Adyar Pamphlets

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

No. 67

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

by Anna Kamensky
A Paper read at the International Congress, Sto !holm. "eprinted from The Theosophist, Septem#er $%$&. Pu#lished in $%$6 Theosophi al Pu#lishing 'ouse, Adyar, Chennai ()adras* India The Theosophist +ffi e, Adyar, )adras. India ,- are familiar .ith the idea of the syntheti role of Theosophy in the domain of religious thought. ,e, as Theosophists, !no. that it forms a #ridge #et.een the intelligen e and the heart, #et.een s ien e and religion/ that it gi0es a #asis to faith, and, #y enlarging, spiritualises the domain of s ien e. At one time or another of our li0es .e ha0e, ea h one of us e1perien ed the #lessed .or!ing of this synthesis, and its pre ious 0alue has #een #rought home to us. There are, ho.e0er, other spheres .ith .hi h .e are less familiar, and in .hi h this pro#lem has #een less ela#orated. And yet the .or!ing of this synthesis ma!es itself e0ery.here felt in a most for i#le .ay, as for instan e, in the sphere of the hild, .here .e are fa e to fa e .ith the pro#lem of edu ation. ,e see that Theosophy, armed .ith its syntheti and enlightening po.er, ena#les us to grapple .ith the most intri ate pro#lems of edu ation, to sound depths .hi h ha0e ne0er yet #een fathomed. There is, it appears to me, a truth .hi h should #e an a1iom for e0ery Theosophist, and it is that the entre of gra0ity of all edu ation resides in the edu ation of Self 2 for to that end the .or! of all edu ationalists should tend. A.a!en as early as possi#le in e0ery human #eing the desire to .or! to.ards the ulture of his or her o.n soul and hara ter. It may #e remar!ed that this desire is #ound to follo. the a.a!ening of the religious ons iousness, and it is #rought home to us #est #y the path.ay of the Beautiful. ,hat then here is Beauty3 It is the partial manifestation of 4i0ine 'armony on earth. It is #rought a#out #y the perfe tion of sound or olour, of form or of mo0ement, .hi h a ompanies the un0eiling of the life of the soul/ it is effe ted in a mu h more noti ea#le .ay, .hen .e presuppose the perfe tion of sentiment, of thought and of hara ter. ,e thus arri0e at a synthesis of enormous s ope5 the synthesis of the ethi al pro#lem together .ith that of aestheti s, for the sour e of #oth is Beauty. ,hat then are .e to understand #y aestheti s3 It is the s ien e .hi h tea hes us to understand and realise the e1ternal #eauty of e0erything, .hile -thi s 6moral duty, o#ligation7 tea hes us to appre iate Page 1

Adyar Pamphlets

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

No. 67

and realise the internal inner #eauty of e0erything. It is lear and e0ident that these t.o spheres are in intimate onta t one .ith the other. Beauty of sound, olour and form must imper epti#ly lead us to the .orship of moral #eauty. But .e must first of all #e of one a ord as to .hat .e term the s ien e of #eauty. There is a .ide differen e #et.een the .ords aestheti s and aestheti ism. Nothing is #eautiful #ut the true,8 said Boileau. ,ithout truth there an #e no #eauty. And the only onditions under .hi h it an manifest itself are simpli ity and purity, .hi h al.ays a ompany true #eauty. It is in an atmosphere of purity that the artist9s talent gro.s, and that is .hy he must learn to li0e up to the on eption of higher things 2 on the heights, as it .ere. +ne self:interested mo0ement, one selfish desire, one earthly thought, and the pure urrent of inspiration #e omes trou#led, and the artist loses his reati0e genius. This tragi se;uen e has #een 0i0idly depi ted #y the "ussian .riter, <ogol, in one of his short stories, =The Pi ture8. It tells of a ri hly gifted young painter .ho #egins to #arter his talent/ little #y little his apa ity .ea!ens, his hara ter de ays, and ultimately his talent perishes. Aestheti ism, on the ontrary, does not see! true #eauty, .hi h it is in apa#le of produ ing. It see!s only effe t, #y .hat path, #y .hat means, it matters not. >oid of real life, it see!s the illusion of life, and .or!s on our ner0es #y une1pe ted and 0i#ratory impressions, .hi h produ e ertain sensations. Ignorant of true #eauty, aestheti ism an e1ist in an atmosphere of impurity, .hi h #y ontrast ena#les it to produ e its effe ts in a more mar!ed degree. 'en e it see!s .hat is artifi ial, unhealthy, frightful, and it is in the domain of human passions that its ra0ages are most disastrous. 'istory furnishes us .ith many stri!ing e1amples of the e1 esses to .hi h aestheti ism may lead. It suffi es to remem#er Nero .ho, in the midst of his orgies, and .hile .itnessing the torturing of the Christians, paid minute attention to the effe t of #eautiful light, and sang to his o.n a ompaniment on the harp .hile .at hing the #urning of "ome ordered #y him for the satisfying of his orrupted thirst for pleasure. 'ere .e gain an idea as to the lengths to .hi h aestheti ism dare #oldly 0enture .hen it is rampant/ and that is, as a general rule, .hene0er and .here0er there is moral and so ial de ay. ?alse in its on eption of #eauty, ulti0ating forms only, it #e omes a hideous mas! in its negation of the spirit of true life. But -thi s, the ulture of the #eautiful, al.ays stri!es the true note, the right hord, and thus #e omes on its up.ard mar h the t.in sister of moral re titude. But again, ho. is this union #rought a#out3 It is #rought a#out #y the aid of rhythm, .hi h spans the spa es #et.een the different planes of the uni0erse/ for rhythm is naught else than the manifestation of Life, and Life is a di0ine rhythm. A modern .riter, the Prin e >ol!ons!y, has gi0en us a delightful definition of the .ord rhythm and its 0alue. "hythm, he says, e1ists, #eats, and 0i#rates throughout the uni0erse. The drop of de. .hi h falls Page 2

