The essence of love

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus showed His love for others by blessing and serving the poor, the sick, and the distressed. He told His disciples, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

His disciple Paul echoed his philosophy by saying, “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8a (ESV)

Closer home, the God of love in Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna, starts His message of devotion and adoration by enlightening Arjuna: “We are all souls, spiritual beings (Gita 2.13), entitled to rejoice in eternal love with the supremely lovable and loving God, Krishna.”

He has adhered to this belief in Bhagavad Gita; by commenting, “The only way you can conquer me is through Love, and there I am gladly conquered.”

For that matter other religions profess much the same. Even the Quran tells the Prophet to say to the Muslims: “If you love God follow me and God will love you and forgive you your sins, for God is most forgiving, most merciful” (3:31).

Loving and giving, indeed, are qualities of God in every religion.

At this point, we may well recall the Guru Granth Sahib. In it, there is an oft quoted line from the writing of Guru Gobind Singh in which he says ,’’Listen all! I declare the truth, that those of who become loving alone will realize God.’’ When we forget ourselves and lose ourselves in the Divine, our Atman finds union with the Paramatman . In Eckhart Tolle’s words ,’’To love is to recognise yourself in another.’’ When we find an echo of ourselves in the Lord , we arrive at a real understanding of our Self.

As we wind up, let us remember that true love ,be it normal or supranormal, is when you are accepted for who you are. This quote by Elizabeth Gilbert sums it up beautifully, “To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous”.