Spiritual knowledge is a regular science. Just as two and two make four, similarly everything is clean and obvious here also and there is no scope for any kind of modification or change in that.

Sant Kirpal Singh

Love versus attachment

­From the book "Morning Talks", written by Sant Kirpal Singh, 23 January, 1968

Available as mp3 at audio.sant-kirpal-singh.org


Love – ­this ­word ­love we ­hear ­from every­body. ­But ­what is ­love? ­God is ­love, ­our ­soul is ­the ­same ­essence as ­that of ­God. We ­are ­also ­love per­son­i­fied. ­Love is ­innate in ­our ­soul. It radi­ates ­and ­should ­come in con­tact ­with ­the Over­self, ­called ­God or Par­a­matma. ­Instead of con­tact­ing ­our ­soul ­with ­God, we ­have con­tacted it ­with ­ensouled bod­ies, ­and ­this is ­called attach­ment. ­Love is ­that ­which over­flows ­within ­and ­you for­get your­self. ­This is a cri­ter­ion to dif­fer­en­tiate ­love ­from attach­ment. ­This ­love is ­spoken of in scrip­tures. So as a ­rule, ­our ­soul ­should ­love ­God. ­God ­resides in ­every ­heart. He is ­the Con­trol­ling ­Power ­within us. If ­our ­soul is lib­er­ated ­from ­mind, mat­ter ­and out­go­ing facul­ties, it ­will go up to ­the ­very ­source ­from ­which it ema­nated. If ­you ­light a can­dle, ­the ­flame ­will go up. If ­you ­turn ­the can­dle ­upside ­down ­even ­then ­the ­flame ­will go up. So ­the ­love of ­the ­soul ­should go up to ­the Over­self. If it ­remains ­attached to ­the ­body ­and out­go­ing facul­ties, ­that is no ­love, ­that is attach­ment. ­This is ­the dif­fer­ence ­between ­the ­two.

To ­love ­God, ­whom ­you ­have ­not ­seen, is ­not pos­si­ble ­unless ­you go up to ­His ­level. So if ­while remain­ing in ­the ­body, ­you ­would ­like to ­love ­God, ­then ­what do ­you ­have to do? ­You ­must ­rise ­above ­body con­scious­ness or ­come ­into con­tact ­with some­body in ­whom ­that ­God ­Power is man­i­fest, ­whose ­soul over­flows ­with ­love ­and intox­i­ca­tion. ­You ­should ­always ­look ­into ­the ­eyes of ­the Mas­ter. ­Eyes ­are ­the win­dows of ­the ­soul. In what­ever col­our a ­soul is ­imbued, ­that ­very radi­a­tion ­will ­affect us. If a ­soul is ­imbued ­with ­the ­love ­and intox­i­ca­tion of ­God, ­you ­will ­become recep­tive to ­that ­soul ­through ­the ­eyes. ­Then ­you ­will ­have a ­boost, ­you ­will for­get ­your ­body. If ­love ­keeps ­you in ­the ­body, ­attached to ­the ­body, ­that is no ­love, ­but is ­called attach­ment. ­This is ­the ­very ­fine dif­fer­ence ­between ­the ­two.

The ­soul is of ­the ­same ­essence as ­that of ­God, a ­drop of ­the ­Ocean of ­all Con­scious­ness. We ­are ­all broth­ers ­and sis­ters in ­God. ­That ­very Con­trol­ling ­Power ­resides in ­every ­heart. If ­you ­look ­from ­that ­level, ­then ­there is no attach­ment. I ­was ­just relat­ing a ­story of ­one ­instance ­when ­God ­met ­Moses ­and ­told ­him, "­Well ­look ­here, I ­was ­very ­much ­down ­with ­fever. I ­was ­very ­sick, ­lying in ­bed, ­and ­you ­did ­not ­care ­for me." ­Moses ­asked, "­God, ­how ­can ­you be ­sick?" "­Yes, I ­was ­sick. ­That ­man ­who ­loved me, ­you ­never ­went to ­enquire ­about ­his ­needs. ­Had ­you ­loved me, ­you ­would ­have ­served ­him. ­Love ­knows ser­vice ­and sac­ri­fice ­and I ­would ­have ­been ­served." ­God ­resides in ­every ­heart, ­you ­see. ­What we ­now ­call ­love is no ­love ­but is attach­ment, ­and is ­due to hav­ing self­ish ­motives, or to ­the out­go­ing facul­ties ­which ­drag ­you to ­outer ­things ­and ­keep ­you in ­the ­body.

