Satyam Shivam Sundaram सत्यं शिवम् सुन्दरम्
By Yogini Shambhavi
Yoga and Vedanta defines the Cosmic Reality in a threefold manner:
Satyam Shivam Sundaram
Truth, Auspiciousness, Beauty
Satyam is the absolute eternal truth, the unity of all existence, our true Self of pure consciousness that includes and transcends all name and form, time, space and karma.
Shivam is what is supremely auspicious and fulfilling, in which there is complete peace and tranquility beyond all disturbance, sorrow and death.
Sundaram is ultimate beauty, bliss, happiness, contentment and delight, in which we find a Divine light and presence in all. True Beauty is an inner consciousness of bliss (Ananda) where the mind reflects our radiant cosmic inner Being. Beauty unveils the dynamism of creativity, aligned with a higher mysticism, idealism, harmony and wisdom.
When our hearts, minds and expressions are in sync with the cosmic rhythms, we draw our awareness into the bliss and beauty of Mother Earth and Mother Nature extending into the unknowable Vast beyond. A contemplative heart lures the Divine into all our experiences from the ground to the sky.
Discovering Sundaram
Cultivate your ‘inner eye’ to see the saundarya or presence of beauty in everything in nature around you. Meditate outside in nature open to the sky and atmosphere. Awaken the innocent child within you to connect to the freedom of life’s Lila or Divine play beyond the constraints of the mind.
The Yogic perspective of ‘Beauty’ means Awakening Your Yoga Shakti, The Inner Power of Yoga, highlighting the feminine nature, energy and grace behind the universe. The key to this transformation rests in awakening an ‘Inner Beauty’ in whatever we do, as an expression of the Divine Ananda. Deeper Beauty reflects a rich inner experience of life well lived, where we learn to consecrate the sacred Shakti, awakening its intrinsic force as a continuous flow of divine grace into all that we do.
The transformative movement of time is the key player taking us into a sojourn in our deeper truth, where beauty and bliss endure within us beyond all outer appearances. Through accepting the movement of Nature, one realizes that beauty is not merely about one’s appearance through body or face. Beauty manifests in one’s spirit through our expression, thoughts, temperament and kindness – our behavior overall and how we relate to others.
Beauty and Time
Human life follows the rhythms and cycles of nature through the days, months, seasons and stages of our lives, each which has its own place, beauty and wisdom. Birth, growth, decay and death are part of a mystical process where we are guided by our inner Being beyond time as measured by biological years. Beauty must light up the sparkle in our eyes, where humor rings through our laughter. We should not forget the beauty of the autumn leaves as we take our pilgrimage in the realm of time.
Why should we be embarrassed by our happiness in life? And if there is pain, shouldn’t we help heal it instead of camouflaging it? We can experience it with kindness as part of life, but move beyond it through life’s search for transcendence.
The gentle furrows between our eyebrows is a sign of character, where a deeper wisdom comes from thoughtful contemplation. Beauty turns our inner world into forays of intelligence from learning life’s many lessons, gentle or harsh. Being obsessed with looking youthful through artificial means only hurts our inner spirit. Being afraid of aging is like crushing the spirit of evolution. Our grandmothers held a depth in their characters, despite the age lines which marked their character of spirit.
The Eternal Presence
Natural beauty reflects one’s attitude in life, a sparkle of fire in one’s eyes, a gentle and kind temperament to all. As we age, our character reflects more and more on our faces, where love and kindness mark their luminosity and beauty, intimating a deeper wisdom born of intelligence and compassion, the wisdom of eternity, not the fear of time!
The movement of life constantly enriches our existence, empowering our thoughts, expressions and emotions to exude the sweet bliss of its divine journey. So why should we hide behind the vagaries of the outer trappings which obscure our inner truth. Embrace aging as a beautiful expression of life’s mystical journey.
Look into the mirror and embrace your inner light behind your visible form, or else you will always look into the mirror with fear and anxiety and watch that calendar on the wall as determining the movement of your life.
We need to embrace our Svashakti, our own inner power of beauty and grace that pervades all that we see. Eternal youthfulness is resting in the eternal presence of Being in which every moment is ever new through all of nature. Our inner light can take us beyond death and sorrow, if we let it illuminate our inner Self.
The Devata of Beauty, Sundareshvara is Shiva Mahadeva and his consort Parvati as Sundareshvari. If we remember the Ananda that is Shiva and Shakti united within and around us, then Satyam and Shivam, Truth and Auspiciousness with always be with us.
