Consider for a moment the many beautiful people you have encountered during your lifetime.Perhaps from childhood you recall a kind and nurturing grandmother or aunt who was the epitome of grace and love. Or maybe you had a special teacher who glowed with vitality and wisdom. You may remember a childhood playmate whose skin glistened with summer perspiration and whose eyes beamed with excitement as you played vigorous games outdoors.
During adolescence you may have adored the glamour of certain movie stars, athletic heroes or popular schoolmates. Perhaps in some cases you were later disillusioned to find that the real person was quite different from the projected idol.
In adulthood, you may have met someone of the opposite sex whose presence took your breath away and left your heart aching. Probably all of us have watched a dancer or an athlete whose movements were pure grace, strength and perfection. We sometimes meet someone whose face is so lovely that it is hard to look away. And we have all known those lovely people who bring smiles and laughter to everyone around them. Their sunny nature and goodwill are sources of enduring beauty.
Many people are fortunate enough to have found deep, abiding love with a compatible, faithful partner. Year after year, decade after decade, they continue to discover infinite beauty in each other's eyes. Age never dims that beauty.
Sometimes in the course of life, we meet older people, who do not seem old at all, but whose minds, bodies, and spirits are alive with energy and well-being. Their hair, skin and eyes shine and their spirits are buoyant. They seem forever young at heart—and youthful in appearance as well. You may have even met along the way a few people who had physical or mental challenges, but who radiated such a refreshing outlook that they appeared quite attractive and beautiful. And none of us can deny the exceptional beauty radiated by someone who attained spiritual heights, whose life is an example of unconditional love, humility and truth. No matter their age, such people are extraordinarily attractive.
When we think about the beautiful people we have known, both young and old, we recognise that beauty has many forms of expression. Kindness and understanding, a positive attitude, a healthy appearance, graceful movements, serene wisdom and a strong, loving spirit—all are aspects of beauty in the broadest sense.
The Essence of Eternal Beauty
Ayurveda, the most ancient medical system in the world, takes the holistic perspective that we are made of body, mind, and soul. We have a physical being, a mental self and a spiritual self. All three aspects work together to create this being that we are. Therefore, the deepest and truest form of beauty is an interaction of all three aspects of our self. The wisdom of Ayurveda provides methods that improve the health and well-being of our body, mind and spirit. Thus producing the deepest, most enduring form of beauty—eternal beauty.
If we compare the concepts of beauty uncovered by Western science, promoted by the media and beauty industry and found in Ayurveda, we will see, there are fewer agreements and more important differences among these different perspectives. This discussion will help to illuminate the significance of Ayurveda as a positive method for assisting each of us in attaining our own unique, natural, and enduring state of beauty.
Ayurvedic Concept of Beauty
The Western emphasis on outer beauty has been expressed by the well-known saying that beauty is only skin-deep. The Eastern perspective of beauty, now being gradually recognised in the West, is a holistic approach. One of the earliest systems of medicine that held this holistic view is Ayurveda.
When we speak of beauty in the context of Ayurveda, we are not referring to commercial, market-driven ideals. In Ayurveda, beauty of both the inner self and outer being is intimately related. The more we nurture our health and inner qualities, the more radiant our physical appearance becomes, irrespective of our particular body shape or proportions. In keeping with the general orientation of the Eastern philosophy of health and healing, beauty can be viewed as having three aspects: outer, inner and secret—or physical, psychological and spiritual.
Inner Beauty
Inner beauty relates to inner qualities, including emotional states and mental abilities. Like physical characteristics, our mental abilities and temperaments are largely determined at birth via our genes. Although physical characteristics (prakiriti) remain relatively unchanged (such as blue eyes or a large skeletal frame), mental qualities can be changed by food and lifestyle. The food we eat and our current lifestyle have a significant impact on our state of mind. Not only does our food influence our well-being, but so do all the things that we perceive through our senses. The things we watch, hear, smell, and feel affect our mental and physical activities.
The Mental Aspect of Beauty
A calm and relaxed mind, termed sattvic in Ayurveda, is essential for a healthy and beautiful body. Multi-tasking reflects an overactive (rajasic) state of mind and leads to mental stress and physical tiredness. There is a relation between the body and mind. Clinical studies have shown that meditation, which is a calm and relaxed state of mind, retards the aging process, whereas mental stress and multi-tasking deplete physical immunity and reduce efficiency. Reducing negative feelings and accepting positive feelings enhance inner beauty. As the well-known saying goes, “As you think, so you become.”
