A great teacher in the line of Bhakti once said – “We have scattered our love in this world among so many material things.” Love, by nature, is generous. It flows freely and gives it self openly. Yet it can be elusive, shallow, and ultimately temporary – as are all things connected to this world.
Where does love come from? Where is its source? Is there a reservoir somewhere with unlimited supplies? This is the search of the bhakti yogi. If love – that experience, that emotion, that feeling – is considered the highest experience of this life, how can we achieve it in its deepest, richest, most powerful expression?
In the Bhakti spiritual tradition, Krishna, the all-attractive supreme absolute truth, is considered the fountainhead of love, the source, the reservoir, and the perfection of love. By loving Him our life, and our moods of love, are fully and completely satisfied. Such love is available for all, but it is not cheap. We must truly want it and actively pursue it.
To begin to connect to the source of all love, we can start by gathering some of our ‘scattered love’ and directing it towards Krishna. We can seek pockets of divine love in sacred places and spiritually minded people, and plant ourselves there. We can become lovers of pure love, seeking that love which is untinged by lust or selfish motives. We can study the exchanges of love between Krishna and his devotees, and learn the ways of those closest to Krishna who love him the most and who, it it said, have purchased Him by their love.
As a focus for all of the above, we can set up an altar in our home. This can be as simple as a picture and a candle or as elaborate as a dedicated meditation room. It’s a sacred place that reminds us not to get distracted in our search for the topmost love, for the absolute truth. It can also serve as a place where we can offer our love, express our feelings, be quiet, be alone. An altar gives us permission to slow down, to take time out and tend to the important work of the spirit.
The unlimited reservoir of love awaits us all. Our scattered love will seek its purest expression if we point it in the right direction. It’s never too late to start and it’s where we all belong.
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