Today, sitting in my pink armchair, reading about how a world-famous medium was able to communicate with the spirit world and our physical world and end the grief of those who had been left behind, I became even more aware of how love is the central theme of the universe itself. This was what the departed passed on to those who remained on earth. Their major regret was that they had not loved or expressed their love when they were alive. When Jesus said that "he who loves me shall not perish" what did he mean? Since death is not real, the Soul being eternal, what does he mean? I like to imagine that he means the end of the process of suffering unlovingness. For to be unloved is a kind of death. Once a soul gets that it is the Allness, lovingness happens spontaneously, because the Beloved is expressing Itself. The Light and Love are one and the same. In fact, it is the Light that is loving through us when we feel love. Human love is conditioned by want. The soul, mistaking itself for the ego, the mind, and the body, seeks to possess and to own the object of desire. It seeks almost to want to absorb it into itself so that it can be greater. In romantic love, for example, the lover seeks approval, safety, and control. Wealth and beauty and charm increase the attributes of the lover because the ego of the other wants it for itself. Parental love is purer, although now there is a desire for the child to exemplify the qualities and values of the parent. Animal love for its owner is almost completely spontaneous. When a dog delights in his master's presence, or when cat purrs at the touch of your hand, this is probably as pure a love you can find in everyday life. There is no cunning in this love, no projection of future gain, no thought about manipulating the lover. The love is spontaneous, pure, and a simple appreciation of the moment. Finally, the ultimate love is when one can love for the other what the other wants for him or herself. This now starts to blend into transcendental love, and we begin to love others the way I imagine God loves us. Love for its own sake, because that is who we are and because the grace in the other is so obvious to us. I agree with Socrates who says, "It is love alone that unites the soul with God." St. Teresa said, "What matters is not to think much but to love much." In the words of the famous philosopher and the cherished saint, we find a great mystery revealed. Here we touch upon the entire fabric of life, which is, in my opinion, a spiritual journey. Beyond what we think about life, there is the way of the heart, which is spontaneous and pure before it becomes sullied with too much analysis. What the heart wants is to return Home to the arms of the Beloved. It does this by feeling what the Beloved feels, unconditional loving. Allow me to finish these reflections with a quote from the Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad: It summarizes most eloquently what I have been fumbling to say in this brief essay. It is not for the love of a husband that a husband is dear; but for the love of the Soul in the husband that is dear. It is not for the love of a wife that a wife is dear; but for the love of the Soul in the wife that is dear. It is not for the love of children that children are dear; but for the love of the Soul in children that is dear. It is not for the love of all that all is dear; but for the love of the Soul in all that is dear. The book of life, I contend, is the story of Light and Love. It is a love story between the unmanifest and the manifest; a story about the relationship between God and Soul. And when the Soul reciprocates to the love of the Divine, the earth journey concludes with a contented sigh. |
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