What help us to know ourselves what things are not helping factors, and how we can analyse ourselves from the outgoing faculties and intellect is a practical subject. This is truly called spirituality.
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.
­

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.