Love is a greatly misunderstood word. The key difference is that human love is conditional; spiritual love is unconditional. Human love is distorted or ‘conditioned’ by biology (sex), emotions and mind. As such it suffers all the distortions associated with these such as lust, infatuation, attachment/clinging, submission/domination, control, jealousy, betrayal, hatred and vengeance. Spiritual love has none of these. It is a spontaneous and freely given expression of the divinity that lives within us and as such has no expectation, requirements or conditions.
Love is an expression of the delight of consciousness as it interacts with existence. In spiritual parlance this is called ‘ananda’, the bliss of being. The capacity of consciousness to experience, learn and understand is due to this capacity. Our self awareness is due to the interplay of consciousness with the human body. Human consciousness is unique in this way. It allows us to know we are alive, to have an identity and to learn, grow and connect to others, to discover the nature of ourselves and this world we live in.
On the spiritual path this state of unconditional love is one of the highest expressions of our divine potential. Its powerful radiance subtly impacts one who is in its presence. This radiant force nurtures and empowers the divine presence inherent in each of us, giving us the strength and clarity to overcome the obstacles and challenges of the spiritual path. Unconditional love is irresistible and greatly aids the difficult transformative process necessary for one to progress on the spiritual path.
There are three forces that transform us from human beings into divine beings. They are Truth, Consciousness and Love. Truth destroys untruth, consciousness destroys ignorance. This is the transformative power of Truth-consciousness. But unconditional love dissolves all separation and barriers. Without the radiant presence of unconditional love the spiritual path is difficult and demanding as our ego resists and rebels. The ego surrenders all to unconditional love. This is its magic. With just a touch of this unconditional love we find the strength to let go and surrender, allowing the force of truth-consciousness to enter and undo all that separates us from divine.
We are all divine in essence and as such can recognize and respond to the radiance of unconditional love. Understanding this state of being, finding it in ourselves and learning to live and act in this state is in itself a way to become established in this state.
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