Cover Story

Love that Sustains - Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati

We should have love for all. The aim of our birth in the world is to have a loving nature. If love becomes full, there would be no affliction for us. For removing all afflictions, there should be complete love.

God sees all, moves all and preserves all. He shows to different people the ways that are suited to them. He is the substrate wherefrom all beings arise, and where into all beings return.

What serves as the substrate for the growth of trees is the earth. Even the trees that live for 50 years, or a 100 years, perish in the end. When they thus perish, it is the substrate, earth, that receives them back and reduces them to its own nature. For the growth of trees and their destruction as well, the substrate is earth. The trees arise from the earth, and perish in the earth. This earth too will be destroyed at a time; the sun will be destroyed; the whole universe will be destroyed. This being so, there must be a substrate reality which has the power to originate and destroy them. The reality must be eternal and immutable. Only then it can have the power to project the universe and re-absorb it.

It is earth that becomes the tree; and when the tree dies, it becomes earth. Earth is the cause for the tree growing, living and becoming wood, and at the end falling and turning into earth again. Similarly, the Reality that is the universal cause is called God.

For us to think and to do things, there is a power in us. Sometimes that power increases; at other times it decreases. When the body perishes, the ability to think ceases. This power comes from the omniscient God; and at the end it returns to Him and becomes one with Him. So is the case with all beings — the power appears and disappears. The substrate for all these is the immortal and eternal reality, God. It does not matter by what name it is called.

It is because love — kindness – is not in us, several kinds of strife arise – strife between clans, strife between natures, and many other bickerings. At some times we love some very dearly. Then there arises misunderstanding; from that comes misery. Yet, we imagine that the days when we loved dearly were halcyon days. When one is a child, one loves all. It is when we grow into adults that we begin to quarrel and struggle. Now, we wonder why we should not continue to be children all the time.

A mother’s love for her child is usually very great. Even when the child errs or causes mischief, the mother wishes for his welfare. If the child suffers, the mother feels distressed. There is a proverb in Tamil: "The mind of the parent is mad with affection; the mind of the offspring is hard as stone." The same is expressed in Samskrit thus:

Kuputro jaayetat kvacidapi

kumaata na bhavati

A bad son there may be; but a bad mother, never.

Whatever be the behavior of the child, the mother always acts towards him with affection and love. In the same way, if we have love for any person, there is nothing in the world other than that love which sustains us. If we consider the happiness or misery of the person whom we love to be far greater than our own happiness or misery, that is supremely good. If without loving any other, we put ourselves first we live in vain. If in our life there should be constant happiness we should love someone. Then the same kind of love should be cultivated towards all. And finally, if we gain non-hatred for all living beings, that is the highest state.

But sometimes it is also true that the excessive love that we place in one becomes the cause of misery. Excessive love ends in extreme misery. In order to occasion misery in us, there arise many trying situations. A mother has great love for her son. When the son grows and gets married, if he neglects his mother, there arise for her, misunderstanding and misery. The son’s love does not endure. That is why the mother brings up a case in court against one or two sons and the sons also do likewise.

One places excessive love in another. The two love each other greatly. Yet if one of them dies earlier, the other gets steeped in misery. The two must live together, loving each other. If they die at the same time, then the misery of survival will not occur. But such an eventuality is not in our hands. Thus, excessive love is seen to end in extreme misery.

We realize that if without loving any one we push ourselves into the focal point, our life will become futile. At the same time we know that if we love anyone very dearly, we reap misery therefrom. Thus, we learn from experience that we should not place love in anyone. Then, which is right and which is wrong, we are not able to discern.

Indeed, the purpose of our life is to place unchanging love in someone. But, what should be the nature of the object of our love? It should be such that it will not come into conflict with us at any time, and will never get separated from us. If we place love in what is imperishable, that love will not perish. The object of love should not leave us; we should not leave it. It is only when we place love in such an object that our life will become purposeful. Life without love is life lived in vain.

Some animals love one another to a greater extent than even what we do. Among the animals, the mother loves the offspring greatly. It is true that we should have such intense love. If we should place unchanging and constant love in an object, how should that object be? The Reality from which all of us have come into being, and with which all of us will become one at the end – it is the love that is placed in that Reality that can be unchanging and constant. It is that Reality that we call God. Projecting all of us, protecting all of us, God takes all of us back in the end. The devotion, the love that we place in God makes our life worthwhile and fruitful. The love that we show to others turns out to be the source of distress to us at sometime or other.

"Loving God alone, could we hate others?" This is the next question.

Who is God? We should gain the wisdom that it is God that appears as all beings. It is earth that becomes tree. Through the roots, earth and manure get transformed into the tree-trunk. When the trunk rots, it becomes earth again. If one knows this, one would love all that comes from earth and at the end returns to earth. What is the reason? — the knowledge that it is earth that appears as all. All will, at the end, become one with earth. If the love that is placed in earth be true, then there is no reason for hating anything that is born of earth. If we love God, and if that love be true, then that love becomes love for all. It is God that is in all. Covering himself with maya, he appears as animal, man, child and so on. Without God, no form could appear. When anything disappears, it is in God that it disappears. All powers, such as the power to enquire, the power to know, and the power to do are but fractions of the power to do are but fractions of the power of God.

There is the sun. He spreads his light everywhere. If a mirror is placed before the sun, it receives a little of the sun’s power. The sun has the power to remove darkness and reveal the thing that is in a room. The mirror by itself does not have that power. But, if we place a mirror before the sun in the proper position, by its reflected light the things kept in a dark room may be seen. To the mirror which by itself cannot emit light, there accrues a little of the power to illumine from the sun; and so it can dispel darkness to that limited extent. Just so, the souls, when they merge their nature in the nature of the supreme Self, receive from its power, through grace. It is by the power of the Self that love, affection, compassion, knowledge etc., fill everywhere. It is by the power of that Self, by its light, that a little of love, affection compassion, knowledge etc., gets manifested in us.

If we place complete love in that supreme Reality, then we shall have plenary love for all beings in the world. For that love there would be no destruction. Why so? If a particular object of our love disappears, where does it go? It becomes one with that Reality from which it came. That Reality, verily, is eternal. How then can we say that this object has been destroyed? God ever exists. If we have to take another birth, He is the cause of that birth also. He is there always to serve as the locus of our love, and to protect us. Since He is constantly the locus of love for the jiva in all its births, we should place our love always in Him. That is eternal love. If we love Him, we shall love all living beings. Devotion to God will lead to affection for all beings. Of that affection, the characteristic mark is complete non-violence — refraining from injuring any living being.

<< Back