Adyar Pamphlets

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

No. 67

from the roof of the sand, the magpie tapping on the sounding trun! of the .illo. tree, the inse t .hi h lea0es the regular mar!s of its passage a ross the soil, the t.in!ling star no. enlarging, no. diminishing its dis of light, the o ean .a0e ma!ing its #ed .ith rhythmi uniformity on the shore, and then gurgling ado.n the #ea h as it returns to the sea 2 all these are the #eatings of the uni0ersal heart, .hi h rea hes its realisation in man. But it lies in the po.er of man to hange his rhythm, and not only his o.n #ut that of others, and this po.er is perhaps the greatest that nature has onferred upon him. Than!s to it, man has reated the sphere of Art, and than!s to his apa ity to dire t his o.n .ill to the transformation of his rhythm, man is a#le to .or! at his edu ation of Self, not in order to reate art, #ut in order to reate on earth a fuller, ri her, more #eautiful, more pre ious, happier life, than that .hi h men and .omen lead today. The .riter here tou hes an essential point, for if man is a#le to transform his rhythm #y harmonising himself .ith that .hi h he ontemplates, .e ha0e there the method of moral al hemy, .ith possi#ilities for the perfe ting of man .hi h stret h #eyond the limit of our imagination. If .e fi1 our attention on any o#@e t and see! to !no. it, .hat happens3 ,e #egin to 0i#rate .ith it, and in this union of souls .e li0e .ith it, it is in us/ that is to say, there is a phenomenon of identifi ation, a phenomenon .hi h presently #rings a#out a omplete transformation of the .hole #eing. Let us ta!e for instan e a 0ery simple ase. Aou go for a .al! in the .oods, and, #usy .ith your o.n thoughts, you stride along paying no spe ial attention to the paths you are tra0ersing, to the #ran hes .hi h interla e o0erhead, to the #eauty of sun and s!y/ you gain from your .al! #ut a sensation of physi al .ell:#eing/ you .ill ha0e learnt little or nothing. But if you start out for the same .al! lea0ing #ehind you all .orldly pre:o upations and selfish thoughts, and gi0e yourself up to the #eauty of all that surrounds you, the flo.ers, the #ran hes, the s!y, you .ill #e penetrated and inspired and strengthened #y the pea efulness, the rest, the glory of it all. Then you .ill 0i#rate in unison .ith Nature, and you .ill feel it as a li0ing sym#ol of spiritual reality, of .hi h it is #ut one of the ountless 0eils. Its 0oi e .ill penetrate into your heart as a poem of @oy and gladness, to .hi h your soul .ill respond #y a hymn of than!fulness, and you .ill #o. in re0erent gratitude #efore 'im .ho tea hes us to !no. 'im #y 'is #eautiful .or!s/ you .ill, I reiterate, return from your .al! penetrated and filled .ith the purity and pea e .hi h #reathe from Nature, for you .ill ha0e #een, if #ut for a fe. moments, in intimate onta t .ith the soul of Nature. "eturning home, you .ill, if you are an artist, perhaps sing, or .rite a poem/ you .ill perhaps paint a pi ture, .hi h .ill inspire those .ho see it/ or again, it may #e you .ill simply @ust turn o0er a ne. page in your life .ith a 0o. to !eep it leaner than the pre0ious one/ for all these signs are one and the same. Aour Spirit, in dire t onta t for a moment .ith the 4i0ine Self, .ill ha0e dilated your #eing #y inspiring it .ith a reati0e for e, .hi h .ill see! to rush out in reation. The deeper the onta t in these hours of ontemplation, the deeper the results. And herein lies the se ret of <enius, .hi h instin ti0ely !no.s ho. to gi0e itself up entirely to these hours of profound pondering, to the earnest ontemplation of a phenomenon or an idea, and thus are made the great dis o0eries .hi h form epo hs in the history of thought and human ulture. It has #een @ustly said that .hat distinguishes a man of genius from other men is the apa ity for on entration.

