Love – The Peak of Spirituality

Have you ever seen the Taj Mahal? Built in 1931, this iconic 102-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan offers breathtaking panoramic views of New York City. It remained the tallest building in the world until 1970. Today, this 1500 ft. tall historic masterpiece is the seventh tallest building in NYC.

Before you close this tab questioning the writer’s state of mind, let us state the obvious – the structure described above is not the Taj Mahal, of course. It is the Empire State Building. But consider a hypothetical scenario – what if you had spent your entire childhood seeing photos of the Empire State Building with the label “Taj Mahal”, with no access to any authentic source of information?

What is not Love?

Unfortunately, the above analogy shows exactly the kind of misfortune that has befallen us when it comes to God’s most sacred 4-letter word – Love. Throughout our life, we have been fed certain ideas and concepts with the label “Love”. The feeling of safety and bonding within a family? “Love”. Intense liking for a particular object or activity? “Love”. Physical attraction towards another human being? “Love”. The romantic and passionate feelings for your life partner? Yes, that too, comes with the label “Love”. But, in all these scenarios, if you remove the label and open the Pandora’s box, here’s what you would actually find – attachment, lust, possessiveness, greed, physical and emotional dependency, and a whole range of other emotions that ultimately lead to one thing (without any exception) – suffering.

What is Love?

Love is the fundamental unit of the Universe.

– Sri Guru

Lord Jesus, Lord Krishna, Rumi, Kabir, Paramhans Yogananada Ji, and many other Saints and philosophers have spoken or written elaborately on the topic of love. Surely, these enlightened beings weren’t referring to physical slavery or emotional bondage as “love”?

While love is probably too profound a concept to be put into words, it can be understood in terms of the four different planes in which it manifests:

1. Physical Love (अशुद्ध प्रेम)

Physical indulgence is the most basic manifestation of love, and something that all of us are familiar with. This plane is often adulterated with all the impurities that came out from the Pandora’s box mislabeled as “love”. Other than that, there is nothing inherently wrong or evil with this form of love; it is how Creation has chosen to sustain itself. But it would be a tragedy if this is all that we experience in the name of love.

To understand why, let us revisit our Taj Mahal analogy. Imagine that a wise person finally enlightens you about the actual Taj Mahal, describing its exquisite beauty. Determined to see it with your own eyes, you visit Agra, check into a hotel room, and finally get your first ever glimpse of the wonder – in a photo frame hanging on one of the walls.

Getting stuck at the physical plane of love is like restricting yourself to that hotel room. Sure, at first, the photo itself would look stunning. After all, it’s the first time you are seeing the actual structure of this wonder! But over time, you would grow tired of it, wanting to see the real thing. And if you couldn’t, you would suffer.

2. Emotional Love (शुभ प्रेम)

This higher plane of love is free from some, but not all, impurities that plague the physical plane. Here, superior feelings like sympathy and sacrifice replace raw physical indulgence. Someone’s joy becomes your joy. Their sorrow becomes your sorrow. And you are ready to sacrifice your own comfort, even happiness, to cure their pain.

You have finally stepped out of the hotel room, grabbed a taxi, and are now en route to the architectural marvel. You even get fleeting glimpses of the central dome and the minarets on the way. But if you suddenly changed your mind and went to the airport instead, your trip would still be considered a failure.

3. Intellectual Love (विशुद्ध प्रेम)

Even animals experience the preceding two planes of love. It is only in human life that one gets the opportunity to rise to the intellectual plane of love. An anti-impurity zone, this plane is all about having the right perspective and direction. Here, love is no longer tied to a person or an object. Rather, it lies in applying wisdom and awareness (and helping others do the same) in all situations of life – to choose good over bad, right over wrong, permanent over temporary.

The Taj is finally right in front of you. Your eyes gently soak in the serene view in all its magnificent glory. After spending minutes in a trance-like state, you finally turn around, feel accomplished, and are ready to take the next flight home. But right then, you overhear another awestruck tourist exclaiming – “What beauty! And I have heard it multiplies a thousand times on a full moon night..!!”

4. Spiritual Love (परिशुद्ध प्रेम)

This is the highest plane of love, and it lies beyond the realm of things, people and situations. Vices like pride and lust are extinguished, as the beacon of virtues is lit. Life starts getting in tune with the Higher, and there is an influx of absolute faith in the Divine Order. In this plane, ruled by the Divine Feminine Energy, love also gets expressed as intuitions and creativity. Most significantly, all perceived boundaries of separation blend together, as the underlying Oneness of the entire creation starts to become apparent.

The Taj Mahal is now basking in the radiant glow of the full moon. And there’s no other place in the world you would rather be.

Meditate and Rise in Love

Now that we know that our common perception of love covers only its lower planes (physical and emotional), the obvious question is – how do we rise to the higher planes (intellectual and spiritual)?

Love is energy, and the different planes of Love energy correspond to the energy zones in our body.

1. Find someone who is already on the higher planes (a Sadguru).
2. Under their guidance, practice a Yogic meditation technique that can raise your energy. 

As the concentration of energies shifts from lower to higher regions, so does our perception and experience of love.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्।।

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Shlok 7

This is one of the most well-known Shloka from the Bhagavad Gita, which is interpreted to mean that God manifests on Earth whenever there is a decline in Dharma and increase in Adharma. From a spiritual perspective, love is the pinnacle of Dharma. There would be no Adharma in this world if everyone existed in the higher planes of love. And thus, rest assured, God (the Cosmic Love Energy) will keep manifesting in the form of enlightened Saints and Gurus to dismiss all illusions and misconceptions about the most sacred word of God. To remove all the stains of impurity from its holy fabric. And to uplift humanity from the hellish suffering of physical love to the liberating paradise of spiritual love.