The Philosophy of Love... part 3

All this shows that creation has evolved from mineral to plant life, from plant to animal life, and from the animal to the human being, showing a gradual development of love through every stage.
The Sufis say that the reason of the whole creation is that the perfect Being wished to know Himself, and did so by awakening the love of His nature and creating out of it His object of love, which is beauty. Dervishes, with this meaning, salute each other by saying, "Ishq Allah, Ma'bud Allah", "God is love and God is the beloved."

A Hindustani poet says, "The desire to see the beloved brought me to earth, and the same desire to see the beloved I am taking with me to heaven."

As love is the source of creation and the real sustenance of all beings, so, if man knows how to give it to the world around him as sympathy, as kindness, as service, he supplies to all the food for which every soul hungers. If man knew this secret of life he would win the whole world, without any doubt.


Love can always be discerned in the thought, speech, and action of the lover, for in his every expression there is a charm which shows as a beauty, tenderness. and delicacy. A heart burning in love's fire has a tendency to melt every heart with which it comes in contact. Love produces such a charm in the lover that while he loves one, all love him.

The magnetism of love is thus explained by a Hindustani poet: "Why should not every heart be melted into drops before the flame that my heart has sustained all through my life? As I have all my life shed tears with the pain of love, the lovers make pilgrimage to my mournful grave."

It was to teach this lesson of love that Christ said, "I will make you fishers off men."

"Everyone is drawn to me, to become my friend, but none divines what it is in my heart that draws", said Jelal-ud-Din Rumi.

Love is inherent in every soul. All the occupations of life, however important or unimportant, in some way or other tend towards love; therefore no one in the world can be called entirely loveless. Love is the only thing that every soul brings to earth with it; yet after coming to earth man partakes of all the qualities of loveliness. If it were not so, we would have been as bitter, as callous, as angry, as full of hatred when we were born as we are now. The infant has no hatred. A little child that we have scolded will in a few minutes time come and embrace us.


To love, to adore, to worship someone with whom we are connected neither by birth, race, creed, nor in any worldly connection, comes from the love of the soul. Sometimes people fall in love at first sight, sometimes the presence of someone draws a person like a magnet, sometimes one sees a person and feels, "I might have known him all my life", sometimes one speaks with another person and finds an intimacy of understanding as if the souls understood each other; all this is accosted for by the idea of soul-mates.


A heart lightened by love is more precious than all the gems and jewels of the world. There are as many different kinds of hearts as there are different substances in the world. 1)There are hearts of metal which take a long time and much fire of love to heat, and when once heated will melt and may be molded as you wish for the moment, but soon afterwards turn cold. 2 )There are hearts of wax which melt instantly at the sight of the fire, and if there is a wick of ideal, they will keep their flame until they become non-existent.
3 )There are hearts of paper which are set alight by a slight touch of the fire and turn into ashes in one moment.


Love is like the fire; its glow is devotion, its flame is wisdom, its smoke is attachment, and its ashes detachment. Flame rises from glow, so it is with wisdom, which rises from devotion. When love's fire produces its flame it illuminates the devotee's path in life like a torch, and all darkness vanishes.


When the life-force acts in the soul it is love, when it acts in the heart it is emotion, and when in the body it is passion. Therefore the most loving person is the most emotional, and the most emotional is the most passionate, according to the plane of which he is most conscious. If he is most awake in the soul he is loving, if awakened in the heart he is emotional, if he is conscious of the body he is passionate. These three may be pictured as fire, flame, and smoke. Love is fire when in the soul, it is a flame when the heart is kindled by it, and it is as smoke when it manifests through the body.

1. The first love is for the self. If illuminated, man sees his true benefit and he becomes a saint. In the absence of illumination man becomes so selfish that he becomes a devil.
2. The second love is for the opposite sex. If it is for love's sake it is heavenly; if it is for passion's sake it is earthly. This, if it is quite pure, can certainly take away the idea of the self, but the benefit is slight and the danger is great.
3. The third love is for the children, and this is the first service to God's creatures. To reserve it for one's children only is like appropriating to oneself what is given to us as a trust by the Creator, but if this love expands to embrace the whole creation of the Heavenly Father, it raises man to be among the chosen ones of God.