True Love Uplifts The Human Spirit
It is now fashionable to ask: Why do we say "falling" in love and not "rising" in love? We "fall" in love because to love implies total surrender. Unless we surrender our ego to the object of our love, we cannot realise the power and expanse of love. There are two basic emotions which drive this world: love and hate. All relationships are affected in some way or other by these, and so they can either help sustain or destroy the universe in which we interact with one another and the environment. Once fully realised, love is the most powerful force that holds us together, the most vibrant of feelings which uplifts and rejuvenates humankind. Love can be for an object, animate or inanimate, or even for a higher sublime force which is inherent in us as energy, encompassed in the physical form. To externalise the feeling of love and direct it towards an outer object, we have to first love our self, the Self which is pure, whose nature is sat-chit-ananda. Thus in loving somebody we become aware of the supreme energy within, that which liberates us and thus denotes absolute freedom to the object of our love. The wise man, realising the virtues of true love, lets his heart speak out and in so doing seeks communion with the cosmic energy of which he is a part. I am reminded of the popular adage, if you love somebody, let him free. If he does not come back to you, he was never meant to. The body may or may not return, but the energy of which you are a part will always remain within. That is the subtle difference between physical w and spiritual love. 10 While the former is acquired and happens due to circumstances in which we are placed, the latter is already within and grows imperceptibly as we acquire experience and awareness of our being a part of the source of love. Selfless love has been exalted down the ages; possessive love that breeds jealousy and hatred only creates obstacles in the path to self-realisation. The story goes that Sage Narada, who believed that he could never be attached to anybody, one day met a pretty damsel by the riverside, fell in love and married her. In due course they had nine children and lived happily together. One day the river unleashed its fury and ravaged its banks, sweeping off his wife and the last child, a newborn. Grieving for his loved ones, Narada broke down and wept inconsolably, praying to Vishnu to rescue his family from distress. The Lord appeared and told him to open his eyes. Narada became aware that all that was maya, illusion- from his meeting the maiden until the final denouement Physical love which flows out of attachment to a given object ends when the object itself dies. That love cannot be everlasting. We need to move beyond the perimeter of physical love and reach for the infinite if we have to sustain ourselves with the perennial flow of love. Bhakti and Sufi saints and poets have used love as a means to self-realisation. attainment of the Absolute. They saw themselves as embodiments of love and spread the message of love and compassion to fellowbeings. Such love becomes an ennobling experience and the person who is aware of that lives a fulfilled life. All his actions are directed towards positive channelling of energy and he thus gains fulfilment, both in physical as well as spiritual life. With the positive flow of energy rising upwards, he is able to transcend himself.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Malay Mishra personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Malay Mishra and Speaking Tree,Times of India
True Love Uplifts The Human Spirit
It is now fashionable to ask: Why do we say "falling" in love and not "rising" in love? We "fall" in love because to love implies total surrender. Unless we surrender our ego to the object of our love, we cannot realise the power and expanse of love. There are two basic emotions which drive this world: love and hate. All relationships are affected in some way or other by these, and so they can either help sustain or destroy the universe in which we interact with one another and the environment. Once fully realised, love is the most powerful force that holds us together, the most vibrant of feelings which uplifts and rejuvenates humankind. Love can be for an object, animate or inanimate, or even for a higher sublime force which is inherent in us as energy, encompassed in the physical form. To externalise the feeling of love and direct it towards an outer object, we have to first love our self, the Self which is pure, whose nature is sat-chit-ananda. Thus in loving somebody we become aware of the supreme energy within, that which liberates us and thus denotes absolute freedom to the object of our love. The wise man, realising the virtues of true love, lets his heart speak out and in so doing seeks communion with the cosmic energy of which he is a part. I am reminded of the popular adage, if you love somebody, let him free. If he does not come back to you, he was never meant to. The body may or may not return, but the energy of which you are a part will always remain within. That is the subtle difference between physical w and spiritual love. 10 While the former is acquired and happens due to circumstances in which we are placed, the latter is already within and grows imperceptibly as we acquire experience and awareness of our being a part of the source of love. Selfless love has been exalted down the ages; possessive love that breeds jealousy and hatred only creates obstacles in the path to self-realisation. The story goes that Sage Narada, who believed that he could never be attached to anybody, one day met a pretty damsel by the riverside, fell in love and married her. In due course they had nine children and lived happily together. One day the river unleashed its fury and ravaged its banks, sweeping off his wife and the last child, a newborn. Grieving for his loved ones, Narada broke down and wept inconsolably, praying to Vishnu to rescue his family from distress. The Lord appeared and told him to open his eyes. Narada became aware that all that was maya, illusion- from his meeting the maiden until the final denouement Physical love which flows out of attachment to a given object ends when the object itself dies. That love cannot be everlasting. We need to move beyond the perimeter of physical love and reach for the infinite if we have to sustain ourselves with the perennial flow of love. Bhakti and Sufi saints and poets have used love as a means to self-realisation. attainment of the Absolute. They saw themselves as embodiments of love and spread the message of love and compassion to fellowbeings. Such love becomes an ennobling experience and the person who is aware of that lives a fulfilled life. All his actions are directed towards positive channelling of energy and he thus gains fulfilment, both in physical as well as spiritual life. With the positive flow of energy rising upwards, he is able to transcend himself.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Malay Mishra personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Malay Mishra and Speaking Tree,Times of India