What is true love? The love of a true heart makes others loving, and it is the foundation of a fulfilling life. One cannot have a blissful life without the experience of spiritual love. Such love can transform even the stone-hearted. Where there is love, there is a light and happy life; without love, life is dry and tedious.
God’s love is similar. When we love other people, our love is channelled in different directions as we try to fulfil the expectations of many. Loving God brings together the fragmented pieces of the heart. Loving the Father, from the heart, makes us cooperative with everyone because the Father is the seed. Just as when the seed is watered the leaves receive water and there is no need to water each leaf, forging love with the spiritual Father creates good wishes for everyone.
Love also makes tasks easy, as it frees us from labouring. When there is love for the task, we do not feel burdened by it. On the other hand, no matter how knowledgeable or skilled we are, if there is no love, the task feels tedious.
When love is missing, mere knowledge or intellectual understanding of a situation often gives rise to doubts and questions: “why”, “what”, “how”? Consequently, the mind is not in peace and there will be a battle with the self, and many waste thoughts. On the other hand, when our understanding is accompanied by love, there is no battle.
This has great significance on the spiritual path. Some people easily recognise spiritual truths, live by them and benefit therefrom. They lead peaceful, happy lives.
Some others, however, are racked by doubt. The reason is their intellectual approach devoid of love. They know many things, but there is little love for God. The result is that they are unable to experience his love.
We see this in everyday life too. A small gift of love brings great joy, but if the relationship is transactional, based on selfish motives, even if we receive a lot from someone, there is no contentment, and we may still find fault with the other person.
Love for God is the key to steady progress in spiritual life. In its absence, there is discontentment and fluctuation. This is because we would be like a hot air balloon: when it is full, it goes very high, but when it goes flat, it falls down. It appears to be very beautiful when it is flying, but that is temporary.
We can easily check whether we are truly loving with God and other people: our level of contentment is the proof.
B.K. Sheilu is a Rajyoga teacher at the Brahma Kumaris headquarters in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.