What is divine love?

Viswamitra · Apr 28, 2015

“Is it possible for you to speak about “Divine Love” asked the President of the spiritual center via email. I responded affirmatively, as preparing for a presentation to talk on that subject would be very elevating. Having agreed to speak, I was thinking about the target audience of 70-100 people primarily Hindus, Christians and Jews. Once I collected my thoughts what to present, the PowerPoint was made very easily.

What is divine love? It is very breath of life, that which manifest equal to all realizing that all are from the same source with great reverence to the source that materialized life. After all, it is the love of the Universal Absolute (“UA”) that manifested the form of this universe. Having defined love, I needed to declare where to find the source of all beings and how to seek the UA? I believe that the UA is hidden behind the mountain range of one’s lust, anger, jealousy, hate and selfishness. By one-pointed focus, one can have visibility of the UA. Even if one has visibility, one should be able to seek UA only through a mind unsullied by attachment and hatred, speech unsullied by falsehood and a body unsullied by violence. More than any other qualities what makes humans dear to the UA? Definitely, it is one who has self-control, disciplined, patience, kindness, comradeship and joy.

Everyone has own way of deriving the spiritual practices but most important ones are a) to search for the fault and weaknesses of self, b) serve the fellow beings with heart’s content and c) perform deeds that are pure and unsullied. No matter what religion one follows and even one does not follow any religion, one should build an excellent character through a body of principles developed through righteousness. Ancient wisdom can be derived from the holy books or from real life experiences by applying righteousness. One’s conscience is the best judge and one can be consultative but should use own discrimination to determine what is a right action.

It is the consequences of one’s action that makes or breaks life. The best way one can build character is to avoid mistakes, if mistakes were made regret with pure heart and redirect life towards the right path. It is much more important than performing poojas or worship. One has to remember death which is inevitable, engage whole-hearted in the journey of life, with good wishes for all, with strict adherence to truth, seeking always the company of good, and the mind always fixed on the righteousness and truth. One should lead a life avoiding evil deeds, hateful and harmful thoughts and stay unattached to the world.

[FONT=&amp]Among the qualities that makes up a flawless character, love for all, patience, forbearance, steadfastness and charity are the highest and they have to be revered. [/FONT][FONT=&amp]The hundred little deeds that one indulges in every day hardens into habits. These habits shape the intelligence and mold the outlook and life. All that one weaves in one’s imagination, seek in one’s ideals, yearn in one’s aspirations, and leave an indelible imprint on the mind. Distorted by these, one forms knowledge, the picture of the world around, and it is to this picture that one gets attached. Life is a sacrifice and each little offering is to the Truth residing inside and if the day is spent in acts performed in such mindset, the sleep is nothing but Samadhi. Sometimes, one dwells in external illusions spends the entire life time with ignorance and when one becomes knowledgeable dwells in internal illusion that it is one’s own ability that made one greater. Neither of this is true and the one who doesn’t dwell in either one of this illusions becomes Self-realized.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Every act one performs in life should be performed skillfully with the best of one’s ability, lovingly with a deep commitment to whatever one does and with the mind of renunciation of the fruits of such actions. If love is the reason this life came into existence, love is the reason this life is sustained and love is the reason a life ends, isn’t it appropriate to call UA as manifestation of pure love? The one who is the most capable in this world is one who is able to make his body perform actions for the benefit of the fellow beings with a pure heart and a mind that is totally selfless. The body should feel servitude to the creation, the mind should feel one is part of this vast creation and the heart should feel all are one. [/FONT]

girvani · Apr 28, 2015

Dear Viswa Sir,
I read a quite a few times to absorb the content. What a lovely way you have summarised the essence of living. When I reflect on myself, I can see the weaknesess and faults in my self. Especially the list is growing as I grow older too. Some of which I was able to get rid of it easily and some are harder and I am working on it. With the close family and friends, I feel that I can serve and pour my love unconditionally. With certain others, I do and do it with honesty, but there is something, somewhere, I expect an acknowlegement. I am trying hardest to remove that feeling , but Sir this is being very difficult.
Thank you for guiding us and I will read this often to make me grounded
Warm regards
Vani

Scorpio707 · Apr 28, 2015

Viswa Sir,

Like girvani mentioned I too had to read more than once, and still reading while I am responding to you. I believe sometimes we all live life in a nut shell and do and see things that we are used to only, ignoring our existence. I suppose it changes with time and age.

The one statement that struck my mind is -" It is the consequences of one’s action that makes or breaks life" so very true....life is what we make of it.

PushpavalliSrinivasan · Apr 28, 2015

Dear Viswa,

Divine love is of spiritual nature and is all en-compassing and unconditional. Divine love is only attributed to God as God is love personified. As we are all sparks of the Creator and the Creator is LOVE, we are also therefore love. Yet in our human state we are using only our five senses at our free will and we o perceive that other humans, animals and nature are separate from us.

This is perception of separateness is the real cause for all our woes.

