What is termed beauty?

• pleasing to one's eyes?
• that which brings joy?
  
• a stimulant?
• a delight factor?
• palpable?
  

The questions team up.

Oft quoted lines / phrases on beauty:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty is only skin deep.
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

aah... outlook on beauty varies from people to people... Suresh and me were on our way to a birthday party, when we saw a guy who looked very handsome and drove a BMW. It was like a beauty driving another beauty. But, it rudely came to an end, when that guy opened the window of his car and spit. I was shocked beyond words and furious.. What happened? Is it justified on my part to judge a person by one simple act? I might be at wrong but he did something, I despised and the spell was broken. Period!!

On the other hand, some people may not be eye catching, but they have that inner beauty and with which will make them irresistible. What stimulates one person may not stimulate the other. So, can we conclude beauty is subjective?

When we make up our mind to find a place, person or thing attractive, we do find them attractive. I plan to take a trip to Scotland (My dream place).. I already have a mental picture on Scotland, built upon various photographs and video clips I had seen. It can only be more beautiful when I see it live. Beauty is universal. A snow capped mountain, a baby bloom, a beautiful beach with white sand, a child's toothless smile brings in a rush of emotion to every one. Who will not like a lush green meadow or a magnificent boat house or a luxury cruiser? So can we conclude beauty is objective?

I recall one of Wordsworth's poem " The solitary reaper", it is all about a piece of music, a song sung by a highland girl, while reaping her crop. The language of the song remained foreign to the poet but the melody and the rhyme was compelling and touched his soul he wants to know the meaning of the song. The sense of beauty is beyond the bounds and it strikes at us at the least expected moment.

"Will no one tell me what she sings?--
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:"

and the closing lines:

"Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;--
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more."

God is a good artist, he created many of us, gave us varied tastes and varied senses, which results in perfect balance between a seeker and what he soughts after.