Beauty is the Impact of the Divine

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” may be one of those well-known and often quoted sayings but it carries the seed of a deep and foundational truth. What evokes a response to the energy of beauty in one individual may be different for another, and yet it is the same experience for all no matter what triggers it. Something behind the outer expression draws us and connects us with the source of the energy we experience through our senses and in the heart. There is something inherent and essential in each of us that responds to that source, which is ever present, accessible and seeking expression through us because, at the heart of our being, we are of the same essence. Beauty is a constant and powerful call to remember what we truly are.

…we must think wisely about beauty.
In Beauty will Infinity be manifested. In Beauty the teachings of the Seekers of the spirit are illumined. In Beauty we do not fear to manifest the truth of freedom. In Beauty do we kindle radiance in every drop of water. In Beauty do we transform matter into a rainbow.
There is no ugliness which will not be engulfed in the rays of the rainbow. There are no fetters which will not disintegrate in the freedom of Beauty.
How shall we find the words to approach the concept of the universe? How shall we tell about the evolution of forms? How to uplift the consciousness to the study of fundamentals? How to stimulate humanity to scientific cognition of the worlds?
Each realization is born in Beauty.
Know how to think radiantly, and nothing terrifying will touch you. Remember, We have no forbiddances.” Illumination, III:V:1

The magnetic power of beauty lies in its call to memories associated with our deepest being – associations of joy and transcendence beyond worldly pain. Many glorious artworks have been created through that power to transcend and reach into the perfection at the heart of life. And we keep reaching for it – striving, each in our own way no matter what obstacles come. Such is the power of the human spirit. Children still manage to play among the ruins of war-torn towns; musicians still play music to console; mothers still sing lullabies to ease their children’s dreams; doctors continue to heal; aid workers continue to meet need where they can. The human heart beats ceaselessly no matter what comes for it remembers the inner beauty of Life.

Beauty is the impact of the divine shining through form and opening the flower of the heart, the portal to all that is beautiful, good and true. The heart endures and continues to shine even in the most appalling circumstances. Jesus demonstrated the power of the heart from the cross when He spoke not of his own suffering but to uplift others, praying to God: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34); comforting His Mother, and John (John 19:26-27); helping the “good thief” being crucified with him to see beyond his suffering: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) The essence of that paradise is within us – eternally present and radiating its beauty, goodness and truth – calling forth our memories from deep within where nothing is lost or forgotten. As the poet reminds us:

For whatsoever from one place doth fall,
Is with the tide unto another brought:
For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought.”
~ Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

Beauty emanates through all creations of the divine, the more deeply we reach for creative inspiration the more divinity imbues our creations and the more radiant and magnetic they become. Surface beauty is but a fleeting reminder of the eternal beauty radiating from the heart of our system and through the heart of each of us.

Beauty, goodness and truth are aspects of the perfection that is ever unfolding through time and space – constantly creating forms through which to express. When it may seem to be lacking, it is only a moment of delay in the inevitable manifestation of that divine perfection. When we seek and recognise the qualities of beauty, goodness and truth, we are assisting in that great infolding process, and acting from our essential being which is of the same divine essence. We are never separate from it though we may think we are, and others may have us believe so. Great or small, powerful or weak, noticed or unnoticed – all come forth from the one divine spark. Divinity creates its forms of expression through us. The Tibetan Master explains:

…the expression of the creative faculty is radiation and magnetism. These bring to its possessor the material for creation and a magnetic capacity which arranges in due form and beauty that which radiation has evoked. Creativity is a consequence of a particular state of mind and a specific state of being; it signifies a point in evolution wherein the disciple is definitely radioactive. He can no more help creating in some form or another than he can help living. After all …karma is ever the source of physical plane creation, happenings and events …” Discipleship in the New Age II, Page 539

Through beauty we see truth and through truth beauty, and both reflect essential goodness or godliness. The poet, John Keats reminded us that:

Beauty is truth, truth beauty, —that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”From ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’ by John Keats

The search for truth is gaining momentum as the human heart awakens to its true self. Beacons of light are shining through the fog of fake news and promotional spin as we each find our way home, moment by moment, to what is infinitely true, good and beautiful. As Rabindranath Tagore expressed:

“The evening was lonely for me, and I was reading a book till my
heart became dry, and it seemed to me that beauty was a thing
fashioned by the traders in words. Tired I shut the book and
snuffed the candle. In a moment the room was flooded with
moonlight.
Spirit of Beauty, how could you, whose radiance overbrims the
sky, stand hidden behind a candle’s tiny flame? How could a few
vain words from a book rise like a mist, and veil her whose voice
has hushed the heart of earth into ineffable calm?”Rabindranath Tagore

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