Be Beautiful!

Despite the existence of hundreds or perhaps thousands of religious sects, mankind remains for the most part bewildered and uncertain of what to believe or how to find enduring peace and happiness. Everywhere one looks, there are countless people scurrying about, searching for, or hoping for, some hidden secret that will lead to happiness. Thousands upon thousands of spiritual guidance books have been written, yet all too many people still wander about, unaware of their own Divine heritage, unhappy and lacking clear insight into their own unique Divine purpose.

The principal teaching is that the heart of man is the shrine of God, to recognize God in one's own heart, to feel His existence, presence, virtue, goodness, all manner of beauty. It must be remembered that the whole life around us is a life of falsehood. The more you see and experience the more you see how very false it is, how much disillusionment there is. The only way of getting over it is to light the lamp in the darkness of night, and all will be cleared. The secret of life is this: to produce beauty in ourselves. When beauty is produced in the heart, then all that breaks the heart vanishes and the whole universe becomes one single vision of the sublimity of God.

Religious Gatheka 13, Message of Christ, Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

People love complexity, yet the most valuable answers are not found in the midst of bewildering complexity, but rather they are found in utter simplicity. In that spirit of simplicity, here are two fundamental concepts which, with daily practice, can lead to abiding peace and lasting happiness:
 

1) Every person is a beautiful creation of the Divine:

You are an on-going work-in-progress, with miraculous potential for positive change and transformation. Every moment of life offers a new opportunity to express Divine beauty.

The Almighty One is beautiful and loves beauty.

2) The greatest joy in life is to think and act with beauty:

In every moment there is Divine beauty which longs to be radiated through you. When one fails to freely radiate that Divine beauty, we suffer, but when we each allow the Divine beauty to freely manifest through our thoughts, words and deeds, then we harmonize with the Divine and begin to fulfill our greatest purpose, our Divine purpose.

Be ye beautiful, even as your heavenly Creator is Beautiful.

That's it! Simply be beautiful!

The Divine beauty that illuminates your heart is the only enduring beauty. Physical beauty comes and goes, but the beauty that shines from the loving heart is everlasting.

Perhaps this seems too simple, just being beautiful. But being beautiful can be quite challenging, as well as immensely satisfying.. Over time, one's highest ideals change, and therefore one's understanding of beauty will also change, urging and enabling ever-greater expressions of beauty to flow into the world through one's own thoughts, words and deeds. Don't cling to yesterday's beauty, today is a new day, let today's beauty emerge in it's own glorious fullness.

We can learn a great deal about being beautiful by taking to heart these seemingly simple lines from Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi:

Watch the glow of The Beloved
     reflecting from my face.

Those wondrous lines offer us two key points to remember: 1)  there is a Supreme Source of all beauty, and 2) we are invited to be as polished mirrors, reflecting that Divine beauty into this world.

That is, the beauty that any individual exhibits truly glorifies the source of Beauty, and will hopefully invite others to turn, in their own way, toward that same Source, like moths toward the flame.

What does it mean to be beautiful?  

To be beautiful is to let our thoughts, words and deeds bring Divine beauty into the world.

To be beautiful is to greet each and every being with grace, with love, with compassion, with joy.

To be beautiful is to see the ever-present Divine beauty everywhere.

To be beautiful is to express joyful gratitude for all that we receive.

To be beautiful is let the Divine radiance of our inner light shine upon all beings without any of our own hindrances or preferences whatsoever.

To be beautiful is to expect nothing in return.

That which is truly beautiful always arises from the depths of your own loving heart. That is, you will be most beautiful when you are living in harmony with your own highest ideals and greatest aspirations. One cannot be an expression of true beauty when trying to be like someone else. Follow your heart! Follow that Divine Spirit of Guidance deep within you! Be beautiful in your own way!

Sometimes we're afraid to follow the Spirit of Guidance, because we hear ten thousand different voices all suggesting different actions. How can one tell which inner voice is truly the Spirit of Guidance? Listen for the voice that leads you toward love, compassion, kindness, generosity and selfless service... that is the Spirit of Guidance! Simply ignore any other chattering noise, allowing those other voices to gradually fade away, leaving only the Divine Spirit of Guidance, the Divine Presence.

As a guide to those seeking the purpose of their life on earth, Abu Said Khair once said:

The shortest way to the Beloved
   is through selfless service and
      generosity to all of the Beloved's creatures.

When we realize that we are all manifestations of the very same Almighty One and as we bring Divine beauty into this world through our thoughts, words and deeds, all of life is filled with abiding peace, endless love, and unbounded compassion. There is nothing greater to be sought after.

How the words 'love,' 'harmony,' and 'beauty' delight the heart of everyone who hears them! One may wonder what it can be in these words that is able to exert such a natural power upon the human soul.

The answer is that if there is anything in life which appeals to the human soul, it is love and beauty. If one asks, 'And what besides those?' then the answer is, 'There is nothing else.' Why is this? Because they are the very nature of life. Love is the nature of life, beauty is the outcome of life, harmony is the means by which life accomplishes its purpose, and the lack of it results in destruction.

When we reflect upon this whole creation we cannot but see that its purpose is to express an ideal of love, harmony and beauty. Love could not have manifested itself if there were nothing to love, eyes could not have seen if there were nothing to see. What could love have done if there were no beauty? Love would have been silent. Love can only be said to exist after it has passed from silence into expression.

Hazrat Inayat Khan, Volume VII - In an Eastern Rose Garden

May each moment of life ripen into a harvest of greater and greater beauty! 

 

Wishing you love, harmony and beauty,
     wahiduddin

 

posted October 08, 2007