Divine Love: a Definition According to Sanatan Dharma

"God is Love," rather "Love is God."

One who can see the fine difference between these two statements is the only true Lover of God. By nature, every one is after love, but only true saints and true servants of God have really experienced the awareness of Divine Love. There are two kinds of love: spiritual and sensual. The worldly, as well as those who seek God, are all within the field of physical or sensual pleasures until they realize God.

Anytime an action or emotion partially or wholly involves anything that is in the realm of the ever changing Prakriti, such as bodies, organs, senses, pranas, the mind, intellect or ego, it is considered a physical or sensual pleasure. Such pleasures must keep changing and come to an end, which results in misery. In the devotional paths, a devotee ultimately becomes Love where duality exists no more. Radha is Krishna or Krishna is Radha, but these two identities cannot exist simultaneously. Such is the ultimate nature of Love. The aspirant who prefers to use the path of discrimination ultimately experiences self-realization where Love alone remains.

When we speak of Love, we are talking about the true ultimate Love that depends on no objects, persons, circumstances, time, place, events or reasons because all those must constantly change and come to an end. Such a finite love is no good for a person seeking Eternal Love, without which one will never find eternal peace. We, being sparks of that Love, cannot be pleased with anything less than that Supreme Love.

Love never bargains, trades or expects. Love never complains, never demands, and never hopes. Love never accepts anything less than Love, and therefore, never lowers itself to physical, mental or intellectual pleasures. Love cannot be measured, imagined, argued about or logically arrived at. Only full faith and complete surrender to the will of Love enables us to totally dissolve our ego and merge into this ocean of love.

As Brihadaranyakam Upanishad says, "Verily, it is not for the sake of the body of a wife that a wife is dear, but for the sake of the Love or Self (Atman) in her that the wife is dear." This statement also applies to husband, sons, wealth, name and fame, gods, creatures and all creation. To experience true Love is the goal of all of the Yogas presented in the Gita. A beautiful experience awaits all of us only if we will listen, practice, meditate and absolve ourselves as directed by Mother Gita.