“Love is at the heart of all things. It penetrates this world, and all worlds, for love is that which transcends all dimensions.”
No one comes and goes from this life without feeling the touch of love, whether it is her sweet embrace, or the bitter loneliness she casts.
To enter into love, is to commune with a force far greater than ordinary emotions.
Many cultures and organizations have spoken of love: For example, the Greeks recognized 4 types of love:
1. Eros: erotic, passionate love.
2. Philia: love of friends and equals.
3. Storge: love of parents for children.
4. Agape: love of mankind.
The Buddha discussed 4 components of love, and being the practical person he was, he gave meditations for each component.
1. Maitri is translated into kindness or benevolence
2. The second element of true love is Karuna, meaning compassion.
3. The third element is Mudita, translated as joy or happiness
4. The final one of the four elements of love is Upeksha, meaning freedom.
The above mentioned lists are linear, and they fit into nice categories for conversation. But, few experience love in such a rational way.
Listen to these words from a Sufi poet.
” love you.
If I love you
I love myself.
I’m drenched
in the flood
which has yet to come
I’m tied up
in the prison
which has yet to exist
Not having played
the game of chess
I’m already the checkmate
Not having tasted
a single cup of your wine
I’m already drunk
Not having entered
the battlefield
I’m already wounded and slain
I no longer
know the difference
between image and reality
Like the shadow
I am And I am not”
In the mystical teachings and language of Sufism, love between persons is a doorway into the divine. Buddha speaks to love from the place of transcendence, he has gone beyond his human heart, and like a discarnate intelligence, his love is universal, it comes not from a self, and it is for all people. But a Sufi’s love is not ungrounded, it lives in the human heart. The Buddha went beyond emotion, a Sufi moves into emotion.
A Buddha experiences calm abiding bliss.
A Sufi experiences rapture.
Buddhist meditation involves simply sitting and witnessing, it is passive.
Sufi meditation involve whirling, spinning, dancing, and writing poetry.
Both are pathways towards self-lessness. Let us explore Sufism.
In Sufism there is self-renunciation and self-sacrifice, the giving up of all possessions–wealth, honour, will, life, and whatever else individuals value–for the Beloved’s sake without any thought of reward.
In Sufism, love is a ladder to higher consciousness.Why?To be in love, is to surrender your ego.
The word orgasm in French is called ‘little death’.
Being in love with anyone is like dying to your old life and being reborn into a new dimension.
The relationship is dangerous.
It is dangerous because the more you love someone, the more and more you evaporate. But, in order to achieve enlightenment through love, you must love so totally, that nothing of you remains.
To love someone in this way, is not “till death do us part”…death is just the beginning! It is a requisite to love!
The whole deal with liberation is to move beyond death…you must consciously die before you die. Love, in its highest is voluntary sacrifice, an offering of your life to love.
When the individual dies in love, they are surrendering person will. Love is a force far greater than individual will, love is higher intelligence.
When you surrender to this force, you are not falling in love with someone, you have fallen into the great mystery.
Hear these words:
You think you are alive
because you breathe air?
Shame on you,
that you are alive in such a limited way.
Don’t be without Love,
so you won’t feel dead.
Die in Love
and stay alive forever.
Rumi
The poetry of Rumi has touched millions. Not because of their form, they are merely words on a page, they resonate through time because they were scribed in love. The force of love transcends all dimensions, time being a dimension.
Love…your love… is eternal. It is not bound. The love in your heart, whether you have someone near and dear, or not, is reverberating into eternity.
On this day, Valentine’s day, let love be your guide. Blessings, ZK
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