One friend of mine recently started a business on inner beauty, I was very curious about the concept of beauty in Vedic tradition. So, I decided to do some research to get a better perspective on this subject.
I remembered my Guru, HDH Bhagawan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam, a living incarnation (fondly known as Swamiji) once told us that Lord Sadāshiva explains about beauty in Agama (ancient scripture). Who is a beautiful person? Many places Lord Sadāshiva does not use the gender because we believe in 11 genders, He just says ‘beautiful being.’ There are three qualifications He gives.
First, the moment you see, that being is so stunning that your eyes should just pop up, that is automatically the eyes should dilate. Second, the grace should flow in every action, from the moment of waking up, to the moment of falling asleep, grace should permeate in every action in that being. Third, every bhāvanā (attitude) that person assumes or every aspiration he assumes whether he wears jewels or not, anything should fit and it should radiate beauty. These are the three qualifications He gives for a beautiful being.
One of the greatest mysteries of life is grace. You should know grace can never be created. If it is created, be very clear it is fake. Grace must come by itself; it will come as a flowering of your being. For example, when your meditation or completion rises to its peak, many things come with it: experiences such as silence, compassion, bliss. The effect of silence, compassion and bliss is grace. So, when these experiences happen in you, the effect on your physical body is grace which will radiate from every cell of your being.
Even if the person is not physically beautiful, a different kind of beauty will be radiated from within. This beauty is what we call grace. It is like a lamp; the flame is inside. Until the flame is lit, you will only be bothered about the glass. Quite often we pass comments on people – Oh, she is beautiful and he is ugly! This is only the glass which you are seeing. Only when the inner flame is lit will the beauty actually be seen. This is what Swamiji means by grace: your inner beauty, your inner flame is much greater than the body. This light will radiate throughout the body and then the body will not matter anymore. There will be a different light, a beautiful aura surrounding you.
Grace has been misunderstood by common men. Grace is not outward beauty as we think, it is from within. Every cell of your body radiates this beauty. Your eyes will simply radiate this new silence, this new ecstasy. When you speak, it will not sound like any spoken language, but like music, a tremendous and vibrant silence will radiate from your words. In fact, even when you shout with anger, it will sound like poetry! Ordinary words will start sounding like great scriptures because your inner experience is what gives the authority.
It is like a container filled with chocolate. With the chocolates or without the chocolates, the container is the same. When the chocolates are inside, the container seems very interesting and juicy. Without the chocolates, the container seems like nothing. You are like this! Physically, you may be the same, but before and after grace has happened in you, there will be a big difference. Once you attain bliss, the same words that you utter will have a new meaning altogether. The container is the same, but the content has changed. The new content will not be in the words, but in the body language. Everything that you do will have a certain beauty to it, which is what is called grace. And this grace will not be external; it comes from internal.
What is inside will radiate outside. Just see: if a person is restless and talkative internally, what will they radiate? Their whole-body language will always look as if they are in a hurry. They will never be able to relax. But, if a person is blissful and silent within, he or she will radiate grace. They will always look calm no matter what. If a man has a graceful aura, it will be so radiant and filled with what he is experiencing, that you will forget about his physical beauty. He will look beautiful from a completely different plane.
Actually, the only reason that you are not radiating this grace is because of your restlessness, your impatience. Impatience is the only thing that makes you ugly. You must learn to wait with patience, you must learn to trust Existence. Existence will take care, so why do you worry? Worrying is just one more dimension of impatience.
Simply trust Existence. There should be no thoughts, no moods, only a deep awareness. Grace is bound to come. But do not expect grace to come and announce to you that is has arrived. It will come like a whisper; you will suddenly begin to feel it within. You will feel it in your movements, in your speech. It will simply surround you; it will be with you everywhere you go!
In Kenopanishad (Kena Upanishad), Swamiji said that even if these 3 qualities of beauty are expressed, let us not be diverted by what is expressed, instead look in, who is expressing? Look at the Source who is showing, because that is too beautiful which cannot be described. If the expression itself is this beautiful, then how the experience will be? Let all the glory, visualization, beauty, we see in The World (the reality) or My World (my experience), remind us of the Source. How much ever beautiful, graceful the seen is, how handsome the being is, look at the Source, you will reach the space and taste and experience much deeper, sweeter than what is expressed. Any enjoyment of expression will bring boredom at one point. Only when you look at the Source, you will make the boredom and tiredness redundant in your life. The Source from which these expressions happen. Look at the Source. Let your attention be on that Source. Namaste 😀
Source: Beauty by Nithyananda, book ‘The only way out is IN’ by Nithyananda