Page 3

Adyar Pamphlets

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

No. 67

In all the spheres of human a ti0ity this apa ity is essential, and it is #y the ulture of it that the .or! of the artist, the poet, and the thin!er #egins. Let us no. pass on to the domain of moral re titude. 'ere .e meet .ith the same essential points. It is go0erned #y the same la.s, the same results a rue. Those .ho lead a deep and spiritual life and .ho #e ome our tea hers al.ays #egin #y a.a!ing in us the desire of inner attention, .hi h alone an gi0e the true har0est. If .e study the li0es of the saints, .e in0aria#ly find mar!ed out most learly the step from ontemplation to on entration, .hi h .e must follo., and this last, in its turn, leads to illumination. +ne of the ?athers of the <ree! Chur h, ?ather Theophane, defines the spiritual tra0ail of man in the follo.ing manner5 ?rom his intelligen e he des ends into the heart, and there rests in the presen e of <od. Then omes do.n silen e so great, that the mo0ement of a fly ould #e heard. And it is in this silen e that are #orn the follo.ing states of the soul. Con entrated attention. A pea eful #ene0olen e to.ards all, e0en to.ards our enemies. Complete re olle tedness. The deli0eran e of the heart from all earthly strife. The separation from all that is temporal. ,isdom then enlightens the .ill, and, arri0ed at this state of the soul, man thirsts to esta#lish harmony #et.een the e1ternal and the internal . . . . 'is lo0e of <od #e omes an irresisti#le for e, .hi h see!s to gi0e itself and to shed its rays on e0ery human #eing.

Thus said one of the ?athers of the <ree! Chur h. It is interesting to find in philosophy the !no.ledge of the same la.s, and of the po.er of on entration. ?i hte says5 =+#@e ts of the e1ternal .orld are reated in the super:indi0idual ons iousness, and are gi0en to the Self for ontemplation. And #y ontemplating these o#@e ts .e arri0e at a !no.ledge of the .orld, .hi h is the image of <od.8 S helling, #y the same method, arri0es at the follo.ing on0i tion5 =I am a li0ing Spirit.8

