Love

I have tried many medicines but found none more effective than love. When love starts in one part of the body, it spreads and turns the whole body into gold.
_{Kabir Sakhi Sangreh}

Saints have often reminded us that love is woven into the very fabric of creation. We cannot live without it. Saints are like a wave that emerges from the great ocean of love, the Lord. They are the very personification of love, which is why they are able to use such captivating language when describing it.

True love is all around us vibrating in the form of Shabd. Nature is also an expression of a type of love in which men and beasts alike have affinity with their kind, and are held captive by invisible chains of love and attachment. All creatures great and small are governed by love.

Our happier moments are spent talking about love. One might rightly say that since love is the dynamic state of the soul, mere talk is a search for our essence. Even when we feel empty of love and we imitate it through speech, we are nevertheless expressing an inner urge to find and experience love. Loving words are so potent that even if uttered from an insincere heart, they cannot fail to make an impression. We all have a weakness for love since we cannot live without it.

Just as the teachings of the saints are universal, so is their love for all creatures. Even when sitting at the feet of the Master in such large satsang gatherings, the disciple remains unaware and unconcerned of others around him. He is only aware of his Master. There is not even a hint of jealousy, unlike worldly love. There exists a unique unearthly bond of love between the Master and his disciple. Maharaj Charan Singh observed that the thread of the Master’s love binds the disciple stronger than iron chains.

One of the characteristics of love is that ‘love is blind’. The Greeks and the Romans considered that the God of Love (Eros in Greek, Cupid in Latin) was blind because lovers are blind to the faults of the one they love. Sometimes they painted or sculptured Eros / Cupid with a blindfold, just to make the point. Yet Cupid’s arrow of love never misses its mark. Although the living Master is not unaware of our shortcomings he turns a blind eye, for he intends to transform us through love rather than harsh measures. Not many amongst us have the humility or courage to accept even constructive criticism. Baba Gurinder Singh once mentioned that if the Master started to divulge our weaknesses in the open satsangs, we would just run away. There would hardly be anyone left in the congregation. In his inscrutable ways, the Master carries on in his mission of mercy and redemption in the certain knowledge that eventually the spirit will triumph over mind and flesh. Masters know how to develop the human potential.

Another characteristic of love is sacrifice. Throughout history this is self-evident in the lives of saints. Their sacrifice is unparalleled. Accepting all manner of discomfort and inconvenience, they lay down their lives in the service of their disciples. They travel extensively to reach their disciples wherever they happen to be placed in the world, carrying the heavy weight of their responsibility without ever complaining.

Our love is a reflection of their love for us. In the book, Legacy of Love, Maharaj Charan Singh made a beautiful and profound statement:

You don’t fall in love with the Master; Master has fallen in love with us. And then we become restless – we feel we have fallen in love with him. The pull is from within.

We can reciprocate the love the Master has for us through attending to our meditation. As we experience the divine love within, our perspective of life will change and we will see our true essence.

Love is a beautiful and sublime experience of the heart. Books are full of the word “love”, but in the tears of love are flowing burning oceans. In the sighs of love there are thousands of tempests, and in the world of love there is no sense of time. A place where there is love becomes sanctified by it. In that environment there is a powerful current of exaltation, but it can be felt only by a heart that is filled with love. If we perform our domestic and other worldly duties with love, we shall enjoy our life in comfort and without any worries, because in the presence of love, the mind and the intellect are powerless to disturb one’s inner calmness. Love does not influence only human beings. Even the animals and birds are subject to its elevating influence.
Love is a complete cure for every kind of trouble. Maulana Rum says:
  O ! the intoxication of my love, be happy, well and strong;
  for you are the only physician and cure for all my ailments!

If we could experience love, we would be our own physicians and could bring peace and happiness to ourselves.
_{Maharaj Sawan Singh, Philosophy of the Masters Vol II}