JOIN USNone of us can resist being drawn to things that are beautiful. It is a tendency that is integral to human nature.
The poet, John Keats, has gone so far as to assert that ‘Truth is Beauty and Beauty Truth, that is all ye know on earth and that is all ye need to know.’
Is it safe then to assume that the pursuit of beauty will lead us to the truth that underlies human existence? Can it help us to arrive at the meaning of life and to enjoy fulfillment?
Many things that surround us appear beautiful and so we gather them feverishly. They range from flowers and jewellery to prized works of art. Unfortunately they do not succeed in bringing meaning to life. Material things erode; they get lost or are stolen.
They need to be looked after and this adds to our cares. Worse still, the more we gather, the more we desire. At some point of time though we find that instead of possessing them, they possess us. We begin to see it as a form of slavery and our obsession with these objects wanes. We perceive little in them that is truly beautiful. The renowned philosopher, Erich Fromm, has described this as the ‘Having Mode’ and points out that it is ‘dedicated to material possessions and property, aggressiveness, personal gain with accompanying evils of war.’
There is another kind of beauty that holds us in thrall. It is related to the human body and held in high esteem by both man and woman. From time immemorial, pills and potions, fashions and fads have been used to enhance one’s looks and win attention and appreciation.
While looking neat and presentable is desirable, carrying this to absurd lengths is self-defeating. There are those who have no qualms in submitting themselves to the surgeon’s knife in order to sculpt their bodies. The young fall prey to anorexia in order to stay slim.
We are told again and again that happiness and achievement lie in looking young and attractive and so are lured into buying expensive beauty products. Even the old often fall victim to this theory on the assurance that age is just a number. All this is not to suggest that beauty is a chimera, a false instinct or a yearning that must be suppressed and done away with.
The cliché that beauty is inner radiance has much truth in it. Sooner or later, physical beauty can pall or fade away, but inner goodness exercises a charm that never disappears. The name of Mother Teresa comes to mind. She possessed no features of classical beauty. In her latter years her face was crisscrossed in wrinkles, her body bent and her hands gnarled. Yet the impression she created was invariably one of beauty.
As Scott Westerfield has said, ‘What you do, what you think makes you beautiful and that is the truth.’ The great poet was right after all – ‘Truth is Beauty and Beauty Truth’!