Inner beauty matters

Rajesh Bhola

The Scriptures aptly say, "People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.” We blossom like a flower and then wither.
Like a passing shadow, we quickly grow weaker and disappear. Flowers must fade. The love that has nothing but beauty to sustain it soon withers away. The beauty of the human form and face vanish for ever in the course of our own lives, but their evanescence only lends them a fresh charm.
A flower that blossoms only for a single night does not seem to us on that account less lovely. Nor can we understand any better why the beauty and perfection of a work of art or of an intellectual achievement should lose its worth because of its temporal limitation. But transience is the law of nature.

Beauty withers away with
time so fast
Soon everything so silently
becomes past
From glow to wrinkles,
impact of time is cast
All is transient in His
universe so vast
Finally so calmly we resign
our breath at last.

This joy and beauty of life is accompanied with the inevitable pain, hopelessness and despair of life. Hence, Keats the noted Romantic poet writes:

"Joy whose hand is ever at his lips/Bidding adieu"

A beautiful heart will flash out in the eye. A lovely soul will glow in the face. A sweet spirit will tune the voice, wreathe the countenance in charms. There is always power in interior beauty that melts the hardest heart.

Keats knew that joy and beauty on this earth is transient, and from this transience, the melancholy so very typical of his poems originates. Melancholy, he says,

"Dwells with beauty / beauty that must die"

Everything is impermanent in this world. Our life, health, family, friends, status, career, possessions, successes, failures; these are all impermanent. Whether we are ready or not, one day, we will have to part from what we have in one way or another. Cherry blossoms bloom for only a very short period. It usually reaches its peak within a week after the opening of the first blossoms. After another week, the blooming peak is over and the blossoms fall from the trees. Due to its short lifespan, each moment is precious.

Though it remains a fact that all beautiful things meet their end one day, the highest style of beauty to be found in nature pertains to the human form which is animated and lighted up by the intelligence within. It is the expression of the soul that constitutes this superior beauty. It is that which looks out of the eye, which sits in calm majesty on the brow, lurks on the lip, smiles on the cheek, is set forth in the chiseled features of the countenance, in the general contour of figure and form, in the movement, and gesture, and tone; it is this looking out of the invisible spirit that dwells within, this manifestation of the higher nature, that we admire and love; this constitutes to us the beauty of our species.

This earth is replete with many beautiful living beings but woman is regarded by all the creative writers, artists, sculptors and painters as the most perfect type of beauty on earth. Nature created her form as an exquisite piece of perfection.

The earth gives us no form more perfect, no contours more symmetrical, no style more chaste, no movements more graceful, no finish more complete. That is why the artists always regard the woman form of humanity as the most perfect earthly beauty. This form is most perfect and symmetrical in the youth of womanhood; when in youth the woman is earth's queen of beauty. But that outer beauty is very short lived. The famous Hindi song of yesteryears in film Roti sung by Lata and Kishore Kumar reminds us of this: “Gore rang pe na itana gumaan kar, gora rang do din mein dhal jaayega”

Beyond that form of outer beauty, it is the beauty of soul and character, which sits in calm majesty on the brow, lurks on the lip, and will outlive what is called a fine face. That is true beauty which has not only a substance, but a spirit; a beauty that will outlive all the charms of a fine face, and make the decay of it invisible.

The woman has a beauty which changes not with the features, which fades not with years. It is beauty of expression. It wreathes the countenance of every doer of good. It adorns every honest face. It shines in the virtuous life. It molds the hands of charity. It sweetens the voice of sympathy. It sparkles on the brow of wisdom. It flashes in the eye of love. It breathes in the spirit of piety. This is the capacity of beauty that God has given to the human soul, and this the beauty placed within the reach of all. We may all be beautiful.

Though our forms may be uncomely and our features not the prettiest, our spirits may be beautiful. And this inward beauty always shines through. A beautiful heart will flash out in the eye. A lovely soul will glow in the face. A sweet spirit will tune the voice, wreathe the countenance in charms. There is always power in interior beauty that melts the hardest heart.

There is another aspect of beauty. We mistakenly believe that we have eternity in hand and we tend to take things for granted. Take our loved ones for example. We perceive that we have all the time in the world with them, we hardly notice their presence. Our perception of endless time dulls our senses and awareness. We assume we can tell our loved ones that we love them tomorrow. The time will not wait for us.