Beauty and Soul
The secret or hidden aspect of beauty refers to soul. Our soul provides the energy, insight and inspiration to balance the inner and outer qualities of our being. Developing ourselves at the level of soul takes time, patience and a focus on the spiritual aspects of life. This is the mark of real maturity or self-realisation that ripens into a deep, lasting beauty. It can be developed by anyone, no matter one's age or physical ability. Eternal beauty is experienced from within and seen by all on the outside.
Thus, it is clear that beauty must be seen as an expression of the overall health of the body and mind of the individual as opposed to a modification of external looks in the hope of creating inner health and happiness. Today, the meaning of beauty is often shallow and is considered to mean only good skin, nice hair and nails, a good figure and external good looks. We fail to consider internal beauty, which is fundamental to creating external beauty.
The Ayurvedic method intimately relates inner and outer beauty, the balance of which makes a person really beautiful. The wisdom of Ayurveda has always understood beauty to be the product of internal beauty plus general physical health and appropriate daily care rather than just a cosmetic façade. Caring for oneself and practising good eating and living habits will make us look and feel our best. Good health is the only route to good looks. Appropriate self-care and good health will help us mature with strength and vitality as we grow older.
Beauty is Sublime
Beauty cannot be confined to complexion, shape, form, and feel. It is akin to a feeling or quality that transcends physical form and texture to reside ultimately in the heart as love, purity, and bliss. A word of kindness, a selfless act, a smile of innocence or a little peep into the divine can give birth to beauty that becomes a permanent presence. This feeling of fullness and connectedness to life is a direct expression of our innate human nature, which is joy.
When this quality pours out of you, all existence resonates with peace and joy. All one needs to experience this serenity is to open up to the secret wonders of inner beauty and be blessed with the warmth of the vastness it symbolises. True beauty is actually an outward expression of positive and noble thoughts.
However much life may be beset with ups and downs, a tinge of beauty and grace is enough to squeeze elation out of misery. Although difficult to express, at its highest level, beauty is the essence of all that is. It is the intangible yet ever-present connection between the seen and the unseen, between the expressible and the inexpressible, between the nameable and unnameable.
The Western emphasis on outer beauty has been expressed by the well-known saying that beauty is only skin-deep. The Eastern perspective of beauty, now being gradually recognised in the West, is a holistic approach. One of the earliest systems of medicine that held this holistic view is Ayurveda.
When we speak of beauty in the context of Ayurveda, we are not referring to commercial, market-driven ideals. In Ayurveda, beauty of both the inner self and outer being is intimately related. The more we nurture our health and inner qualities, the more radiant our physical appearance becomes, irrespective of our particular body shape or proportions. In keeping with the general orientation of the Eastern philosophy of health and healing, beauty can be viewed as having three aspects: outer, inner and secret—or physical, psychological and spiritual.
Inner Beauty
Inner beauty relates to inner qualities, including emotional states and mental abilities. Like physical characteristics, our mental abilities and temperaments are largely determined at birth via our genes. Although physical characteristics (prakiriti) remain relatively unchanged (such as blue eyes or a large skeletal frame), mental qualities can be changed by food and lifestyle. The food we eat and our current lifestyle have a significant impact on our state of mind. Not only does our food influence our well-being, but so do all the things that we perceive through our senses. The things we watch, hear, smell, and feel affect our mental and physical activities.
The Mental Aspect of Beauty
A calm and relaxed mind, termed sattvic in Ayurveda, is essential for a healthy and beautiful body. Multi-tasking reflects an overactive (rajasic) state of mind and leads to mental stress and physical tiredness. There is a relation between the body and mind. Clinical studies have shown that meditation, which is a calm and relaxed state of mind, retards the aging process, whereas mental stress and multi-tasking deplete physical immunity and reduce efficiency. Reducing negative feelings and accepting positive feelings enhance inner beauty. As the well-known saying goes, “As you think, so you become.”
Beauty and Soul
The secret or hidden aspect of beauty refers to soul. Our soul provides the energy, insight and inspiration to balance the inner and outer qualities of our being. Developing ourselves at the level of soul takes time, patience and a focus on the spiritual aspects of life. This is the mark of real maturity or self-realisation that ripens into a deep, lasting beauty. It can be developed by anyone, no matter one's age or physical ability. Eternal beauty is experienced from within and seen by all on the outside.
Thus, it is clear that beauty must be seen as an expression of the overall health of the body and mind of the individual as opposed to a modification of external looks in the hope of creating inner health and happiness. Today, the meaning of beauty is often shallow and is considered to mean only good skin, nice hair and nails, a good figure and external good looks. We fail to consider internal beauty, which is fundamental to creating external beauty.
The Ayurvedic method intimately relates inner and outer beauty, the balance of which makes a person really beautiful. The wisdom of Ayurveda has always understood beauty to be the product of internal beauty plus general physical health and appropriate daily care rather than just a cosmetic façade. Caring for oneself and practising good eating and living habits will make us look and feel our best. Good health is the only route to good looks. Appropriate self-care and good health will help us mature with strength and vitality as we grow older.
Beauty is Sublime
Beauty cannot be confined to complexion, shape, form, and feel. It is akin to a feeling or quality that transcends physical form and texture to reside ultimately in the heart as love, purity, and bliss. A word of kindness, a selfless act, a smile of innocence or a little peep into the divine can give birth to beauty that becomes a permanent presence. This feeling of fullness and connectedness to life is a direct expression of our innate human nature, which is joy.
When this quality pours out of you, all existence resonates with peace and joy. All one needs to experience this serenity is to open up to the secret wonders of inner beauty and be blessed with the warmth of the vastness it symbolises. True beauty is actually an outward expression of positive and noble thoughts.
However much life may be beset with ups and downs, a tinge of beauty and grace is enough to squeeze elation out of misery. Although difficult to express, at its highest level, beauty is the essence of all that is. It is the intangible yet ever-present connection between the seen and the unseen, between the expressible and the inexpressible, between the nameable and unnameable.
Beauty is Divine
So inseparable is beauty from truth and divinity that, in India, we have described existence in three words: satyam, shivam, sundaram (truth, God, beauty). Truth is considered beautiful and divine. God is considered true and beautiful. Thus beauty is regarded as a significant aspect of both the ultimate truth and the divine. All reflect the state or quality of being positive and noble.Taken simply as the opposite of ugliness, beauty is imprisoned as a mere word evoking little sentiment. But when liberated from the chains of limitations, the word acquires a transcendent and expansive touch. Usually this touch is felt in unexpected moments when one is closest to the source of the bubbling, positive thoughts within. One's thoughts, words and deeds are what make one good or bad, an ugly or beautiful human being.
Perverse Beauty
Unfortunately, nowadays most of our activities are directed at enhancing only our physical pleasures, feeding the senses with an almost constant barrage of excessively loud music, television and sexual indulgence, all done to keep the consciousness occupied. Yet, despite the ever-increasing number of distractions, we still feel that something is lacking. At least once in a while, most of us sense this intangible deficit. And we think that starting a new activity will end this despair, so we begin anew, only to be led into the same vortex again, leaving little time for self-discovery and self-maintenance. This gives rise to a feeling of stress and incompleteness that is reflected in our physical health and appearance.
As mentioned previously, Ayurvedic wisdom promotes the idea that a human being is a combination of body, mind, and soul. And, true beauty springs from a combination of a healthy body, mind, and soul. Thus Ayurveda believes in a threefold concept of beauty—physical, mental, and spiritual.
Depression and anxiety are always reflected in a person's appearance. Cosmetics cannot mask the impact of stress. A person with a relaxed mind and happy soul will look beautiful even without cosmetics. In Ayurveda, therefore, it is believed that lifestyle characteristics, such as adherence to non-violence, truth, and benevolence, and spiritual beauty achieved through a positive attitude and the practice of yoga and meditation, are important contributors to physical beauty.
Living in Harmony with Nature
Ayurveda is a way of life. It teaches us to live in harmony with nature and in synchronisation with its cycles. Our natural state is good health. Living in disharmony with nature leads to imbalances in the body-mind unit and consequently, to faulty thinking, pain, and disease. To return to health is to simply return to our natural state of total well-being.
Today, we tend to live our lives as if in a dream. Most of the time, we are oblivious to the inherent rhythms of nature such as those found in the seasons and days, as well as the cycles that occur in our bodies, such as hunger and thirst. How often has one found oneself skipping breakfast to get to work on time or grabbing a snack for lunch to meet the demands of a busy schedule? It is only at the end of the day that one realises that one has survived on little more than coffee and adrenaline all day. One feels stressed and unable to relax, even though one is mentally and physically exhausted.
Often, we spend long hours in unnatural environments with artificial lighting and air conditioning, be it in the car, office, home, or shopping mall. This detachment from a natural environment, augmented by improper diet and lack of self-care is the main cause of the general malaise and dissatisfaction we feel in our lives. The more we ignore the natural laws of existence, the more life seems to be a constant struggle. Hectic modernity takes its toll, stuffing our lives and minds with inflexible busyness. But we can change it for the better.