PS

Viswamitra · Apr 28, 2015

Dear Vani,

I am grateful to you for reading and responding to my post. By writing all this, I am not expressing my clarity but only the confusion that I go through every day. I have several weaknesses and faults myself and I am hoping that something someone says here in this forum would help clear my confusions.

Recognizing our own faults and weaknesses is a major step towards spiritual growth. I am not devoid of such expectations you have mentioned either and many times that expectation leads me to disappointments as well. I agree with you it is hard but since the learned people teach us to do so, I assume it is not impossible to do.

Franky, more than guiding others, I am seeking guidance from the learned members of this forum. Each one of us have our own strengths and weaknesses and we all learn from each other. My knowledge is very limited and I am humbled everyday by several things that happen day to day. I look for lessons from every experience and sometimes I get it and other times I don't. Like you, I am a seeker a spiritual aspirant aiming to find the Truth in life eliminating the cobweb of Maya I am entangled in. Thank you for your kind words and it humbles me more.

Viswa

Viswamitra · Apr 28, 2015

Dear Scorpio,

Thank you for your response. We are like children given with various legos to build something meaningful. We are not interfered with as our own consciousness observes our actions as a witness. One bird is doing action while other bird is watching. We explore various options and sometimes we fail and sometimes we succeed. It is important for us to learn lessons from our failures and become humbled by our successes. We have to remember our own right actions build our character and as our good character remains immortal, let us hope that we will be able to achieve peace and bliss.

Viswa

Viswamitra · Apr 28, 2015

Dear Smt. Srinivasan:

Thank you for your response. You have narrated what is spiritual love in one sentence better than what I articulated in the entire post. As I mentioned in my post, life came into existence because of love, sustains in love and ultimately merges in love. As you rightly pointed out it is our perception of the world received from our senses and mind that causes all the woes and control of the senses of mind are the entry pass to the Kingdom of the Lord.

Viswa

jayasala42 · Apr 28, 2015

Dear Viswa,

Actually I read your other snippet about'Expectations' and missed this wonderful article in the morning.Just now I glaced through the list.
An invaluable treasure by Viswa narrated in his inimitable style.You have enthroned the four lettered word'Love' enriched the same with your simple but ornamental phrases.

Divine love has been experienced by many seers and scholars-the love that has no boundaries, no expression .Jayadeva's Ashtapadhi or Geetha govindam, as is called in literary circles is a master piece of divine love.Jayadeva ,to make common man understand, picturises love and it looks as an ordinary mortal love on the surface.But on going deep into the wonderful poems we will understand that it is divine love dressed up in Shringara or Romance.
Who else other than Swami Vivekanada can define love in explicit terms"?
He symbolizes love by a triangle.
The first angle is, love questions not. It is not a beggar. . . . Beggar's love is no love at all. The first sign of love is when love asks nothing, [when it] gives everything. The person who seeks so many favours from God cannot find a place in the list. He is a beggar. How can he give anything to others?

The second [angle of the triangle of love] is that love knows no fear. You may cut me to pieces, and I [will] still love you. Suppose one of you mothers, a weak woman, sees a tiger in the street snatching your child. I know where you will be: you will face the tiger. . The fear of God is the beginning of religion, but the love of God is the end of religion. All fear has died out.

The third [angle of the love-triangle is that] love is its own end. It can never be the means. The man who says, "I love you for such and such a thing", does not love. Love can never be the means; it must be the perfect end. What is the end and aim of love? To love God, that is all. Why should one love God? [There is] no why, because it is not the means. When one can love, that is salvation, that is perfection, that is heaven. What more? What else can be the end? What can you have higher than love?
Viswa you have elevated kindness and mutual help without expectation to the level of Divine Love, the core principle of day to day human existence.
Notwithsatnding instructions from so many scriptures and bhashans by scholars ,'divine love' has not yet penetratesd through human beings. As atemporary phenomenon, it makes a flying visit and escapes.We don't value things which should be valued.When value uses its value,the value of value is no value at all.

Jayasala 42

Viswamitra · Apr 29, 2015

Dear Smt Jayasala,

Thank you you for sharing about Geetha Govindam. You have increased my desire to learn Sanskrit so that I can get the opportunity to read about Divine Love in original form. I came to know the same about Mooka Pancha Sathi. My wife asked a question to a scholar in Sanskrit for the reason she feels very elevated whenever she recites Mooka Pancha Sathi. He responded that all 500 Slokas are filled with Divine Love and hidden with a lot of stimulant to feel elevated.

I was truly overwhelmed by the definition of Divine Love by Swamy Vivekananda. My Guru said, "life is created, sustained and ultimately merges in love". Your last sentence says it all.

Viswa

suryakala · Apr 29, 2015

Dear @Viswamitra ,

Divine Love is the love that fills one's heart on understanding or realizing the divinity, (you have called the divinity as UA, - the one mentioned as Brahman of the Upanishads), whose manifestation is in all of us, within us and not different from us. This love we feel, enables us to love all, and all creations. In other words The Anand that fills the Chit on realizing and identifying with the Sat.

You have beautifully written the conditions that will lead us to this fulfilling love which is divine.. I am sure your audience had a great perception of divine love through your excellent presentation.

Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts.