The inner gift feels the inner world as a world of illumining and illumined oneness.

Beauty without light is a flower without fragrance. Beauty with light is a human flower full of fragrance and without ignorance.

The beauty of life is our purity’s spontaneity. The beauty of truth is our sincerity’s necessity. The beauty of God-Realisation is our aspiration’s divinity.

We look beautiful within when our passions die. We look more beautiful within when our inner flame mounts. We look most beautiful within when our sun of realisation bursts.

The power of beauty is an aspirant’s manifested motherhood. The peace of beauty is an aspirant’s fulfilled fatherhood. The bliss of beauty is an aspirant’s transformed and divinised manhood and womanhood.

When I am physically beautiful, God smiles. God smiles at me because I am using His own dress. When I am spiritually beautiful, God plays. God plays with me because He has got me as His own playmate.

He who does not spiritually become the pages of cosmic beauty will one day ruthlessly be compelled to read the Book of Fate, by Ignorance. Not even God, the Compassionate, will hide the Book of Fate from him.

If we start with the soul’s beauty, we can end in the Supreme’s transcendental Reality. Let us start.

Obscurity says to Beauty: “Beauty, why are you so beautiful?”

Beauty answers, “Obscurity, better ask me how I am so beautiful and not why. I am beautiful because I always touch the Feet of God with my heart’s soulful cry.”

Purity speaks to Beauty: “Beauty, I wish to stay with you for some time.”

Beauty answers, “Purity, certainly you may. I would love to have you. But don’t forget to bring your identification.”

“What is my identification?” asks Purity.

“Don’t you know what your identification is? Your identification is your life-long spontaneity.”

Austerity speaks to Beauty: “Beauty, you are a fool. You never aspire. I am really sorry to tell you that you are God’s only failure.”

“Austerity, granted, I am God’s failure. But certainly you are no better than I am. Remember, God is all Love. Remember, God is all Sweetness.”

Calamity says to Beauty: “Beauty, I loved you. Look at my deplorable consciousness. Look at Time which has deserted me. Look at my fallen life!”

“Calamity, I can solve all your problems, once and for all. Give me your deplorable consciousness. From now on, it will live with my inner life. Give me Time that has deserted you. From now on, it will live with my inner breath. Give me your fallen life. From now on, it will live with my inner Goal.”

Dignity speaks to Beauty: “Beauty, I understand perfectly why others bow down to you, but I do not know what makes me bow to you.”

“Dignity, your heart’s necessity tells you that I have the power to increase your nobility’s light and your honour’s height.”

Hostility says: “Beauty, my name is Hostility. I want to destroy you. I want to banish you from God’s World. I want to destroy your beauty, both inner and outer, here and now.”

Beauty says, “Hostility, you can never destroy me because God the Necessity is immortalising me from within. God the Omnipotent Reality is protecting me, cherishing me and fulfilling me from without.”

Divinity whispers: “Can you tell me, Beauty, why I need you throughout Eternity?”

“Mother, you need me because within me you see your own everlasting divine sovereignty.”