John Steinbeck, a Nobel Prize-winning author, has, in a tender letter written to his son, explored aspects of love. He says love is the best thing that can happen to any person. There are several kinds of love: one, selfish, mean, egoistical, which uses love for self-importance. This limits you and is crippling. The other is an outpouring of good in us – where there is kindness, respect, consideration and a recognition that the other person is unique. This love gives one strength and courage to do the right thing, ultimately making us better versions of ourselves.But how does one find love? Pursue love and it will elude you, for Love knows that such a person’s love will but be suffocating. When you are honest with yourself and authentic, it can happen. The love we are talking about is the love that Pablo Neruda describes, ”You can love simply without problems or pride’, in which there is no I or you, in which when ‘I fall asleep your eyes close’.’
Love elevates, and it has spiritual overtones. The essential qualities of true love – honesty, empathy and forgiveness – will necessarily lead you down a path where you realise that there is something greater than yourself. And this could be a person, a cause or God; then, like Meera Bai, you can achieve salvation through devotion.
