THE EFFECT OF LOVE

                                                                          

 Love is an eternal component in the heart of man! There is not a single individual in the universe who,    has no love in his heart. We call people as heartless because heart is considered to be the seat of love. The most hardhearted man has feelings of love The butcher, who mercilessly kills and sells meat, is in essence, kind, and exhibits love to his own children. Love starts with selfishness. You love yourself first and foremost. Then you love your parents, siblings and your friends later. You want everything for yourself. You are not ready to share anything with other friends! The child is intensely possessive and   selfish and cries if something is snatched from its hands. Selfishness is innate in all of us. This has to be transformed into the lofty nature of selflessness

         Childhood, boyhood and youth of an individual are characterized by this selfishness that is raw and pronounced!  The eligible bachelor now has amorous feelings and seeks his match in marriage. He has fallen in love! As Shakespeare says, “Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold” , the young man is carried away by the looks of his chosen lady and love is now transferred to her. This love is more physical, mental, sensual but not ideal. The physical satisfaction of the senses is more important than anything else. The most important phase in the life of man arrives when he is the father of a few children! Now the selfish love undergoes a silent transformation. The husband and wife made for each other slowly forget themselves in bringing up the child!

            “Love removes selfishness and expands consciousness through sympathy and compassion” says Bhagawan Sri Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. They are still selfish as the children are their own but they care more for their kids and are ready to sacrifice their comforts for the sake of their children. After man mellows, he gradually turns his attention to the society  in which he is a member and desires to contrbute his mite for its progress! Love from being selfish and selfless graduates into the ideal of service to society and mankind! This takes the shape of sympathy for the suffering, the poor and downtrodden sections of society.  Their needs and necessities have to be satisfied and he is ready to efface himself in the service of others. Service to man is service to God! We satisfy the God who has manifested in all the living and non living objects in the universe!

               “Love lives by giving and forgiving. Self lives by getting and forgetting” declares Bhagawan Sri Sri Sri Satya Sai Baba. How truly said! Whereever there is love, there is sacrifice! It is the sacrifice of the parents that sustains the children! Ideal, Platonic love is totally selfless. The lover is more concerned about his lady wherever she is and whomsoever she marries! He is not extremely possessive. On the other hand, it is common for ordinary people to get all the benefits of love from others and forget all about it soon. The quality of ideal love is forgiving which is a divine quality. God forgives us for all the sins and mistakes we commit in our lifetime. Compassion is another inseparable quality of love. Running to the help of others in difficulty and danger and helping them out of danger is the quality of compassion!

               The final stage of love is that for the country to which one belongs—to his motherland! So, love that was selfish, narrow minded, and personal has metamorphosed into the love for the family, society and finally to the love for the country! “ Janani Janma bhumischa swargadapi gariyasi”—Mother and motherland are greater than Swarga or heaven. The soldier on the heights of the Himalayas is a shining example of a true patriot! Daring the chill winds and tolerating many difficulties, he stands guard at the frontiers of our nation to protect us all from foreign aggression! We on the other hand live totally oblivious of the hardships that he endures for our sake! Political leaders there are in plenty who have sacrificed their bright future for the love of the country MahatmaGandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Patel, Tilak and a host of others swore by the nation and fought for the nation’s liberation from the clutches of the British! Saints and philosophers like Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda  and the Sai Avatar are  classical illustrations of social reformers and compassionate beings! The world can never forge these  noble embodiments of divine Love and compassion!