Page 4

Adyar Pamphlets

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

No. 67

'egel pro laims5 =The true !no.ledge of the A#solute is only possi#le #y ontemplation, .hi h arries us #eyond all that .e an on ei0e.8 These ;uotations from the .or!s of philosophers and saints gi0e as a result three important things5 $. That spiritual .or!, li!e all other .or!, demands ontinued attention, and that on entration is the #eginning of it. B. That the ontemplation of anything great helps to engender on entration. &. That during the hours of ontemplation a pro ess of intimate identifi ation goes on .hi h, #y putting us into harmony .ith the person or thing ontemplated, leads to the transfiguration of the #eing .ho ontemplates. In this state of transfiguration, .hi h is 0ery near illumination, is #orn spiritual ognition, the <nosis, in .hi h lo0e and !no.ledge are ompounded, and ,isdom appears. ,isdom, in its turn, illuminating our ,ill, impels it to a ti0e ser0i e, and ma!es of us ser0ants of <od and humanity. This last e1pression, the supreme e1pression of the state of the soul, is formulated in the >edCnta #y the ry of the Aogi of India5 =Tat t0am asi.8 It is the identifi ation of the illuminated Self .ith the 4i0ine Self, and the re ognition of this di0ine element in e0ery human #eing, great or small, #eautiful or ugly, .ea! or strong, in the saint as in the sa0age, in the ignorant as in the .ise. It is the ulminating point to .hi h our illuminated thoughts an rise during meditation, to that soul:inspired state .hi h #rings us to the 0ery threshold of the final union, of the triumph of the Spirit, .hen the illusion of matter is for e0er 0an;uished. The saints and .ise men, in order to attain this height, usually employ a on rete o#@e t of adoration, the supreme <uru, the )ahCde0a, .hose lotus feet are pla ed on flames on sa red earth. In other .ords they ontemplate an ideal in the image of .hi h they re ognise their Self. In the same .ay as the painter paints in his pi ture the li!eness of the di0ine 0ision .hi h has appeared to him/ as the poet, inspired #y a hero he has seen in his dreams, omposes his songs, so the soul also needs a model to help its gro.th/ and that is .hy the man .ho is see!ing spirituality must onstantly !eep himself fa e to fa e .ith the image of 'im .ho is for us the li0ing sym#ol of the #eauty of the soul. It follo.s of itself then, that if .e .ould help the younger generation, .e annot do #etter than pla e #efore its eyes some great ideal, .hi h .ill help it to ulti0ate the inner life, and gi0e it the ne essary inspiration. ?or #y ontemplating a great ideal .e un ons iously pla e oursel0es in harmony .ith it/ .e 0i#rate, if #ut for a moment, in onsonan e .ith it, and #y it our o.n rhythm is transformed to a rhythm stronger and more #eautiful. ,e un ons iously identify oursel0es .ith that .hi h .e ha0e set up as our ideal, and in this momentary identifi ation .e gro., our .hole #eing e1pands in the atmosphere of #eauty, and .e issue forth from these hours of ontemplation #etter and purer than .e .ere #efore.

Page 5

Adyar Pamphlets

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

No. 67

It is @ust in these hours of intimate meditation that .e dis o0er our 4i0inity, and the dis o0ery ena#les us more learly to dis ern our di0ine possi#ilities and po.ers. It is 0ery natural that .e should see! more and more to rene. this onta t, .hi h .ords annot on0ey, .ith the <od in us, and that .e should to this end #egin the .or! of purifi ation/ for .e feel that .e must render oursel0es .orthy of this onta t in order to e1perien e in all its fulness the unspea!a#le @oy it an gi0e. ?or do .e not !no. that only the pure in heart an hope to see that .hi h is di0ine3 'ere .e ha0e a great stimulus for the .or! ne essary to hange and influen e our .ill, .hi h, lighted #y lo0e, transforms our passi0e desire into an a ti0e and ons ious energy. In other .ords, the .ill hanges from the stati to the !ineti state. And so, a.a!ened #y lo0e for that .hi h .e ontemplate, the onta t of .hi h gi0es su h profound satisfa tion to our .hole #eing, .e find in #eauty a stimulus .hi h #e omes an irresisti#le for e for good, and .hi h impels us to a ti0ity in systemati .or! for the ulture of the soul. This ulture auses rapid gro.th of the po.ers of our .ill, and purifies our .hole #eing, as .e ome more and more into harmony .ith the o#@e ts of our adoration/ and the inner a umulation of strength finds an issue for the pouring out of itself in the path of ser0i e. There is therefore no greater help to.ards spiritual gro.th than to re ognise a something greater than oursel0es, and to follo. it .ith all the strength of .hi h .e are apa#le. There is no sour e of su h ine1hausti#le inspiration as the di0ine ideal, .hi h Theosophy offers to us in the august image of the )asters of ,isdom and Compassion, the simple thought of .hom ma!es our soul trem#le .ith re0erent and sa red @oy. ,hat then, to the soul, an matter trials, trou#les, onfli ts, tempests, .hen it has #efore it the glorious 0ision of Those .ho guide the life of the .orld, and .hen it has understood the reality and #eauty of the path that leads to Their feet3 No more dou#t, no more fear is possi#le/ pre ipi es or 0erdant paths, pain or @oy, all are the gifts of Their #lessed hands, and all is .ell .ith us, for all these #ut lead us to Their feet. The radiant 0ision of Their #eauty is an unfailing, ine1hausti#le sour e of inspiration, .hi h gi0es the unspea!a#le @oy of ser0i e, together .ith that pea e .hi h lets in the light intense, and !eeps it e0er #urning. Is it not then true to say that there is no more po.erful for e than Beauty, nothing that has greater influen e o0er us, no inspiration that is more uplifting3 The "ussian .riter 4ostoie0s!y, the great un ons ious Theosophist, .as right .hen he said5 =It is Beauty Page 6

Adyar Pamphlets
that .ill sa0e the .orld.8

Beauty in the Light of Theosophy

No. 67

Page 7