Literally, Ayurveda means the knowledge or science of ayu, which is defined as a combination of body, mind, senses, and soul. Ayurveda helps us to understand the world we live in and offers us the tools we need to live in harmony with nature. Ayurveda considers not only the physical body, but also the mind, senses, and soul. These are the four pillars on which the feeling of “I-am-ness” depends. Consequently, Ayurveda does not limit the scope of physical beauty to superficial, skin-deep beauty. It maintains that true physical beauty can be achieved only in a healthy body with a healthy mind and a realised soul.
(This article has been adapted from Dr. Chauhan’s recently released book, Eternal Beauty—the Aura of Ayurveda. You can get your copy of the book by ordering by phone on +91-129-4088152 or by email on info@jiva.com)
So inseparable is beauty from truth and divinity that, in India, we have described existence in three words: satyam, shivam, sundaram (truth, God, beauty). Truth is considered beautiful and divine. God is considered true and beautiful. Thus beauty is regarded as a significant aspect of both the ultimate truth and the divine. All reflect the state or quality of being positive and noble.Taken simply as the opposite of ugliness, beauty is imprisoned as a mere word evoking little sentiment. But when liberated from the chains of limitations, the word acquires a transcendent and expansive touch. Usually this touch is felt in unexpected moments when one is closest to the source of the bubbling, positive thoughts within. One's thoughts, words and deeds are what make one good or bad, an ugly or beautiful human being.
Perverse Beauty
Unfortunately, nowadays most of our activities are directed at enhancing only our physical pleasures, feeding the senses with an almost constant barrage of excessively loud music, television and sexual indulgence, all done to keep the consciousness occupied. Yet, despite the ever-increasing number of distractions, we still feel that something is lacking. At least once in a while, most of us sense this intangible deficit. And we think that starting a new activity will end this despair, so we begin anew, only to be led into the same vortex again, leaving little time for self-discovery and self-maintenance. This gives rise to a feeling of stress and incompleteness that is reflected in our physical health and appearance.
As mentioned previously, Ayurvedic wisdom promotes the idea that a human being is a combination of body, mind, and soul. And, true beauty springs from a combination of a healthy body, mind, and soul. Thus Ayurveda believes in a threefold concept of beauty—physical, mental, and spiritual.
Depression and anxiety are always reflected in a person's appearance. Cosmetics cannot mask the impact of stress. A person with a relaxed mind and happy soul will look beautiful even without cosmetics. In Ayurveda, therefore, it is believed that lifestyle characteristics, such as adherence to non-violence, truth, and benevolence, and spiritual beauty achieved through a positive attitude and the practice of yoga and meditation, are important contributors to physical beauty.
Living in Harmony with Nature
Ayurveda is a way of life. It teaches us to live in harmony with nature and in synchronisation with its cycles. Our natural state is good health. Living in disharmony with nature leads to imbalances in the body-mind unit and consequently, to faulty thinking, pain, and disease. To return to health is to simply return to our natural state of total well-being.
Today, we tend to live our lives as if in a dream. Most of the time, we are oblivious to the inherent rhythms of nature such as those found in the seasons and days, as well as the cycles that occur in our bodies, such as hunger and thirst. How often has one found oneself skipping breakfast to get to work on time or grabbing a snack for lunch to meet the demands of a busy schedule? It is only at the end of the day that one realises that one has survived on little more than coffee and adrenaline all day. One feels stressed and unable to relax, even though one is mentally and physically exhausted.
Often, we spend long hours in unnatural environments with artificial lighting and air conditioning, be it in the car, office, home, or shopping mall. This detachment from a natural environment, augmented by improper diet and lack of self-care is the main cause of the general malaise and dissatisfaction we feel in our lives. The more we ignore the natural laws of existence, the more life seems to be a constant struggle. Hectic modernity takes its toll, stuffing our lives and minds with inflexible busyness. But we can change it for the better.
Literally, Ayurveda means the knowledge or science of ayu, which is defined as a combination of body, mind, senses, and soul. Ayurveda helps us to understand the world we live in and offers us the tools we need to live in harmony with nature. Ayurveda considers not only the physical body, but also the mind, senses, and soul. These are the four pillars on which the feeling of “I-am-ness” depends. Consequently, Ayurveda does not limit the scope of physical beauty to superficial, skin-deep beauty. It maintains that true physical beauty can be achieved only in a healthy body with a healthy mind and a realised soul.
(This article has been adapted from Dr. Chauhan’s recently released book, Eternal Beauty—the Aura of Ayurveda. You can get your copy of the book by ordering by phone on +91-129-4088152 or by email on info@jiva.com)
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