Lavanya

This Sanskrit word means beauty or loveliness. However, not in a worldly sense. It describes the inner beauty of the matured soul. The quality of Lavanya can only manifest in one who has destroyed egotism, jealousy, hatred, spite, pride and other mean qualities. The beauty of such a person shines like a lovely radiance in the face and beams as spiritual power from the eyes. This word is often used when describing the qualities of the Divine Mother. In the Ashram we sing the inspiring bhajan :

Jagadishwari Jaganmata Bhavani,
Karunya, Lavanya Akhilandeshwari

It means, Supreme Mother who rules the universe, you are pure existence itself, Compassionate and divinely beautiful Mother of all! In today's world we are so conscious of fashion and beauty and when we think of beauty we tend to consider only external good looks. Swamiji has often told us that he is not at all interested in outward beauty but only in our inner beauty. He said, "Inner beauty is permanent. This quality is gained by one who is always calm, even-minded, controlled and concentrated on the Divine in the heart-centre."