________________
Philosophical Writings
nature. On the otherside the Divine Beauty is of higher nature. The Indians refer these two Beauties as Inner Beauty and Outer Beauty or Physical Beauty and Divine Beauty also. Of course, in any case its main characteristics are giving pleasure and attraction. Indian aestheticians have also agreed the division of Beauty into relative and absolute. But to Indians absolute beauty is God - Perfect Being While relative beauty is wordly images or forms. 2.4. Nature of Beauty :
At the outset, we have seen and supported by many, from Plato till 20th century aestheticians that Beauty is a quality in object. Its main nature is to please. Beauty provides us with pleasure and joy. Since it is a feeling it has to be felt, it has to be experienced. It cannot be described or difined. Even then we notice certain charestlstics, essential elements which exist in all that is beautiful. This leads us to know more about the nature of Beauty. The most prominent and important one is order. Order is invariably associated with beauty. This order is not mechanical, extraneous or outer arrangement but is an inherent order, inextricably related to the sense of beauty. harmony, rythem, balance, proportion, symmetry are all forms of order.
Beauty has been considered, both by ancient Greeks as well as Indians, an aspect of divinity like Truth and Goodness. No one can experience Truth without being true, Goodness without being good, and similarly, no one can experience Beauty without being beautiful. This is the reason, perhaps, Indian writers insist upon the beauty of character for an artist.
Moreover, seeking beauty is not enough. Plato tells us that what we see and perceive are reflections, echoes, images. Plotinus declares: “It is necessary that whoever beholds this beauty should withdraw his view from the fajrest corporeal forms and convinced that these are nothing more than images, vestiges and shadows of beauty, should eagerly soar to the fair original form from which they are derived."
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
