Different types of love

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Feb 14, 2014

According to the dictionary love is defined 'a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

People use the word 'love' a lot of different ways. I just thought of sharing different types of love on Valentine day.

It’s a warm feeling based upon knowing and accepting someone. This relationship often involves mutual learning, caring and growth. Also, when you love someone you generally want them to be happy.

Romantic Love- An abiding love for a partner with whom you feel passion, attraction, caring and respect.

Infatuation-consists of people thinking they are in love, but indeed it is just a deep lust or like for another person.

Companionate Love- feelings of Infatuation consists of people thinking they are in love but when indeed it is just a deep lust or like for another person.warmth towards a friend with whom you love to spend time

Unconditional Love- A type of affection and caring that is so strong that you feel it consistently, regardless of what that other person does

Conditional Love- A love that requires specific action or conditions in order to be maintained. For example, at its extreme, a parent who gives very conditional love would only love his child when he gets straight A’s, and study a couse which the parents propose and marries according to parents wishes.. The love is based on outside conditions and when they do not occur, the love is withdrawn.

Puppy Love- A childish, innocent temporary crush on someone that you don’t know well.

Maternal Love- This term usually connotes love that is nurturing, accepting and protective.

Paternal Love- This term connotes love that involves guidance and some authority. Paternal love usually prepares a child to be ready for the outside world.

Spiritual/Divine Love- This type of love recognizes the Divine light in everyone and everything. Love is given to everyone as an act of loving God.

Love of your country or patriotism- This is love for the place you live or the place that were born. It is a type of loyalty and a special feeling of belonging that you attribute to that specific geographic location.

Self-Love- This is a positive feeling that you have about who you are and what you deserve. It often is expressed by treating yourself well, respecting yourself, wanting yourself to be happy and expecting others to respect you too. This love is based on ego.

Brotherly Love- This term connotes having a feeling of love for your neighbor, because all humanity is considered to be part of a larger family of human beings.

Tough Love- This term is used to describe a love that is expressed by setting boundaries for the good of the other person. So for example, a parent may send their teenager to rehab if he is drug addicted, even if he does not want to go. They feel that this is an act of love because it stems from a desire for their son’s ultimate good and happiness.

In our Tamil language love has separate words for each type of love. But generally in English when people utter the word love, people only think of romance.

In Tamil we have the specific word for this as kathal.

Mother's love is known as Thaay paasam, sibling's love also as sagothara paasam.

Love for pet's and neighbours as anbu and love for friends as nesam.

Love for all humans is known as manitha neyam

Last but not the least, love for God and guru is known as bhakthi.
You may like a person, but it is not necessary that you have to love the person.

Of course in English also we have words like affection, fondness, friendliness etc depicting different kinds of love.

Love all and be happy and make others also happy!

nalinidiv · Feb 14, 2014

Beautiful definitions and der tamil translations

jasmine25 · Feb 14, 2014

Dear PS mam,
Happy Valentines Day Nice Post about different types of Love!!

ananyakiran · Feb 14, 2014

Hey!
Thanks for sharing

Viswamitra · Feb 15, 2014

Dear Mrs. Srinivasan:

Thank you for summarizing various types of love especially on a Valentine's Day. Many times, all you hear from one or both parents is do's and dont's especially when the parents have greater responsibilities apart from raising children. After we grow up, we understand that they shower their love through their guidance and support. Measuring love by means of appreciation alone may not be correct. Some show their love by streamlining the children's life.

Even in case of spousal relationship, we always hear that the couple disagree a lot every day. In a way, telling the right thing despite knowing the intention of the other spouse is sure way of showing love for the spouse. Sometimes, I feel it is difficult to define love as it comes across in different forms.

Viswa

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Feb 15, 2014

dear nalinidiv,
Thank you for posting the first fb and also for your appreciation.
Love,
PS

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Feb 15, 2014

thank you jasmine dear for your wishes and sweet apprciation.
Love,
PS

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Feb 15, 2014

Dear ananya,
welcome to IL and hope you enjoy IL and also for your contributions. Sorry I couldn't read all of them, but noted your skill in language and the way you present your thoughts.
Love,
PS

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Feb 15, 2014

Dear Viswa,

Thanks for posting your thoughts on parental and couples relationship.

PS

Viswamitra said: ↑

Dear Mrs. Srinivasan:

Thank you for summarizing various types of love especially on a Valentine's Day. Many times, all you hear from one or both parents is do's and dont's especially when the parents have greater responsibilities apart from raising children. After we grow up, we understand that they shower their love through their guidance and support. Measuring love by means of appreciation alone may not be correct. Some show their love by streamlining the children's life.

What you have said is true. Parents advice is always for the good of the children. But some parents pressurize their children beyond their capacity and try to make them do what they wish with sama bedha dhanda upayas.

Even in case of spousal relationship, we always hear that the couple disagree a lot every day. In a way, telling the right thing despite knowing the intention of the other spouse is sure way of showing love for the spouse. Sometimes, I feel it is difficult to define love as it comes across in different forms.

Though we have been adjudged as the most compatible couple by our relatives we do have difference of opinion, but both of us has the quality of listening to reason.

I wonder whether there will be any couple who never fight or disagree.

PS
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Cheeniya · Feb 15, 2014

My dear PS
A very interesting read! And it set me thinking too. Love is a positive emotion that we feel towards others. There are varieties of love too as you have pointed out. But like any other emotion, love too should be reined in or otherwise even love could become ruinous. We have seen the disastrous effect of Dhritharashtra's unbridled love for his son Duryodhan. Years back, I saw a movie of K Balachander titled 'Pudhu pudhu arthangal' and I was appalled by the havoc caused by the mindless possessiveness of the wife.

Loving is an art. I am totally with Khalil Gibran on this emotion called Love.
"Let there be spaces in your togetherness," says Kahlil Gibran, "And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.... Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping"

My paternal grandma was known to have used different parameters of love towards her children and grandchildren. Some were her great favourites and others were almost like members of some other family! This caused great animosity and sibling rivalry in the family from which the family could never recover. It is a great mystery to me that a mother could love each of her children on such a varying scale!

On this Valentine's Day, we must remember that love is a very positive emotion but at the same time, we need to be very vigilant to ensure that it does not turn negative. If it does, it can be more ruinous than hatred, anger and jealousy.
Sri