God Is Beautiful - The Unrivaled Elegance of the Supreme Person
When people conceptualize the Absolute Truth, they often imagine a formless energy or a stern judge. Śrīla Prabhupāda, citing the rich descriptions of Vedic literature, reveals a much sweeter reality: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most exquisitely beautiful person in existence, whose eternal elegance captivates the hearts of all who see Him.
The Source of All Beauty
Because God is the origin of everything, He must possess every opulence in infinite measure. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Supreme Lord is naturally the most beautiful being, excelling the beauty of all demigods and serving as the ultimate reservoir of all aesthetics.
- Everything. He (God) must be very beautiful, He must be very wise, He must be very powerful, He must be very famous.
- The Supreme Lord, by His own potency, is unlimitedly more powerful than any yogi, He is unlimitedly more learned than any jnani, He is unlimitedly richer than any wealthy person, He is unlimitedly more beautiful than any beautiful living being.
- His eyes, His nicely decorated eyebrows, His raised nose and His broad forehead are all very beautiful. He is more beautiful than all the demigods.
- No one is richer, more famous, stronger, more beautiful, wiser or more renounced than He (the Supreme Person). These qualifications make Him the Supreme Godhead, the cause of all causes.
The Descriptions of His Form
The Vedic scriptures provide vivid, detailed descriptions of the Lord's physical elegance. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that whether appearing as the blackish Śyāmasundara, the four-armed Nārāyaṇa, or the majestic Mahā-Viṣṇu, every limb and feature of the Lord is constructed with absolute perfection.
- As stated in Brahma-samhita (5.38), the Supreme Lord in His original nature is very beautiful. Venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam: the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although blackish, is very, very beautiful.
- In his description of Krsna's beauty, Lord Siva uses the words carvayata-catur-bahu sujata-rucirananam, indicating the beautiful four-armed form of Narayana, or Visnu. Those who worship Lord Krsna describe Him as sujata-rucirananam.
- The Lord has four arms and an exquisitely beautiful face with eyes like lotus petals, a beautiful highly raised nose, a mind-attracting smile, a beautiful forehead and equally beautiful and fully decorated ears.
- Lord Maha-Visnu's helmet was bedecked with valuable jewels, and His beautiful earrings enhanced the beauty of the curling hair on His head. Lord Maha-Visnu had eight arms, all very long, reaching to His knees.
His Captivating Smile and Face
The focal point of the Lord's beauty is His enchanting face and smile. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights how Kṛṣṇa's merciful glance and radiant smile can easily captivate the entire world, putting the most beautiful elements of nature to shame.
- Lord Visnu looked extraordinarily beautiful because the goddess of fortune and a garland were situated on His chest. His face was beautifully decorated with a smiling attitude which can captivate the entire world.
- His face was more beautiful than millions upon millions of moons, and His teeth were like pomegranate seeds because of His chewing betel.
- The yogi then meditates upon the beautiful face of the Lord, which is adorned with curly hair and decorated by lotuslike eyes and dancing eyebrows. A lotus surrounded by swarming bees and a pair of swimming fish would be put to shame by its elegance.
- The Lord is superexcellently beautiful on account of His open and merciful smile and His sidelong glance upon His devotees. His black hair is curly, and His garments, waving in the wind, appear like flying saffron pollen from lotus flowers.
Satiating Senses and Defeating Impersonalists
Viewing the absolute beauty of the Supreme Lord is the ultimate cure for material desire and dry philosophy. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when the eyes are engaged in seeing the exquisitely decorated Deity, the devotee becomes completely satisfied, and the impersonalist's desire to merge into a void is instantly defeated.
- The word darsaniyatamam, which is used in this verse (SB 3.28.16), means that the Lord is so beautiful that the devotee-yogi does not wish to see anything else. His desire to see beautiful objects is completely satisfied by the sight of the Lord.
- It is explained in this verse (SB 3.25.36) that although they (devotees of God) do not have knowledge, simply by seeing the beautiful decoration of the Deity in the temple, the devotee is absorbed in thought of Him and loses all other consciousness.
- The impersonalist who feels transcendental pleasure in striving to become one with the Lord is defeated when he sees the beautiful transcendental features of the Lord.
- Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His eternal form is beautiful and pleasing to the heart of the devotee, He does not attract impersonalists, who want to meditate on His impersonal aspect. Such impersonal meditation is simply fruitless labor.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully establishes that the Absolute Truth is not a dry, impersonal void, but the most exquisitely beautiful person in all of existence. Because the Supreme Lord possesses all six opulences in full, He is naturally and unlimitedly more beautiful than any demigod or material entity. As vividly described in the Brahma-saṁhitā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Lord's form—whether as the blackish Śyāmasundara, the four-armed Nārāyaṇa, or the majestic Mahā-Viṣṇu—is perfect in every detail. His lotus eyes, raised nose, curly hair, and radiantly merciful smile can captivate the entire universe, putting even the most elegant natural phenomena to shame. Experiencing this beauty has a profound spiritual impact. When a devotee engages their eyes in viewing the beautifully decorated Deity (darśanīyatamam), their senses become perfectly satiated, their material desires evaporate, and they lose all attraction for mundane objects. Furthermore, this enchanting, transcendental beauty effortlessly defeats the fruitless meditations of the impersonalists. Therefore, the highest perfection of life is to continuously hear, chant, and meditate upon the magnificent beauty of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, allowing the soul's original, loving consciousness to be eternally invigorated and refreshed.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God Is Beautiful. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.