God focuses on what people look like on the inside. Do you put more time and effort into being pretty on the outside or the inside? We find girls who spend more time trying to find the perfect outfit, get the perfect tan, find the perfect lip gloss, and have the perfect body. While there may be nothing wrong with wanting to look pretty, we need to make sure it is in balance. God would rather see us work on becoming dropdead gorgeous on the inside.

Unfortunately, when the moment of separation looms on the horizon each second becomes valuable. Then, impermanence helps us to realize the value of each moment. But then it gets too late. The world focuses on what people look like on the outside. God focuses on what people look like on the inside.

Do you put more time and effort into being pretty on the outside or the inside? We find girls who spend more time trying to find the perfect outfit, get the perfect tan, find the perfect lip gloss, and have the perfect body. While there may be nothing wrong with wanting to look pretty, we need to make sure it is in balance. God would rather see us work on becoming drop-dead gorgeous on the inside.

There are people who are average looking on the outside. However, they become truly beautiful for the love and the positive difference they had made in lives of the people they met. These inner beauties are those who have been a blessing to those people around them. Many people who have loving parents would think they are beautiful for all the blessings and love they have showered on them. We may call all of them as beautiful; a man guiding a blind man across a busy street; a young lady giving up her seat to an elderly woman; an auntie taking the trouble to bring her niece for medical appointment.

When we see someone helping others, that person who looks average may become more beautiful in our eyes due to their inner beauty. They are an asset to others and are beautiful people. God kept the work of structure casting of human beings unto Him but delegated the task of their inner grooming to human beings. Although we have no control of how we look. Neither we have any control on transience of human life but we surely can upkeep and take good care of what we have, to look our best. Outer beauty is transient. Each moment is precious. Let us start grooming our inner self. What we can do is to spend time reflecting, praying and learning how to be better people.