­When ­you ­love ­God, ­you ­can ­have a ­boost by com­ing in con­tact ­with ­the ­soul of some­body ­who is ­imbued ­with ­the ­love of ­God. ­That ­love ­will ­drag ­you up. ­You ­will for­get ­your ­body ­and envi­ron­ments. ­The Mas­ters ­say, "When­ever I ­see ­the Mas­ter, I for­get ­all ­about ­the intel­lect, ­the ­body ­and ­its envi­ron­ments". ­Any ­love ­which ­you ­call ­love ­but ­which ­keeps ­you in ­the ­body is no ­love ­but is attach­ment. ­When ­you ­look ­into ­the ­eyes of some­body ­who ­drags ­you up ­and ­helps ­you to for­get ­your ­body, ­that is a cri­ter­ion of ­what ­love is. ­That is ­why I ­always ­advise, "­Don’t ­look ­into ­the ­eyes of oth­ers ­except ­the ­Master’s". ­This is ­the ­way in ­which ­lust ­attacks us. We ­are ­attacked by ­lust ­through ­the ­eyes. If ­you ­look ­into ­the ­eyes of oth­ers ­who ­are ­imbued ­with ­lust or ­other ­lower ­things, ­you ­will ­have ­the ­same ­effect by radi­a­tion. ­Look ­only ­into ­the ­eyes of a ­God man­i­fested ­man ­and ­you ­will be benefited. I remem­ber an inci­dent in ­the Ramay­ana in ­which ­Sita ­was ­abducted by ­Ravana. So ­while ­she ­was ­being car­ried ­away, ­her orna­ments ­fell ­down to ­the ­ground. ­When ­Rama ­went in ­search of ­his ­wife ­and ­found ­her orna­ments, ­Rama ­asked ­his ­younger ­brother Lax­mann (­who ­was ­also ­with ­him), if he rec­og­nized ­them as belong­ing to ­his sis­ter-in-­law. Lax­mann ­replied ­that he ­could rec­og­nize ­those orna­ments ­only ­which ­were ­worn on ­her ­feet, ­not on ­her ­head. ­Just ­see ­the high­est cri­ter­ion of moral­ity! He ­could rec­og­nize ­only ­the orna­ments ­which ­the ­wife of ­Rama ­wore on ­her ­feet. ­From ­this we ­can ­draw ­some les­son. ­Always ­look to ­the ­feet of oth­ers ­and ­you ­will ­never be ­attacked by ­lower ­impulses. If at ­all ­you ­have to ­look ­into ­somebody’s ­eyes, ­look ­into ­the ­eyes of ­the Mas­ter, ­which ­are ­imbued ­with ­the ­love of ­God, oth­er­wise ­you ­will go ­down. If ­you ­look ­into ­His ­eyes ­and for­get every­thing ­else, ­that is ­love. If ­you ­are ­attached to ­the ­body, ­there is a dan­ger of fall­ing ­down. I am giv­ing ­you a ­very ­fine dif­fer­ence, ­which is ­not ­given in ­the ­books.

