Divine love is like the sky: infinite, limitless

DNA, 14th February, 2010
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Why give love a name? When you do that, it becomes a relationship, and relationships tend to restrict love.
There are three kinds of love. The love that comes out of charm, love that comes out of comfort and divine love. The love that comes out of charm does not last long. It comes out of unfamiliarity or attraction. In this, you lose the attraction fast, and boredom sets in. This love may diminish and bring along with it fear, uncertainty, insecurity and sadness. The love that comes out of comfort and familiarity grows, but it has no thrill, no enthusiasm, joy, or fire to it. For example, you are more comfortable with an old friend who is a familiar person rather than with a new person. But there is more enthusiasm for a new friend than an older one.
Divine love supersedes both these kinds of love. It has an ever present newness. The closer you go, more charm and depth come to it. In divine love, there is never boredom. This Valentines Day, make the divine your valentine. See the divine in your valentine and make the divinity your valentine.
Let love be. Dont give it a name! When you give it a name, it becomes a relationship, and relationships restrict love. Just have the same love for everyone, with different flavours. You cannot behave the same way with everyone, but you can love everyone. Love transcends behaviour and etiquette. Divine love transcends all the relationships and is inclusive of all the relationships. Abiding in the Self, you become the valentine for the whole world.
Worldly love is like an ocean, yet an ocean has a bottom. Divine love is like the sky which is limitless and infinite. From the bottom of the ocean, soar into the vast sky.
Often, one experiences love at first sight. Then as time goes on, it decreases, decays, turns into hatred and disappears. Although its mortality rate is high, love dies very young. After a few days, weeks, months, or years, it dies. In society, they say love is never a tree, it is a seasonal crop. But when the same love becomes a tree with the manure of knowledge, it becomes ancient love that never decays. Ancient love goes from lifetime to lifetime. Know that you are not limited to this present body, this present name, this present form and the present relationships around you. You may not know your past, your ancientness. But just know you are ancient, that is good enough.
Love and pain go hand in hand. When you love someone, even a small action can hurt you. And in hurt you feel very delicate, very deep. Love also creates the same sensation. If you dont love somebody, you will never feel hurt by them. Understand and accept this. Then that hurt will not turn into a sore feeling. Rather, that very hurt will take you deep into dispassion and meditation.
Your heart is too delicate. Keep it in a safe place. Events and small things make strong impressions on it. A precious stone needs a setting around it - gold or silver - to hold it; in the same way wisdom and knowledge are the settings that will hold your heart in the divine. To keep your heart safe and your mind sane, you cannot find a better place than the divine. Then the passing time and events will not be able to touch you; they will not create a scar.
When love glows, it is bliss; when it flows, it is compassion; when it blows, it is anger; when it ferments, it is jealousy. When it is all nos, it is hatred and when love acts it is perfection.