True Love - Swami Chidananda

"Expect, you are miserable; do your work without expectations, you are the king of kings!" This is the upshot of Sri Krishna’s teachings of karma Yoga. This truth has far-reaching implications in human psychology. Learning to `give’ and `not expect’ is easier said than done. A deep inner transformation alone can bring about this healthy outlook in us.

Life is relationships. "Hell is other people," said Jean Paul Sartre. Yes, it seems that all our sorrows are either caused by `other people’ directly or are born of our comparing ourselves with `others.’ Alas, we are enslaved to others. Others rule our lives. If somebody is kind to us, we are on cloud nine. If he or she frowns at us, we are depressed all day. It has become fashionable these days to openly compliment others when they are good to us, "Ah, you made, my day!" This dependence on others often keeps us on tenterhooks. Should this be so? To use Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji’s words, "Should we put the key to our happiness in others’ pockets?"

Life is a lot of ‘give and take.’ No man is an island. "To love and to be loved is the greatest privilege of life," said our Master. Love is a very popular word. It is also a poorly understood and much misused word. True love is a spiritual awakening. It is found when the ego is lost.

© ‘Tapovan Prasad’ (July, 2001) published by Chinmaya Mission, No.2, 13th Avenue, Harrington Road, Chetput, Chennai 600 031. Website: chinmayatapovan.com. Reprinted with permission.

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