I sat transfixed and speechless almost overcome with tears at the sight. As my eyes feasted on the ravishing landscapes , breathtaking oceanic lakes , the glacier encrusted mountains peaks , and lush green valleys of Switzerland I wondered whether such mesmerizing beauty could really exist or was it a dream. But there was also this question that remained with me thruout this vacation to Switzerland a couple of weeks ago and which has fascinated me since a long time. Where exactly does beauty lie? Was beauty in this case a property of the landscapes and mountain peaks of Switzerland or was that just our thought about it. I also knew where I would find the answer to this question. In my spiritual seeking and search for truth I was blown away by the way Rupert spira would speak about beauty, painting, music, non duality and consciousness in the same breath. His answers convinced me the most about something I always had an intuition about but for which I had no explanation and also I wanted to hear an answer which could be understood by anyone irrespective of whether they were interested in spirituality or not. I needed something deeper than the oft quoted ' Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder' stuff. And afer all who among us has not been fascinated by beauty whether of a person or landscape or a painting ?. Rupert describes that the phenomenon of beauty is experienced when there is a collapse between the observer ( one who is looking) and observed ( thing looked at). In our normal day to day experience we feel that there is this person( I) looking at an object. But when we encounter a breathtaking sight this duality no longer exists. And when this collapse of the observer- observed takes place it is consciousness which gets a taste of itself which is what is perceived as beauty. Thought then comes in after a short gap and attributes this beauty to the object. Actually however it is a property of our own consciousness .Rupert brilliantly elucidates that masterpieces in the work of art or painting or music can be attributed to this phenomenon. A painter who is able to bring out ( consciously or otherwise) this collapse of the observer- observed situation is able to create something which is so beautiful to be labelled as a masterpiece.

Eckhart Tolle too describes the beauty of nature as the shining of presence ( a similar term as consciousness) in moments of incredible breathtaking natural beauty when the thinking mind stops. In this state of ' no mind' or absolute stillness' what emerges is a deep ineffable presence which is the perception of beauty. Once again when the mind or thought returns after a short gap from the thoughtless awareness of beauty it interprets the beauty to the object. Eckhart Tolle also quotes' All true artists whether they know it or not create from a place of no mind or inner stillness' . So the next time you behold an ncredibly beautiful sight, remember to pause and ponder about where the beauty is arising from.....😊