Celebration of Love

Every February 14th around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of Valentine. Valentine is the celebration of Love. Regardless where, when and who started this tradition actually Love is the essence of life.

Today, sacred word ‘Love” has become banal and only been used to serve unlimited lust. Love is usually understood to be a powerful emotion involving an intense attachment to an object and a high evaluation of it. There are many levels of love natural to human beings, but actually

all form of love is sign of a deep yearning in the soul for that pure love that is divine.

Quranic verse mentioned is the one which states: "Say: if you love God, follow me and God will love you."(Q. 3:31). It is also said in the Bible, ‘God is love”. Inhadith qudsi, God said, ”I was a hidden treasure; I loved to be known. Hence I created the world so that I would be known.” This hadith teaches us that God created the universe out of love for human being. This universe is an expression of love.

The Prophet said, “God is beautiful and he loves beauty…”. Hence God is described as one who loves beauty, and He loves the cosmos, because there is nothing more beautiful than the cosmos. At the same time God is beautiful, while beauty is intrinsically lovable. So the whole cosmos loves God.

Valentine, for me, is a celebration of our longing for real Love. Have we already loved God with our whole heart? Contemplate again on our attitude, action and our lives in relation with this essential teaching: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Therefore, through loving God we realize true self-love, and through true self-love we can finally experience real love for the divine.

We cannot separate our true being from constant surrender to our universal self, and we cannot know that universal self without embodying our own divinity.