So ­love is ­within ­you ­and ­when it is con­cen­trated, it over­flows. ­When it ­comes in con­tact ­with ­the Over­self or ­God, it over­flows ­still fur­ther. ­Just ­like a ­pipe in ­which ­there ­are so ­many ­holes, ­the ­water flow­ing ­through ­will ­ooze ­out ­drop by ­drop. If ­you ­close ­all ­the ­holes ­except ­one, ­then ­the ­water ­will ­shoot ­forth. ­Our ­soul is ­now ­under ­the con­trol of ­mind ­and ­our ­love is dis­trib­uted in so ­many ­ways. In ­our bod­ies, to ­our chil­dren, to ­our ­money, to ­name ­and ­fame. If ­you with­draw ­your atten­tion ­from ­all out­side ­things ­and ­direct it to ­the ­one ­way ­out, ­which is at ­the ­door ­lying at ­the ­back of ­the ­eyes, ­called ­the ­Tenth ­Door, or ­come in con­tact by con­cen­tra­tion ­with ­the ­soul of some­body ­imbued ­with ­the ­love of ­God, ­you ­will ­have a ­boost. ­This is ­love ­and ­you ­can ­always ­use ­this cri­ter­ion to ­find ­out ­where ­you ­stand. ­Love of ­God, ­who ­resides in ­every ­heart, is ­what is ­needed. ­His ­essence is ­there ­already ­and He is ­the Con­trol­ling ­Power ­with ­love ­for ­all human­ity. If ­you do every­thing ­for ­the ­sake of ­that ­love, ­there ­will be no attach­ment. ­When ­you ­look ­into ­the ­faces of oth­ers ­you ­will go up, for­get ­the ­world. ­Now ­when ­you ­look at ­them, ­you ­become ­attached. ­That is no ­love. ­Love ­does ­not ­come as a ­result of eat­ing ­and drink­ing, it is ­already ­innate in ­your ­soul. If ­you con­cen­trate your­self, ­that ­love ­will over­flow. ­These ­are ­very del­i­cate ­points, ­which ­are ­not ­touched ­upon in ­detail in ­the ­books. So ­always ­avoid look­ing ­into ­the ­eyes of oth­ers. If at ­all ­you ­have to ­look ­into ­somebody’s ­eyes, ­look ­only ­into ­the ­eyes of ­the Mas­ter. ­That ­will ­save ­you ­from ­any haz­ards.
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You ­come to ­the Sat­sang ­for ­the ­sake of ­the Mas­ter, ­not ­for oth­ers. ­This is a prac­ti­cal ­school, I ­tell ­you, in ­which ­you ­can ­have ­these ­things. ­They ­can ­only be ­had ­when ­you ­come in con­tact ­direct ­with ­the ­soul ­through ­which ­they ema­nate. ­His ­soul is ­imbued ­with ­the ­love of ­God ­and nat­u­rally ­you ­will ­get col­oured ­with ­that ­love. ­You ­will ­have ­that intox­i­ca­tion. So ­love is ­love, by hav­ing ­which, ­you for­get ­your ­body ­and out­ward enjoy­ments. ­Just ­like ­the ­flame of a can­dle, ­your ­soul ­when con­tact­ing ­the ­soul of ­those ­imbued ­with ­the ­love of ­God, ­will ­get a ­boost. Emer­son ­said ­that ­when I ­look at peo­ple, I ­see ­God shin­ing ­through ­their ­eyes. ­You ­should ­see ­from ­that ­level, ­not ­from ­the ­level of ­the out­go­ing facul­ties or ­the ­body. ­Through ­love ­only ­can we ­know ­God. ­Those ­who do ­not ­know ­love, can­not ­know ­God. ­This is ­what is ­meant by ­love, ­but we ­take attach­ment ­for ­love. Attach­ment is no ­love, it is a mis­fit ­love. ­The ­love of a con­scious ­entity ­should ­come in con­tact ­with an ­all con­scious ­God. If ­you ­have ­such a ­love, ­even in ­your out­ward pen­ances or meth­ods of wor­ship, ­then ­you ­are ­saved. Oth­er­wise, ­you ­are ­stuck ­fast.

So ­love ­God ­and as ­God ­resides in ­every ­heart, ­love ­all ­for ­the ­sake of ­the ­soul ­and ­the Con­trol­ling ­Power ­that ­keeps ­the ­soul in ­the ­body, ­not ­the ­body ­itself. ­Then ­you ­are ­saved. If ­you ­serve oth­ers ­from ­the ­same ­level, ­then ­that is ­the ser­vice of ­God. ­All Mas­ters ­say ­this. ­The ­Tenth ­Guru ­said, "Under­stand ye ­all, ­whether ­you ­belong to ­one relig­ion or ­the ­other, ­those ­who ­have ­true ­love, ­they ­alone ­can ­know ­God". ­God is ­love ­and ­through ­love ­alone ­can ­you ­know ­God. ­This is a ­very del­i­cate ­point ­and ­though it is ­touched ­upon in ­the ­books it is ­not ­given in ­detail. ­Now ­you ­can ­judge ­daily ­from ­your ­own ­level, ­whether ­you ­really ­have ­love. ­Such ­love ­will ­give ­you ­love ­for ­all, ­but ­not attach­ment. ­This ­love over­flows ­when ­you ­come in con­tact ­with ­some ­soul ­who is inebri­ated, I ­would ­say, ­with ­the ­love of ­God. ­This ­love ­won’t ­lead ­you ­into attach­ment of ­the ­body, ­but ­will ­make ­you for­get ­the ­body.