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT CHANDRAYAAN II KARNATAKA POLTICS POLITICAL SCENARIO REALPOLITIK EDUCATION REVOLUTION IT EXEMPTION KULBHUSHAN CASE KASHMIR SCENARIO ANDHRA SCENE CONGRESS IN PUNJAB WEST BENGAL CHANDIGARH DIARY ART FOR NATURE HITS & MISSES PAKISTAN ECONOMY BALOCH STRUGGLE AMERICA WATCH BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES TALES OF UNIFORM OBITUARY ART OF LIVING Issue:June' 2019 Subscribe Now	ART OF LIVING Inner beauty matters Rajesh Bhola The Scriptures aptly say, "People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.” We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly grow weaker and disappear. Flowers must fade. The love that has nothing but beauty to sustain it soon withers away. The beauty of the human form and face vanish for ever in the course of our own lives, but their evanescence only lends them a fresh charm. A flower that blossoms only for a single night does not seem to us on that account less lovely. Nor can we understand any better why the beauty and perfection of a work of art or of an intellectual achievement should lose its worth because of its temporal limitation. But transience is the law of nature. Beauty withers away with time so fast Soon everything so silently becomes past From glow to wrinkles, impact of time is cast All is transient in His universe so vast Finally so calmly we resign our breath at last. This joy and beauty of life is accompanied with the inevitable pain, hopelessness and despair of life. Hence, Keats the noted Romantic poet writes: "Joy whose hand is ever at his lips/Bidding adieu" A beautiful heart will flash out in the eye. A lovely soul will glow in the face. A sweet spirit will tune the voice, wreathe the countenance in charms. There is always power in interior beauty that melts the hardest heart. Keats knew that joy and beauty on this earth is transient, and from this transience, the melancholy so very typical of his poems originates. Melancholy, he says, "Dwells with beauty / beauty that must die" Everything is impermanent in this world. Our life, health, family, friends, status, career, possessions, successes, failures; these are all impermanent. Whether we are ready or not, one day, we will have to part from what we have in one way or another. Cherry blossoms bloom for only a very short period. It usually reaches its peak within a week after the opening of the first blossoms. After another week, the blooming peak is over and the blossoms fall from the trees. Due to its short lifespan, each moment is precious. Though it remains a fact that all beautiful things meet their end one day, the highest style of beauty to be found in nature pertains to the human form which is animated and lighted up by the intelligence within. It is the expression of the soul that constitutes this superior beauty. It is that which looks out of the eye, which sits in calm majesty on the brow, lurks on the lip, smiles on the cheek, is set forth in the chiseled features of the countenance, in the general contour of figure and form, in the movement, and gesture, and tone; it is this looking out of the invisible spirit that dwells within, this manifestation of the higher nature, that we admire and love; this constitutes to us the beauty of our species. This earth is replete with many beautiful living beings but woman is regarded by all the creative writers, artists, sculptors and painters as the most perfect type of beauty on earth. Nature created her form as an exquisite piece of perfection. The earth gives us no form more perfect, no contours more symmetrical, no style more chaste, no movements more graceful, no finish more complete. That is why the artists always regard the woman form of humanity as the most perfect earthly beauty. This form is most perfect and symmetrical in the youth of womanhood; when in youth the woman is earth's queen of beauty. But that outer beauty is very short lived. The famous Hindi song of yesteryears in film Roti sung by Lata and Kishore Kumar reminds us of this: “Gore rang pe na itana gumaan kar, gora rang do din mein dhal jaayega” Beyond that form of outer beauty, it is the beauty of soul and character, which sits in calm majesty on the brow, lurks on the lip, and will outlive what is called a fine face. That is true beauty which has not only a substance, but a spirit; a beauty that will outlive all the charms of a fine face, and make the decay of it invisible. The woman has a beauty which changes not with the features, which fades not with years. It is beauty of expression. It wreathes the countenance of every doer of good. It adorns every honest face. It shines in the virtuous life. It molds the hands of charity. It sweetens the voice of sympathy. It sparkles on the brow of wisdom. It flashes in the eye of love. It breathes in the spirit of piety. This is the capacity of beauty that God has given to the human soul, and this the beauty placed within the reach of all. We may all be beautiful. Though our forms may be uncomely and our features not the prettiest, our spirits may be beautiful. And this inward beauty always shines through. A beautiful heart will flash out in the eye. A lovely soul will glow in the face. A sweet spirit will tune the voice, wreathe the countenance in charms. There is always power in interior beauty that melts the hardest heart. There is another aspect of beauty. We mistakenly believe that we have eternity in hand and we tend to take things for granted. Take our loved ones for example. We perceive that we have all the time in the world with them, we hardly notice their presence. Our perception of endless time dulls our senses and awareness. We assume we can tell our loved ones that we love them tomorrow. The time will not wait for us. God focuses on what people look like on the inside. Do you put more time and effort into being pretty on the outside or the inside? We find girls who spend more time trying to find the perfect outfit, get the perfect tan, find the perfect lip gloss, and have the perfect body. While there may be nothing wrong with wanting to look pretty, we need to make sure it is in balance. God would rather see us work on becoming dropdead gorgeous on the inside. Unfortunately, when the moment of separation looms on the horizon each second becomes valuable. Then, impermanence helps us to realize the value of each moment. But then it gets too late. The world focuses on what people look like on the outside. God focuses on what people look like on the inside. Do you put more time and effort into being pretty on the outside or the inside? We find girls who spend more time trying to find the perfect outfit, get the perfect tan, find the perfect lip gloss, and have the perfect body. While there may be nothing wrong with wanting to look pretty, we need to make sure it is in balance. God would rather see us work on becoming drop-dead gorgeous on the inside. There are people who are average looking on the outside. However, they become truly beautiful for the love and the positive difference they had made in lives of the people they met. These inner beauties are those who have been a blessing to those people around them. Many people who have loving parents would think they are beautiful for all the blessings and love they have showered on them. We may call all of them as beautiful; a man guiding a blind man across a busy street; a young lady giving up her seat to an elderly woman; an auntie taking the trouble to bring her niece for medical appointment. When we see someone helping others, that person who looks average may become more beautiful in our eyes due to their inner beauty. They are an asset to others and are beautiful people. God kept the work of structure casting of human beings unto Him but delegated the task of their inner grooming to human beings. Although we have no control of how we look. Neither we have any control on transience of human life but we surely can upkeep and take good care of what we have, to look our best. Outer beauty is transient. Each moment is precious. Let us start grooming our inner self. What we can do is to spend time reflecting, praying and learning how to be better people.